TO MARK OR NOT TO MARK GALLIPOLI ANNIVERSRAY? TURKEY’S CHOICE BETWEEN THE BAD AND THE WORSE
18:02, 24 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
The Turkish authorities may have to choose between the bad and the
worse, expert of Turkish studies Andranik Ispiryan told reporters
today. He added that the authorities will refuse from the events
marking Gallipoli anniversary, when they come to understand that they
will lose more if they don’t refuse.
Speaking about the reports on cancellation of the events, Ispiryan
noted that the news was reported by Today’s Zaman and was not reposted
by any other Turkish periodical, something that happens in case of
urgent news.
The expert also called attention to the fact that the report was
written by a young Azerbaijani girl, who has recently moved to
Istanbul. Surprisingly, there was a large reference to the Armenian
Genocide.
“It was very surprising that an extended article presented approaches
on the Armenian Genocide to foreign readers. Sure, no personal opinions
were presented, but the reference was unprecedented for Turkish media,”
Ispiryan said.
What’s the most important is that Today’s Zaman belongs to Fethullah
Gulen, number one enemy of the Turkish authorities, and that’s where
the shoe pinches. He’s now considered even more dangerous than the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK).
“On many occasions the Turkish authorities, including Prime Minister
Davutoglu, have accused Gulen of leading an anti-Erdogan, anti-Turkish
campaign on the international arena. Even the Turkish President
declared that he’s more dangerous that the PKK, as the latter has
done no harm to Turkey on the international arena,” the expert said.
Ispiryan does not rule out that the reports on the cancellation of the
April 24 events could well be a “bait” for the Armenian media outlets.
“Usually this is being done by pro-government media outlets, while
in this case they only refuted the report,” he added.
At the same time, Andranik Ispiryan does not exclude that the issue
of cancellation of the events marking the 100th anniversary of the
Gallipoli Battle is being considered by the Turkish elite, and the
Gulenists used the opportunity to disseminate the information.
The expert concluded that in this case Turkey will have to chose
between the bad and the worse.