Armenians' deaths still hit nerve in Turkey

By Catherine Collins Special to the Tribune Fri Jun 3, 9:40 AM ET

When Turkey's justice minister leveled an accusation of treason at the organizers of a conference questioning the government's stance on the mass killings of Armenians, the event was abruptly postponed and controversy arose in its place.

The minister's harsh remarks last month drew domestic and international criticism from academics, the media and the public.

For Turkey's ruling party, Justice and Development Party, the result was another black eye in its attempt to convince an increasingly skeptical European Union that Turkey indeed embraces its democratic ideals, including free speech.
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While ethnic Armenians are mounting an increasingly successful campaign to get the events recognized as a genocide, Ankara has steadfastly refused to budge from its position.
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Universities in Turkey are tightly controlled by the state, and conference organizers said they feared retaliation and restrictions on academic freedom if they proceeded.
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Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears Here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.