A surprising “yes” to a surprising invitation

Hurriyet
Last updated 23:14
24.08.2005

A conference dealing with the question of the Armenian genocide will take
place at Bosphorus University in late September. The conference, entitled
“Ottoman Armenians During the Collapse of the Empire,” will be held
September 23-25, and will feature opening remarks by Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul. The FM has reportedly been invited to open the conference by
Bosphorus University Rector Ayse Soysal.

The “Ottoman Armenians” conference had been originally scheduled for May
2005, but was cancelled due to an overwhelmingly negative reaction in the
Turkish press and among significant political figures. Its postponement led
to much controversy among pundits and in public opinion.

The decision by Gul to speak at the conference had apparently been held
secret by the university as well as conference participants.

Gul himself spoke to Hurriyet, saying “The Rector did call and ask me to
speak. I said that I would, and that there was nothing for us to be afraid
of on this subject…At the time when the first conference was delayed, I
had said that it wasn’t a good thing. There was no need to postpone it. We
could have comfortably discussed this all as a society.”

Erdogan spoke out against the postponement

In a speech proceeding the postponement of the “Ottoman Armenians”
conference in May, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek spoke in Parliament, saying
of the conference “This is stabbing the Turkish people in the back. I wish
that, in becoming Justice Minister, I had not forfeited my right to open a
court case against them.” PM Erdogan later said criticized the postponement
of the conference, saying “It makes no sense that the conference would be
postponed due to the words of the Justice Minister.”

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