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Turkish PM stays true to himself, persisting in Genocide denial

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  • Turkish PM stays true to himself, persisting in Genocide denial

    Turkish PM stays true to himself, persisting in Genocide denial

    April 29, 2014 - 16:33 AMT

    PanARMENIAN.Net - Only a week after expressing condolences ahead of
    the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish Prime Minister
    Recep Tayyip Erdoganhas said `the small Armenian community still
    living in Turkey was proof that there was no Genocide in the past,'
    Hurriyet Daily News reported.

    Speaking in an interview with Charlie Rose from PBS, Erdogan said
    `what happened in 1915 could not be described as Genocide.'

    `This is not possible. Because if there were a genocide, [there would
    not be] Armenians still living in Turkey,' Erdogan said, reiterating
    that Ankara was ready to open its historical archives.

    `We see genocide as a crime against humanity. We will never shut our
    eyes to it. We are ready to open our archives. Armenia and other third
    party countries should do it too,' he said, adding if documents prove
    it, then Turkey would apologize.

    `These events did not happen under the Turkish Republic, but the
    Ottoman Empire. If the documents show it, then we will not avoid
    apologizing and accepting the consequences,' he said.

    "It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
    geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk
    to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
    their losses in a decent manner. And it is with this hope and belief
    that we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of
    the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our
    condolences to their grandchildren. Regardless of their ethnic or
    religious origins, we pay tribute, with compassion and respect, to all
    Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the same period and under
    similar conditions,' Erdogan's statement said.

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