Council of Europe backs call for Turkey-Armenia study into genocide claims
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
27 Apr 05
STRASBOURG
The Council of Europe (COE) on Wednesday [27 April] extended strong
support to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal to
form a joint commission comprised of Turkish and Armenian historians
to examine so-called Armenian genocide allegations.
The statement signed by 104 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) called on Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan to give a positive answer to Erdogan’s proposal.
“We call on Turkey and Armenia to carry out a joint search on the
incidents which occurred in the Ottoman Empire during the World War I,
using their historical documents in their national archives. Turkish
and Armenian people are interpreting this historical period
differently, and this different interpretation obstructed improvement
of bilateral relations,” said the statement.
The statement noted that Turkish and Armenian peoples had a common
history and geography for centuries, and said: “The incidents which
occurred during the World War I caused tragic results for both the
Turks and Armenians.”
On the other hand, Turkish parliamentary delegation headed by Murat
Mercan, one of the MPs of the governmental Justice and Development
Party (AKP), had an important role in this strong support extended by
the PACE members.
Meanwhile, answering a question, COE Secretary-General Terry Davis
welcomed Erdogan’s proposal and considered it as “beau geste”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress