Turkey Denies Report on Cancellation of Gallipoli Commemoration Events
By Weekly Staff on February 22, 2015
Sources close to the Turkish government have denied Sunday’s Zaman’s
report claiming the Gallipoli commemoration events have been canceled,
according to Daily Sabah. “Sources from both the Presidency and Prime
Ministry have refuted the claims that the commemorations have been
canceled, refraining from offering further details over how many and
which countries will participate in the Gallipoli centennial
commemoration,” reported Sabah, which highlighted Zaman’s link to the
Gulen Movement.
On Feb. 21, Sunday’s Zaman reported that the commemoration ceremonies
marking the centennial of the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I were
canceled. The paper said the reason for cancellation was the low
number of heads of states who agreed to attend Ankara for the
ceremonies that were scheduled to take place on April 24–Armenian
Genocide commemoration day.
The paper quoted a government official, who wished to remain
anonymous, as saying, “The Gallipoli celebrations have been canceled.
All preparations have been suspended as the number of RSVPs to the
invitation is not positive. Only five countries have accepted the
invitation and they will not be represented by high-level officials.”
Leading up to the Gallipoli commemorations, Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan had sent official invitations to more than 100 world
leaders, including Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, to partake in
the ceremonies. The date designated for these commemoration
events–April 24–created uproar among Armenians worldwide, while
Turkish human rights groups urged world leaders to boycott the
Gallipoli events.
On Jan. 16, Sarkisian responded to Erdogan’s invitation to Turkey on
April 24, in a strongly worded letter. “Turkey continues its
conventional denial policy and is perfecting its instrumentation for
distorting history. This time, Turkey is marking the 100th anniversary
of the Battle of Gallipoli on April 24, even though the battle began
on March 18, 1915 and lasted until late January 1916, while the
Allies’ operation started on April 25,” he wrote, adding, “What is the
purpose [of this] if not to distract the world’s attention from the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide?”