RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN THREATENS TO EXPEL 100,000 ILLEGAL ARMENIANS
Suna Erdem

The Times
europe/article7066218.ece
March 18, 2010
UK

Many Armenians took refuge in Turkey after their homes were wrecked
in the devastating 1988 earthquake Turkey’s Prime Minister has raised
the stakes in an international row over the mass killing of Armenians
in Ottoman Turkey by threatening to expel 100,000 Armenians living
in the country.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that action could be taken if foreign
parliaments continued to increase the pressure by recognising the
massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.

"In my country there are 170,000 Armenians; 70,000 of them are
citizens. We tolerate 100,000 more. So, what am I going to do
tomorrow? If necessary I will tell the 100,000: okay, time to go back
to your country. Why? They are not my citizens. I am not obliged to
keep them in my country," he said, during a visit to London this week.

He also warned the Armenian diaspora that its campaign to have the
genocide recognised by foreign parliaments would jeopardise improved
ties between Turkey and Armenia.

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fallout Mr Erdogan was to have travelled on to Sweden but he cancelled
the visit at the last moment and recalled Turkey’s Ambassador to
Stockholm. The protest moves were taken after Sweden’s Parliament
voted to join the list of nearly 20 countries that accuses Ottoman
Turks of genocide over the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians
during the First World War.

Ankara also recalled its ambassador to Washington this month after a
US Foreign Affairs Committee passed a genocide resolution . Armenia
condemned Mr Erdogan’s comments, saying that it revived memories of
the original killings – many of which happened during mass deportations
of Armenians accused of supporting the invading Russian army.

"These kinds of statements do not help to improve relations between
our two states. When the Turkish Prime Minister allows himself to
make such statements it brings up memories of the events of 1915,"
Tigran Sarkisian, the Armenian Prime Minister, said.

Turkey rejects the accusations. Ankara insists that hundreds of
thousands of Armenians and Muslim Turks died during civil strife in
the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

Although Mr Erdogan made his remarks in London, the matter was not
raised during his meeting with Gordon Brown. Britain has kept out of
the row, calling only on the two countries to work to normalise their
relationship. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday:
"Terrible suffering was inflicted on Armenians living in the Ottoman
Empire in the early 20th Century. But the main concern of this
Government is not what we call such horrific events but ensuring that
the lessons are learnt, and relationships are re-built to ensure a
peaceful and secure future for everyone living the region."

Pressure on Ankaras is, however, mounting. Other countries are expected
to pass genocide resolutions before the centenary of the killings in
2015. Many members of the European Union, which Turkey wishes to join,
including France, Germany and Italy, already recognise the events
as genocide. Even in Britain, which Mr Erdogan’s aides say is "too
smart" to get involved, Parliament is expected to debate a genocide
Bill next month.

The number of illegal Armenians in Turkey is a matter of debate, with
a study conducted last year claiming that the figure could be as low
as 10,000. Around half slipped into Turkey in 1988 in the aftermath
of the devastating earthquake that hit Armenia. Others are exiles
from Armenia’s ailing post-Soviet economy.

Turkish politicians have in the past threatened to throw out these
Armenians in retaliation for international recognition of the genocide
but this is the first time that the threat has come from the country’s
leader.

His outburst probably had more to do with domestic political pressure
than foreign policy. Having defied domestic opinion to champion a
policy of reconciliation with Armenia Mr Erdogan finds himself accused
at home of enfeebling Turkey on the international stage.Elections
are due by July 2011 and Mr Erdogan is fighting a rear-guard action
against nationalist parties on the left and the right.