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TURKEY TO DISREGARD EUROPEAN DEBATE ON ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE'
Deutsche Welle, Germany
April 15 2015
The European Parliament is due to vote on a resolution defining the
deaths of Armenians in World War I as "genocide." But Turkish President
Erdogan has said the words would "go in one ear and out the other"
in Ankara.
The European Parliament is set to debate a resolution on Wednesday,
to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of as many as 1.5 million
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The authors of the motion called
the event "Armenian genocide" in the document.
"Whatever decision the European Parliament takes on Armenian genocide
claims, it would go in one ear and out the other," Turkish President
Erdogan told a news conference on Wednesday, before departing on an
official visit to Kazakhstan.
Turkey is strongly opposed to qualifying the deaths as genocide,
saying that hundreds of thousands of both Turks and Christian Armenians
lost their lives in the struggle between the Ottoman forces and the
Russian Empire over eastern Anatolia during in World War I.
Erdogan added that it would not be possible for Turkey, which inherited
the Ottoman Empire, "to accept such sin or crime."
Erdogan warns the pope
The debate about the tragedy has been raging for decades. The European
Parliament first formally defined the killings as genocide back in
1987, and twenty countries including France, Italy and Russia share
that view, alongside a significant number of historians.
Earlier this week, Pope Francis described the 1915 event as genocide,
prompting Istanbul to recall their envoy to the Holy See in protest.
The Turkish government also summoned the Vatican ambassador in
Istanbul, with President Erdogan accusing the Pope of spouting
"nonsense."
"We will not allow historical incidents to be taken out of their
genuine context and be used as a tool to campaign against our country,"
Erdogan said in a speech to a business group. "I condemn the pope
and would like to warn him not to make similar mistakes again."
The United States called for "full, frank" acknowledgement of the
mass killings on Tuesday, without calling them "genocide".
The German parliament is also set to discuss the issue later this
month; the debate has added significance in Berlin, as the Ottoman
Empire was allied to Germany during the First World War.
'Not possible to understand'
On Wednesday, Erdogan also pointed out that Turkey is a home to some
100,000 Armenian citizens. Some of them work in the country illegally,
the Turkish president said, and are never mistreated. There are also
around 60,000 Turkish Armenians, mostly based in Istanbul.
"Both citizens and non-citizen Armenians are enjoying the opportunities
of our country. We could have deported them, but we didn't," Erdogan
said. "We're still hosting them in our country. It is not possible to
understand such a stance against a country which displays hospitality."
Armenia and Armenians around the world claim their forefathers died
in an organized eradication campaign by Ottoman forces. They intend
to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy on April 24.
http://www.dw.de/turkey-to-disregard-european-debate-on-armenian-genocide/a-18385219
Deutsche Welle, Germany
April 15 2015
The European Parliament is due to vote on a resolution defining the
deaths of Armenians in World War I as "genocide." But Turkish President
Erdogan has said the words would "go in one ear and out the other"
in Ankara.
The European Parliament is set to debate a resolution on Wednesday,
to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of as many as 1.5 million
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The authors of the motion called
the event "Armenian genocide" in the document.
"Whatever decision the European Parliament takes on Armenian genocide
claims, it would go in one ear and out the other," Turkish President
Erdogan told a news conference on Wednesday, before departing on an
official visit to Kazakhstan.
Turkey is strongly opposed to qualifying the deaths as genocide,
saying that hundreds of thousands of both Turks and Christian Armenians
lost their lives in the struggle between the Ottoman forces and the
Russian Empire over eastern Anatolia during in World War I.
Erdogan added that it would not be possible for Turkey, which inherited
the Ottoman Empire, "to accept such sin or crime."
Erdogan warns the pope
The debate about the tragedy has been raging for decades. The European
Parliament first formally defined the killings as genocide back in
1987, and twenty countries including France, Italy and Russia share
that view, alongside a significant number of historians.
Earlier this week, Pope Francis described the 1915 event as genocide,
prompting Istanbul to recall their envoy to the Holy See in protest.
The Turkish government also summoned the Vatican ambassador in
Istanbul, with President Erdogan accusing the Pope of spouting
"nonsense."
"We will not allow historical incidents to be taken out of their
genuine context and be used as a tool to campaign against our country,"
Erdogan said in a speech to a business group. "I condemn the pope
and would like to warn him not to make similar mistakes again."
The United States called for "full, frank" acknowledgement of the
mass killings on Tuesday, without calling them "genocide".
The German parliament is also set to discuss the issue later this
month; the debate has added significance in Berlin, as the Ottoman
Empire was allied to Germany during the First World War.
'Not possible to understand'
On Wednesday, Erdogan also pointed out that Turkey is a home to some
100,000 Armenian citizens. Some of them work in the country illegally,
the Turkish president said, and are never mistreated. There are also
around 60,000 Turkish Armenians, mostly based in Istanbul.
"Both citizens and non-citizen Armenians are enjoying the opportunities
of our country. We could have deported them, but we didn't," Erdogan
said. "We're still hosting them in our country. It is not possible to
understand such a stance against a country which displays hospitality."
Armenia and Armenians around the world claim their forefathers died
in an organized eradication campaign by Ottoman forces. They intend
to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy on April 24.
http://www.dw.de/turkey-to-disregard-european-debate-on-armenian-genocide/a-18385219