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Turkey Insists On Genocide Study Offer

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  • Turkey Insists On Genocide Study Offer

    TURKEY INSISTS ON GENOCIDE STUDY OFFER
    By Aza Babayan in Moscow

    Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
    Nov 1 2006

    Turkey renewed on Wednesday its calls for joint Turkish-Armenian
    academic research of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
    Empire, saying that their acceptance by Armenia is a precondition
    for normalizing relations between the two nations.

    Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Ankara insists on the idea of
    setting up a commission of Turkish and Armenian historians which
    was floated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a letter to
    President Robert Kocharian last year.

    Kocharian effectively turned down the proposal, saying that this and
    other problems hampering Turkish-Armenian rapprochement should be
    tackled by the two governments. Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora
    believe that the 1915-1918 genocide of some 1.5 Armenians in Ottoman
    Turkey is a proven fact that can not be disputed by historians.

    Armenian leaders see the Turkish proposal as a ploy to scuttle greater
    international recognition of the genocide.

    "We wish to establish good neighborly relations with Armenia, but
    there are some political problems," Gul said, speaking to RFE/RL on
    the sidelines of a meeting in Moscow of foreign ministers of Black
    Sea countries. "To solve them, our parliament, our prime minister
    sent a letter to [the Armenian] president. But unfortunately, we
    haven't received a positive response."

    "This is a great opportunity, in fact," continued Gul. "So many
    countries are supporting this initiative. I hope that your leadership
    will think it over again and that we will talk and solve our problems
    in good faith."

    The initiative has been backed by the United States and some European
    Union countries. The European Parliament also effectively endorsed
    it in a September resolution that at the same time reaffirmed the EU
    legislature's earlier calls for Turkish recognition of the Armenian
    genocide.

    Gul made no mention of another Turkish precondition for the
    establishment of diplomatic relations and reopening of the border
    with Armenia: a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that
    would satisfy Azerbaijan, Turkey's closest regional ally.

    The unresolved conflict seems to have been overshadowed by last
    month's approval by France's parliament of bill making it a crime to
    deny the Armenian genocide. Ankara has reacted furiously to the move
    which undermines its strong denial of the genocide. In an October 17
    statement, the Turkish parliament said Armenia greatly contributed
    to the passage of the bill with its "hostile policies against the
    rights and pride of the Turkish nation."
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