Turks protest Schwarzenegger Armenian genocide
statement
The Associated Press
27/04/2005
ANKARA, Turkey – A Turkish group uniting hundreds of businesses and
organizations demanded Tuesday that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies be
banned from Turkish television to protest the California governor’s
use of the term genocide to describe the massacre of Armenians by
Turks during World War I.
Schwarzenegger, a former actor best known for his role in “The
Terminator,” declared April 24 a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide.” California has one of the largest populations of diaspora
Armenians.
Other California governors have issued annual proclamations referring
to the killings as a genocide, but last week Schwarzenegger also
signed legislation to permanently mark the day.
An umbrella organization grouping some 300 Ankara-based associations,
unions and businesses and led by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce said
it launched a petition to have the governor’s films banned in Turkey.
“We condemn and protest movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared
April 24 a day to commemorate the Armenian genocide and accused Turks
of genocide by acting under the influence of the Armenian lobby, and
without researching historical truths,” read a statement from Sinan
Aygun, head of Ankara Chamber of Commerce.
“We don’t want his films shown in Turkey,” said the statement.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million Armenians died or were killed as part
of a genocidal campaign to force them out of eastern Turkey. Turkey
acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians died, but says the
overall figure is inflated and that the deaths occurred in civil
unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Margita Thompson, Schwarzenegger’s spokeswoman, said the governor’s
proclamation speaks for itself. The boycott of his movies was a
freedom of expression and his office was not going to comment on it,
she said.
Ergun Kirlikovali, spokesman for the American Turkish Association of
Southern California, said that while prior governors have signed the
same resolution – there is a new effort among Turks to express their
side of the story.
“Turks everywhere are drawing the line,” said Kirlikovali. “Turkish
silence on this has been misinterpreted as Turkish guilt. We’re saying
we have our story to tell, please listen to us.”
Kirlikovali said the Turkish people are particularly upset with
Schwarzenegger, whom they believed was “one of our guys,” because of
his Austrian ancestry.
“He turned around and stabbed us in the back,” Kirlikovali said.
California state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, author of the
legislation permanently marking the day of remembrance, said the
Turkish government continues to ignore the incident.
“With growing attempts to revise the historical record of this period
and denial of truth by the Turkish government, it’s vitally important
that false depictions of the tragedies of the genocide are rejected,”
he said in a statement.