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"Text" of Turkish premier's letter to Armenian counterpart
Milliyet web site, Istanbul
15 Apr 05
Text of article by Utku Cakirozer in Ankara entitled "Here is the
historic letter: 'painful memories'" published by Turkish newspaper
Milliyet web site on 15 April; suheading as published
In a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan describes the 1915 events that the Armenians
charge constituted genocide as "memories that distressed our peoples
in the past." Erdogan's letter, which begins with the salutation "Dear
Mr President," says that Turkey and Armenia have "differences of
interpretation" over the said period. Below is the text of the
historic letter.
"The Turkish and Armenian peoples have not only shared a common
history and geography in a sensitive part of the world but they have
also lived together for many years. However it is no secret that we
have differences of interpretation and evaluation over a certain
period of our common history.
"These differences have left memories that have distressed our peoples
in past years and today they play a role that does not make the
development of friendly relations between our countries easier.
"I believe that, as leaders of our countries, our principal duty is to
leave to our future generations a climate of friendship marked by
peace and harmony and characterized by tolerance and mutual
respect. Mr Deniz Baykal, the leader of our country's main opposition
Republican People's Party, also shares these views. In this framework
we invite your country [to join us] in forming a group comprised of
the historians and other specialists of our two countries to
investigate the developments and events related to the 1915 period by
researching all the archives of not only Turkey and Armenia but also
all relevant third countries and to report their findings to the
international community.
"I believe that an initiative in this direction will shed light on a
controversial period of history and will serve as a step towards the
normalization of relations between our countries.
"I hope that this proposal aimed at passing on a friendly and more
peaceful climate to future generations will be accepted. If you are
positively disposed towards our proposal to form a group of historians
and specialists to conduct joint work on archives we are prepared to
discuss the details of our proposal with your country.
"Sincerely, [signed]."
Report by Cenk Baglamis: "I did not receive any letter"
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan declared that he has not received
any letter from Prime Minister Erdogan proposing the formation of a
joint commission by the two countries to investigate allegations of
genocide. However, a few hours after Kocharyan declared that he did
not receive any letter, it was disclosed that the Armenian embassy in
Tbilisi faxed the letter to Yerevan. Viktor Soghomonyan, spokesman of
Armenia's Office of the President, also declared that no letter has
been received. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan, on the other
hand, said that the principal reason for [Armenia's] insistence on the
recognition of the genocide by Turkey is its "security concerns."
Although Erdogan's letter is addressed to "Robert Kocharyan, president
of Armenia, Yerevan," the letter was sent to Kocharyan via Georgia
because there are no diplomatic relations between Ankara and
Yerevan. The letter was reportedly delivered by the Turkish embassy in
Tbilisi to the Armenian embassy in the same city.
Milliyet web site, Istanbul
15 Apr 05
Text of article by Utku Cakirozer in Ankara entitled "Here is the
historic letter: 'painful memories'" published by Turkish newspaper
Milliyet web site on 15 April; suheading as published
In a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan describes the 1915 events that the Armenians
charge constituted genocide as "memories that distressed our peoples
in the past." Erdogan's letter, which begins with the salutation "Dear
Mr President," says that Turkey and Armenia have "differences of
interpretation" over the said period. Below is the text of the
historic letter.
"The Turkish and Armenian peoples have not only shared a common
history and geography in a sensitive part of the world but they have
also lived together for many years. However it is no secret that we
have differences of interpretation and evaluation over a certain
period of our common history.
"These differences have left memories that have distressed our peoples
in past years and today they play a role that does not make the
development of friendly relations between our countries easier.
"I believe that, as leaders of our countries, our principal duty is to
leave to our future generations a climate of friendship marked by
peace and harmony and characterized by tolerance and mutual
respect. Mr Deniz Baykal, the leader of our country's main opposition
Republican People's Party, also shares these views. In this framework
we invite your country [to join us] in forming a group comprised of
the historians and other specialists of our two countries to
investigate the developments and events related to the 1915 period by
researching all the archives of not only Turkey and Armenia but also
all relevant third countries and to report their findings to the
international community.
"I believe that an initiative in this direction will shed light on a
controversial period of history and will serve as a step towards the
normalization of relations between our countries.
"I hope that this proposal aimed at passing on a friendly and more
peaceful climate to future generations will be accepted. If you are
positively disposed towards our proposal to form a group of historians
and specialists to conduct joint work on archives we are prepared to
discuss the details of our proposal with your country.
"Sincerely, [signed]."
Report by Cenk Baglamis: "I did not receive any letter"
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan declared that he has not received
any letter from Prime Minister Erdogan proposing the formation of a
joint commission by the two countries to investigate allegations of
genocide. However, a few hours after Kocharyan declared that he did
not receive any letter, it was disclosed that the Armenian embassy in
Tbilisi faxed the letter to Yerevan. Viktor Soghomonyan, spokesman of
Armenia's Office of the President, also declared that no letter has
been received. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan, on the other
hand, said that the principal reason for [Armenia's] insistence on the
recognition of the genocide by Turkey is its "security concerns."
Although Erdogan's letter is addressed to "Robert Kocharyan, president
of Armenia, Yerevan," the letter was sent to Kocharyan via Georgia
because there are no diplomatic relations between Ankara and
Yerevan. The letter was reportedly delivered by the Turkish embassy in
Tbilisi to the Armenian embassy in the same city.