TURKEY: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE SPURS GOVERNMENT ACTION
AKI, Italy
Nov 16 2006
Istanbul, 16 Nov. (AKI) – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has
suggested Turkey may seek the opinon of an independent international
panel on the controversial Armenian genocide issue. "Retired diplomats
and reliable foreign law experts are studying the case", Gul said
on Wednesday. The remarks come amid growing pressure on Turkey to
acknowledge the early 20th century massacre or Armenians under the
Ottomans. Last month the French senate approved a bill which would make
it a criminal offence to deny that the deaths amounted to genocide.
Observers have also suggested that last week’s victory in US
congressional elections by the Democrats – who have closer ties with
pro-Armenian lobbies in America – could mean an end in Washington’s
current acquiescence to Ankara on the subject.
In 2004 Turkey tried to establish a joint Turkish-Armenian commission
of academics to study the issue, but the initiative failed when
Armenia rejected the proposal.
If Armenia accepts Turkey’s latest proposal, then the case would
be examined before the Internatonal Court of Justice in The Hague,
Netherlands. A commission would be set up consisting of, an equal
number of Turkish and Armenian judges and would be chaired by a
national of a third country.
The commission would examine archives in Turkey, Armenia, Russia,
the United States, France, Germany and Britain. It would also examine
military records, demographic changes, hospital records dating from
the time of the killings mostly from 1915-20.
Still, not all the signs from Turkey have been reconciliatory. Also
on Wednesday Turkish land forces commander Gen. Ilker Basbug said
Turkey would cut all top level military contacts with the French
military on account of the Armenian genocide bill which still needs
to be approved by the French National Assembly, the lower house of
parliament, before it becomes law.