TURKISH PM’S CHIEF ADVISOR CALLS 1915 A ‘GENOCIDE’

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
April 15 2015

ANKARA

EU parliament urges Turkey to recognise ‘Armenian genocide’

Etyen Mahcupyan, who became the ever first Armenian-origin chief
advisor to a Turkish prime minister when Ahmet Davutoglu appointed him
to the post on Aug. 27, 2014, has described the killings of Armenians
in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as a “genocide.”

“If accepting that what happened in Bosnia and Africa were genocides,
it is impossible not to call what happened to Armenians in 1915
genocide too,” Mahcupyan said in an interview with news website
Karar.com.

Commenting on Pope Francis’ remarks on April 12 describing 1915 as
“the first genocide of the 20th century,” Mahcupyan said the Vatican
had “thrown out a 100-year-old psychological burden.”

He said that what actually needs to be questioned is the 100-year-old
resistance to using the term. “The Vatican could have long ago said
such a thing, but it did not do so,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mahcupyan also said the term “genocide” carries a
“psychological meaning” for Armenians and others, rather than a
“political meaning.”

“What counts is facing what has happened. The important thing is to
look into what happened and to produce the future together, taking
lessons from it all,” he said.

Mahcupyan’s words contradict his boss somewhat, with both Prime
Minister Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacting angrily
to Pope Francis’ remarks, with Davutoglu going as far as to condemn
the pope as part of an “evil front” targeting the Turkish government.

April/15/2015

From: Baghdasarian