Swedish genocide vote angers Turks
Financial Times, UK
March 13 2010
By Delphine Strauss in Ankara and Andrew Ward in,Stockholm
Published: March 13 2010 02:00 | Last updated: March 13 2010 02:00
Sweden scrambled to contain damage to ties with Turkey after its
parliament labelled as genocide the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians,
a week after a similar vote by a US congressional panel dealt a blow
to relations between Ankara and Washington .
The Swedish resolution, passed by a single vote on Thursday, will hurt
ties with one of Turkey’s strongest supporters in the European Union,
when Ankara’s relations with the bloc are already strained by the slow
pace of accession talks.
Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Stockholm for consultations
and cancelled a visit by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime
minister, scheduled for next week. The visit was intended to promote
trade and investment and to discuss ideas for joint work on
reconstruction in Afghanistan, a Turkish official said.
Carl Bildt, Sweden’s foreign minister, said the vote did not reflect
government policy and warned it would undermine reconciliation between
Turkey and Armenia, which had agreed that a committee of historians
should discuss the 1915 massacres.
"The Government worked actively to make this clear to [parliament]
before the debate," he said. "The decision will not help the debate in
Turkey, which has become increasingly open and tolerant."
Mr Bildt has been a vocal backer of Turkey’s EU bid, warning opponents
last year it would be a "mistake of historic proportions" to shut the
door on Ankara.
Turkey denies deportations and killings of ethnic Armenians
constituted genocide, arguing many Turks also died in the chaos of the
Ottoman empire’s collapse. The Swedish resolution provoked additional
outrage because it also said other Christian groups – Assyrians,
Syrians, Chaldeans and Pontic Greeks – had suffered genocide.
A sizeable Turkish community in Stockholm includes ethnic Assyrians as
well as Kurds and Turks, and one concern is the vote could inflame
existing tensions between these groups.
Yet in comparison with last week’s strident reaction to the US vote,
Turkish ministers appeared to play down the significance of the
decision in Stockholm.
Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s EU negotiator, said Turkey was "disappointed"
by the decision. An earlier prime minister statement said it "did not
befit Turkish-Swedish relations and the close co-operation and
friendship between our peoples", blaming the outcome on lobbyists and
pre-election political manoeuvres.
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