Turkish Parliamentarians Union lobbies Bush on Armenian “genocide”

Anatolia news agency
18 Apr 05

Ankara, 18 April: Turkish Parliamentarians Union (TPB) sent a letter
to US President George Bush, and asked him to assume an objective
attitude towards the fanatic campaigns carried out regarding Armenian
genocide claims.

The letter, signed by TPB Chairman Hasan Korkmazcan, said that
aggressive attitude assumed by the fanatic Armenian organizations
for years, ignoring the historical realities, was still maintained,
and this stance had a negative impact on bilateral relations between
Turkey and Armenia.

“It is obvious that these are unreal claims made for political
purposes only. Moreover, anti-Turkish campaigns launched by the
Armenian extremists and their supporters are considered as a big
misfortune by circles who are in search of peace and compromise,
and cause concern to our people, particularly Turkish citizens of
Armenian origin,” noted the letter.

The letter also said: “Furthermore, it has been proven by many
scientists that these unreal claims are based on false, obsessive
and incomplete information.” Noting that the so-called Armenian
genocide thesis contradicted the related articles of the United Nations
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,
the letter said: “Turkey is aware of its responsibilities. Likewise,
information and documents reached by Turkish History Society at the end
of long researches carried out in the archives of foreign countries
disprove the discourses that so-called genocide issue has remained
as a taboo in Turkey. The so-called claims are being discussed by our
experts, authors and academicians. And, we are trying to clarify the
prejudiced and unreal discourses.”

“In this context, we hope that you (President Bush) will assume
an objective attitude towards fanatic campaigns based on one-sided
interpretations that are not confirmed by either Ottoman or other
state archives,” said the letter.

The letter also welcomed Turkish parliament’s initiative to form
a joint committee which would examine world archives, and asked US
President Bush to support this initiative.