On November 17 the House Committee on Natural Resources voted 27-15 to pass the Indian Tribal Trade and Investment Act, H.R. 2362, which will now be reported favorably to the House for a final vote. G. Lincoln McCurdy, President of the Turkish Coalition of America, called the bipartisan vote a major step forward in enacting the first positive legislation toward Turkey in recent memory.
"For the last two years," said McCurdy, "Turkey and Native American Tribes have been developing a unique international relationship that promises to help create jobs and spur economic development in both Indian Country and Turkey. The Natural Resources Committee today voted to support sound policy and respect the economic interests of Native American Tribes. This is a historic step forward."
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his US counterpart, Barack Obama, met in Chicago on Monday on the sidelines of NATO Summit but they failed to make progress on the sale of armed drones. Turkey seeks to buy armed drones from the United States, but the request has been controversial, with some in Congress refusing to sell the aircraft to Turkey given Ankara's deteriorating relations with Israel, a close US ally. The US administration, on the other hand, is reportedly willing to sell the drones to Turkey and is trying to persuade Congress not to block the sale.
Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan, responded to harsh criticisms of U.S. Representative Howard Berman on Cyprus in a letter the latter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently. "Having read your letter to the U.S. Secretary of State, the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, regarding Cyprus, I would like to take this opportunity to answer the allegations and concerns expressed in your letter, which was made public through various American-Greek organizations and news outlets," Tan told Berman in a letter sent. 
As the 32nd Annual Turkish-American National Convention began in Washington on Thursday, participants of the event urged Turkish-Americans to effectively participate in US politics to make their voices more widely heard. The convention was jointly organized by the Federation of Turkish American Associations (TADF), the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and the Washington-based Turkish American Community Centers (TACC). The event began with a seminar titled “Grassroots Day,” hosted by the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA). 
Two US senators are set to introduce a resolution that labels the 1915 killing of Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire as “genocide,” the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) has said. The AAA said in a statement on Monday that Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) along with Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) will officially introduce the measure later this month. Specifically, the statement highlighted the fact that “the Roman persecution of the Christians, the Turkish massacre of Armenians, the extermination of millions of Jews and Poles by the Nazis are outstanding examples of the crime of genocide.” 
BAKU. February 28, 2012: Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza retired from government service at U.S. Department of State and moved with his family to Turkey. Currently, he works at a Turkish bank in Istanbul, an informed source told Turan. In his interview with the Turkish media, Bryza reiterated that "he fell victim to the Armenian Diaspora,” which could not forgive him for marrying an American woman of Turkish origin, Zeyno Baran. 
France's Constitutional Council has ruled that a law concerning the mass killings of Armenians a century ago violates the country's constitution. The law, passed in December, made it a crime to deny that the killings of some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 constituted genocide. Punishment under the legislation was set at up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros. 
ANKARA. – In an interview with Turkish journalists, US Ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone, spoke about the regional issues. And with respect to the French Senate’s passing of the bill that criminalizes the denial of genocides, including the Armenian Genocide, the American ambassador noted that France is an ancient and a very important friend of the United States. 
Namık Tan, Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. -- in a fairly unusual diplomatic move -- expressed his "disappointment" earlier today at Rick Perry's "ill-advised" suggestion that Turkey is run by Muslim terrorists, and the Turkish American council is piling on. Says Turkish-American Council President G. Lincoln McCurdy in a statement: 
President Barack Obama pledged to increase aide for AIDS treatment in the US and around the world at a star-studded World AIDS Day speech today in Washington. The president also set an ambitious goal to help triple of the number of doses of life-saving drugs that are sent to the nations hardest hit by the disease. 
