PM ERDOGAN SPEAKS ABOUT ARMENIA AT TURKISH HISTORY CONGRESS

Hurriyet, Turkey
Sept 12 2006

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated yesterday in
the 15th Turkish History Congress in Ankara. Speaking to congress
attendees, Erdogan touched on questions surrounding the so-called
Armenian genocide, noting "It is nearly impossible to come across a
people as free of guilt as ours in history. Still, there are those
who try to blacken our history for political reasons. This is where
the accusations of a so-called Armenian genocide come in. On this
subject, as the prime minister, I proposed to Armenia that we form
a commission. I still have not received a positive response to this
request. Still, we have hope. All of the Ottoman archives are open
to those who wish to investigate. In fact, foreign researchers talk
about how our archives are more open than those of other countries."

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer also sent a message to the
president of the Turkish History Foundation, Yusuf Halacoglu, noting
that "no efforts would be successful in hiding the truth about Armenian
genocide accusations."