Washington, DC – In response to the President’s annual statement on Armenian Remembrance Day, G. Lincoln McCurdy, President of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), issued the following comment:
“Today, President Barack Obama issued the annual presidential statement marking Armenian Remembrance Day. Turkish Americans share the grief of Armenian Americans who lost their family members during those dreadful events nearly a century ago. In fact, in a 2009 letter to President Obama, signed by over 50 Turkish American associations, Turkish Americans stated that they mourn Armenian losses in those years as their mourn their own. This dual tragedy is not forgotten.
“What is, however, forgotten and even denied, is the equally tragic loss of even more Muslim lives in this turbulent period of Ottoman history. The suffering of one people does not justify or negate the suffering of others, and all who lost their lives deserve to be remembered on this day of remembrance. Where does the ethnic cleansing of Ottoman Turks from the Balkans, Eastern Turkey and the Caucuses with 5 million lost and 5.5 million refugees come on the President's list of ‘worst atrocities of the 20th century?’ Do they also deserve at least an annual presidential remembrance from him, as he dutifully makes on this occasion every year?
“To recognize this Muslim suffering is not to diminish Armenian suffering, but to respect all human loss and suffering regardless of the race, ethnicity or religion of the victims, and to place the Armenian tragedy in its proper historical context.
“In this context, TCA supports the establishment of a joint historical commission tasked with uncovering a complete historical narrative that could pave the way for reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian people.
“Today, TCA would once again like to extend its hand of friendship to the Armenian Diaspora in the US. Over the years, we have implemented programs that we believe are helping to heal the divide between Turkish Americans and Armenian Americans. This includes our scholarship program for Armenian Americans to study abroad in Turkey. It is our hope that by fostering dialogue between our communities, we can play a positive role in re-building a mutual understanding between the two nations.”
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Sezen Aksu: The Voice Of Istanbul
By: Neva Grant
National Public Radio
April 12, 2010
It was summer in Istanbul, 1989, and her voice steamed out of every doorway, as compelling as the call to prayer. Who was she?
After hearing her everywhere, I asked a waiter to write down her name, and he gave me a look like, "How could you not know Sezen Aksu?"
She is a superstar in Turkey, and a big name in the Middle East and Europe. She recently performed near Washington, D.C., and filled that hall, too, with mostly Turkish-Americans and immigrants, and quite a range of them — grandmothers in headscarves, teenagers in towering heels. Their male companions, by the way, did not look like they'd been dragged there.
Sezen Aksu is a sexy pop star, who for the past 30 years has sold millions of recordings. She invented herself and keeps reinventing herself in a language that doesn't lend itself to music.
"Turkish is not a good-sounding language. You know, it's not musical like French or English," says Turkish composer and pianist Fahir Atakoglu. "But with singers like Sezen, for the first time, the Turkish words became much more musical. It started saying something really deep; it wasn't simple anymore."
One of Aksu's most popular songs is "Istanbul Istanbul Olali," or "Since Istanbul Became Istanbul." It is about lost love, set against the backdrop of Turkey's largest city.
Discovering Her Voice
In an interview at Strathmore Hall near Washington, D.C., Aksu talked about discovering her voice.
"I was singing in the choir, and I realized all of a sudden my voice was louder than anyone else's," she says through an interpreter. "It was a school song, I remember."
But her talent did not amuse her mother and father. Aksu says her parents were intellectuals who wanted her to be a doctor or an engineer.
"Once I realized I had this gift, and my mother and father were opposing this, I used to wait until they went to the movies or went out," Aksu says. "I would turn off the lights, go out on the balcony, and look down in the street to see people gathering to listen to me."
A Mix Of Cultures
This was happening in the mid-1960s, an exhilarating time to be a young singer in Turkey. It was a time when Eastern music collided with Western rock; when a strait-laced lute could flirt with an electric guitar and get away with it. Aksu says she was inspired by it all.
"My music is like Turkey, like Anatolia," she says. "This hybrid, this mixture of cultures ... for all these years, different thoughts and ideas existed together and borrowed from each other. It's very eclectic, but also harmonious."
Aksu has not always found harmony in her own life: She's been married and divorced four times.
"People are so complicated," she says.
In her lyrics, say her fans, she captures the muddle of human emotion. Even if you don't understand the words, there's still a way in. Isn't that the definition of a great voice? One that sings in a foreign language but still stops you in the street. You don't understand a word she's saying, but on some other gut level, you do.
To Listen to the Segment, click here.
National Public Radio
April 12, 2010
It was summer in Istanbul, 1989, and her voice steamed out of every doorway, as compelling as the call to prayer. Who was she?
After hearing her everywhere, I asked a waiter to write down her name, and he gave me a look like, "How could you not know Sezen Aksu?"
She is a superstar in Turkey, and a big name in the Middle East and Europe. She recently performed near Washington, D.C., and filled that hall, too, with mostly Turkish-Americans and immigrants, and quite a range of them — grandmothers in headscarves, teenagers in towering heels. Their male companions, by the way, did not look like they'd been dragged there.
Sezen Aksu is a sexy pop star, who for the past 30 years has sold millions of recordings. She invented herself and keeps reinventing herself in a language that doesn't lend itself to music.
"Turkish is not a good-sounding language. You know, it's not musical like French or English," says Turkish composer and pianist Fahir Atakoglu. "But with singers like Sezen, for the first time, the Turkish words became much more musical. It started saying something really deep; it wasn't simple anymore."
One of Aksu's most popular songs is "Istanbul Istanbul Olali," or "Since Istanbul Became Istanbul." It is about lost love, set against the backdrop of Turkey's largest city.
Discovering Her Voice
In an interview at Strathmore Hall near Washington, D.C., Aksu talked about discovering her voice.
"I was singing in the choir, and I realized all of a sudden my voice was louder than anyone else's," she says through an interpreter. "It was a school song, I remember."
But her talent did not amuse her mother and father. Aksu says her parents were intellectuals who wanted her to be a doctor or an engineer.
"Once I realized I had this gift, and my mother and father were opposing this, I used to wait until they went to the movies or went out," Aksu says. "I would turn off the lights, go out on the balcony, and look down in the street to see people gathering to listen to me."
A Mix Of Cultures
This was happening in the mid-1960s, an exhilarating time to be a young singer in Turkey. It was a time when Eastern music collided with Western rock; when a strait-laced lute could flirt with an electric guitar and get away with it. Aksu says she was inspired by it all.
"My music is like Turkey, like Anatolia," she says. "This hybrid, this mixture of cultures ... for all these years, different thoughts and ideas existed together and borrowed from each other. It's very eclectic, but also harmonious."
Aksu has not always found harmony in her own life: She's been married and divorced four times.
"People are so complicated," she says.
In her lyrics, say her fans, she captures the muddle of human emotion. Even if you don't understand the words, there's still a way in. Isn't that the definition of a great voice? One that sings in a foreign language but still stops you in the street. You don't understand a word she's saying, but on some other gut level, you do.
To Listen to the Segment, click here.
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