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Turkey Fails To Promote Denialist Agenda In Argentina

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  • Turkey Fails To Promote Denialist Agenda In Argentina

    TURKEY FAILS TO PROMOTE DENIALIST AGENDA IN ARGENTINA

    Armenian Weekly
    Mon, May 31 2010
    BUENOS AIRES

    Argentina-On May 31, the ANC of South America, a body of the Armenian
    Revolutionary Federation (ARF), issued a statement welcoming Buenos
    Aires officials' decision to block the unveiling of Ataturk's bust in
    the capital. The statement came on the heels of the cancellation of
    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's trip to Buenos Aires,
    after Argentina's Armenian community protested the planned unveiling
    of Ataturk's bust.

    Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan The statement highlighed the
    continuities between the genocidal Young Turk government of 1915 and
    the Turkish Republic established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, noting
    that the policy of Armenian Genocide denial "was born with Ataturk
    and is continued today by Prime Minister Erdogan's government." The
    unveiling of Ataturk's bust in Buenos Aires is an insult not only
    to the Armenian community in Argentina, but to all Argentinians,
    the ANC of Argentina noted.

    "The responsibility for the cancellation of the Turkish delegation's
    visit falls squarely on Prime Minister Erdogan's shoulders," underlined
    the ANC of South America.

    According to reports from Argentina's "Armenia" newspaper, Turkish
    diplomats in Argentina had stepped up genocide denial efforts
    following the successful passage of a 2007 law that condemned
    the Armenian Genocide. Using the so-called "historical commission"
    envisioned in the Turkey-Armenia Protocols, the Turkish Ambassador to
    Argentina Hayri Hayet Yalav had launched an extensive public relations
    campaign, coinciding with the 95th anniversary of this crime, inviting
    Argentinean public officials on trips to Turkey and promoting closer
    Turkish-Argentinian cultural relations.

    The Turkish embassy had quietly approached Buenos Aires officials to
    sidestep local laws requiring public notice and hearings regarding the
    installation of statues on public property, securing an agreement to
    replace an existing statue of an Egyptian human rights activist with
    that of Ataturk. The plan was uncovered by the ANC of South America
    just one week prior to the official installation of Ataturk's bust.

    Within days, a joint Argentina-Armenian Community effort was
    launched-including letters to the editor and a public statement in
    major local newspapers-resulting in a May 28th meeting with Buenos
    Aires city Minister of Parks Diego Santili. The latter rescinded
    the decision.

    An angry Prime Minister Erdogan pressured Argentina President Kirchner
    to overturn the Buenos Aires decision to no avail. Erdogan cancelled
    his trip to Argentina along with his trip to Chile the following day.

    An interesting side note: The "Armenia" newspaper reports that Turkish
    Embassy officials had extended invitations to the Ataturk statue
    unveiling to Argentina Armenians with Turkish passports, threatening
    them to attend the ceremony or face difficulty in renewing their
    travel documents.




    From: A. Papazian
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