ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS APPEAL TO GUL FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

AZG Armenian Daily
10/12/2008

Armenian Genocide

Nearly 300 Armenian intellectuals and other public figures have
appealed to Turkey to acknowledge that the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, saying that is
a necessary condition for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, "Azatutyun"
radio-station reported.In an open letter to Turkish President Abdullah
Gul made public on Tuesday, they said modern-day Turkey bears
"hereditary responsibility" for what they consider an "monumental
crime against humanity." "Genocide is a crime against humanity and
present civilization values, and no individual, organization or even
state authority can cast doubt on what happened," the letter said,
challenging Ankara’s vehement denial of any government policy to
exterminate Ottoman Turkey’s Armenian population. "Your generation
of Turkish leaders must accept the undeniable truth and recognize
the fact of the Armenian Genocide … Only in that case can there
be a sincere dialogue and a process of real reconciliation between
our peoples," it said. The letter was apparently initiated by
prominent writers, musicians and artists close to Armenia’s ruling
establishment, suggesting that it was approved by President Serzh
Sarkisian. The latter has been instrumental in an unprecedented thaw
in Turkish-Armenian relations observed in recent months. Sarkisian has
won plaudits in the West for inviting Gul to visit Yerevan and watch
with him a September match between Armenia’s and Turkey’s national
soccer teams. The so-called "football diplomacy" was followed by
a series of further negotiations between the Turkish and Armenian
foreign ministers. It is still not clear, however, whether Ankara is
ready to normalize relations with Yerevan before a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.