Turkey condemns Argentina's resolution on Armenian genocide

Dec. 2, 2006
People's Daily

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.

Source: Xinhua




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