Tweet
ISRAELI PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE' AMID WARMING TIES
Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 23 2013
Israeli parliamentary body the Knesset is set to hold a session to
discuss mass killings of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of Ottomans,
a day after an Israeli delegation arrived in Ankara to discuss
compensation for victims of a 2010 Israeli raid on a Turkish ship.
The Israeli Haaretz daily reported on Monday that the Knesset is
scheduled to hold a special session to discuss the "Armenian genocide
at this sensitive time," while the Israeli delegation is in Ankara
trying to hammer out a deal over compensation to families of the Mavi
Marmara victims.
Eight Turks and one Turkish American were killed and several other
pro-Palestinian activists were wounded when Israeli commandos stormed
the Mavi Marmara while stopping an international flotilla trying to
breach a blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident increased tensions
between the once close allies and led to a break in relations.
Last month, US President Barack Obama brokered a rapprochement between
the two countries, both of which Washington regards as strategic
partners in the turbulent Middle East. Israel offered an apology and
compensation for the May 31, 2010 raid, and the Turkish and Israeli
leaders agreed to try to normalize their relationship.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since warned, however,
that the restoration of full-fledged diplomatic ties would come only
after compensation is paid to the surviving victims of the flotilla
raids and the relatives of the dead, and would be dependent on Israel
ending all commercial restrictions on the Palestinians.
A group led by the Israeli prime minister's national security adviser,
Yaakov Amidror, and by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun
Sinirlioglu met in the Turkish capital, Ankara, for talks that could
lead to an exchange of ambassadors between the two countries and
other diplomatic moves.
However, while efforts to restore ties between the two former allies
have accelerated, the Israeli parliament is moving to discuss the
Armenian "genocide," a day before the so-called Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day.
"Members of Knesset will have to decide between the benefits of
the strategic relationship with Turkey and the moral duty not to
ignore the Armenian genocide that occurred in the last century,"
deputy Reuven Rivlin, a former Knesset speaker, told a delegation
from Turkey at the Knesset on Monday, Haaretz reported.
"I think that as human beings and as Jews we must not ignore the
tragedies of other nations and must continue making this point,
regardless of our friendly relationship with Turkey," he added.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments in several
countries, says about 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is now
eastern Turkey during World War I in a deliberate policy of genocide
ordered by the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Empire dissolved after
the end of the war, but successive Turkish governments and the vast
majority of Turks take the charge of genocide as a direct insult to
national pride. Ankara argues there was a heavy loss of life on both
sides during fighting in the area.
Rivlin said apologizing to Turkey on the Mavi Marmara incident was
understandable because of the need for strategic and diplomatic
relations, but it was unconscionable that the Knesset would ignore
the Armenian genocide for these reasons.
"This isn't an accusation aimed at Turkey today, or at the current
Turkish government. It is precisely because we are Israelis and
have heard denials of the atrocities that befell us that I think
the Knesset couldn't possibly ignore this tragedy, which has solid,
established historical facts," Rivlin said, according to Haaretz.
"We find it hard to forgive when other nations ignore our tragedy,
and we must not ignore the tragedy of another nation. This is our
moral duty as human beings and as Jews," he concluded.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=7EEFCB2FB 27963901E991A3C3816B052?newsId=313446&columnistId= 0
Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 23 2013
Israeli parliamentary body the Knesset is set to hold a session to
discuss mass killings of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of Ottomans,
a day after an Israeli delegation arrived in Ankara to discuss
compensation for victims of a 2010 Israeli raid on a Turkish ship.
The Israeli Haaretz daily reported on Monday that the Knesset is
scheduled to hold a special session to discuss the "Armenian genocide
at this sensitive time," while the Israeli delegation is in Ankara
trying to hammer out a deal over compensation to families of the Mavi
Marmara victims.
Eight Turks and one Turkish American were killed and several other
pro-Palestinian activists were wounded when Israeli commandos stormed
the Mavi Marmara while stopping an international flotilla trying to
breach a blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident increased tensions
between the once close allies and led to a break in relations.
Last month, US President Barack Obama brokered a rapprochement between
the two countries, both of which Washington regards as strategic
partners in the turbulent Middle East. Israel offered an apology and
compensation for the May 31, 2010 raid, and the Turkish and Israeli
leaders agreed to try to normalize their relationship.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since warned, however,
that the restoration of full-fledged diplomatic ties would come only
after compensation is paid to the surviving victims of the flotilla
raids and the relatives of the dead, and would be dependent on Israel
ending all commercial restrictions on the Palestinians.
A group led by the Israeli prime minister's national security adviser,
Yaakov Amidror, and by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun
Sinirlioglu met in the Turkish capital, Ankara, for talks that could
lead to an exchange of ambassadors between the two countries and
other diplomatic moves.
However, while efforts to restore ties between the two former allies
have accelerated, the Israeli parliament is moving to discuss the
Armenian "genocide," a day before the so-called Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day.
"Members of Knesset will have to decide between the benefits of
the strategic relationship with Turkey and the moral duty not to
ignore the Armenian genocide that occurred in the last century,"
deputy Reuven Rivlin, a former Knesset speaker, told a delegation
from Turkey at the Knesset on Monday, Haaretz reported.
"I think that as human beings and as Jews we must not ignore the
tragedies of other nations and must continue making this point,
regardless of our friendly relationship with Turkey," he added.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments in several
countries, says about 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is now
eastern Turkey during World War I in a deliberate policy of genocide
ordered by the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Empire dissolved after
the end of the war, but successive Turkish governments and the vast
majority of Turks take the charge of genocide as a direct insult to
national pride. Ankara argues there was a heavy loss of life on both
sides during fighting in the area.
Rivlin said apologizing to Turkey on the Mavi Marmara incident was
understandable because of the need for strategic and diplomatic
relations, but it was unconscionable that the Knesset would ignore
the Armenian genocide for these reasons.
"This isn't an accusation aimed at Turkey today, or at the current
Turkish government. It is precisely because we are Israelis and
have heard denials of the atrocities that befell us that I think
the Knesset couldn't possibly ignore this tragedy, which has solid,
established historical facts," Rivlin said, according to Haaretz.
"We find it hard to forgive when other nations ignore our tragedy,
and we must not ignore the tragedy of another nation. This is our
moral duty as human beings and as Jews," he concluded.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=7EEFCB2FB 27963901E991A3C3816B052?newsId=313446&columnistId= 0