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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 24 2011
CHP leader fails to apologize for Dersim, calls for opening state archives
24 November 2011, Thursday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
Responding to questions by reporters on Wednesday, CHP leader Kemal
KılıçdaroÄ?lu accused the government of exploiting the history of the
Dersim tragedy for political gain. (Photo: AA)
In the face of a call from the prime minister for his party to
apologize for a massacre in Dersim during the 1930s, main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu on Thursday
failed to an offer apology, but called on the government to release
documents from the state archives that pertain to Dersim.
KılıçdaroÄ?lu responded to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, who on
Wednesday apologized for the Dersim Massacre on behalf of the Turkish
state but accused the CHP of being the actual culprit and called on
the party to offer an apology as well. The CHP leader said during a
party meeting on Thursday that ErdoÄ?an's apology was not enough and
asked the prime minister to open state archives.
However, KılıçdaroÄ?lu stopped short of apologizing for the massacre on
behalf of the CHP, which was part of the single-party government at
the time. `Why are not you opening the archives of the Turkish
Republic? An earlier proposal we filed [to open the archives] in 2002
was rejected by the [Justice and Development Party] AK Party. You have
to be sincere in facing up to history. I had also asked the prime
minister to offer an apology [for Dersim]. He then said he could not.
Anyway, he apologized yesterday [Wednesday]. But offering an apology
is not enough,' he said.
Referring to some archival documents regarding the massacre in Dersim
and which were made public by ErdoÄ?an on Wednesday, KılıçdaroÄ?lu said
the documents were not unknown to the public. `Opening state archives
is not enough, as well,' KılıçdaroÄ?lu continued, saying the state
should return the property of people from Dersim who were deported.
`[The people of] Dersim will not let the AK Party exploit their pain.
They cannot,' he added.
The much-debated Dersim massacre concerns the deaths of tens of
thousands of Alevis at the hands of the military in 1937. According to
a document ErdoÄ?an revealed on Wednesday, which was dated 1939, a
total of 13,806 people were killed in operations carried out against
the people of Dersim between 1936 and 1939.
Nov 24 2011
CHP leader fails to apologize for Dersim, calls for opening state archives
24 November 2011, Thursday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
Responding to questions by reporters on Wednesday, CHP leader Kemal
KılıçdaroÄ?lu accused the government of exploiting the history of the
Dersim tragedy for political gain. (Photo: AA)
In the face of a call from the prime minister for his party to
apologize for a massacre in Dersim during the 1930s, main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu on Thursday
failed to an offer apology, but called on the government to release
documents from the state archives that pertain to Dersim.
KılıçdaroÄ?lu responded to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, who on
Wednesday apologized for the Dersim Massacre on behalf of the Turkish
state but accused the CHP of being the actual culprit and called on
the party to offer an apology as well. The CHP leader said during a
party meeting on Thursday that ErdoÄ?an's apology was not enough and
asked the prime minister to open state archives.
However, KılıçdaroÄ?lu stopped short of apologizing for the massacre on
behalf of the CHP, which was part of the single-party government at
the time. `Why are not you opening the archives of the Turkish
Republic? An earlier proposal we filed [to open the archives] in 2002
was rejected by the [Justice and Development Party] AK Party. You have
to be sincere in facing up to history. I had also asked the prime
minister to offer an apology [for Dersim]. He then said he could not.
Anyway, he apologized yesterday [Wednesday]. But offering an apology
is not enough,' he said.
Referring to some archival documents regarding the massacre in Dersim
and which were made public by ErdoÄ?an on Wednesday, KılıçdaroÄ?lu said
the documents were not unknown to the public. `Opening state archives
is not enough, as well,' KılıçdaroÄ?lu continued, saying the state
should return the property of people from Dersim who were deported.
`[The people of] Dersim will not let the AK Party exploit their pain.
They cannot,' he added.
The much-debated Dersim massacre concerns the deaths of tens of
thousands of Alevis at the hands of the military in 1937. According to
a document ErdoÄ?an revealed on Wednesday, which was dated 1939, a
total of 13,806 people were killed in operations carried out against
the people of Dersim between 1936 and 1939.