CONTRADICTORY ‘GENOCIDE’ DEFENSE FROM DUTCH PM
By Basri Dogan, Amsterdam
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2006
The Turkey report adopted by the European Parliament, the removal of
three Turkish candidates from the elections list in the Netherlands
and the statements of French President Jacques Chirac in Armenia have
brought the debate over the alleged Armenian genocide to the fore.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkanende made contradictory statements
on the issue. Balkenende, who expressed his support for the Turkish
proposal to form a joint commission of historians, also affirmed the
expulsion of Turkish candidates from their parties simply because
they refused to openly accept the Armenian allegations.
Prime Minister Balkenende, also president of the Christian Democrat
Party (CDA), made statements on the expulsion of the three Turkish
politicians from the election lists of their parties as a result of
the Armenian lobby’s pressure. Balkenende, who first noted that the
notion "genocide" should be used as it was defined under international
legal documents, also said that the alleged Armenian genocide issue
was a sensitive and important one. The Dutch prime minister supported
Turkey’s proposal to appoint a joint commission of historians charged
with investigating the 1915 incidents.
With regard to the Turkish candidates’ removal from their parties;
however, Balkenende recalled the parliament’s 2004 advisory decision
that urged the recognition of the alleged Armenian genocide. The
prime minister, noting that all political parties had incorporated
this decision into their statutes, asserted that the removal was
justified under the respective parties’ rules and regulations.
Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Party nominated the current CDA
deputy Nihat Eski as candidate in the elections in lieu of expelled
candidates Osman Elmaci and Ayhan Tonca.