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ANKARA: Catalan Deputies Call For Recognition Of Alleged Genocide

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  • ANKARA: Catalan Deputies Call For Recognition Of Alleged Genocide

    CATALAN DEPUTIES CALL FOR RECOGNITION OF ALLEGED GENOCIDE

    Turkish Daily News
    Sep 06, 2006

    Having received a letter from an Armenian group, two Catalan deputies
    have come up with a proposal calling for debates in the Spanish
    Parliament on the so-called Armenian genocide at the hands of the
    Ottoman Empire in the last century.

    Rosa M. Bonas and Joan Puigcercos submitted the proposal in June to
    the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Spanish Parliament, urging the
    recognition of the so-called genocide on the grounds that it was a
    crime against humanity.

    "We'll make changes in the proposal by taking out an article pressing
    Ankara to recognize the [alleged] Armenian genocide," Bonas told the
    Anatolia news agency.

    She stressed that they do not want to oppose Turkey.

    Bonas said she has always been sympathetic to tiny and victimized
    communities -- she herself is Catalan -- but noted she learned about
    the so-called genocide only after the Armenian committee's letter.

    The Catalan deputy also expressed hope that she would not be
    misunderstood by the Turkish public and said, "I've always defended
    Turkey's European Union membership in the European Parliament and
    I'll continue to do so."

    The Turkish ambassador in Madrid, Volkan Vural, said Turkey has taken
    action at the level of the Spanish Foreign Ministry and the Spanish
    Parliament as soon as they heard about the proposal and sent letters
    to the two deputies and the head of the Spanish Parliament's Foreign
    Affairs Commission, saying that the proposal would harm Turkish-Spanish
    relations.

    "In Ankara, the Foreign Minister reacted [to the proposal]," Vural
    told Anatolia.

    He said the possibility of the proposal's approval was very weak and
    added: "It is clear that it will have no legal meaning even if it is
    adopted. It will become clear how wrong and unfortunate an approach
    it is to intermingle past events with politics."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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