In Lausanne, Dogu Perincek goes on trail for denying Armenian genocide claims

Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Hurriyet

Rauf Denktas below says "Thousands of our Armenian siblings live here under good conditions. Workers come from Armenia to make a living here, and do so. So friendship between Turkey and Armenia is necessary on both sides. But friendship cannot be based on lies and slander.". If friendship relies on ignoring the past then Turkey and Armenia will be living a dream world. It is by admitting and reconciling the past that enduring friendships are based on. Turkey is looking back from the present day and saying that it could not have committed such an atrocious crime. Turkey instead should listen with compassion to what Armenians have gone through and the trauma they are enduring to this day.

A delegation of 160 people, included former President of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktas, has gone to Switzerland to show support for the head of Turkey's Workers' Party, Dogu Perincek, who is on trial there for publicly denying Armenian allegations of genocide.

Perincek, who is being tried in Lausanne, was joined in court by a large group of academicians, historians, retired military officials, and politicians from Turkey, who left Istanbul on a specially chartered Turkish Airlines flight for Geneva. Speaking prior to departure at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Denktas told reporters "Thousands of our Armenian siblings live here under good conditions. Workers come from Armenia to make a living here, and do so. So friendship between Turkey and Armenia is necessary on both sides. But friendship cannot be based on lies and slander."

The general leader of the Turkish Workers' Party, Dogu Perincek is on trial in Switzerland for calling Armenian allegations of genocide in Turkey "an imperialist lie" during a 2005 demonstration in Lausanne. Reports say Perincek left Turkey for his trial in Lausanne carrying 90 kilos worth of Russian and Armenian documents with him.

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.