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ISTANBUL: Erdošan accuses Armenian diaspora of exploiting 1915 event

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  • ISTANBUL: Erdošan accuses Armenian diaspora of exploiting 1915 event

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    Jan 30 2015

    ErdoĆ°an accuses Armenian diaspora of exploiting 1915 events

    President Recep Tayyip ErdoĆ°an. (Photo: DHA)

    January 30, 2015, Friday/ 17:41:14/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / ANKARA


    President Recep Tayyip ErdoĆ°an has criticized the Armenian diaspora
    for exploiting the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 and said Turkey
    will not acknowledge the 1915 events as "genocide" just because others
    push Turkey to recognize them as such.

    In an interview with the state-run Turkish Radio and Television
    Corporation (TRT), ErdoĆ°an said on Thursday that the Armenian diaspora
    is pushing for the acknowledgement of the 1915 events at the end of
    the World War l to be recognized as "genocide" in other countries and
    is trying to create pressure for Turkey, but this issue needs to be
    handled by the historians.

    He said Turkey has opened its archives and is ready to do what is
    necessary. "We don't have to acknowledge the so-called Armenian
    genocide by the order of others. What we say is, if you are sincere
    about this discussion, leave this issue to the historians and let them
    work on it," said ErdoĆ°an.

    Yerevan commemorates the incident of the mass killings of Armenians
    every April 24 and often uses the anniversary as an opportunity to
    lobby Western countries to brand the killings a genocide. Ankara
    denies claims that the events of 1915 amounted to genocide, arguing
    that both Turks and Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted
    against the Ottoman Empire during World War l in collaboration with
    the Russian army, which was at the time invading Eastern Anatolia.

    President ErdoĆ°an said the Armenian diaspora is trying to exploit the
    issue and drag Turkey into a fight.

    In a historic first for the Turkish Republic last year, ErdoĆ°an, who
    was prime minister at the time, extended Turkey's condolences to the
    grandchildren of Armenians who had lost their lives 1915. The
    statement, which did not include the word "genocide," was welcomed by
    the West and Armenians living in Turkey, but fell short of satisfying
    Yerevan.

    When speaking to TRT, ErdoĆ°an also said after the evaluation of the
    1915 events by the historians, if Turkey needs to pay a price, Turkey
    is ready to take the necessary steps.

    ErdoĆ°an also said Armenians have a strong lobby around the world and
    it is a fact that Turkey's exerting efforts against them is somewhat
    weak on this issue.

    President ErdoĆ°an continued by saying that Turkey is ready to sit down
    and talk about these issues but the Armenian side is the one avoiding
    doing that.

    When asked about the latest "Freedom in the World 2015" report of
    US-based watchdog Freedom House and its heavy criticism of Turkey with
    regards to increasing interference in the media and judiciary, ErdoĆ°an
    claimed that no one really takes Freedom House seriously.

    The Freedom House report, which was released on Wednesday, said
    ErdoĆ°an has a "shadow Cabinet" in his presidential palace and he is
    governing the country via this cabinet.

    ErdoĆ°an refuted this claim and said: "Freedom House doesn't have any
    dignity. Zero dignity. They think they are so valuable. There may be
    others behind organizations like Freedom House. We need to know these
    facts." He also said no one actually him any question about a so
    called "shadow cabinet" in the palace, saying that their sources are
    not good.

    In other remarks, ErdoĆ°an once again criticized Israeli Prime Minister
    Benjamin Netanyahu attending a march in Paris after the attack against
    French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo earlier this month. Leaders
    around the world, including Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoĆ°lu, marched
    arm-in-arm for the victims of the Paris attack in a show of
    solidarity. ErdoĆ°an had said he did not understand how Netanyahu dared
    to attended the march, considering Israel's increasingly aggressive
    behavior, especially with regards to the violation of holy sites in
    Jerusalem.

    Speaking on TRT, ErdoĆ°an said Netanyahu's acts against Palestinians
    are "state terror." ErdoĆ°an also claimed that Israelis like to shed
    blood and find peace in "sucking blood."

    President ErdoĆ°an also talked about Greece's left-wing party Syriza's
    election victory last Sunday, and said he expects the good
    relationship between Turkey and Greece to continue under the new Greek
    administration.

    "I wish him [head of Syriza, Alexis Tsipras] all the best and I
    believe together we'll bring Turkish-Greek relations to a much better,
    ideal point," said ErdoĆ°an.


    http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_erdogan-accuses-armenian-diaspora-of-exploiting-1915-events_371286.html

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