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TURKEY MAY DEPORT ILLEGAL ARMENIAN IMMIGRANTS
Press TV
March 18 2010
Iran
Turkey's prime minister has threatened to expel 100,000 illegal
Armenian immigrants from his country, as the row over the World War
I massacre of Armenians intensifies.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that action could be taken if foreign
parliaments followed US suit by recognizing the massacre of Armenians
by the Ottomans as genocide.
"In my country there are 170,000 Armenians; 70,000 of them are
citizens. We are turning a blind eye to the remaining 100,000," Recep
Tayyip Erdogan told the BBC Turkish service late on Tuesday while on
a visit to London.
"So, what am I going to do tomorrow? I may tell these 100,000 to go
back to their country, if it becomes necessary," he added.
Turkey recalled its ambassadors to Washington and Stockholm earlier
this month after US and Swedish lawmakers passed votes branding the
killing of Armenians as genocide.
Ankara reacted to the move by warning that the decision could hurt a
fragile effort to reconcile with Armenia after a century of hostility.
In the interview, Erdogan said the Armenian diaspora has pushed the
resolutions in the United States and Sweden and called on Armenia
and other foreign governments to avoid being swayed by their lobbying.
Erdogan's Tuesday comments, however, did not go down well in Yerevan,
where the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarksyan described them as a
"political statement" that could not help improve relations between
the two neighboring states.
"I agree with the assessment that when the Turkish prime minister
allows himself to make such statements, the events of 1915 immediately
return to our memory," he added.
Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia signed historic accords last
year to establish diplomatic ties and open their border, thanks to
Erdogan's determination to champion a policy of reconciliation with
Armenia in spite of domestic objection.
Analysts believe the Turkish prime minister's latest outburst probably
has more to do with domestic political pressure than foreign policy,
as he sees himself being accused of losing the genocide dispute.
Press TV
March 18 2010
Iran
Turkey's prime minister has threatened to expel 100,000 illegal
Armenian immigrants from his country, as the row over the World War
I massacre of Armenians intensifies.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that action could be taken if foreign
parliaments followed US suit by recognizing the massacre of Armenians
by the Ottomans as genocide.
"In my country there are 170,000 Armenians; 70,000 of them are
citizens. We are turning a blind eye to the remaining 100,000," Recep
Tayyip Erdogan told the BBC Turkish service late on Tuesday while on
a visit to London.
"So, what am I going to do tomorrow? I may tell these 100,000 to go
back to their country, if it becomes necessary," he added.
Turkey recalled its ambassadors to Washington and Stockholm earlier
this month after US and Swedish lawmakers passed votes branding the
killing of Armenians as genocide.
Ankara reacted to the move by warning that the decision could hurt a
fragile effort to reconcile with Armenia after a century of hostility.
In the interview, Erdogan said the Armenian diaspora has pushed the
resolutions in the United States and Sweden and called on Armenia
and other foreign governments to avoid being swayed by their lobbying.
Erdogan's Tuesday comments, however, did not go down well in Yerevan,
where the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarksyan described them as a
"political statement" that could not help improve relations between
the two neighboring states.
"I agree with the assessment that when the Turkish prime minister
allows himself to make such statements, the events of 1915 immediately
return to our memory," he added.
Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia signed historic accords last
year to establish diplomatic ties and open their border, thanks to
Erdogan's determination to champion a policy of reconciliation with
Armenia in spite of domestic objection.
Analysts believe the Turkish prime minister's latest outburst probably
has more to do with domestic political pressure than foreign policy,
as he sees himself being accused of losing the genocide dispute.