Anatolia News Agency
Aug 24 2007

TURKISH PREMIER SAYS US JEWISH GROUP RETRACTED STATEMENT ON "ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE"

Ankara, 24 August: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stating that
the Jewish lobby in the United States, the ADL [Anti-Defamation
League], which was reported to have changed its stance regarding the
1915 Armenian incidents, has sent a message to the Office of the
prime minister, said that the false step made previously has been
retracted with this statement. Erdogan said: "The indicated that,
just as they have provided all the support they could until now, they
will provide it in the future as well."

Erdogan, after casting his vote in the second round of the
presidential election, was questioned by journalists in the
corridors: "You spoke with [Israeli President] Shimon Perez. There
are reports that the Jewish lobby in America has taken a step
backwards; what are the developments in this regard?" Stating that
the text with the ADL’s written message had come, he said: "They said
that they share our sensitivities in particular on account of this
statement regarding us, and they expressed the mistake they had made
in the written fax they sent us."

Erdogan, pointing out that he has to date suggested to Armenia that
the topic be studied by a commission comprised of historians,
archaeologists, and political scientists, and that politicians sit
together and work on this, noted that Armenia has not responded to
him on this matter. Erdogan said: "They [the ADL] indicate that they
agree with this as well. On account of this, they expressed their
regret."

In response to a question, Erdogan stated that a fax had come from
the ADL. Asked "are they going to declare this to the world, or will
it just be limited to a fax coming to the Office of the prime
minister?", he said: "No. It has already been posted on their own
[web]site." In response to the question "did they fax to you what is
on the site?", Erdogan said "I do not know the one on their site, but
there is a fax that came to the Office of the prime minister."

Prime Minister Erdogan, before taking part in the voting in the
General Assembly, met for a while in his office with the Presidential
candidate, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul.
Afterwards, Erdogan went to the General Assembly with Gul.

Gul, when asked by journalists about a cartoon of his wife that
appeared in a humour magazine [portraying her as a headscarfed
Playboy "bunny"], responded "I didn’t see it… I don’t look [at such
things]."