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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CALL 1915 ARMENIAN KILLINGS GENOCIDE
Al-Arabiya, UAE
April 16 2015
By Adrian Croft and Ayla Jean Yackley | Reuters, Brussels/Istanbul
Thursday, 16 April 2015
The European Parliament backed a motion on Wednesday that calls the
massacre a century ago of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman
Turkish forces a "genocide", days after Pope Francis triggered fury
in Turkey by using the same term.
Although the resolution repeated language previously adopted by the
parliament in 1987, it could stoke tensions with EU candidate nation
Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said even before the vote
took place that he would ignore the result.
After the vote, the Turkish foreign ministry accused the European
Parliament of attempting to rewrite history.
Muslim Turkey agrees that Christian Armenians were killed in clashes
with Ottoman forces that began on April 15, 1915, when large numbers
of Armenians lived in the empire ruled by Istanbul, but denies that
this amounted to genocide.
Armenia, some Western historians and foreign parliaments refer to
the mass killings as genocide.
Voting by show of hands, European lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the
motion stating that the "tragic events that took place in 1915-1917
against the Armenians in the territory of the Ottoman Empire represent
a genocide".
Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian hailed the resolution
as a move aimed at defending human rights.
"The Resolution contains an important message to Turkey to use the
commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide to come to
terms with its past, to recognize the Armenian Genocide and thus pave
the way for a genuine reconciliation between Turkish and Armenian
peoples," he said in a statement.
Pope Francis sparked a diplomatic row last Sunday by calling the
killings "the first genocide of the 20th century". His remarks
prompted Turkey to summon the Vatican's ambassador to the Holy See
and to recall its own.
The European Parliament sprang to the pope's defense, commending the
message the pontiff delivered at the weekend.
"In one ear, out the other"
Turkey is a candidate country to join the 28-nation EU but accession
talks have dragged on for years with little progress.
Earlier, Erdogan told a news conference that "whatever decision the
European Parliament took on Armenian genocide claims would "go in
one ear and out the other".
"It is out of the question for there to be a stain, a shadow called
'genocide', on Turkey," he said at Ankara airport before departing
on a visit to Kazakhstan.
Last year, when he was Turkey's prime minister, Erdogan offered what
his government said were unprecedented condolences to the grandchildren
of Armenians killed during World War One.
Wednesday's resolution said such statements were a step in the right
direction, but legislators urged Turkey to go further.
In a statement after the vote, Turkey's foreign ministry said lawmakers
who backed the resolution were in partnership with "those who have
nothing to do with European values and are feeding on hatred, revenge
and the culture of conflict".
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/16/European-Parliament-votes-to-call-1915-Armenian-killings-genocide.html
Al-Arabiya, UAE
April 16 2015
By Adrian Croft and Ayla Jean Yackley | Reuters, Brussels/Istanbul
Thursday, 16 April 2015
The European Parliament backed a motion on Wednesday that calls the
massacre a century ago of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman
Turkish forces a "genocide", days after Pope Francis triggered fury
in Turkey by using the same term.
Although the resolution repeated language previously adopted by the
parliament in 1987, it could stoke tensions with EU candidate nation
Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said even before the vote
took place that he would ignore the result.
After the vote, the Turkish foreign ministry accused the European
Parliament of attempting to rewrite history.
Muslim Turkey agrees that Christian Armenians were killed in clashes
with Ottoman forces that began on April 15, 1915, when large numbers
of Armenians lived in the empire ruled by Istanbul, but denies that
this amounted to genocide.
Armenia, some Western historians and foreign parliaments refer to
the mass killings as genocide.
Voting by show of hands, European lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the
motion stating that the "tragic events that took place in 1915-1917
against the Armenians in the territory of the Ottoman Empire represent
a genocide".
Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian hailed the resolution
as a move aimed at defending human rights.
"The Resolution contains an important message to Turkey to use the
commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide to come to
terms with its past, to recognize the Armenian Genocide and thus pave
the way for a genuine reconciliation between Turkish and Armenian
peoples," he said in a statement.
Pope Francis sparked a diplomatic row last Sunday by calling the
killings "the first genocide of the 20th century". His remarks
prompted Turkey to summon the Vatican's ambassador to the Holy See
and to recall its own.
The European Parliament sprang to the pope's defense, commending the
message the pontiff delivered at the weekend.
"In one ear, out the other"
Turkey is a candidate country to join the 28-nation EU but accession
talks have dragged on for years with little progress.
Earlier, Erdogan told a news conference that "whatever decision the
European Parliament took on Armenian genocide claims would "go in
one ear and out the other".
"It is out of the question for there to be a stain, a shadow called
'genocide', on Turkey," he said at Ankara airport before departing
on a visit to Kazakhstan.
Last year, when he was Turkey's prime minister, Erdogan offered what
his government said were unprecedented condolences to the grandchildren
of Armenians killed during World War One.
Wednesday's resolution said such statements were a step in the right
direction, but legislators urged Turkey to go further.
In a statement after the vote, Turkey's foreign ministry said lawmakers
who backed the resolution were in partnership with "those who have
nothing to do with European values and are feeding on hatred, revenge
and the culture of conflict".
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/16/European-Parliament-votes-to-call-1915-Armenian-killings-genocide.html