OPPONENTS OF NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS TRIED TO
MAKE A SCANDAL OF ARMENIA’S PARTICIPATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL FORUM
IN ANKARA
Yerevan, March 31. ArmInfo. The Participation of the Councilor to
the Armenian Defense Minister Hayk Kotanjian in an international
anti-terrorism symposium in Ankara was spoiled with an attempt of
making scandal:
Press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Seyran Shahsuvarian
reported to ArmInfo that the attempt was connected with the presence
of representation of Armenian military forces at the symposium. Hayk
Kotanjian, having returned to Yerevan, says that on the second day of
the symposium he was surrounded by reporters. Previously it had been
reported that Mr. Kotanjian protested against mentioning the ASALA
(Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) organization and
left the hall of conference, so the reporters asked him to comment
the fact. Mr. Kotanjian told the reporters that such statements are
false and insisted that the matter should be made clear with the
organizers of eth symposium. Mr. Kotanjian notes that the provocation
was welcomed by the representatives of the Turkish Army Command;
nevertheless the representative of turkey apologized about the
incident and disinformation. Hayk Kotanjian thinks that the scandal
was made by some opponents of normalization of Armenian- Turkish
relations. According to Mr. Kotanjian, the Turkish side promised to
take measures against the provocateurs and the next day a number of
Turkish newspapers published the denial of the false information.
Mr. Kotanjian also says that only one phrase in the report of the
head of the Turkish Army Command referred to ASALA: ‘Many of our
diplomats were killed by ASALA terrorists’.