ARMENIAN CONFERENCE CRITICIZES TURKEY IN RUN-UP TO APRIL 24

Huriyet
April 23 2010
Turkey

Turkey did not succeed at driving a wedge between the Armenian state
and its diaspora when the two countries signed diplomatic protocols
last October, according to an Armenian minister.

"When Turkey established diplomatic connections with Armenia, they
thought that the diaspora would be left outside alone," Diaspora
Minister Hranush Hakobian said this past week during the "International
Cultural Genocide Conference" at the city’s Genocide Museum.

"[Turkey] tried to come between the diaspora and Armenia, but in vain.

All Armenians in the world are one and together, they will never give
up on each other," he said during his speech.

Many foreign guests were expected to attend the conference, which
comes in the run-up to April 24, the day Armenians commemorate the
deaths of their ancestors during World War I, but were prevented
from doing so due to the presence of volcanic ash across Europe that
grounded many flights.

The minister also said the country would do all it takes to make
sure the entire world recognizes Armenian genocide claims. Armenia
claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed shortly after World
War I under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Yerevan insists the
events constituted genocide, but Turkey fiercely rejects the label,
saying civil strife caused many deaths on both sides.

Hakobian also accused Turkey of destroying over 2,000 Armenian cultural
artifacts in the aftermath of 1915.

At the conference, 15 experts presented papers on different topics,
almost all of which were on the Armenian cultural wealth destroyed
in Turkey. One of the key topics was Turkey’s Tourism and Culture
Minister Ertugrul Gunay’s declaration that the historical Surp Hac
Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Van would be allowed to hold
services once a year.

Participants, however, branded the effort as simply a "political
maneuver."

"They are employing political manipulation and trying to deceive the
world," said Hayk Demoian, head of the Genocide Museum. "It was only
last year when the graveyards at the Ani ruins in Kars were destroyed."

On the same day of the conference, an exhibition on the events of
1915 was opened by the Dashnak Party at Moscow Cinema Square, one
of the most frequented quarters of Yerevan. Meanwhile, an exhibition
on the media coverage of the 1915 events was also opened Thursday at
the museum.