Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 30 2010
PM skips Argentina leg after Armenian circles’ move
Sunday, May 30, 2010
ANKARA ` Hürriyet Daily News
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an will not visit Argentina after
Buenos Aires canceled its inauguration of the bust of Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk as a result of Armenian efforts, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
said Sunday.
ErdoÄ?an 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 Atatürk, 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 DavutoÄ?lu 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 ErdoÄ?an, 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, ErdoÄ?an 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, ErdoÄ?an 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 Hürriyet 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