Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2015

European ‘genocide vote’ unacceptable, Turkish political parties say
in joint declaration

Three political parties represented in Turkish Parliament has said in
a joint declaration that the European Parliament resolution urging
Turkey to recognize the “Armenian genocide” is unacceptable and “null
and void” for Turkey.

The European Parliament in a vote on Wednesday adopted a resolution
that refers to the killings of Armenians during the final years of the
Ottoman Empire as genocide and calls on Turkey to recognize that
“genocide.”

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the opposition
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) signed the declaration on Thursday,
which said the resolution termed the decision “inappropriate and
unacceptable.”

Despite our calls, the European Parliament preferred to deepen the
problem and the gap between the two societies instead of encouraging
the Armenian side, which abstains from discussing the issue
impartially and scientifically, for dialogue in this regard. We
strongly condemn this biased approach which was adopted contrary to
the idea of creating peace and tolerance and a common future instead
of war and clash, which is the idea which constitutes the raison
d’être of the European Parliament,” the statement said.

Earlier in the day, CHP leader leader Kemal Kýlýçdaroðlu said Turkish
political parties may issue a joint declaration against the
resolution.

In response to a question by a reporter following a meeting with
European Union member countries’ ambassadors, Kýlýçdaroðlu said the
EU’s much-talked about resolution was discussed in the meeting. The
CHP leader told the media that he explicitly said to the EU
ambassadors during the meeting that his party is against the
resolution and finds it wrong. “We told them that the European
countries have great knowledge of the universal law and acknowledge
the description of ‘genocide.’ We explained to the ambassadors how
severe the repercussions of the EU’s description of [the 1915 events
as] ‘genocide’ would be,” Kýlýçdaroðlu said.

When a reporter asked whether the CHP would contribute to a joint
declaration against the European Parliament’s decision, as Davutoðlu
proposed on Wednesday, Kýlýçdaroðlu said such a joint declaration
might be drafted. “We share the same views on this issue. Hence, there
is no problem on this. There are problems in other issues,” he stated.

Kýlýçdaroðlu also stated he said in the meeting that Pope Francis, who
recently called the 1915 mass killing of Armenians the “first genocide
of the 20th century,” made the issue into one about Muslims and
Christians, and that the pope’s remarks might be a risk to
international peace.

Kýlýçdaroðlu’s meeting with the EU ambassadors took place at the
Latvia Embassy. Kýlýçdaroðlu said the electoral process, ahead of
Turkey’s upcoming June 7 elections, was also tackled in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli
slammed the European Parliament decision in a statement he released on
Thursday, saying that the resolution is nothing more than a piece of
garbage. According to Bahçeli, the decision does not comply with
historical facts, international law and the human conscience. “You
can’t find a trace of a genocide or a massacre in the glorious history
of the Turkish nation,” Bahçeli said in his statement.

From: A. Papazian