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Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 14 2015
Turkey slams European Parliament call for recognition of `Armenian genocide'
Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session in
Strasbourg. (Photo: Reuters)
March 14, 2015, Saturday/ 16:09:35/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL
The Turkish Foreign Ministry denounced on Saturday a report adopted
last week by the European Parliament that called on European Union
member states to recognize Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of
the late Ottoman Empire.
In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç called the
European Parliament's annual human rights and democracy report's
reference to the Armenian claims as `devoid of historical reality and
legal basis.'
`We find these expressions extremely problematic and regret them,'
Bilgiç said in the statement.
The European Parliament adopted the Annual Report on Human Rights and
Democracy in the World 2013 on March 12. Article 77 of the report
`calls, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, on
all the Member States legally to acknowledge it, and encourages the
Member States and the EU institutions to contribute further to its
recognition.'
Armenians say 1.5 people were killed during the First World War years
in eastern Anatolia as part of a systematic genocide campaign against
the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey disputes that
claim, saying both that the death toll is inflated and that the
Armenians were killed while the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell
unrest caused by Armenian attacks on Turkish population in an effort
to establish an Armenian state in eastern Anatolia.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute and normalize relations
between Turkey and Armenia have produced no result after protocols
signed to that effect were shelved amid disagreements over Turkish
demands that a settlement should also include a resolution in the
Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, occupied by Armenia.
Armenians are preparing for commemorations on centennial of the
killings on April 24, the date they say marks the beginning of the
alleged genocide campaign in 1915. The annual commemoration is also an
opportunity for increased lobbying for greater recognition of the
alleged genocide worldwide.
Turkey declared that it will also host commemorative events on April
24 this year, in memory of those who perished during the Gallipoli
Battle of the First World War in 1915. More than 100 countries,
including Armenia, were invited to the events in Çanakkale but
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan swiftly dismissed the invitation,
saying in an open letter addressing Turkish President Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an that it is an attempt to distract the world's attention from
the 100th anniversary of the alleged genocide.
Bilgiç said the European Parliament report offers a `one-sided'
interpretation of an era that was `tragic' for the entire population
of the Ottoman Empire with a `selective sense of justice' and that the
document sets out `demands that defy logic and law.'
He said such steps hurt both Turkey-EU relations and prospects for the
Turks and Armenians to build their future together and added that
Ankara expected its European partners to contribute to efforts to
resolve the disputes, not to deepen them.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-slams-european-parliament-call-for-recognition-of-armenian-genocide_375245.html
March 14 2015
Turkey slams European Parliament call for recognition of `Armenian genocide'
Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session in
Strasbourg. (Photo: Reuters)
March 14, 2015, Saturday/ 16:09:35/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL
The Turkish Foreign Ministry denounced on Saturday a report adopted
last week by the European Parliament that called on European Union
member states to recognize Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of
the late Ottoman Empire.
In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç called the
European Parliament's annual human rights and democracy report's
reference to the Armenian claims as `devoid of historical reality and
legal basis.'
`We find these expressions extremely problematic and regret them,'
Bilgiç said in the statement.
The European Parliament adopted the Annual Report on Human Rights and
Democracy in the World 2013 on March 12. Article 77 of the report
`calls, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, on
all the Member States legally to acknowledge it, and encourages the
Member States and the EU institutions to contribute further to its
recognition.'
Armenians say 1.5 people were killed during the First World War years
in eastern Anatolia as part of a systematic genocide campaign against
the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey disputes that
claim, saying both that the death toll is inflated and that the
Armenians were killed while the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell
unrest caused by Armenian attacks on Turkish population in an effort
to establish an Armenian state in eastern Anatolia.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute and normalize relations
between Turkey and Armenia have produced no result after protocols
signed to that effect were shelved amid disagreements over Turkish
demands that a settlement should also include a resolution in the
Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, occupied by Armenia.
Armenians are preparing for commemorations on centennial of the
killings on April 24, the date they say marks the beginning of the
alleged genocide campaign in 1915. The annual commemoration is also an
opportunity for increased lobbying for greater recognition of the
alleged genocide worldwide.
Turkey declared that it will also host commemorative events on April
24 this year, in memory of those who perished during the Gallipoli
Battle of the First World War in 1915. More than 100 countries,
including Armenia, were invited to the events in Çanakkale but
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan swiftly dismissed the invitation,
saying in an open letter addressing Turkish President Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an that it is an attempt to distract the world's attention from
the 100th anniversary of the alleged genocide.
Bilgiç said the European Parliament report offers a `one-sided'
interpretation of an era that was `tragic' for the entire population
of the Ottoman Empire with a `selective sense of justice' and that the
document sets out `demands that defy logic and law.'
He said such steps hurt both Turkey-EU relations and prospects for the
Turks and Armenians to build their future together and added that
Ankara expected its European partners to contribute to efforts to
resolve the disputes, not to deepen them.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-slams-european-parliament-call-for-recognition-of-armenian-genocide_375245.html