Perinçek before Swiss court, supporters not admitted

07.03.2007
Today's Zaman Ankara

Rauf Denktaş below says "We're not going [to Switzerland] for enmity, we're going to see whether we can lay the foundations of a friendship … In order to be friends, parties should avoid insults. We hope that cantons and governments in Switzerland eventually draw the conclusion that a years-long smear campaign is not something necessary for world peace,". Mr. Denktaş, in order to be friend you should take your friend's concern seriously and not belittle your friend. As far as Professor Justin McCarthy's claim below that "the "Blue Book," chosen by Armenians to prove their claims of genocide, was one of the products of the British war propaganda bureau's efforts at misinformation during World War I", U.K. FOREIGN OFFICE REJECTS TURKISH PARLIAMENT'S BID TO UNDERMINE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.

The leader of the neo-nationalist Turkish Workers' Party (İP), Doğu Perinçek, went on trial in the Swiss city of Lausanne for calling the alleged genocide of Armenians in 1915 an "international lie" during Turkish rallies in Lausanne two years ago.

Nevertheless, 160 members of the Talat Pasha Committee who traveled to Lausanne in show of support to Perinçek were not allowed to enter the court hall, as well as the Turkish journalists who wanted to watch the trial.

The Talat Pasha Committee, which aims at combating Armenian allegations, is named after an Ottoman interior minister whom Armenians claim had a key role in the alleged Armenian genocide. Talat Pasha was killed in 1921 by an Armenian gunman in Berlin.

A Swiss official said the Turkish group -- most of whom were wearing red scarves and waving Turkish flags -- should have had written accreditation earlier from Swiss authorities to enter the court, the Anatolia news agency reported, noting that meanwhile, a group of Swiss and foreign journalists based in Switzerland and a group of Armenians living in Switzerland were allowed to enter the court hall. The trial, which started yesterday, will continue for four days, the agency also reported from Lausanne.

Among Perinçek's supporters was Rauf Denktaş, the first and former president of Turkish Cyprus. "We're not going [to Switzerland] for enmity, we're going to see whether we can lay the foundations of a friendship … In order to be friends, parties should avoid insults. We hope that cantons and governments in Switzerland eventually draw the conclusion that a years-long smear campaign is not something necessary for world peace," Denktaş said on Monday ahead of his departure for Switzerland.

If found guilty, Perinçek will be the first person sentenced under Switzerland's anti-racism law for denying the alleged genocide. In the past, a Bern court acquitted 12 Turks facing similar charges in 2001.

Turkey vehemently denies that Armenian subjects under its predecessor the Ottoman Empire were victims of genocide. Facing a mounting Armenian campaign to get international recognition for the alleged genocide, Turkey called for a joint committee of Turkish and Armenian experts in 2005 to study the allegations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian proposing the establishment of such a committee. Nevertheless, Yerevan hasn't given a positive answer to Ankara's proposal up to date, instead arguing that such a committee should be inter-governmental.

American historian Professor Justin McCarthy was also in Lausanne yesterday in order to stand before the court as a witness for the defendant. McCarthy has become a well-known name in Turkish public opinion in recent years.

McCarthy said at the time that the source known as the "Blue Book," chosen by Armenians to prove their claims of genocide, was one of the products of the British war propaganda bureau's efforts at misinformation during World War I. Turkey also argues that Armenian allegations in the book, formally titled "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916," are not factually supported and the book as a whole was wartime propaganda by the British.

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.