TURKEY CONDEMNS ARGENTINA’S RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Source: Xinhua
People’s Daily Online, China
Dec 2 2006
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the approval of
a resolution on alleged Armenian genocide by the Argentinean House
of Representatives.
The ministry said in a statement that Argentina’s move did not comply
with historical facts and spirit of bilateral relations between Turkey
and Argentina.
"Turkey offered that 1915 incidents should be examined by Turkish
and Armenian historians but this proposal was not backed. We condemn
the approval of resolutions (by various parliaments on the so-called
Armenian genocide)," the statement said.
The Argentinean parliament on Wednesday adopted a resolution setting
April 24 as "the day of tolerance and respect among peoples in the
memory of Armenian genocide."
Turkey, which is facing increasing pressure from the European Union
to fully acknowledge the killings, has always denied that up to 1.5
million Armenians were subjected to genocide during the Ottoman Empire
period in World War I.
However, it does acknowledge that up to 300,000 Armenians died during
fighting and efforts to relocate population away from the war zone
in eastern Turkey.
The French National Assembly in October adopted a bill criminalizing
anyone who denies the massacres of Armenians, sparking anger across
Turkey.