DISCUSSING 1915 ISSUE SIGN OF SELF BELIEF: GUL

Hurriyet
Dec 19 2008
Turkey

ANKARA – Remarks by a main opposition party deputy over the Turkish
president’s stance on free discussion of the 1915 events drew reaction
from the presidential office.

Canan Arıtman of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, criticized
President Abdullah Gul for supporting the initiative of a group
of Turkish intellectuals who launched a campaign to make a public
apology for what they call "the great catastrophe" of 1915. Gul said
the initiative was proof that everything could be openly discussed
in Turkey.

"It seems Gul supports the campaign. Gul should be the president of
the Turkish nation, not the president of his ethnic origin. A further
examination of Gul’s ethnic origin on his mother’s side will reveal
the truth that he is of Armenian origin," Arıtman said on Wednesday.

"We all knew from the beginning that Gul’s mother was of Armenian
origin. He has to protect the rights and dignity of the nation whatever
his origin," she said.

Meanwhile, a written statement released yesterday by the presidential
office said the Turkish president had voiced and defended Turkey’s
opinions and proposals concerning the 1915 incidents everywhere. "Free
discussion of the 1915 incidents is a clear indication of a
more democratic atmosphere in Turkey than elsewhere, and of the
self-confidence of the Turkish nation and its peace with its history,"
read the statement.

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