The New Anatolian
April 18 2005
Official Documents Belie the Armenians
The New Anatolian / Ankara
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sends a letter to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, officially conveying Turkey’s desire to set
up a commission to investigate the Armenian genocide claims together.
While the Armenians have tried to attract the world’s attention with
their claims of a so-called Armenian genocide for years, official
documents show that between the years 1910 and 1922, Armenian gangs
massacred over half a million Turks in Anatolia.
“We’re facing our history,” said Prime Ministry State Archives General
Director Yusuf Sarinay. “When we face our history, we come across
our own losses and grievances. As we don’t mourn, everyone thinks
that they can get everything easily from Turkey. Within Anatolia,
523,955 Turks were massacred by Armenian gangs. Westerners were
ultimately responsible for much of this. Europe used Armenians as a
tool in Turkey’s politics. Both Armenians and Turks suffered because
of this. Europe should face itself also.”
1915 was the result
Sarinay argued that everyone has focused on a single point in
history, 1915, which relates to the so-called Armenian genocide,
saying, “The problem didn’t begin at that date. Rather, 1915 was the
result.” Sarinay stated that powerful Western states tried to interfere
with the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire by abusing the Armenian
issue from as far back as 1878. He said that the Ottoman Empire had
put up with the situation patiently until the beginning of World War I.
“The decision to relocate the Armenians wasn’t taken to prevent a
possible revolt or any cooperation with other countries, like the
Armenian diaspora claims, rather it was taken due to prevent a de
facto revolt and cooperation with foreign countries,” he explained.
Sarinay said that the Armenian gangs massacred hundreds of thousands
of Turks in Anatolia. This appallingly large number in many massacres,
gathering several villages together exterminated in one go by Armenian
gangs, are shown by the documents, he argued. Sarinay stated that every
massacre was recorded, and that these records are comprised of letters
and reports prepared by foreign observers and local administrators
of the Istanbul government.
Erdogan sends letter to Kocharian
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Armenian President
Robert Kocharian, officially conveying Turkey’s message to set up a
commission to study the genocide claims, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
said in a statement over the weekend.
The letter to Kocharian stated that the two countries should
investigate the Armenian genocide claims together. He proposed
the establishment of a joint commission to investigate the Armenian
genocide claims, which he said would serve to bring the two countries
closer in the future.