DO THE TURKS DISTORT FACTS?

Azg/arm
12 Feb 05

The Turkish Public TV aired sensational information on February
9. According to it Arsen Ghazarian, president of Armenian-Turkish
Business Union, and Sinan Aygyun, president of Ankara Trade Hall,
visited Sargis Asatrian, member of Armenian delegation and head of
Youth Party of Armenia. Asatrian stated during the meeting that the
“genocide claims” are rumours and that suchlike thing used to take
place in the Ottoman reign but we forgot everything, then added:
“Armenian nation is hundred percent for establishing relations with
Turkey”.

The program provided proper videotape. The statementâ~@~Ys
exclusiveness demanded second broadcast which happened in the morning,
February 10. Milliet newspaper responded to Asatrianâ~@~Ys words
in an articled signed by Ayd?n Hasan the same day. The Turkish
paper mentions of the Armenian delegation visiting Ankara and
links it with Armenian authoritiesâ~@~Y goodwill who are looking
to developing Tu rkish-Armenian relations and opposes such stance
to Armenian Diasporaâ~@~Ys “propaganda on the occasion of Armenian
genocideâ~@~Ys 90th anniversary”.

Milliet reports that the Armenian delegation met 7 Turkish lawmakers
at the Mejlis on February 9. On the Trade Hall meeting of Aygyun and
Asatrian the paper notes that Aygyun turned to Armenian party leader
with a direct question: “You have to rein the Diaspora Armenians to
stop their activities. Do you accept that the Armenians were massacred
in 1915?”

Asatrian replied: “There were such rumours once. The Ottoman state was
an empire. Turkey has nothing to do with it. Kemal Ataturk toppled
the sultanâ~@~Ys reign; there was indeed such a thing in the last
period of the empire. They say that Turks slew Armenians. All these
are rumours. Many things happened in the past. 1.5 million people
died. But years have past. Today Turkey is a democratic state. We
forgot all these. Let such countries as America, France, Azerbaijan,
Uruguay and China not poke into Armenian-Turkish relations”.

Turkish press often distorts the reality especially while dealing with
Armenian politiciansâ~@~Y statements concerning the Genocide. Though
the head of the Armenian Youth Party is said to demand Turkish mass
media to officially refute this misinformation, what concerns more
is that the Turkish Public TV, being a state company, did not shrink
from such a lie. I think that the Armenian politicians should not
have given cause for such distortion rather than demanding refutation
afterwards. Itâ~@~Ys not a secret that Turkey is carefully watching
to find anything against Armenian Genocide in foreignersâ~@~Y and
Armeniansâ~@~Y statements.

By Hakob Chakrian

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