Tweet
Turkish PM Cancels Visit to Argentina
May 31, 2010
BUENOS AIRES - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled his
official trip to Argentina because he "felt offended" by the decision of
Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri to cancel the inauguration of a monument
paying homage to the founder of the Republic of Turkey, officials said.
"He suspended his visit bothered by the unfulfilled promises of the city
government regarding the inauguration of a monument in homage to the founder
of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which was scheduled for
Monday, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said Saturday.
"The Turkish foreign minister told me at noon (Saturday) that his government
made the decision to cancel the visit because of the displeasure the Macri
government's decision caused them," the organizer of the event, Taiana, told
the official Telam news agency.
The foreign minister lamented the fact that "the marches and countermarches
of the city government caused this situation" because "it was a good
opportunity to have the presence of a prime minister (from a country) making
up the G-20," Taiana said.
The Buenos Aires city government has been battling President Cristina
Fernandez's administration, with the conflict intensifying over the past two
weeks because of the indictment of Macri in a case where the judiciary is
investigating illegal telephone tapping of politicians and businessmen.
The Turkish government issued a statement Sunday in which it blamed
Argentina's Armenian community for the cancellation of Erdogan's visit to
Buenos Aires.
"The reason for the cancellation of the visit to Argentina is that the
Environment and Public Works Ministry of the autonomous government of Buenos
Aires cancelled the permit to unveil a bust in honor of Ataturk in Jorge
Newbury park because of the opposition of Armenian sectors," the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said.
Fernandez called Erdogan to apologize for the incident and to assure him
that his government could not do anything more because of the municipal
government's autonomy, the ministry said.
Erdogan was scheduled to arrive Sunday in Buenos Aires from Santiago, Chile.
Argentina is home to some 130,000 Armenians, the majority of them
descendents of those expelled by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to
Turkey, at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Ottoman Empire ordered the deportation of about 1 million Armenians to
the deserts of Syria at the start of World War 1 because it felt that they
were fifth columnists for the enemy nation of Russia and the majority died
there of hunger, disease or in massacres, deeds that Armenia and other
countries refer to as the Armenian Genocide.
Turkey, however, refuses to call those events genocide, contending that the
Armenians also killed thousands of Muslims and out of fear that
acknowledging the Turkish role in the situation would lead to economic and
territorial claims.
Most historians agree that Ataturk, who was an Ottoman general during World
War I and led the 1919-1923 Turkish War for Independence, did not
participate in the genocide.
Copyright Latin American Herald Tribune - 2009 ©
From: A. Papazian
May 31, 2010
BUENOS AIRES - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled his
official trip to Argentina because he "felt offended" by the decision of
Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri to cancel the inauguration of a monument
paying homage to the founder of the Republic of Turkey, officials said.
"He suspended his visit bothered by the unfulfilled promises of the city
government regarding the inauguration of a monument in homage to the founder
of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which was scheduled for
Monday, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said Saturday.
"The Turkish foreign minister told me at noon (Saturday) that his government
made the decision to cancel the visit because of the displeasure the Macri
government's decision caused them," the organizer of the event, Taiana, told
the official Telam news agency.
The foreign minister lamented the fact that "the marches and countermarches
of the city government caused this situation" because "it was a good
opportunity to have the presence of a prime minister (from a country) making
up the G-20," Taiana said.
The Buenos Aires city government has been battling President Cristina
Fernandez's administration, with the conflict intensifying over the past two
weeks because of the indictment of Macri in a case where the judiciary is
investigating illegal telephone tapping of politicians and businessmen.
The Turkish government issued a statement Sunday in which it blamed
Argentina's Armenian community for the cancellation of Erdogan's visit to
Buenos Aires.
"The reason for the cancellation of the visit to Argentina is that the
Environment and Public Works Ministry of the autonomous government of Buenos
Aires cancelled the permit to unveil a bust in honor of Ataturk in Jorge
Newbury park because of the opposition of Armenian sectors," the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said.
Fernandez called Erdogan to apologize for the incident and to assure him
that his government could not do anything more because of the municipal
government's autonomy, the ministry said.
Erdogan was scheduled to arrive Sunday in Buenos Aires from Santiago, Chile.
Argentina is home to some 130,000 Armenians, the majority of them
descendents of those expelled by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to
Turkey, at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Ottoman Empire ordered the deportation of about 1 million Armenians to
the deserts of Syria at the start of World War 1 because it felt that they
were fifth columnists for the enemy nation of Russia and the majority died
there of hunger, disease or in massacres, deeds that Armenia and other
countries refer to as the Armenian Genocide.
Turkey, however, refuses to call those events genocide, contending that the
Armenians also killed thousands of Muslims and out of fear that
acknowledging the Turkish role in the situation would lead to economic and
territorial claims.
Most historians agree that Ataturk, who was an Ottoman general during World
War I and led the 1919-1923 Turkish War for Independence, did not
participate in the genocide.
Copyright Latin American Herald Tribune - 2009 ©
From: A. Papazian