Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 29 2009
Turkey to reject Armenian "allegations" – Turkish minister
Ankara, 29 April: Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey
would reject the immaterial (Armenian) allegations, noting that the
analysis of the shared history of Turkey and Armenia could only be
made with unbiased and impartial scientific evidence.
Babacan, who addressed the General Assembly of the Turkish parliament
[on] Wednesday [29 April], said, "Regardless of origin of these
allegations, we will continue to stand by the historic truth."
Babacan said US President Barrack Obama’s statement on the occasion of
the Armenian Remembrance Day on 24 April was a result of domestic
political concerns, noting that certain expressions and comments
regarding the events of 1915 was unacceptable for Turkey.
"One of the shortcomings of Obama’s statement was that it ignored the
fact that hundreds of thousands Turks lost their lives during the
events of 1915," said Babacan.
"If the motive behind Obama’s statement was to state a prejudgement on
the joint history committee foreseen to be formed by Turkey and
Armenia, Turkish Foreign Ministry have announced on 25 April that
Turkey would not accept this and explained it in detail to the US
ambassador, who was invited to our ministry," said Babacan.
Babacan said he also expressed Turkey’s discomfort to the US secretary
of state, Hillary Clinton, over the phone and made it clear that the
joint commission foreseen to be formed between the two countries could
only depend on undisputed evidence and documents.
Reactions to Obama’s Armenian remembrance day statement
Obama’s statement on 24 April, "Armenian Remembrance Day", stirred
wide reaction and drew severe criticism from Turkey’s top officials
and politicians on the grounds that it was biased.
Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul was the first to criticize Obama. He
told reporters the following day that not only Armenians but hundreds
of thousands of Turks and Muslims had lost their lives during the
events of 1915, adding that pain and suffering of all people who lost
their lives in 1915 should be remembered.
Gul said statesmen and politicians could not pass judgement on events
in the history, adding that it was time to look to the future and give
a chance to diplomatic efforts for solution of issues between Turkey
and Armenia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Gul was followed by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who argued that
Obama’s statement was related with a pledge he made to Armenian
lobbies during his election campaign.
"Such a sensitive issue requiring expertise, which should in fact be
left to historians, is continuously being used as a tool for politics
and exploited by lobbies every year, and this prevents normalization
of relations between people and countries," Erdogan was quoted as
saying.
Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan also criticized Obama’s statement and
said such statement on events of 1915, seriously harmed the process
for normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkish Foreign Ministry regarded Obama’s statement unacceptable in a
press release issued Sunday, noting that history could be construed
and evaluated only based on undisputed evidence and documents.
Also the US ambassador in Ankara, James Jeffrey, was summoned to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday and Turkey’s reaction and
views were communicated to him.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
