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TURKEY WELCOMES PALESTINE'S ICC MEMBERSHIP
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 9 2015
'The Israel-Palestine problem should be resolved in a comprehensive
manner, and the peace process should be reactivated,' Foreign
Ministry says.
ANKARA (AA) -Turkey has welcomed Palestine's official membership to
the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
In remarks made at the weekly press briefing Thursday, Turkish Foreign
Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said: "This decision of Palestine
should be considered within the framework of sovereignty principle
and must be respected."
Palestine automatically joined the Rome Statute on April 1 two months
after the country filed its membership request at the UN. Palestine
can now request to have Israeli leaders referred to the court for
alleged war crimes committed on Palestinian soil.
"The Israel-Palestine problem should be resolved in a comprehensive
and persistent manner, and the peace process should be reactivated,"
Bilgic said.
He urged United Nations Security Council members and the international
community to fulfil their obligations over the issue.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It
later annexed the historic city of Jerusalem in 1980, claiming it as
the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state in a move that has
never been officially recognized by the international community.
Palestinians accuse Israel of waging an aggressive campaign to
"Judaize" the city with the aim of effacing its Arab and Islamic
identity, and ultimately driving out its Palestinian inhabitants.
The spokesman also spoke about last week's evacuation operations to
save Turkish people trapped in Yemen, saying "a total of 48 Turks
remain in Yemen right now; 36 in Sana'a and 12 in Aden."
Bilgic also mentioned that some Turks had "willfully" decided to stay
put in Yemen.
A total of 230 people, including Turkish citizens, were flown to
Istanbul on Sunday from Yemen, which has been in turmoil since
September, when the Houthi militia overran the Yemeni capital of
Sana'a.
Several Arab states have joined the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen,
which began on March 25 with a string of airstrikes on Houthi militia
positions.
Bilgic touched upon the issue of foreigners joining militant groups
in Syria and Iraq. He said a workshop meeting to tackle the issue
was held in Istanbul on April 7 under the co-chairmanship of the
Netherlands and Turkey.
When asked about the upcoming so-called "Armenian genocide motions"
to be voted in the European Parliament and in the Netherlands, Bilgic
said Turkish authorities had conveyed Turkey's concerns to the head
of European Parliament, Martin Schulz.
"Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has already said that no parliament
can have a resolution on the issue and explained that this must be
left to historians," he said.
He also said that Turkish-origin people in the Netherlands too had
spoken against such a move and gave their message to the Dutch Foreign
Minister Bart Koenders that such a resolution was not in the interest
of its government.
The 1915 incidents took place during World War I when a portion of
the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted against the empire.
A decision by the Ottoman Empire to relocate Armenians in eastern
Anatolia followed the revolts and there were some Armenian casualties
during the relocation process.
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey
officially refutes Armenian allegations over the incidents, saying
that, although Armenians died during relocations, many Turks also
lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
The debate and differing opinions between the present day Turkish
government and the Armenian diaspora, along with the current
administration in Yerevan, still generates political tension between
Turks and Armenians.
From: Baghdasarian
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 9 2015
'The Israel-Palestine problem should be resolved in a comprehensive
manner, and the peace process should be reactivated,' Foreign
Ministry says.
ANKARA (AA) -Turkey has welcomed Palestine's official membership to
the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
In remarks made at the weekly press briefing Thursday, Turkish Foreign
Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said: "This decision of Palestine
should be considered within the framework of sovereignty principle
and must be respected."
Palestine automatically joined the Rome Statute on April 1 two months
after the country filed its membership request at the UN. Palestine
can now request to have Israeli leaders referred to the court for
alleged war crimes committed on Palestinian soil.
"The Israel-Palestine problem should be resolved in a comprehensive
and persistent manner, and the peace process should be reactivated,"
Bilgic said.
He urged United Nations Security Council members and the international
community to fulfil their obligations over the issue.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It
later annexed the historic city of Jerusalem in 1980, claiming it as
the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state in a move that has
never been officially recognized by the international community.
Palestinians accuse Israel of waging an aggressive campaign to
"Judaize" the city with the aim of effacing its Arab and Islamic
identity, and ultimately driving out its Palestinian inhabitants.
The spokesman also spoke about last week's evacuation operations to
save Turkish people trapped in Yemen, saying "a total of 48 Turks
remain in Yemen right now; 36 in Sana'a and 12 in Aden."
Bilgic also mentioned that some Turks had "willfully" decided to stay
put in Yemen.
A total of 230 people, including Turkish citizens, were flown to
Istanbul on Sunday from Yemen, which has been in turmoil since
September, when the Houthi militia overran the Yemeni capital of
Sana'a.
Several Arab states have joined the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen,
which began on March 25 with a string of airstrikes on Houthi militia
positions.
Bilgic touched upon the issue of foreigners joining militant groups
in Syria and Iraq. He said a workshop meeting to tackle the issue
was held in Istanbul on April 7 under the co-chairmanship of the
Netherlands and Turkey.
When asked about the upcoming so-called "Armenian genocide motions"
to be voted in the European Parliament and in the Netherlands, Bilgic
said Turkish authorities had conveyed Turkey's concerns to the head
of European Parliament, Martin Schulz.
"Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has already said that no parliament
can have a resolution on the issue and explained that this must be
left to historians," he said.
He also said that Turkish-origin people in the Netherlands too had
spoken against such a move and gave their message to the Dutch Foreign
Minister Bart Koenders that such a resolution was not in the interest
of its government.
The 1915 incidents took place during World War I when a portion of
the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted against the empire.
A decision by the Ottoman Empire to relocate Armenians in eastern
Anatolia followed the revolts and there were some Armenian casualties
during the relocation process.
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey
officially refutes Armenian allegations over the incidents, saying
that, although Armenians died during relocations, many Turks also
lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
The debate and differing opinions between the present day Turkish
government and the Armenian diaspora, along with the current
administration in Yerevan, still generates political tension between
Turks and Armenians.
From: Baghdasarian