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TURKEY SHARES ARMENIANS' PAIN OVER OTTOMAN-ERA KILLINGS: PM
22:04, 20 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Turkey shares the pain of Armenians whose parents or grandparents were
killed under the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday, AFP reports.
"We once again respectfully remember and share the pain of
grandchildren and children of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives
during deportation in 1915," Davutoglu said in a statement released
by his office to mark the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.
Davutoglu made clear once more in the statement that Turkey did not
accept the word genocide to describe the killings.
"To reduce everything to a single word, to put responsibility through
generalisations on the Turkish nation alone... is legally and morally
problematic," he said.
The relatively conciliatory tone of the statement contrasts with the
furious reaction from Ankara early this month when Pope Francis used
the term genocide to describe the killings.
Davutoglu had on April 12 lashed out at Francis for what he described
as "inappropriate" and "one-sided" comments on the issue.
The latest statement said the "Ottoman Armenians" would be remembered
at a service to be held at the Armenian patriarchate in Istanbul on
April 24.
Davutoglu said Turks and Armenians should "heal their wounds from
that century and reestablish their human relations".
The statement builds on an expression of condolences issued by
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while he was still prime minister in
April 2014.
In that statement, Erdogan described the killings as "our shared pain"
in what was the weightiest statement yet from a Turkish leader on
the issue.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/20/turkey-shares-armenians-pain-over-ottoman-era-killings-pm/
22:04, 20 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Turkey shares the pain of Armenians whose parents or grandparents were
killed under the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday, AFP reports.
"We once again respectfully remember and share the pain of
grandchildren and children of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives
during deportation in 1915," Davutoglu said in a statement released
by his office to mark the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.
Davutoglu made clear once more in the statement that Turkey did not
accept the word genocide to describe the killings.
"To reduce everything to a single word, to put responsibility through
generalisations on the Turkish nation alone... is legally and morally
problematic," he said.
The relatively conciliatory tone of the statement contrasts with the
furious reaction from Ankara early this month when Pope Francis used
the term genocide to describe the killings.
Davutoglu had on April 12 lashed out at Francis for what he described
as "inappropriate" and "one-sided" comments on the issue.
The latest statement said the "Ottoman Armenians" would be remembered
at a service to be held at the Armenian patriarchate in Istanbul on
April 24.
Davutoglu said Turks and Armenians should "heal their wounds from
that century and reestablish their human relations".
The statement builds on an expression of condolences issued by
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while he was still prime minister in
April 2014.
In that statement, Erdogan described the killings as "our shared pain"
in what was the weightiest statement yet from a Turkish leader on
the issue.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/04/20/turkey-shares-armenians-pain-over-ottoman-era-killings-pm/