Erdogan Moralizes Armenian Diaspora
By Can Karpat, AIA Turkish section
Axis Information and Analysis (AIA)
08.07.2005
Recep Tayip Erdogan, who witnessed protests of an Armenian group in
front of the hotel where the meeting was scheduled, uttered his wish
to see Armenian people living in the United States of America display
a more positive and constructive attitude, Turkish Dunya Gazetesi
newspaper reports.
The Turkish Prime Minister put emphasise on the fact that Turkey
is trying to improve its relations with its neighbours in order to
contribute to peace and stability in the region, and pursued: “Our
aim is not to gain enemies, but friends”. Erdogan stated: “I am
sorry to say that the sole country, which does not dare to take a
profit from that fact is Armenia. I believe that the dynamics, which
prevent Armenia from adopting a more far-sighted line and having a
better common sense, are just wasting the time of Armenian people. We
hope that Armenian people, who live in the United States of America,
will be more constructive. And we also want to have a positive reaction
to our efforts to make the Armenian claims clearer”. The Turkish
Prime Minister, who demanded the United States of America not to
take in esteem propagandas bereft of any foundation, and followed:
“The United States of America should make positive contributions
to Turkish-Armenian relations”. Erdogan, who stated that political
decisions, which had been taken in some countries, which are not
involved in the issue at all, would not contribute to the resolution of
the conflict: “May this or that parliament take whatsoever decision,
we do not care where all these decisions come from anyway”.
Furthermore, the Turkish Prime Minister condemned once again the terror
events happened in London yesterday morning. Erdogan confirmed that
Turkey is doing everything in its power to fight against terrorism, and
that it is also ready to continue to do so. He stressed the necessity
of establishing a common platform to fight against terrorism, and
he stated that terrorism cannot be beaten by one country alone. To
a question about Iraq, Erdogan replied that the Iraqi Constitution
should have to be prepared in order that it will not leave Kerkuk to
administration of an ethnic group. He declared that Kerkuk belongs to
all of Iraqi people, and stated that mistakes, which had been made
in Saddam Hussein period, should not be repeated. As to a question
about the existence of the PKK terror organisation in Northern Iraq,
Erdogan replied that on that matter they have regular intelligence
contact with the United States of America, though that none of the
PKK militants has been delivered to Turkey yet. As to the European
Union membership issue, the Turkish Prime Minister stated that Turkey
will keep doing its best. Nevertheless, Erdogan also declared that
if after ten years any injustice is done to Turkey, they will inform
the whole world of this injustice done against Turkey. Erdogan,
who said that he could not know who will be in power in Turkey in
ten years, stated: “But one thing I can say is that if after ten
years the European Union membership does not come, Turkey will turn
the Copenhagen criteria into the Ankara criteria and follow its own
way”. Moreover, Erdogan stated that the Armenia issue cannot be a
condition for the European Union membership, and declared: “If they
impose such a condition on us, well the deal is over then”.