EU FULLY SUPPORTS GUL’S YEREVAN VISIT
Today’s Zaman
Nov 14 2008
Turkey
The topic of the cultural footprint left behind by Armenians on
Anatolian soil was discussed yesterday at a conference on the Armenian
legacy in Turkey, organized at the European Parliament.
President Abdullah Gul’s recent visit to Yerevan was described as a
"turning point"at the conference — during which it was noted that
the Erzurum Congress, one of the two congresses that founded the
Turkish Republic, was held in a building constructed by Armenian
architects. The conference also sparked a negative reaction from
Turkish-Armenians.
Hosted by European Parliament French Liberal parliamentarian Bernard
Lehideux and organized by the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU), the conference, titled "A Journal of Cultural Rediscovery:
Armenian Heritage in Turkey," was held at the European Parliament
building. AGBU Brussels representative Nicholas Tatvian gave the
opening speech, and the European Commission, emphasized that Gul’s
trip was "a turning point."
European Commission Director-General for Enlargement Michael Leigh and
the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-chair Joost Lagendijk
were previously announced as participants at the conference, but
they did not attend. Representing the commission was Jean-Christophe
Filori, the head of the Turkey desk, who commented on Gul’s visit,
describing him as "a courageous man that the European Union supports
wholeheartedly."
Fethiye Cetin, the writer of the bestselling book "My Grandmother,"
said the modern Turkish state was based on denying its past and
cutting its ties with this past, after a very painful period of
transition to a nation-state from a multicultural, multi-religious
and multi-national empire.
Cetin said Turkey was imposing a permanent ban on "remembering
things." She also said discussions on 1915 incidents were simplified
to mere figures, numbers, documents and discussions on the meanings
of words, with complete disregard to the real human tragedy and pain
caused by the incidents.
Reaction from Turkish-Armenians
Meanwhile, Turkish-Armenians have reacted to the lack of
Turkish-Armenian speakers at the Brussels conference Verkin Kasapoglu
said such conferences were being used politically, noting that not
a single Turkish-Armenian had been invited to participate.
Kasapoglu, a member of the Foundation to Protect Historical Legacy,
said the Armenian diaspora did not even support funding the restoration
of Armenian historical monuments and buildings in Turkey, out of
fear that Turkey would benefit from such restoration projects. "I
really doubt the sincerity of such conferences. My dad bought a
house in Paris in 1946. Then they confiscated it because my dad was
a foreigner. These things happen every where in the world," he said.