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Zaman, Turkey
April 28 2005
Turkish PM to Yerevan: Let's Open the Archives and Accept the Results
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, who offered an intergovernmental
commission into the so-called genocide allegations, to open the
archives before making any political decisions.
Turkey has opened the Ottoman Empire archives in an attempt to
clarify the incidents that occurred in 1915, Erdogan said:
"You cannot reach any conclusions by lobbying. Here we are. If you
are speaking according to your archives, open them and let the
political scientists and historians deal with them."
Demanding that Yerevan take conscious and scientific steps based on
the documents, the Turkish Prime Minister emphasized that, "We, as a
country, are ready to accept the consequences; however, the Armenians
should be ready to accept them as well." The European Council also
supported Erdogan's suggestion to form a commission comprising of
both Turkish and Armenian historians. The Parliamentary Assembly of
the European Council called on Kocharian to make a positive response
to the suggestion in a written notice that included the signatures of
104 parliamentarians. The Armenian President responded to Erdogan's
letter suggesting a joint commission comprising of Turkish and
Armenian historians the other day. Kocharian hoping to build
diplomatic relations, and reopen the borders and begin a process of
dialogue between the two countries wrote in the letter that the
responsibility to develop mutual relations belonged to both
governments and they had no right to leave that responsibility in the
hands of historians. The Armenian President also added in his letter
that an intergovernmental commission could be formed to deal with all
kinds of issues or to solve any significant problems by compromising.
Erdogan evaluated Kocharian's letter following his meeting with New
Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on April 27. Erdogan revealed that
he read the letter sentence by sentence and said that the incidents
should first be clarified before making any political decisions.
Erdogan also expressed that this would occur through a thorough
examination of the archives: "Our arguments are based on the
documents. We are not a nation denying its history and our history
never left us on the ground." The Prime Minister emphasized that he
could not understand why the Armenians who had insisted on bringing
the so-called genocide allegations to the agenda around the world had
in the past refused to open their achieves.
April 28 2005
Turkish PM to Yerevan: Let's Open the Archives and Accept the Results
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, who offered an intergovernmental
commission into the so-called genocide allegations, to open the
archives before making any political decisions.
Turkey has opened the Ottoman Empire archives in an attempt to
clarify the incidents that occurred in 1915, Erdogan said:
"You cannot reach any conclusions by lobbying. Here we are. If you
are speaking according to your archives, open them and let the
political scientists and historians deal with them."
Demanding that Yerevan take conscious and scientific steps based on
the documents, the Turkish Prime Minister emphasized that, "We, as a
country, are ready to accept the consequences; however, the Armenians
should be ready to accept them as well." The European Council also
supported Erdogan's suggestion to form a commission comprising of
both Turkish and Armenian historians. The Parliamentary Assembly of
the European Council called on Kocharian to make a positive response
to the suggestion in a written notice that included the signatures of
104 parliamentarians. The Armenian President responded to Erdogan's
letter suggesting a joint commission comprising of Turkish and
Armenian historians the other day. Kocharian hoping to build
diplomatic relations, and reopen the borders and begin a process of
dialogue between the two countries wrote in the letter that the
responsibility to develop mutual relations belonged to both
governments and they had no right to leave that responsibility in the
hands of historians. The Armenian President also added in his letter
that an intergovernmental commission could be formed to deal with all
kinds of issues or to solve any significant problems by compromising.
Erdogan evaluated Kocharian's letter following his meeting with New
Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on April 27. Erdogan revealed that
he read the letter sentence by sentence and said that the incidents
should first be clarified before making any political decisions.
Erdogan also expressed that this would occur through a thorough
examination of the archives: "Our arguments are based on the
documents. We are not a nation denying its history and our history
never left us on the ground." The Prime Minister emphasized that he
could not understand why the Armenians who had insisted on bringing
the so-called genocide allegations to the agenda around the world had
in the past refused to open their achieves.