Turkey finds Canadian premier's Armenian "genocide" remarks unacceptable

April 27 2007
Anatolia News Agency
Turkey

The articler below says "Turkey's proposal to establish a joint commission of historians is still on the table and has been brought widely to the attention of the international public opinion. This commission will be open to all concerned and competent historians regardless of their nationality,"

Here is the answer given by the Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan:

"TNA: If there isn't even agreement among the world's leading historians and experts on the 1915 tragedy, what was wrong with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's call last year to set up a joint committee of historians and experts to deal with the issue together?

OSKANYAN: I've got to be very honest with you here, we think it's not a genuine proposal, it's a smokescreen for Europeans to think that Turkey has made a positive step. Let me explain why we think it's a smokescreen.

Because of three reasons. One, there's already such a commission like many Turkish scholars, Armenians and foreign scholars have debated the issue, they have discussed the issue and they have declared their position. Those scholars wrote a letter to Prime Minister Erdogan when he issued this invitation and they said: Mr. Prime Minister, that issue has been already studied by different scholars and the conclusions are very clear. It is a genocide, so there's no need for further discussion. And second, with the law within Article 301, you can't be serious about such recommendations. I guess that if your scholars are on the commission, study this topic, they can't accept that it's a genocide. This is what it is. You have 301, that says if you say there's a genocide or even discuss the issue of the events of 1915, you can be punished. It's not compatible. Then today there's a vacuum between the Turkish and Armenian governments, between those two states, because there's no diplomatic relations. The border is even closed. So how do you imagine creating that commission among historians? How will they meet? Where? How will they interact? So there are many problems to be dealt with correctly." HERE.

Ankara, 26 April: "We find this reference in the statement of the Canadian prime minister unacceptable, unjust and incompatible with our relations as friends and allies," Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said when commenting on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's statement on 24 April related to the events of 1915 to which he referred as "genocide".

Releasing a statement, the MFA said, "Turkey remains committed to preserving its good will and constructive approach in order to assure that the events of 1915 are understood correctly in their entirety by the Turks, the Armenians and other nations."

"Turkey's proposal to establish a joint commission of historians is still on the table and has been brought widely to the attention of the international public opinion. This commission will be open to all concerned and competent historians regardless of their nationality," the statement pointed out.

"We regret Prime Minister Harper's statement which will contribute neither to the promotion of the Turkish-Canadian relations nor to a possible rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. We believe that Mr Harper continues to be misled, and suggest that he encourages competent Canadian historians into studying the events of 1915 on a proper basis," it added.