I am not a nationalist, but what happened was genocide: Mahçupyan
15:38, 28 March, 2015
YEREVAN, 28 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of
Turkey, Istanbul-Armenian Etyen Mahçupyan, who is recently standing
out with his anti-Armenian statements, has declared that he considers
the events of 1915 as Genocide. As “Armenpress” reports, citing the
Turkish Haberler.com, this is what Mahçupyan talked about during a
roundtable discussion on “Understanding Change: The Era of JDP in
Turkey” in London.
He reiterated the statement that he had made in Belgium, stating that
even though he is Armenian, he considers himself an Ottoman. “As I
said yesterday, I feel more like an Ottoman than an Armenian. I am not
a nationalist, but I use the term “Armenian Genocide” when touching
upon the topic of the genocide of 1915. I believe what happened was
genocide since there is a clear formulation of genocide, and what
happened falls in line with that formulation. If you change the
formulation, the events may not be considered as genocide. Many people
might not understand me. Genocide is not a historical formulation, but
a legal term,” Mahçupyan mentioned.
On 27 March, Turkish presses reported that the Senior Advisor to
Turkey’s Prime Minister had said he did not care if the Armenians
referred to him as a “traitor”. “After all, each Armenian has a
different view. It’s very likely that there are Armenians who refer to
me as a “traitor”, but that does not matter,” he added.