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ATAA Hosts Washington Think Tanks
May 12, 2008
The Assembly of Turkish American Association (ATAA) held a think tank event with the Defense of Democracies at the Turk Evi in Washington DC on May 6, 2008. Attendees also included the Turkish press, diplomatic staff, and academicians.
Discussions concerned issues facing U.S.-Turkish relations, as well as the Turkish American perspective and advocacy on these issues.
ATAA President Nurten Ural made welcoming remarks and thanked the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FFD) for partnering with ATAA, in particular with Mr. Burak Kuntay, Chairman of the American Studies program at Istanbul Bahcesehir University and a Visiting Fellow at FFD. President Ural conveyed that ATAA and the Turkish American community was as a valuable resource to the think tank community for understanding Turkey and US.-Turkish relations more broadly and deeper.
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Vice President of Research at the Foundation of Defense of Democracies and an expert anti-terror, moderated event. Gartenstein-Ross will be speaking at the ATA Convention on the PKK Terrorism Panel.
ATAA President-Elect Gunay Evinch presented his Fulbright powerpoint presentation regarding PKK Kurdish nationalist terrorism. He presentation also included a historical, legal and political analysis of the weaknesses of the Armenian allegation of genocide.
Guler Koknar, Vice President of the Turkish Coalition of America discussed the TCA's efforts to educate a broad audience of people and organizations interested in Turkey, U.S.-Turkish Relations, and Turkish Americans. She discussed TCA's college scholarship program that brings African Americans, Macedonian Americans and Hispanic Americans to study in Turkey.
David Saltzman, Chief Counsel for the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF) discussed that many Turkish Americans are becoming more aware of their civil rights, particularly freedom of speech. The goal of TALDF is to not only educate but also advise Turkish Americans on their rights and initiate legal action when necessary.
The final speaker was Lincoln McCurdy President of TC-USA PAC. He spoke on the civic engagement of the growing and diversifying Turkish American Community. He discussed the urgency of participatory democracy among Turkish Americans and ways to promote civic engagement.
ATAA, a not-for-profit 501(3)c organization based in Washington DC, not only serves as a resource center for its members and component associations throughout the United States, it also works closely with Turkish American to develop an informed and effective Turkish American citizenry. In recent times, the ATAA is becoming a major resource for experts, policy makers, and media seeking a better understanding of U.S.-Turkish relations.
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