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ERDOGAN CANCELLATION SPARKS CONTROVERSY
By Pablo Krause
Buenos Aires Herald
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/35044
May 31 2010
Argentina
The cancellation of the visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who was scheduled to arrive in Buenos Aires yesterday
but suspended his trip late on Saturday, led to the governments of
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Buenos Aires City Mayor
Mauricio Macri swapping the blame.
The CFK administration released a statement late on Saturday citing
the cancellation of a ceremony scheduled for this morning to place a
bust in honour of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the founder of the modern
Turkish Republic) as the reason for Erdogan's decision and blaming
the Macri administration for the incident. However, City Hall rejected
the accusations and claimed that no such ceremony was scheduled.
Yesterday, the city Foreign Affairs Department released an official
statement expressing its regret over the suspension of Erdogan's
visit but insisting that the alleged ceremony was never on City
Hall's schedule.
"In reference to the statements of the Foreign Ministry, we insist the
alleged ceremony as well as the placing of a bust of former Premier
Ataturk was never authorized or communicated to that Ministry or
the Turkish Embassy and it would have required a law approved by the
local legislature in order to carry it out," read the statement.
Asked by the Herald about the incident, PRO Foreign Affairs Secretary
Diego Guelar said: "The Turkish Embassy requested permission from the
Public Space Ministry to erect a monument to Ataturk about six months
ago, allegedly in replacement of an existing bust, but the ministry
confirmed there was no previous bust so the request did not progress."
Guelar claimed: "There was never any ceremony scheduled neither was
there an existing Ataturk bust to replace" and insisted such a bill
would have needed the approval of the Mayor and the city legislature.
"There was no such ceremony on the schedule of Mauricio (Macri)
for Monday," Guelar told the Herald.
"We don't know why the tribute was in the Ambassador's agenda because
it would have required a resolution signed by Macri, which he didn't,"
added the Foreign Affairs Secretary of PRO.
Guelar claimed City Hall became aware of the ceremony on Friday when
the Armenian community requested an interview with Environment and
Public Space Minister Diego Santilli to protest against the display
of the Turkish founder's bust, which was due to be unveiled in a park
at the intersection of Figueroa Alcorta and Sarmiento avenues.
The Armenian community published a paid ad in a local newspaper on
Saturday, repudiating Erdogan's visit and making reference to the
inauguration of Ataturk's statue. Later on Saturday, the Foreign
Ministry confirmed the Turkish Prime Minister had cancelled his
visit and said Erdogan took offence at "a decision by Buenos Aires
Mayor Mauricio Macri to cancel a scheduled tribute in which he was
to take part."
Foreign Ministry sources consulted by the Herald yesterday denied the
City Hall statements and insisted the ceremony was part of Erdogan's
agenda for his visit.
Sources claimed Erdogan himself told Taiana in Brazil the suspension
of the ceremony was the reason of his cancellation.
In statements to local media, Turkish Ambassador to Buenos Aires
Hayri Hayret Yalav said the procedures for the monument "started in
November, 2009 and there was no problem until yesterday (for Saturday)
when Santilli informed me in a letter that the monument would not
be placed."
News agency Reuters reported Turkey's Foreign Ministry confirmed in
a statement the two-day visit scheduled had been cancelled and blamed
the move on Armenian lobbyists.
"The trip was cancelled because written permission for the monument
given to Turkey beforehand by the Buenos Aires district was reversed
as a result of initiatives by the Armenian lobby, which is opposed
to Turkey," said the statement, adding Turkey hoped Argentina would
take steps to remove the shadow cast on Turco-Argentine relations.
According to Reuters, President Fernández de Kirchner spoke with
Erdogan to explain she could not overrule the decision, yet he found
this unacceptable and decided not to go, the statement added.
The Herald was unable to reach Turkish Embassy sources yesterday but a
brief statement was released informing the cancellation of a forum at
a downtown hotel where Erdogan was scheduled to participate, quoting
"last-minute changes in the Prime Minister's agenda."
Despite the official explanations and the exchange of accusations
between the city and national governments, several rumours spread
about the reasons behind Erdogan's cancellation.
City Hall sources which requested not to be named said the incident
"could have been a misunderstanding on the part of the Turkish Embassy,
which might have assumed the ceremony was already scheduled, despite
having received no confirmation from the city government."
On the other hand, a source from the Foreign Ministry consulted by
the Herald, who also requested that their name not be published, said
there was "a verbal agreement" between Macri and the Turkish Embassy
for the ceremony but the city administration decided to cancel it
following the protests of the Armenian community.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first Turkish President and founder of the
Republic of Turkey, is highly revered by Turks, but Armenians cite him
as one of the main culprits for the mass killing of Armenians in 1915,
known as "the Armenian Genocide."
All officials consulted agreed the cancellation was a serious incident
and an offence to the Turkish Prime Minister, comparing the situation
to a last-minute suspension of a monument to national independence
hero José de San Martín or a memorial of the Malvinas War during
the visit of an Argentine president to a foreign country.
Some observers had even cited a possible link between the cancellation
of Erdogan's visit and the nuclear fuel agreement signed by Iran --
which Brazil and Turkey have supported despite the protests from the
United States and on which Argentina has not yet taken a position.
However, all sources consulted by the Herald denied such possibility
both on and off the record.
From: A. Papazian
By Pablo Krause
Buenos Aires Herald
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/35044
May 31 2010
Argentina
The cancellation of the visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who was scheduled to arrive in Buenos Aires yesterday
but suspended his trip late on Saturday, led to the governments of
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Buenos Aires City Mayor
Mauricio Macri swapping the blame.
The CFK administration released a statement late on Saturday citing
the cancellation of a ceremony scheduled for this morning to place a
bust in honour of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the founder of the modern
Turkish Republic) as the reason for Erdogan's decision and blaming
the Macri administration for the incident. However, City Hall rejected
the accusations and claimed that no such ceremony was scheduled.
Yesterday, the city Foreign Affairs Department released an official
statement expressing its regret over the suspension of Erdogan's
visit but insisting that the alleged ceremony was never on City
Hall's schedule.
"In reference to the statements of the Foreign Ministry, we insist the
alleged ceremony as well as the placing of a bust of former Premier
Ataturk was never authorized or communicated to that Ministry or
the Turkish Embassy and it would have required a law approved by the
local legislature in order to carry it out," read the statement.
Asked by the Herald about the incident, PRO Foreign Affairs Secretary
Diego Guelar said: "The Turkish Embassy requested permission from the
Public Space Ministry to erect a monument to Ataturk about six months
ago, allegedly in replacement of an existing bust, but the ministry
confirmed there was no previous bust so the request did not progress."
Guelar claimed: "There was never any ceremony scheduled neither was
there an existing Ataturk bust to replace" and insisted such a bill
would have needed the approval of the Mayor and the city legislature.
"There was no such ceremony on the schedule of Mauricio (Macri)
for Monday," Guelar told the Herald.
"We don't know why the tribute was in the Ambassador's agenda because
it would have required a resolution signed by Macri, which he didn't,"
added the Foreign Affairs Secretary of PRO.
Guelar claimed City Hall became aware of the ceremony on Friday when
the Armenian community requested an interview with Environment and
Public Space Minister Diego Santilli to protest against the display
of the Turkish founder's bust, which was due to be unveiled in a park
at the intersection of Figueroa Alcorta and Sarmiento avenues.
The Armenian community published a paid ad in a local newspaper on
Saturday, repudiating Erdogan's visit and making reference to the
inauguration of Ataturk's statue. Later on Saturday, the Foreign
Ministry confirmed the Turkish Prime Minister had cancelled his
visit and said Erdogan took offence at "a decision by Buenos Aires
Mayor Mauricio Macri to cancel a scheduled tribute in which he was
to take part."
Foreign Ministry sources consulted by the Herald yesterday denied the
City Hall statements and insisted the ceremony was part of Erdogan's
agenda for his visit.
Sources claimed Erdogan himself told Taiana in Brazil the suspension
of the ceremony was the reason of his cancellation.
In statements to local media, Turkish Ambassador to Buenos Aires
Hayri Hayret Yalav said the procedures for the monument "started in
November, 2009 and there was no problem until yesterday (for Saturday)
when Santilli informed me in a letter that the monument would not
be placed."
News agency Reuters reported Turkey's Foreign Ministry confirmed in
a statement the two-day visit scheduled had been cancelled and blamed
the move on Armenian lobbyists.
"The trip was cancelled because written permission for the monument
given to Turkey beforehand by the Buenos Aires district was reversed
as a result of initiatives by the Armenian lobby, which is opposed
to Turkey," said the statement, adding Turkey hoped Argentina would
take steps to remove the shadow cast on Turco-Argentine relations.
According to Reuters, President Fernández de Kirchner spoke with
Erdogan to explain she could not overrule the decision, yet he found
this unacceptable and decided not to go, the statement added.
The Herald was unable to reach Turkish Embassy sources yesterday but a
brief statement was released informing the cancellation of a forum at
a downtown hotel where Erdogan was scheduled to participate, quoting
"last-minute changes in the Prime Minister's agenda."
Despite the official explanations and the exchange of accusations
between the city and national governments, several rumours spread
about the reasons behind Erdogan's cancellation.
City Hall sources which requested not to be named said the incident
"could have been a misunderstanding on the part of the Turkish Embassy,
which might have assumed the ceremony was already scheduled, despite
having received no confirmation from the city government."
On the other hand, a source from the Foreign Ministry consulted by
the Herald, who also requested that their name not be published, said
there was "a verbal agreement" between Macri and the Turkish Embassy
for the ceremony but the city administration decided to cancel it
following the protests of the Armenian community.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first Turkish President and founder of the
Republic of Turkey, is highly revered by Turks, but Armenians cite him
as one of the main culprits for the mass killing of Armenians in 1915,
known as "the Armenian Genocide."
All officials consulted agreed the cancellation was a serious incident
and an offence to the Turkish Prime Minister, comparing the situation
to a last-minute suspension of a monument to national independence
hero José de San Martín or a memorial of the Malvinas War during
the visit of an Argentine president to a foreign country.
Some observers had even cited a possible link between the cancellation
of Erdogan's visit and the nuclear fuel agreement signed by Iran --
which Brazil and Turkey have supported despite the protests from the
United States and on which Argentina has not yet taken a position.
However, all sources consulted by the Herald denied such possibility
both on and off the record.
From: A. Papazian