WorldBulletin.net, Turkey
March 26 2010

Turkish foundation wants to open culture center in Armenia

Yunus Emre Turkish culture centers work to promote Turkish language,
culture, art and history in different parts of the globe.
Friday, 26 March 2010 13:14

Director General of the Yunus Emre Foundation, Ali Fuat Bilkan, said
Friday, once the protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia went into
effect, they desired to open a Yunus Emre Turkish Culture Center in
Armenia.

In an exclusive interview with the AA, Bilkan said that "if permitted
by Armenia, I will go there and open a Yunus Emre Turkish Culture
Center. I will not wait for (the ratification of) the protocols".

"Why should not we open up to Armenia? We (Turks) do not have an
history to hide, keep secret or feel ashamed of," Bilkan stressed.

We can not base a foreign policy on the concept of friend-enemy.
Turkey can establish relations with Armenia easily, Bilkan underlined.

To date, we have opened Yunus Emre Turkish culture centers in
Sarajevo, Tirana and Cairo. Today (Friday), we are going to open a
Yunus Emre Turkish Culture Center in Skopje. We will open a center in
Moscow soon, Bilkan said.

We are also planning to open a center in Greece. The center in Greece
will get opened in Athens. The center in Athens will serve those Greek
citizens wishing to conduct researches on Turkish culture and
language, Bilkan said.

Yunus Emre Turkish culture centers work to promote Turkish language,
culture, art and history in different parts of the globe.

AA

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress