Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands (FAON)
Address: Weesperstraat 91
2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31704490209
Email: info@faon.nl
Website:
Contact: M. Hakhverdian
PRESS RELEASE
FAON protests to the Minister of Education against "Hawk Lessons"
Turkey: Still no freedom of expression on Armenian Genocide
The Hague, 24 September 2008 – The FAON has protested to the Dutch Minister
Ronald Plasterk of Education, Culture and Science against the fact that
students of the Erasmus University, following an exchange programme with
Turkey, are obliged to attend a four days’ course with a programme, which
includes, among others, such subjects as the denial of the Armenian Genocide
and the Turkish point of view on Cyprus. This became clear from a recent
article published in Dutch daily newspaper Trouw.
The FAON states that the Netherlands as a protest should stop this exchange.
The FAON emphasises that Turkey, as a candidate state for EU has absolutely
not shown any progress in the field of the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. There is still no freedom of expression about the Armenian
Genocide. Even now under the amended Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code,
prosecution still takes place of people, who speak about the Armenian
Genocide. In such a manner proceedings were started recently, with
authorisation of the Minister of Justice of Turkey, against writer Temel
Demirer, because of his press conference last year, the day after the
assassination of the Armenian Turkish journalist Hrant Dink.
The FAON indicates that expressions of the Turkish denialist policy take
place in all kinds of ways. Similar with the Hawk Lessons are the courses,
such as the lessons given to Dutch Turks, who fulfil a shortened or normal
conscription in Turkey. Also in the Netherlands the Turkish and Dutch public
are influenced by the activities of the Turkish Embassy, by means of Turkish
TV programmes transmitted via the Dutch cable, and by some Turkish
organisations in the Netherlands. Often there is fear for the ³long arm of
Ankara², as a result of which many Turks do not dare to protest against such
activities. Others, particularly Right Nationalist Turks, are very active in
spreading the denialist material, among others, by means of Internet.
As a result of the news on the Turkish interpretation of the exchange
programme with the Erasmus University, the FAON repeats its earlier requests
to include teaching pack in the Dutch educational system for providing the
youth with objective information, which can prevent difficulties between
population groups in the future. This teaching pack might include several
genocide events, for example the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide and the
genocide in Rwanda, in order to provide all young people with more knowledge
and understanding of the subject.
Concerning the situation in Turkey, the FAON assumes that the Dutch
politicians, who wanted to wait for the practical consequences of the
amended Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code, will now clearly renounce the
interpretation of this Article by Turkish government about the freedom of
speech and the denial of the Armenian Genocide.