ANKARA CONDEMNS ARMENIAN BILL IN ARGENTINA
By Cihan News Agency
Zaman Online, Turkey
Dec 2 2006
Turkey has condemned the adoption of a draft bill regarding the
so-called Armenian genocide in the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina
and called for a refusal of the bill.
On Nov. 29, the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the bicameral
Argentinean Parliament, passed a draft bill on the Armenian claims.
During the debates, at least eight lawmakers spoke about the draft,
which passed with 175 votes in favor and 2 abstentions.
Recalling that Turkey opened its archives to international historians
to conduct research on the allegations of the Armenians, Turkish
Foreign Ministry condemned the passage of such bills in a statement
issued on Friday.
"We condemn and find it unacceptable the adoption of such drafts
snubbing Turkey’s proposals to examine its archives and presenting
baseless Armenian allegations as if they were unquestionable historical
facts," the statement said.
The law, which still must be ratified by the Argentine Senate to become
a law, designates every April 24 as the Day for Tolerance and Respect
between Nations in memory of the "genocide of the Armenian people."
The statement also accentuated that the draft in question was not also
violating historical fact but also the international laws, adding that
it would damage the sprit of relations between Turkey and Argentina.
The ministry also requested that the draft be rejected by Argentinean
Senate, the upper house of the parliament, and prevented from being
enacted.