Agence France Presse, France
Jan 9 2009

Turk prosecutor probes campaign of apology for Armeanian deaths:
report

ANKARA, Jan 9 2009

A Turkish prosecutor on Friday launched an investigation into an
Internet petition that apologises to Armenians for the World War I
massacres of their kinsmen, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The probe was launched after several Ankara residents filed a
complaint asking for the organisers and signatories to be punished for
"openly denigrating the Turkish nation", an offence that carries two
years in prison, the report said.

Should the prosecutor decide to bring formal charges at the end of the
investigation, he will have to seek approval from the justice
minister.

The petition, drafted by a group of university professors and put
online on December 15, states that the signatory "does not
accept… the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman
Armenians were subjected to in 1915." It ends with an offer of
apologies.

By 1300 GMT Friday, nearly 27,000 people — among them intellectuals
and artists — had signed the text.

Although the petition did not use the term "genocide" in a bid to
prevent legal complications, it was nonetheless slammed by
politicians, diplomats and even Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
whose government is trying to normalise relations with Armenia.

Although neighbours, Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and
their relationship has been taken hostage by deep differences over the
1915-1917 massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the
predecessor of Turkey.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people were systematically
killed by Ottoman Turks as their empire fell apart — a claim
supported by several other countries.

Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000-500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with invading Russian troops.

The two countries, however, have been pursuing a tentative dialogue
process to resolve their disputes and the chances of a rapprochment
were boosted when President Abdullah Gul visited Armenia in September,
becoming the first Turkish head of state to do so.