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Sweden Angers Turkey With Genocide Vote

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  • Sweden Angers Turkey With Genocide Vote

    Assyrian International News Agency AINA
    March 13 2010

    Sweden Angers Turkey With Genocide Vote


    A diplomatic row is brewing between Sweden and Turkey after Sweden's
    parliament yesterday voted to describe the 1915 killing of Armenians,
    Assyrians, Greeks and Syrians by Turkey as genocide.

    This morning, Sweden's ambassador to Turkey was called to the Turkish
    foreign ministry to explain the decision. Yesterday, Turkey recalled
    its ambassador to Sweden and Recep Tayyip ErdoÃ?Â?an, Turkey's prime
    minister, cancelled a planned visit to the Scandinavian country.

    According to historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
    the Ottomans around the time of First World War, but Turkey denies
    that the deaths constituted genocide, claiming that the death toll has
    been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

    The vote in Sweden has divided the country's political parties ahead
    of a general election later this year and is seen as a victory for
    Sweden's centre-left opposition. The vote was passed by 131 votes to
    130 after four centre-right MPs voted with the centre-left.

    Gulan Avci, a member of the centre-right Moderate Party who is of
    Turkish decent and voted against her own party, said it was "time for
    people who have suffered so long to obtain redress".

    Hans Linde, a member of the Left Party, said it was not the role of
    politicians to write history, but that they should "call things by
    their right names".

    Abdullah G�¼l, Turkey's president, yesterday said that the resolution
    approved by the Swedish parliament "did not have any credibility".
    Zerg�¼n Korut�¼rk, Turkey's ambassador to Sweden, said she felt "very,
    very betrayed" by the Swedish parliament.

    Members of the Swedish government warned that the vote, which came a
    week after the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee
    approved a similar resolution, could affect trade between the two
    countries.

    Carl Bildt, the foreign minister, said that he regretted the
    parliament's decision: "It is wrong to politicise history in this way
    and it will worsen Sweden's possibilities to work for reconciliation
    between the two sides."

    According to Bildt, CHP, Turkey's main opposition party, has now
    demanded an end to ongoing reconciliation talks between Turkey and
    Armenia. "This is exactly the type of consequence I feared," Bildt
    said. "[The vote] is hijacked by elements hostile to reform in both
    Turkey and Armenia.

    But Bildt said he did not believe that the Swedish parliament's vote
    would affect Turkey's EU membership bid.

    By Jarle Hetland
    www.europeanvoice.com
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