PM SKIPS ARGENTINA LEG AFTER ARMENIAN CIRCLES’ MOVE

Hurriyet Daily News
May 30 2010
Turkey

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not visit Argentina after
Buenos Aires canceled its inauguration of the bust of Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk as a result of Armenian efforts, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
said Sunday.

Erdogan was scheduled to visit Argentina on Sunday and Monday to
participate in the Argentine-Turkish Business Forum and hold bilateral
talks with government officials. But a crisis broke out when the
Armenian government remained silent in the face of Armenian lobbying
groups’ attempts to cause the cancelation of the inauguration of the
bust of Ataturk, Turkey’s founder, in the capital Buenos Aires.

Written permission given earlier by Buenos Aires’ Environment and
Public Space Ministry was canceled after the efforts of Armenian
circles, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a written statement.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held talks with his Argentine
counterpart on the sidelines of the third forum of the U.N.-led
Alliance of Civilizations, which took place in Rio de Janeiro over the
weekend. He demanded the Argentine government fulfill their commitment
to the Turkish side, said the ministry.

Following the incident, Argentina’s president Cristina Fernández
de Kirchner phoned Erdogan, recognizing Turkey’s claim but notifying
that she cannot override the authority given to the autonomous Buenos
Aires administration under the Argentine constitution, the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said. In return, Erdogan said such an attitude was
unacceptable and canceled his visit.

“Turkey has been exerting efforts to establish close ties with
Argentina as part of a quest to improve relations with Latin American
countries,” said the Foreign Ministry in the statement. “Argentine
authorities are expected to take necessary steps as soon as possible
to make up for the shadow dropped on Turkish-Argentine relations due
to the wrong decision made by the autonomous Buenos Aires city, which
was manipulated by circles hostile to Turkey,” the statement said.

PKK attacks changed PM’s program

As well as skipping Argentina, Erdogan canceled two activities in
Brazil after the latest attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’
Party, or PKK, that killed five soldiers, a village guard and a
private security guard on Saturday, the daily Hurriyet reported.

He had been scheduled to attend an exhibition on Ottoman perspectives
on the world and watch a football match between Flamengo and Gremio.

His Latin America tour continues with a visit to Chile.

From: A. Papazian