TURKISH POLITICIAN CONSIDERS THAT "TERRIBLE BARBARITIES" WERE COMMITTED AT BEGINNING OF CENTURY

NOYAN TAPAN
MARCH 23, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian and Turkish peoples living
side-by-side for nearly 700 years do not deserve this condition when
there are no diplomatic relations and the border is closed. Cem Toker,
the Chairman of the Liberal-Democratic Party of Turkey, stated at
a March 23 press conference. Saying that he has repeatedly visited
Armenia he mentioned that he sincerely wants to make a personal
contribution to the issue of normalization of Armenia-Turkey
relations. According to C. Toker, the stereotypes, misunderstanding
and biassed attitude in the two countries should be liquidated to
normalize the relations. The Turkish politician said that after his
third visit to Armenia he met and conveyed his observations to the
President of Turkey, who, according to him, "perhaps is the only
Turkish official who devotedly works for the Armenian-Turkish process."

C. Toker also said that all media in Turkey criticize Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement that if necessary he will
deport Armenians illegally living in the country. "It is inadmissible
policy and if suddenly an attempt to deport Armenians was made the
Turkish people would oppose to it," C. Toker said.

In response to the question "do you personally accept the fact of
the Genocide?" the Turkish politician said that "terrible barbarities
were committed at the beginning of the century" but he does not know
whether those events can be named "genocide." "I understand that it
is a national wound for Armenians and I respect that sorrow," he added.

According to C. Toker, though today people speaking about the Genocide
in Turkey are named traitors they are not prosecuted criminally. He
drew journalists’ attention to the fact that Agos editor-in-chief
Hrant Dink’s funeral was so crowded that could not be compared with
the funerals of Kemal Ataturk and former President Ozal.

Speaking about the Armenian-Turkish protocols he predicted that Turkey
will not ratify them in the near future as the Turkish authorities
see three hindering circumstances: the Nagorno Karabakh problem,
RA Constitutional Court’s decision and U.S. and Sweden’s position in
the Genocide.