ERDOGAN WARNS POPE NOT TO LABEL ARMENIAN KILLINGS AS GENOCIDE
Al-Arabiya, UAE
April 15 2015
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Pope Francis,
warning him not to repeat the “mistake” of describing the mass killings
of Armenians under Ottoman rule in WWI as “genocide.”
“Whenever politicians, religious functionaries assume the duties of
historians, then delirium comes out, not fact. Hereby, I want to
repeat our call to establish a joint commission of historians and
stress we are ready to open our archives. I want to warn the pope to
not repeat this mistake and condemn him,” the local Hurriyet Daily
News quoted Erdogan as saying Tuesday in a meeting.
While addressing the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TÄ°M), Erdogan
expressed his regret over Pope Francis’ statement, who leads the
Catholic world, when the latter described the killings of Armenians
in 1915 as “the first genocide of the 20th century.”
Recalling the pope’s visit to Turkey in 2014, the Turkish leader said
he thought the Vatican leader was “a different politician.”
He added: “I don’t say a religious functionary.
“His remarks display the appearance of a mentality different to that
of a religious functionary,” Erdogan explained.
But Erdogan vowed that he “won’t let historical events be brought out
of their own course and turned into a campaign against our country
and nation.”
The pope made his recent remark during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica
commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian Church
leaders and Sargsyan.
Meanwhile, the European Union on April 13 urged Turkey and Armenia
to normalize ties.
From: Baghdasarian