Assyrian International News Agency AINA
March 13 2010
Sweden Angers Turkey With Genocide Vote
A diplomatic row is brewing between Sweden and Turkey after Sweden’s
parliament yesterday voted to describe the 1915 killing of Armenians,
Assyrians, Greeks and Syrians by Turkey as genocide.
This morning, Sweden’s ambassador to Turkey was called to the Turkish
foreign ministry to explain the decision. Yesterday, Turkey recalled
its ambassador to Sweden and Recep Tayyip ErdoÃ?Â?an, Turkey’s prime
minister, cancelled a planned visit to the Scandinavian country.
According to historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
the Ottomans around the time of First World War, but Turkey denies
that the deaths constituted genocide, claiming that the death toll has
been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
The vote in Sweden has divided the country’s political parties ahead
of a general election later this year and is seen as a victory for
Sweden’s centre-left opposition. The vote was passed by 131 votes to
130 after four centre-right MPs voted with the centre-left.
Gulan Avci, a member of the centre-right Moderate Party who is of
Turkish decent and voted against her own party, said it was "time for
people who have suffered so long to obtain redress".
Hans Linde, a member of the Left Party, said it was not the role of
politicians to write history, but that they should "call things by
their right names".
Abdullah GÃ?¼l, Turkey’s president, yesterday said that the resolution
approved by the Swedish parliament "did not have any credibility".
ZergÃ?¼n KorutÃ?¼rk, Turkey’s ambassador to Sweden, said she felt "very,
very betrayed" by the Swedish parliament.
Members of the Swedish government warned that the vote, which came a
week after the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee
approved a similar resolution, could affect trade between the two
countries.
Carl Bildt, the foreign minister, said that he regretted the
parliament’s decision: "It is wrong to politicise history in this way
and it will worsen Sweden’s possibilities to work for reconciliation
between the two sides."
According to Bildt, CHP, Turkey’s main opposition party, has now
demanded an end to ongoing reconciliation talks between Turkey and
Armenia. "This is exactly the type of consequence I feared," Bildt
said. "[The vote] is hijacked by elements hostile to reform in both
Turkey and Armenia.
But Bildt said he did not believe that the Swedish parliament’s vote
would affect Turkey’s EU membership bid.
By Jarle Hetland