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TURKEY TO FACE DISGRACE AFTER FAILURE OF GALLIPOLI CELEBRATIONS
YEREVAN, February 23. /ARKA/. If confirmed, the information about
Turkey's cancelling the celebrations of the victory in the Battle
of Gallipoli on April 24, will be a disgrace to Turkey, said Ruben
Safrastyan, head of Oriental Studies Institute at Armenia's Academy
of Sciences, according to Novosti-Armenia.
Earlier Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an attempt to
overshadow the centenary of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman
Empire, invited world leaders, including Armenia's president, to a
celebration of the victory in the Battle of Gallipoli (Chanakale)
on April 24.
On Sunday Turkey's Zaman reported that the Turkish government had
canceled the celebrations of the victory in the Battle of Gallipoli,
which was to take place on April 24, coinciding with the commemoration
of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The newspaper said that
it was because only five nations have confirmed their participation
in the events at the highest level.
According to Safrastyan, the fact that the celebrations may be
cancelled show that the Turkish authorities are panicking ahead of
the Armenian genocide centennial, and, hence, are initiating cynical
and immoral steps that are not well thought out.
The expert also praised the international community and the majority
of world leaders for having refused to participate in the celebrations.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became
independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border
with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan,
which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic
Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.
There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of
normal relations between the two countries, particularly Ankara's
blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
resolution process and Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the mass
killings of Armenians the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century.
According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million
Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by
the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.
The Armenian genocide was recognized by tens of countries. The first
was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France,
Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden,
Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina,
42 U.S. states.
It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the
World Council of Churches and other international organizations. -0--
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/turkey_to_face_disgrace_after_failure_of_gallipoli _celebrations/#sthash.9lZ2ztZx.dpuf
YEREVAN, February 23. /ARKA/. If confirmed, the information about
Turkey's cancelling the celebrations of the victory in the Battle
of Gallipoli on April 24, will be a disgrace to Turkey, said Ruben
Safrastyan, head of Oriental Studies Institute at Armenia's Academy
of Sciences, according to Novosti-Armenia.
Earlier Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an attempt to
overshadow the centenary of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman
Empire, invited world leaders, including Armenia's president, to a
celebration of the victory in the Battle of Gallipoli (Chanakale)
on April 24.
On Sunday Turkey's Zaman reported that the Turkish government had
canceled the celebrations of the victory in the Battle of Gallipoli,
which was to take place on April 24, coinciding with the commemoration
of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The newspaper said that
it was because only five nations have confirmed their participation
in the events at the highest level.
According to Safrastyan, the fact that the celebrations may be
cancelled show that the Turkish authorities are panicking ahead of
the Armenian genocide centennial, and, hence, are initiating cynical
and immoral steps that are not well thought out.
The expert also praised the international community and the majority
of world leaders for having refused to participate in the celebrations.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became
independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border
with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan,
which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic
Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.
There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of
normal relations between the two countries, particularly Ankara's
blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
resolution process and Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the mass
killings of Armenians the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century.
According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million
Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by
the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.
The Armenian genocide was recognized by tens of countries. The first
was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France,
Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden,
Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina,
42 U.S. states.
It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the
World Council of Churches and other international organizations. -0--
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/turkey_to_face_disgrace_after_failure_of_gallipoli _celebrations/#sthash.9lZ2ztZx.dpuf