To readers concerned about the Turk

I feel bad posting this with the comment system still screwed up here at Friendly Fire, but comments can also be posted at the pieces to which I'll be linking.

I've received some calls and letters from readers in the Armenian community who are concerned that my news article Sunday on my interview with the new Turkish consul general was one-sided. To explain, it was a one-on-one interview that did just feature my conversation with R. Hakan Tekin, just like our page one interview that day with LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer focused on the conversation with Brewer. In an hour and 15 minute interview with Tekin, we spoke about the PKK, relations with the U.S., Turkey's attempt to join the EU, secularism vs. Islamism, press freedom and the Hrant Dink murder, and, yes, the Armenian Genocide bill. We spent about the first 15 minutes talking about this legislation, and since this has been a topic of great interest to our readers we pulled out some of his statements on the genocide. The news hook of the story, though, is that Tekin is relatively new in town at a time of renewed tensions, and is under State Department special protection.

His comments should be discussed and debated, and that's what our great readers do. Just check out the heated discussion going on over at the article's page. However, I do want to stress that a) we've given readers great coverage of this issue over many months, drawing on reaction of the local Armenian community, and b) it is an interview piece for the reasons I previously mentioned. When I interview Rudy Giuliani, Chris' most favorite person in the whole wide world, tomorrow, I won't need to interview Hillary Clinton to make my article on our interview fair and balanced. It's understood that this is a sit-down interview with a newsmaker, a public official.

I also want to invite readers to check out some of the rest of what Tekin said on the myriad subjects we discussed, which I cover in my newest column. The intent of sitting down with the Turkish consul general was not to rah-rah for one side or the other, but to get that government's point of view on a volatile time in an uncertain region.

By the way, Jonathan, I even presented him with your posturing/stall tactic theory on the PKK. His response:

"As I said, the Turkish security forces have been dealing with PKK since 1984 and they have a lot of experience. They know what they do. And they won’t be intimated or they won’t care that we would have disproportionate losses or so. If a fight is necessary in their opinion they would fight it they wouldn’t think about, you know, other concerns."