PM DAVUTOGLU CRITICIZES POPE’S REMARKS ON 1915 INCIDENTS
Turkish Government News
April 13, 2015 Monday
Ankara
The Turkish Government has issued the following press release:
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized Pope Francis’s description
of 1915 incidents as genocide.
Davutoglu spoke to journalists in Istanbul, before an event to
commemorate Prophet Mohammad’s birth. He said that Pope’s statement
was “unfortunate,” “incorrect” and “inconsistent.”
Davutoglu said the remarks were not just about reading the history
wrong, but also “lend credence to the growing racism in Europe,”
as well as accusing Turks and Muslims of a collective crime.
“It is unbecoming of Pope and his authority to read the 1915 incidents
unilaterally and to cover the pains of others by owning the pains of
only a part of mankind,” Davutoglu said.
He said that without the external factors, “The painful events of
1915 would probably not have been experienced.”
Pope Francis said Sunday that “the first ‘genocide’ of the 20th
century” struck Armenians, a statement that led Turkey to recall its
ambassador in Vatican for consultations and also summon Vatican’s
envoy in Ankara.
Pope made these remarks during a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite
at the St. Peter’s Basilica, which Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
also attended.
Armenians are preparing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
1915 incidents on April 24.
Davutoglu said that “when pains, especially those experienced in war
time, are shared and mutually owned, an environment of peace emerges.”
The Turkish prime minister said that the primary duty of the religion
leaders is not to create new environments of conflict and hate from
historic debates, but to invite people to make peace and live together.
Davutoglu recalled President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statements in
2014 and onwards, calling them “open-hearted” toward the pains of
Armenians. Davutoglu cited Ankara’s stance toward Yerevan and issued
a call to open a new era in relations between the two countries.
“Let’s open the archives,” Davutoglu said, regarding the 1915
events, in reference to Turkey’s long-standing offer on creating an
international board of historians to investigate the issue.
Davutoglu said he hoped the pontiff “will consider his position.”
– 1915 events
The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of
the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted against the empire.
The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation
process.
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that,
although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost
their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.
The debate on “genocide” and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.
Turkey’s official position against allegations of “genocide” is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.
Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents
as “genocide.”
In 2014, then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed
his condolences for the first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost
their lives in the events of 1915.
“May Armenians who lost their lives in the events in the early
twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to
their grandchildren,” Erdogan said.
From: A. Papazian