Hurriyet, Turkey
April 25 2010

Turkish PM, Foreign Ministry at odds over Obama statement

Sunday, April 25, 2010
ANKARA / YEREVAN – Daily News with wires

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian (R), his wife, Rita, and the
Catholicos of All Armenians, Garegin II (L), attend the ceremony
marking the 95th anniversary of the 1915 events. AFP photo.

Despite avoiding the word `genocide’ in describing the events of 1915
during his Saturday commemoration statement, U.S. President Barack
Obama’s wording still riled the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

However, while the Foreign Ministry was upset at Obama’s terming of
the World War I events as `one of the worst atrocities’ in history,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an issued a positive statement
afterward, displaying a slight rift between the Foreign Ministry and
the Prime Ministry.

Instead of `genocide,’ Obama used `Meds Yeghern,’ which in Armenian
means `The Great Catastrophe.’

`Regretfully, it is a statement reflecting a one-sided and mistaken
political view,’ the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written
statement on Saturday. `Subjective memories are the biggest enemy of
historical truths. No nation can impose its own memory on others.’

In Yerevan, the Armenian capital, people filled the streets the 95th
anniversary of the 1915 events, with some young demonstrators burning
a Turkish flag.

It is "a devastating chapter in the history of the Armenian people and
we must keep its memory alive in honor of those who were murdered and
so that we do not repeat the grave mistakes of the past," Obama said
in his April 24 statement, commemorating the Armenian Remembrance Day.
"On this solemn day of remembrance, we pause to recall that 95 years
ago one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century began."

Criticizing the involvement of any third country, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry said, `Third countries have no right or authority to decide
on Turkish-Armenian relations by resorting to political moves.’

Obama, who promised to recognize the `genocide’ during his electoral
campaign, also said, "I have consistently stated my own view of what
occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an welcomed Obama’s comments, saying
the U.S. leader `took Turkey’s concerns into consideration.’ However,
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu said the speech was "unacceptable.’

`Turkish-American relations need to be free from such reservations,’
the minister said. `If we are going to share pain for humanitarian
reasons, then we would expect respect for our own pain as well.’

Opposition criticism

Deniz Baykal, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s
Party, or CHP, criticized ErdoÄ?an for contradicting the Foreign
Ministry. `Turkey voices one reaction in solidarity. Mr. Prime
Minister should advocate for his country, not for what Obama said,’
Baykal told reporters Sunday.

Namık Tan, Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, was also unhappy. `We
will not accept whatever Obama says because it is only a political
statement without any scientific base,’ Tan told Turkish demonstrators
meeting outside the embassy on Sunday.

`We reject any imposition but are ready to establish a joint
historical committee to investigate what happened,’ he said.

The Turkish Coalition of America said Obama’s statement did not
address "the equally tragic loss of even more Muslim lives in that
turbulent period of Ottoman history."

`Where does the ethnic cleansing of Ottoman Turks from the Balkans,
Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus ` with 5 million lost and 5.5 million
refugees ` come on the president’s list of ‘worst atrocities of the
20th century?"’ asked G. Lincoln McCurdy, chief of the coalition.

Rallying against Turkey

In Yerevan, demonstrations against Turkey started Friday evening, as
thousands of people participated in commemorations. In addition to the
flag burning, many also shouted slogans against the country.

On Saturday morning, some avenues were closed to traffic and thousands
of people flooded to the Genocide Memorial, leaving flowers at the
site.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Hasmig
Kalustyan, 44, one of the demonstrators, said his family was
originally from the eastern province of ElazıÄ? and that many of his
family were killed in 1915, while the survivors fled to Beirut and
then moved to Toronto.

Kalustyan said he moved back to Yerevan five years ago. `I have no
enmity against Turkey and I support Turkey and Armenia establishing a
dialogue,’ he said. `All we want from Turkey is the acknowledgement of
genocide and the sharing of our pain and misery.’

Armenia claims that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed shortly
after World War I under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Yerevan
insists the events constitute a genocide, yet Turkey fiercely rejects
this, saying the death toll is inflated and were a result of civil
unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as Armenians took up
arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.