Turkish Prime Minister cancels visit to Argentina
Offended by BA City Mayor Mauricio Macri’s breach

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an suspended his visit to
Argentina because he was “offended by the changes in agenda” carried
out by Buenos Aires City Mayor Mauricio Macri and his administration,
the Foreign Affairs Ministry informed.

The arrival of Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an was scheduled for tonight, but the
leader communicated with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and
manifested his “malaise” by the Buenos Aires City government denial to
rebuild a monument for the Turkish community in Figueroa Alcorta
Avenue and Sarmiento Avenue.

Foreign Affairs Ministry Jorge Taiana informed of the news, who also
received from his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, the complaints
due to the “neglect in agenda on behalf of the Buenos Aires City
government.”

Cristina Kirchner and Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an spoke on the telephone
“in a very friendly way,” and the prime minister “expressed his
dissatisfaction with the City government’s decision,” Taiana said, who
also assured that both leaders “agreed to meet during the G-20 Summit
in Canada.”

According to Turkish sources, Macri’s government had authorized and
promised its presence -several months ago- to carry out on Monday
morning in Jorge Newbery Park the reinauguration of a monument
dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first president of the
Republic of Turkey.

Although the government claimed to not know the motives of the
suspension of the rally, the installation of the sculpture was
strongly rejected by the Armenian community in the country, who
communicated its disavowal of the Turkish Prime Minister’s visit
through a communiqué published in local newspapers.

The rejection of the leader’s visit was made public under the argument
of the “embarrassing attempt to inaugurate a bust of the Turkish
genocide Mustafá Kemal Atatürk,” who “continued the extermination plan
initiated on April 24, 1915, by the Ottoman Empire, and the
responsible for inaugurating a policy of denial of the Armenian
genocide, currently avowed by the actual government of Turkey,” the
communiqué stated.

The visit of the Turkish Prime Minister his committee of seven
ministers and businessmen was scheduled in the framework of the
Bicentenary of the Mayo Revolution and the centenary of the
establishment of diplomatic relationships between both countries.

Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an was to be received this Monday at 11:00 am at
Government House by President Kirchner, accompanied by Foreign Affairs
Minister Jorge Taiana, and was to be taken later to San Martà – n Palace,
where a lunch was to be held in his honour.

From: A. Papazian