POLISH PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN DUE IN TURKEY NEXT WEEK
By Cihan News Agency

Zaman Online, Turkey
July 2 2006

Marek Jurek, the chairman of Polish Parliament’s lower house, is due
in Ankara next week as part of an official visit to Turkey.

This will be the first official visit to Ankara of the Speaker of
Sejm, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament, after the relations
between Turkey and Poland worsened after the Polish Sejm adopted a
resolution on the so-called Armenian Genocide on April 16, 2005.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Arinc had, therefore cancelled his scheduled
visit to Poland.

Jurek is expected to voice support to Ankara’s position on the
allegations of Armenian genocide.

In April of this year, the former Polish FM Stefan Meller visited
Ankara and supported the Turkish thesis, which says the historians
should examine the claims, not politicians.

PM Erdogan had suggested to the Armenian PM Kocharian the setting up
of a joint commission of Armenian and Turkish historians, stating
that Turkish archives were open to all scientists for detailed
researches. However, his Armenian counterpart did not respond to
the proposals.

The fate of the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during WW1 and
after is still a sensitive issue in Turkey. Armenians claim that 1.5
million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed as part of
an intentional and systematic campaign of genocide during World War I.

Turkey denies the allegations claiming that 200,000 Armenians died
during forced migrations due to cold weather and poor transportation
conditions.