Turkish Parliament to List Europe’s Massacres
By Fatih Atik, Istanbul

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 19 2006

Thursday, October 19, 2006
zaman.com

The Turkish parliament took a new step in condemnation of the French
parliament’s acceptance of the bill criminalizing denial of an Armenian
genocide. It compiled a "shame list" of massacres committed by European
countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands.

The necessary study for the list was conducted by the parliament’s
justice sub-committee as part of its debates over a bill that would
recognize the Algerian genocide committed by France. The commission
is researching the massacres and tyrannies that countries that accept
the Armenian genocide have committed in the past.

The members of the commission listened to Turkish History Society
President Professor Yusuf Halacoglu and decided that announcing the
European list to the world would be more efficient than recognition
of an Algerian genocide.

In this context, the commission requested the Turkish History Society
and foreign affairs department carry out extensive studies into the
history of countries recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide.

The "shame list" is expected to be announced following the Ramadan
festival.

Deputy Mustafa Nuri Akbulut announced the parliament would publish
the list rather than recognizing an Algerian genocide. Akbulut also
asserted this study would enable the international community to better
see the objective attitude of the Turkish parliament and added human
rights, freedom of speech and the process that this method was subject
to would be discussed extensively in the document that will include
the shame list.

Justice and Development Party deputy Akbulut also said the document
would include a text that will explain the circumstances under which
Turkey decided to deport Armenians in 1915.

Akbulut noted that while Ottoman soldiers were deployed in the
Dardanelles and the Caucasus during World War I, Armenians committed
massacres in Anatolia and backstabbed Ottomans.

The Countries that Recognize the Alleged Armenian Genocide

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Belgium,
Slovakia, Greece, Latvia and Greek Cyprus have taken decisions so
far about the so-called Armenian Genocide in different years, and
some have issued declarations and reports on the issue.