‘HOSTILE’ ARMENIAN DIASPORA BECOMES OBSTACLE TO TURKISH PRIME MINISTER’S VISIT TO ARGENTINA

ArmInfo
2010-05-31 14:17:00

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has canceled the Argentina
leg of his Latin American tour to protest the cancellation of an event
honoring the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
under pressure from the Armenian Diaspora, Zaman reported.

Erdogan traveled to the Chilean capital of Santiago from Brazil,
skipping a planned two- day visit to Argentina.

“The reason for the cancellation of the Argentina visit is the
cancellation of written permission given earlier by the Ministry
of Environment and Public Space of the Autonomous City of Buenos
Aires for an Ataturk Monument that was to be inaugurated at the Jorge
Newbery Park, following attempts by Armenian circles who are hostile
to Turkey,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement
released on early Sunday morning.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, during a bilateral meeting on the
sidelines of the Third Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, held
in Rio de Janerio, told his Argentinean counterpart, Jorge Taiana,
that the Argentinean government should fulfill the promise made to
Turkey concerning the unveiling of the memorial, the statement said.

It noted that Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
called Erdogan expressing understanding but explained that the
Autonomous Buenos Aires Administration’s decision cannot be overruled
by the federal government due to Argentina’s constitution.

Following this explanation, Erdogan told her that he found this
unacceptable no matter what the reason was and cancelled the visit,
the Foreign Ministry said. During talks between the Argentinean and
Turkish sides and due the Turkish side’s firm insistence on keeping
to the original agenda of the visit, Kirchner also tried to persuade
the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires to return to the original agenda,
Today’s Zaman learned from reliable sources, yet these efforts failed.

Argentina is home to the third-largest Armenian diaspora community
following the United States and France. In the past, a monument of
Ataturk was removed after pressure by the Armenian community.

In November 2006, the lower house of Argentina’s parliament adopted
a resolution recognizing the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire during World War I as “genocide.” In January 2007, in a move
that brought applause from the Armenian diaspora, then-Argentinean
President Nestor Kirchner approved a draft law proclaiming April 24
“the day of tolerance and respect.”

The inauguration of the monument was requested from Erdogan personally
by President Kirchner during correspondence between the two sides
at the planning stage of the visit, Today’s Zaman learned from
high-level sources.

The meetings held while Argentinean and Turkish officials were trying
to resolve the crisis prevented Erdogan from participating in several
scheduled programs such as the inauguration of “The Ottoman Worldview
from Piri Reis to Katip Celebi,” an exhibition of maps depicting
some of the most significant contributions to Ottoman geography and
cartography, in Rio de Janeiro. The exhibition was instead opened by
Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay.

Erdogan also abandoned his plan to watch a match between Flamengo and
Gremio in the fifth round of the Brazilian championship played at
the Maracana stadium, while Chilean officials responded positively
to the Turkish delegation’s request to start the visit to Chile a
day earlier than planned.

From: A. Papazian