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Turks plot response to Canadian PM Harper statement

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  • Turks plot response to Canadian PM Harper statement

    The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
    May 6, 2006 Saturday
    Final Edition

    Turks plot response to Harper statement

    Allan Woods, CanWest News Service


    Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Canada as the country considers
    an official response to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent
    acknowledgement of the 1915 Armenian genocide -- one of the most
    disputed and politically fraught events of the 20th century.

    Harper's three-paragraph statement April 19 to mark the "sombre
    anniversary" -- the first time that Canada has made such a statement
    -- barely caught the attention of most Canadians, but it ignited a
    furor in Ankara that appears set to boil over.

    An official at the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa told CanWest News
    Service that Aydemir Erman has not been formally withdrawn from
    Canada over the prime minister's comments, but he has been "called
    back" to Turkey to discuss with government officials what steps will
    be taken to express displeasure with the remarks.

    Those options include the formal withdrawal of Turkey's top diplomat
    in Canada, a threat Turkey has made with Canada and other countries
    in the past.

    "The ambassador is now travelling to Turkey because our authorities
    have asked him to join them for consultations and, indeed, it is
    related . . . to the prime minister's declaration," said Yoney Tezel,
    a counsellor with the embassy.

    Ottawa's official position that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in
    a "genocide" adds Canada to a group of about 25 other countries,
    including France, Russia, Poland and Argentina.

    "For us, this is a serious matter," Tezel said. "The Armenian claims
    are a direct attack on our identity, on Turkey's history. We feel
    it's unfair. That's why when these claims find some recognition we
    always consider that something negative."

    Harper's statement, delivered on the 91st anniversary of the
    bloodbath, noted that both the Senate and the House of Commons have
    adopted motions acknowledging that a genocide took place.

    "Such statements . . . are not only counter-productive to the
    atmosphere of dialogue we wish to build with Armenia, but also
    adversely affect the relations between Turkey and Canada," the
    Turkish government said.
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