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TURKISH PM OFFERS UNEXPECTED CONDOLENCES FOR 1915 ARMENIAN MASSACRE
The Japan Times
April 24 2014
AFP-JIJI
ANKARA - Turkey's prime minister offered his condolences on Wednesday
over the massacre of Armenians during World War I, calling it "our
shared pain," the country's most significant overture yet on the
deeply divisive episode.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement -- on the eve of the
99th anniversary of the start of mass Armenian deportations in 1915 --
is the first such overt comment by a Turkish leader over the killings,
considered by many as the first genocide of the 20th century.
He acknowledged that the events of 1915 had "inhumane consequences"
but also said it was "inadmissible" to use them as an excuse for
hostility against Turkey today.
"The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain," said
Erdogan, in what Turkish media described as an unexpected statement
issued in several languages, including Armenian.
Armenia has been trying to get Turkey to recognize the killings of
up to 1.5 million people under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
But Turkey puts the death toll at 500,000 and says they died of
fighting and starvation during World War I, categorically rejecting
the term "genocide."
"Millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives
in the First World War," Erdogan said.
"Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences -- such as
relocation -- during the First World War, should not prevent Turks and
Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes
toward one another.
"It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
geography, who share similar customs and manners, will be able to talk
to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
their losses in a decent manner.
"And it is with this hope and belief that we wish that the Armenians
who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in
peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren," he said.
Etyen Mahcupyan, a well-known Turkish columnist of Armenian descent,
called the prime minister's statement "a first."
"It's very important. This reference to the suffering and offering
of condolences, it's a first -- symbolic even," he told broadcaster
CNN-Turk.
Washington also welcomed what it said was "Prime Minister Erdogan's
public acknowledgement of the suffering that Armenians experienced
in 1915."
"We believe this is a positive indication that there can be a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts, which we hope will
advance the cause of reconciliation between Turks and Armenians,"
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The arrest and massacre of 2,000 Armenian leaders accused of
collaborating with the Ottoman Empire's enemy Russia began in Istanbul
on April 24, 1915, and in less than a year hundreds of thousands
of people were forcibly displaced, their possessions seized and
many killed.
A century on, the killings still fuel bitter controversy, often
upsetting relations between Turkey and the West.
But there have been gradual signs of change in Turkey, with Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last year calling the events of 1915-1916 a
"mistake" and an "inhuman act" during a trip to the Armenian capital
Yerevan.
"It is indisputable that the last years of the Ottoman Empire were
a difficult period, full of suffering for Turkish, Kurdish, Arab,
Armenian and millions of other Ottoman citizens, regardless of their
religion or ethnic origin," Erdogan's statement said.
"Nevertheless, using the events of 1915 as an excuse for hostility
against Turkey and turning this issue into a matter of political
conflict is inadmissible," he added.
Erdogan's condolences came as he and his Islamic-rooted Justice
and Development Party (AKP) faces challenges on a number of other
fronts, including a damaging corruption scandal and lingering anger
from massive protests last year against what critics say is the
government's creeping authoritarianism.
But Turkey has seen strong economic growth during Erdogan's 11-year
rule, and the prime minister's party scored a sweeping victory in
local elections last month.
The nearly century-old Armenian massacre remains an extremely sensitive
issue both in Turkey and abroad. Armenia and a vocal Armenian diaspora
have lobbied for international recognition of the events as a genocide.
The issue has been a stumbling block for Turkey's long-held dream of
joining the European Union.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/04/24/world/turkish-pm-offers-unexpected-condolences-1915-armenian-massacre/#.U1mhpOJzbMw
The Japan Times
April 24 2014
AFP-JIJI
ANKARA - Turkey's prime minister offered his condolences on Wednesday
over the massacre of Armenians during World War I, calling it "our
shared pain," the country's most significant overture yet on the
deeply divisive episode.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement -- on the eve of the
99th anniversary of the start of mass Armenian deportations in 1915 --
is the first such overt comment by a Turkish leader over the killings,
considered by many as the first genocide of the 20th century.
He acknowledged that the events of 1915 had "inhumane consequences"
but also said it was "inadmissible" to use them as an excuse for
hostility against Turkey today.
"The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain," said
Erdogan, in what Turkish media described as an unexpected statement
issued in several languages, including Armenian.
Armenia has been trying to get Turkey to recognize the killings of
up to 1.5 million people under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
But Turkey puts the death toll at 500,000 and says they died of
fighting and starvation during World War I, categorically rejecting
the term "genocide."
"Millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives
in the First World War," Erdogan said.
"Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences -- such as
relocation -- during the First World War, should not prevent Turks and
Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes
toward one another.
"It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
geography, who share similar customs and manners, will be able to talk
to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
their losses in a decent manner.
"And it is with this hope and belief that we wish that the Armenians
who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in
peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren," he said.
Etyen Mahcupyan, a well-known Turkish columnist of Armenian descent,
called the prime minister's statement "a first."
"It's very important. This reference to the suffering and offering
of condolences, it's a first -- symbolic even," he told broadcaster
CNN-Turk.
Washington also welcomed what it said was "Prime Minister Erdogan's
public acknowledgement of the suffering that Armenians experienced
in 1915."
"We believe this is a positive indication that there can be a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts, which we hope will
advance the cause of reconciliation between Turks and Armenians,"
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The arrest and massacre of 2,000 Armenian leaders accused of
collaborating with the Ottoman Empire's enemy Russia began in Istanbul
on April 24, 1915, and in less than a year hundreds of thousands
of people were forcibly displaced, their possessions seized and
many killed.
A century on, the killings still fuel bitter controversy, often
upsetting relations between Turkey and the West.
But there have been gradual signs of change in Turkey, with Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last year calling the events of 1915-1916 a
"mistake" and an "inhuman act" during a trip to the Armenian capital
Yerevan.
"It is indisputable that the last years of the Ottoman Empire were
a difficult period, full of suffering for Turkish, Kurdish, Arab,
Armenian and millions of other Ottoman citizens, regardless of their
religion or ethnic origin," Erdogan's statement said.
"Nevertheless, using the events of 1915 as an excuse for hostility
against Turkey and turning this issue into a matter of political
conflict is inadmissible," he added.
Erdogan's condolences came as he and his Islamic-rooted Justice
and Development Party (AKP) faces challenges on a number of other
fronts, including a damaging corruption scandal and lingering anger
from massive protests last year against what critics say is the
government's creeping authoritarianism.
But Turkey has seen strong economic growth during Erdogan's 11-year
rule, and the prime minister's party scored a sweeping victory in
local elections last month.
The nearly century-old Armenian massacre remains an extremely sensitive
issue both in Turkey and abroad. Armenia and a vocal Armenian diaspora
have lobbied for international recognition of the events as a genocide.
The issue has been a stumbling block for Turkey's long-held dream of
joining the European Union.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/04/24/world/turkish-pm-offers-unexpected-condolences-1915-armenian-massacre/#.U1mhpOJzbMw