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Agence France Presse
May 24 2005
Ankara Condemns Dissident Conference On Armenian Genocide
(AFP) - Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek Tuesday accused of
"treason" a group of academics organizing a conference to question
Turkey's official position on the mass killings of Armenians under
the Ottoman Empire, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The three-day conference, which opens Wednesday at Istanbul's
prestigious Bogazici University, will be attended by Turkish
academics and intellectuals who dispute Ankara's version of the
1915-1917 massacres, recognized as genocide by several countries.
Cicek condemned the initiative as a blow to government efforts to
counter a mounting Armenian campaign to have the killings recognized
internationally as genocide, which many fear may cloud Turkey's bid
to join the European Union. "This is a stab in the back to the
Turkish nation... this is irresponsibility," Anatolia quoted Cicek as
saying at a parliamentary debate.
"We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insult, of spreading
propaganda against the (Turkish) nation by people who belong to it,"
he said.
The opposition joined the criticism. Sukru Elekdag, a senior MP for
the main opposition Republican People's Party and a retired
ambassador, called the conference "a treacherous project" aimed at
disseminating pro-Armenian propaganda "under the guise of research."
Conference organizers said in a press statement that "it is high time
Turkey's own academics and intellectuals collectively raise voices
that differ from the official stance" on the Armenian killings. "The
expression of critical and alternative opinions will be to Turkey's
benefit, because it will show how rich in pluralist thinking Turkish
society actually is," the statement said.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were killed by the
Ottomans in what was a genocide between 1915 and 1917. Ankara argues
that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil
strife during World War I, when the Armenians took up
arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian
troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.
Ankara fears that the genocide allegations could fuel anti-Turkish
sentiment in international public opinion and cloud its image at a
time when it is vying for EU membership.
May 24 2005
Ankara Condemns Dissident Conference On Armenian Genocide
(AFP) - Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek Tuesday accused of
"treason" a group of academics organizing a conference to question
Turkey's official position on the mass killings of Armenians under
the Ottoman Empire, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The three-day conference, which opens Wednesday at Istanbul's
prestigious Bogazici University, will be attended by Turkish
academics and intellectuals who dispute Ankara's version of the
1915-1917 massacres, recognized as genocide by several countries.
Cicek condemned the initiative as a blow to government efforts to
counter a mounting Armenian campaign to have the killings recognized
internationally as genocide, which many fear may cloud Turkey's bid
to join the European Union. "This is a stab in the back to the
Turkish nation... this is irresponsibility," Anatolia quoted Cicek as
saying at a parliamentary debate.
"We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insult, of spreading
propaganda against the (Turkish) nation by people who belong to it,"
he said.
The opposition joined the criticism. Sukru Elekdag, a senior MP for
the main opposition Republican People's Party and a retired
ambassador, called the conference "a treacherous project" aimed at
disseminating pro-Armenian propaganda "under the guise of research."
Conference organizers said in a press statement that "it is high time
Turkey's own academics and intellectuals collectively raise voices
that differ from the official stance" on the Armenian killings. "The
expression of critical and alternative opinions will be to Turkey's
benefit, because it will show how rich in pluralist thinking Turkish
society actually is," the statement said.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were killed by the
Ottomans in what was a genocide between 1915 and 1917. Ankara argues
that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil
strife during World War I, when the Armenians took up
arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian
troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.
Ankara fears that the genocide allegations could fuel anti-Turkish
sentiment in international public opinion and cloud its image at a
time when it is vying for EU membership.