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ANKARA: PM Cancels Argentina Visit Over Armenian Interference

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  • ANKARA: PM Cancels Argentina Visit Over Armenian Interference

    PM CANCELS ARGENTINA VISIT OVER ARMENIAN INTERFERENCE

    Today's Zaman
    May 31 2010
    Turkey

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has canceled the Argentina leg
    of his Latin American tour to protest the cancellation of an event
    honoring the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
    under pressure from the Armenian diaspora.

    Erdogan traveled to the Chilean capital of Santiago from Brazil,
    skipping a planned two-day visit to Argentina.

    "The reason for the cancellation of the Argentina visit is the
    cancellation of written permission given earlier by the Ministry
    of Environment and Public Space of the Autonomous City of Buenos
    Aires for an Ataturk Monument that was to be inaugurated at the Jorge
    Newbery Park, following attempts by Armenian circles who are hostile
    to Turkey," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement
    released on early Sunday morning.

    Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, during a bilateral meeting on the
    sidelines of the Third Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, held
    in Rio de Janerio, told his Argentinean counterpart, Jorge Taiana,
    that the Argentinean government should fulfill the promise made to
    Turkey concerning the unveiling of the memorial, the statement said.

    It noted that Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
    called Erdogan expressing understanding but explained that the
    Autonomous Buenos Aires Administration's decision cannot be overruled
    by the federal government due to Argentina's constitution.

    Following this explanation, Erdogan told her that he found this
    unacceptable no matter what the reason was and cancelled the visit,
    the Foreign Ministry said. During talks between the Argentinean and
    Turkish sides and due the Turkish side's firm insistence on keeping
    to the original agenda of the visit, Kirchner also tried to persuade
    the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires to return to the original agenda,
    Today's Zaman learned from reliable sources, yet these efforts failed.

    Argentina is home to the third-largest Armenian diaspora community
    following the United States and France. In the past, a monument of
    Ataturk was removed after pressure by the Armenian community.

    In November 2006, the lower house of Argentina's parliament adopted
    a resolution recognizing the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
    Empire during World War I as "genocide." In January 2007, in a move
    that brought applause from the Armenian diaspora, then-Argentinean
    President Néstor Kirchner approved a draft law proclaiming April 24
    "the day of tolerance and respect."

    The inauguration of the monument was requested from Erdogan personally
    by President Kirchner during correspondence between the two sides
    at the planning stage of the visit, Today's Zaman learned from
    high-level sources.

    The meetings held while Argentinean and Turkish officials were trying
    to resolve the crisis prevented Erdogan from participating in several
    scheduled programs such as the inauguration of "The Ottoman Worldview
    from Piri Reis to Katip Celebi," an exhibition of maps depicting
    some of the most significant contributions to Ottoman geography and
    cartography, in Rio de Janeiro. The exhibition was instead opened by
    Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay.

    Erdogan also abandoned his plan to watch a match between Flamengo and
    Gremio in the fifth round of the Brazilian championship played at
    the Maracana stadium, while Chilean officials responded positively
    to the Turkish delegation's request to start the visit to Chile a
    day earlier than planned.




    From: A. Papazian
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