Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ISTANBUL: Turkish PM, Foreign Ministry at odds over Obama statement

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ISTANBUL: Turkish PM, Foreign Ministry at odds over Obama statement

    Hurriyet, Turkey
    April 25 2010


    Turkish PM, Foreign Ministry at odds over Obama statement

    Sunday, April 25, 2010
    ANKARA / YEREVAN - Daily News with wires



    Armenian President Serge Sarkisian (R), his wife, Rita, and the
    Catholicos of All Armenians, Garegin II (L), attend the ceremony
    marking the 95th anniversary of the 1915 events. AFP photo.

    Despite avoiding the word `genocide' in describing the events of 1915
    during his Saturday commemoration statement, U.S. President Barack
    Obama's wording still riled the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

    However, while the Foreign Ministry was upset at Obama's terming of
    the World War I events as `one of the worst atrocities' in history,
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an issued a positive statement
    afterward, displaying a slight rift between the Foreign Ministry and
    the Prime Ministry.

    Instead of `genocide,' Obama used `Meds Yeghern,' which in Armenian
    means `The Great Catastrophe.'

    `Regretfully, it is a statement reflecting a one-sided and mistaken
    political view,' the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written
    statement on Saturday. `Subjective memories are the biggest enemy of
    historical truths. No nation can impose its own memory on others.'

    In Yerevan, the Armenian capital, people filled the streets the 95th
    anniversary of the 1915 events, with some young demonstrators burning
    a Turkish flag.

    It is "a devastating chapter in the history of the Armenian people and
    we must keep its memory alive in honor of those who were murdered and
    so that we do not repeat the grave mistakes of the past," Obama said
    in his April 24 statement, commemorating the Armenian Remembrance Day.
    "On this solemn day of remembrance, we pause to recall that 95 years
    ago one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century began."

    Criticizing the involvement of any third country, the Turkish Foreign
    Ministry said, `Third countries have no right or authority to decide
    on Turkish-Armenian relations by resorting to political moves.'

    Obama, who promised to recognize the `genocide' during his electoral
    campaign, also said, "I have consistently stated my own view of what
    occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed."

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an welcomed Obama's comments, saying
    the U.S. leader `took Turkey's concerns into consideration.' However,
    Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu said the speech was "unacceptable.'

    `Turkish-American relations need to be free from such reservations,'
    the minister said. `If we are going to share pain for humanitarian
    reasons, then we would expect respect for our own pain as well.'

    Opposition criticism

    Deniz Baykal, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's
    Party, or CHP, criticized ErdoÄ?an for contradicting the Foreign
    Ministry. `Turkey voices one reaction in solidarity. Mr. Prime
    Minister should advocate for his country, not for what Obama said,'
    Baykal told reporters Sunday.

    Namık Tan, Turkey's ambassador to Washington, was also unhappy. `We
    will not accept whatever Obama says because it is only a political
    statement without any scientific base,' Tan told Turkish demonstrators
    meeting outside the embassy on Sunday.

    `We reject any imposition but are ready to establish a joint
    historical committee to investigate what happened,' he said.

    The Turkish Coalition of America said Obama's statement did not
    address "the equally tragic loss of even more Muslim lives in that
    turbulent period of Ottoman history."

    `Where does the ethnic cleansing of Ottoman Turks from the Balkans,
    Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus ` with 5 million lost and 5.5 million
    refugees ` come on the president's list of 'worst atrocities of the
    20th century?"' asked G. Lincoln McCurdy, chief of the coalition.

    Rallying against Turkey

    In Yerevan, demonstrations against Turkey started Friday evening, as
    thousands of people participated in commemorations. In addition to the
    flag burning, many also shouted slogans against the country.

    On Saturday morning, some avenues were closed to traffic and thousands
    of people flooded to the Genocide Memorial, leaving flowers at the
    site.

    Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Hasmig
    Kalustyan, 44, one of the demonstrators, said his family was
    originally from the eastern province of ElazıÄ? and that many of his
    family were killed in 1915, while the survivors fled to Beirut and
    then moved to Toronto.

    Kalustyan said he moved back to Yerevan five years ago. `I have no
    enmity against Turkey and I support Turkey and Armenia establishing a
    dialogue,' he said. `All we want from Turkey is the acknowledgement of
    genocide and the sharing of our pain and misery.'

    Armenia claims that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed shortly
    after World War I under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Yerevan
    insists the events constitute a genocide, yet Turkey fiercely rejects
    this, saying the death toll is inflated and were a result of civil
    unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as Armenians took up
    arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
Working...
X