Çanakkale commemoration may discredit Turkey

12:50 * 19.01.15

Turkey’s move to declare April 24 the annivrsary of the Çanakkale and
Dardanelles battles may pose risks to the country’s reputation,
according to a turkologist.

“Turkey has been long preparing for the 100th anniversary of the
Dardanel and Canakkale battles, but the very timing is beyond any
morals. With this step, Turkey’s president is clearly and obviously
trying to concentrate the world’s attention on this event, diverting
it from the 100th anniversary of the [Armenian] Genocide. Turkey is a
big country, and may manage it to an extent, but declaring April 24 a
day of the Dardanelles is cynicism and disrespect, to say the least,”
Andranik Ispiryan told a news conference on Monday.

He reiterated the earlier voiced remarks that the April 24 date has no
bearing this important event which took place months before. “An
important date for Turkey in this battle is March 18,” he said, noting
that the country had previously developed a negative image on the
international arena due to stance on the developments in Egypt, Syria
etc.

Commenting on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation to
the Armenia leader and the response message issued shortly afterwards,
the expert expressed his content with President Serzh Sargsyan’s move.
“It was a well-aimed response and at the same time devoid of emotions;
it was within ethical norms, with every single point being justified.
The very fact that the president said it isn’t a common practice here
to be hosted as a host without an answer [to our invitation] found a
big resonance in the Turkish media, assigning to Turkey the
defeatist’s role,” he added.