I support Kobe’s Promotion of Turkish Airlines
I believe I reflect the sentiments of more than 500,000 Turkish Americans coast-to-coast, about 50,000 of whom live in Southern California, when I say that I commend NBA Los Angeles Lakers Star Kobe Bryant for promoting Turkish Airlines, as I also commend Manchester United and FC Barcelona soccer clubs who are also promotional partners of Turkish Airlines.
Such business deals involving a sponsorship which is not uncommon in the sports world and they have nothing to do with the political or historic debate Armenians wish to wage.
Turkish Airlines, a majority publicly held company that includes major American investment companies, carries millions of passengers from Washington DC, New York, and Chicago to Istanbul, and will be starting flights to and from Los Angeles and Atlanta this Spring. THY is a smart investment, as Turkey is the seventh most visited tourist destination in the world, hosting more than 19 million in 2010. ( Please note: %50.88 of Turkish Airlines shares are owned/traded publicly. The Turkish gov’t is the largest shareholder, but doesn’t own more than 50% of the shares. Among the public shareholders are some major US investment houses like JP Morgan, PineBridge investments and Blackrock Fund Advisors–the largest asset manager in the world. Each of these firms hold large positions in THY stock under their funds, which would be adversely affected by the Armenian campaign. These funds, in retrun, are held by many Americans under 401k accounts.)
Such new flights to exciting destinations will bring more jobs and businesses to California at a time when we need both.
It is a shame, therefore, that some Armenian extremists would harass athletes who support Turkish brands. It is, indeed, racist.
As President-elect of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), I call upon all sports and travel lovers to support Kobe Bryant and join forces against racism originating from some Armenians who seem to be burning with feelings of hatred.
Celebrities cannot and should not be held hostage by the Armenian lobby–nor by any other interest group–and forced to see the the world from the Armenians perspective only. After all, who decides what interpretation of controversial issues are acceptable and which ones are not?
Is the sports arena the place to settle the historic, politic, or social differences?
Genocide claims are based on racist and dishonest history: Armenian views of the Turkish-Armenian conflict are long discredited by world renown historians as political misrepresentations; genocide claims do not represent historical truths. Such claims exaggerate and falsify events in order to ascribe all the suffering on one side (Armenians) and all the guilt on the other (Turks), as if such simplistic, stereotypically black and white history is possible anywhere or anytime in the history of the world.
Armenians travel to Turkey in large numbers as we speak: It is both ironical and sarcastic that Turkey remains today number one tourism destination for Armenia’s Armenians, while the Armenian lobby in the U.S. cannot stand even a legitimate third party business deal between a sports celebrity and the Turkish Airlines. So, while Armenia’s Armenians enjoy Turkish hospitality, culture, food, music, dances, sights and sounds without limits, the Armenian diaspora in the U.S. would limit freedom to conduct business, associate, and travel. This shows the stark difference between Armenia Armenians and aggressive and hate-filled Diaspora Armenians.
Illegal Armenia workers in Turkey are tolerated: There are close to 100,000 illegal Armenian workers in Turkey today and they enjoy higher standards of living in Turkey than in Armenia than anywhere else they immigrate which is why they increasingly choose to stay in Turkey. This Turkish goodwill should embarrass those Diaspora Armenians in America whose approach to Turkish matters seems to be driven by hate and vengeance.
Armenian crooks should remove their dirty hands (and politcis) from the sports we all love so much: basketball. Please read “Dozens (of Armenians) Charged in $163M Medicare Fraud Scheme”, a CBS, , New York,
Oct. 13, 2010: https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/13/national/main6954223.shtml
Here is a glimpse of what CBS said: “A vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million, the largest fraud by one criminal enterprise in the program’s history, U.S. authorities said Wednesday…” Now these crooks seem to undermine the sports we all love so much: basketball.
Armenia sold weapons to Iran which were then used by Shiite groups in Iraq to kill U.S. soldiers (see: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/29/wikileaks-armenia-sent-iran-arms-used-to-kill-us-t/ )
How dare they now attempt to kill U.S., basketball?
If they want to protest something, they should protest the aggressive and deceptive Armenia, taking in U.S. aid while backstabbing the U.S. with arms Armenia sold to Iran.
Armenian Youth Federation is intolerant: It has distinguished itself with a persistent promulgation of ethnocentric and intolerant ideas which are rather unAmerican at their core. The most extreme among these is the denial of 1992 Khojaly Massacre, and organizing annual AYF protests in front of diplomatic mission in Los Angeles to deny local Azeris and Turks inside even the right to remember the victims of the tragedy.
In summary, sports and travel can only foster peace and prosperity around the world and there is nothing wrong with them…
… Is there?
Sincerely,
(Your name, address, and day phone here)
