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Report: Turkey may block Swiss politician's planned visit
.c The Associated Press
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Turkey may block a planned visit of
Switzerland's economics minister, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday,
the latest episode in a long-running diplomatic dispute between the
two governments.
The Turkish ambassador to Switzerland, Alev Kilic, told NZZ am Sonntag
he couldn't rule out that Joseph Deiss' September trip would be
canceled.
At the core of the dispute are Turkey's killings of Armenians around
the time of World War I, considered by the Swiss and some other
governments to have amounted to genocide - something Ankara fiercely
denies.
Ankara was angered two weeks ago when Swiss authorities launched an
investigation into a visiting Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek, who
said the killings weren't genocide.
Under Switzerland's anti-racism laws, denying genocide is a crime, and
Perincek was briefly detained after his speech.
Last week, Turkey called the Swiss ambassador to the Foreign Ministry
to protest Perincek's detention and investigation.
In the NZZ am Sonntag interview, Kilic said the investigation was an
attempt to squelch free speech and sent a ``grave signal'' to Turks
living in Switzerland to ``keep their mouths shut.''
Meanwhile, Perincek reiterated his earlier comments in an interview
with another Swiss newspaper on Sunday.
``There has never been a genocide, that is an international historic
lie,'' he told SonntagsBlick.
Similar disputes have erupted in the past between Turkey and
Switzerland.
In June, a Turkish Cabinet minister postponed a visit to Switzerland
to protest an investigation of a Turkish historian who denied the
killings were a genocide.
The Swiss foreign minister had been scheduled to travel to Turkey in
2003, but Turkey withdrew its invitation after the parliament of a
western Swiss canton (state) approved a motion calling the killings a
genocide.
07/31/05 08:58 EDT
.c The Associated Press
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Turkey may block a planned visit of
Switzerland's economics minister, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday,
the latest episode in a long-running diplomatic dispute between the
two governments.
The Turkish ambassador to Switzerland, Alev Kilic, told NZZ am Sonntag
he couldn't rule out that Joseph Deiss' September trip would be
canceled.
At the core of the dispute are Turkey's killings of Armenians around
the time of World War I, considered by the Swiss and some other
governments to have amounted to genocide - something Ankara fiercely
denies.
Ankara was angered two weeks ago when Swiss authorities launched an
investigation into a visiting Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek, who
said the killings weren't genocide.
Under Switzerland's anti-racism laws, denying genocide is a crime, and
Perincek was briefly detained after his speech.
Last week, Turkey called the Swiss ambassador to the Foreign Ministry
to protest Perincek's detention and investigation.
In the NZZ am Sonntag interview, Kilic said the investigation was an
attempt to squelch free speech and sent a ``grave signal'' to Turks
living in Switzerland to ``keep their mouths shut.''
Meanwhile, Perincek reiterated his earlier comments in an interview
with another Swiss newspaper on Sunday.
``There has never been a genocide, that is an international historic
lie,'' he told SonntagsBlick.
Similar disputes have erupted in the past between Turkey and
Switzerland.
In June, a Turkish Cabinet minister postponed a visit to Switzerland
to protest an investigation of a Turkish historian who denied the
killings were a genocide.
The Swiss foreign minister had been scheduled to travel to Turkey in
2003, but Turkey withdrew its invitation after the parliament of a
western Swiss canton (state) approved a motion calling the killings a
genocide.
07/31/05 08:58 EDT