Stockholm News, Sweden
March 13 2010

Turkish protests continues

Politics | 2010-03-13 |

The Swedish and Turkish foreign ministers condemned the decision of
the Swedish Parliament to specify the atrocities against Armenians in
1915 as genocide. In Turkey the protests continue – which is now also
hitting trade relations. Swedish Ambassador Christer Asp in Ankara has
received several emails from Turkish businessmen who have business
with Sweden. The business men report that they have got commercial
contracts broken and cancelled.

`In a situation such as this it is to be expected,’ says Asp to news agency TT.

It was on Thursday that the parliament, with one votes margin adopted
a resolution that the atrocities in 1915 against, among others,
Armenians are considered to be genocide. Turkey immediately recalled
its ambassador and denounced the decision. The Swedish-Turkish
relations thus froze to ice.

In Turkey today, there have been protests held against the decision,
both outside the Honorary Consulate in Izmir and the Consulate General
in Istanbul. The mailbox at the Swedish Embassy in Ankara has also
been flooded with protest letters from individuals and organizations.

`Some are worded in a way that I do not want to reproduce it in
public. There is no threat, but no fine words about Sweden, if you
know what I mean," says Asp.

Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who persistently made it clear that the
government’s policy has not changed, and his Turkish colleague Ahmet
Davutoglu, now meet at an informal multi-day meeting in northern
Finland. The two ministers condemned the parliamentary
genocide-resolution today.

David Jonasson

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