MINISTER TAKES BLAME

Hurriyet
Nov 18 2008
Turkey

ANKARA – The views expressed during his speech in Brussels, about the
exchange of minority populations during the foundation of the Republic,
were his alone, said Defense Minister Vecdi Gönul yesterday.

"Our ministry or government have no connection to my speech, it
totally belongs to me. You can hang me if you want, but whatever
you want, you will do it to me," Gönul said, speaking during budget
negotiations in Parliament.

Gönul’s statements in Brussels last week were harshly criticized by
various people, including the Greek foreign ministry, for defending
the exchange of Greek and Armenian populations after the foundation
of the Republic.

"We did not send anyone abroad by force. Even before the Republic was
settled, [Turkey] made an exchange agreement with Greeks Ã~I We sent
1.5 million and received 500,000, based on estimations. Of course
sad [things] happened, but this is only talking about the facts,"
he said. "Minorities are our richness Ã~I They have the right to live
here," he said.

the Defense Minister said last week that the population exchange
between Greece and Turkey in 1923 was a necessary step toward building
a nation-state at the time.

–Boundary_(ID_LAh1PhxK4UUGnXgnr3yh6Q)–