Report: Turkish FM criticizes Switzerland for detaining Turkish
politician
AP Worldstream; Jul 25, 2005
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul criticized Switzerland for
briefly detaining a Turkish politician on suspicion of violating Swiss
anti-racism laws by denying that the killings of Armenians around the
time of World War I amounted to genocide, a newspaper reported Monday.
“It is not possible for us to accept these things to be done to the
leader of a political party in Turkey,” Gul was quoted saying in
Hurriyet newspaper. “Do these actions suit a country like
Switzerland?”
Switzerland briefly detained and launched a criminal investigation
into Dogu Perincek, leader of Turkey’s Workers’ Party last week after
a speech he held in the Swiss town of Opfikon-Glattburg, in the canton
(state) of Winterthur.
In the speech honoring the 82nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne,
which fixed the borders of modern-day Turkey, Perincek called claims
of genocide against the Armenians an imperialist lie, Swiss
authorities said.
Under Swiss law, any act of denying, belittling or justifying genocide
is a violation of the country’s anti-racism laws.
Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed as the Ottoman
Empire forced them from eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923 _ and
that this was a deliberate campaign of genocide by Turkey’s rulers at
that time.
Turks say the death count is inflated and insist that Armenians were
killed or displaced as the Ottoman Empire tried to secure its border
with Russia and stop attacks by Armenian militants.
Switzerland and Turkey have squared off in the past over the killings.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress