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BEIRUT: Turkey's Premier in Beirut as Armenians Stage Street Protest

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  • BEIRUT: Turkey's Premier in Beirut as Armenians Stage Street Protest

    Turkey's Premier in Beirut as Armenians Stage Street Protests

    An-Nahar, Lebanon
    www.naharnet.com
    June 16 2005

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a round of talks with
    Lebanon's Premier Najib Mikati on expanding bilateral relations and
    was the guest of honor at the Arab Economic Forum for Investment and
    Arab Capital Markets, which opened in the Lebanese capital Thursday.

    Erdogan flew in Wednesday and was awarded a red carpet welcome at
    Rafik Hariri Beirut airport although hundreds of Lebanese Armenians
    were demonstrating in the capital's district of Bourj Hammoud against
    Turkey's refusal to recognize what Armenia and several other countries
    regard as an act of genocide.

    Armenians say Turks killed up to 1.5 million Armenians in eastern
    Turkey between 1915 and 1923. Turks claim the number is inflated and
    that the victims were killed in civil unrest or during deportation
    to Syria.

    The Lebanese protesters burned a Turkish flag and closed their shops
    for an hour in Bourj Hammoud, which has a large Armenian community.

    Some 100,000 Armenians live in Lebanon.

    A newly elected Armenian member of parliament, Hagob Pakradounian,
    said Lebanon must follow 18 other countries in officially recognizing
    the killings as genocide. Speaking to reporters, he demanded that
    Turkey recognize the massacre.

    Erdogan and his wife, wearing a purple headscarf, visited the residence
    of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to pay their condolences to
    his widow, Nazek. Later, the three visited Hariri's grave on Martyrs'
    Square in central Beirut. Hariri was killed with 20 other people in
    a massive bombing in Beirut on Feb. 14.

    Erdogan also met President Emile Lahoud and Speaker Nabih Berri
    on Thursday.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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