Tweet
The Australian
May 10 2013
Turkey furious at massacre motion
BY:MARK COULTAN, NSW POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian May
11, 2013 12:00AM
PREMIER Barry O'Farrell has been drawn into a diplomatic row after the
NSW parliament condemned a Turkish massacre of Armenians, Greeks and
Assyrians during World War I and claimed Anzac prisoners of war
witnessed the genocide.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry furiously condemned the upper house
motion, calling it "hate speech" and said it was "in no way compatible
with historic facts". It also threatened to withhold permission for
proponents of the motion to attend Gallipoli commemorations.
A slightly edited version of the motion, without reference to Anzac
POWs, was moved in the lower house by Mr O'Farrell and supported by
Opposition Leader John Robertson.
The Turkish government disputes the use of the term genocide for
events starting in 1915 when hundreds of thousands of Armenians,
Assyrian and Greeks were killed or sent on death marches.
The motion, which was initially moved by upper house Christian
Democrat Fred Nile, had been passed through the NSW parliament when
many MPs were not there, and was presented as a fait accompli by a
"local politician, whose antagonism to Turkey . . . is well known", a
statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry read.
"Proponents of such initiatives aimed at dealing a blow to the very
special relations that exist between our peoples will doubtlessly be
deprived of the hospitality and friendship that we will never withhold
from the people of Australia.
"These persons who try to damage the spirit of Canakkale/Gallipoli
will also not have their place in the Canakkale ceremonies where we
commemorate together our sons lying side by side in our soil."
Turkish consul-general Gulseren Celik wrote to the parliament saying
Australia had nothing to gain by keeping historically controversial
events alive or "dragging the past along to places where it does not
belong".
"This approach will only sow the seeds of hatred among the
multi-ethic, multicultural communities of which Australia is so
proud," she said.
She said only 67 prisoners captured at Gallipoli were imprisoned in
western Anatolia and they could not have witnessed such events. Such
statements were an attempt to hijack the bonds between Australia and
Turkey.
"This will severely damage Turkish-Australian relations," she wrote.
Unlike Reverend Nile's motion, the Premier's motion did not call on
the Australian government to condemn the genocides.
It also omitted claims that Anzacs witnessed the massacres but said
Anzacs helped survivors.
Reverend Nile said his motion referred to the Ottoman Empire and not
the modern state of Turkey.
He said he had friendly relations with the Turkish community and was
regularly invited to their functions.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/turkey-furious-at-massacre-motion/story-fn59niix-1226639690285
May 10 2013
Turkey furious at massacre motion
BY:MARK COULTAN, NSW POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian May
11, 2013 12:00AM
PREMIER Barry O'Farrell has been drawn into a diplomatic row after the
NSW parliament condemned a Turkish massacre of Armenians, Greeks and
Assyrians during World War I and claimed Anzac prisoners of war
witnessed the genocide.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry furiously condemned the upper house
motion, calling it "hate speech" and said it was "in no way compatible
with historic facts". It also threatened to withhold permission for
proponents of the motion to attend Gallipoli commemorations.
A slightly edited version of the motion, without reference to Anzac
POWs, was moved in the lower house by Mr O'Farrell and supported by
Opposition Leader John Robertson.
The Turkish government disputes the use of the term genocide for
events starting in 1915 when hundreds of thousands of Armenians,
Assyrian and Greeks were killed or sent on death marches.
The motion, which was initially moved by upper house Christian
Democrat Fred Nile, had been passed through the NSW parliament when
many MPs were not there, and was presented as a fait accompli by a
"local politician, whose antagonism to Turkey . . . is well known", a
statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry read.
"Proponents of such initiatives aimed at dealing a blow to the very
special relations that exist between our peoples will doubtlessly be
deprived of the hospitality and friendship that we will never withhold
from the people of Australia.
"These persons who try to damage the spirit of Canakkale/Gallipoli
will also not have their place in the Canakkale ceremonies where we
commemorate together our sons lying side by side in our soil."
Turkish consul-general Gulseren Celik wrote to the parliament saying
Australia had nothing to gain by keeping historically controversial
events alive or "dragging the past along to places where it does not
belong".
"This approach will only sow the seeds of hatred among the
multi-ethic, multicultural communities of which Australia is so
proud," she said.
She said only 67 prisoners captured at Gallipoli were imprisoned in
western Anatolia and they could not have witnessed such events. Such
statements were an attempt to hijack the bonds between Australia and
Turkey.
"This will severely damage Turkish-Australian relations," she wrote.
Unlike Reverend Nile's motion, the Premier's motion did not call on
the Australian government to condemn the genocides.
It also omitted claims that Anzacs witnessed the massacres but said
Anzacs helped survivors.
Reverend Nile said his motion referred to the Ottoman Empire and not
the modern state of Turkey.
He said he had friendly relations with the Turkish community and was
regularly invited to their functions.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/turkey-furious-at-massacre-motion/story-fn59niix-1226639690285