Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has accused Pope Francis of “joining the conspiracy” of an “evil front” targeting Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), after the pontiff referred to the killings of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as “the first genocide of the 20th century.”
“Currently, an evil front is being formed against us,” Davutoğlu said in the Ankara meeting where his party’s election manifesto was announced and candidates running in the June 7 election were presented on April 15. “Now the pope has joined this conspiracy.”
Describing this “evil front,” Davutoğlu also pointed the finger at the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), accusing them of being foreign “projects” to undermine the AKP before the elections.
“I am addressing the pope: Those who escaped from the Catholic inquisition in Spain found peace in our just order in Istanbul and İzmir. We are ready to discuss historical issues, but we will not let people insult our nation through history,” he added, referring to Sephardic Jews who fled the Iberian Peninsula and found refuge in the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
On April 14, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also condemned Pope Francis, warning him to not repeat the “mistake” of describing the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians as “genocide.”
Armenia says up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians were killed in a genocide starting in 1915. Turkey denies that the deaths amounted to genocide, saying the death toll of Armenians killed during mass deportations has been inflated and that those killed in 1915 and 1916 were victims of general unrest during World War I.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pope-has-joined-conspiracy-against-turkish-government-pm-davutoglu-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81079&NewsCatID=510
15/4/15
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“Currently, an evil front is being formed against us,” Davutoğlu said in the Ankara meeting where his party’s election manifesto was announced and candidates running in the June 7 election were presented on April 15. “Now the pope has joined this conspiracy.”
Describing this “evil front,” Davutoğlu also pointed the finger at the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), accusing them of being foreign “projects” to undermine the AKP before the elections.
“I am addressing the pope: Those who escaped from the Catholic inquisition in Spain found peace in our just order in Istanbul and İzmir. We are ready to discuss historical issues, but we will not let people insult our nation through history,” he added, referring to Sephardic Jews who fled the Iberian Peninsula and found refuge in the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
On April 14, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also condemned Pope Francis, warning him to not repeat the “mistake” of describing the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians as “genocide.”
Armenia says up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians were killed in a genocide starting in 1915. Turkey denies that the deaths amounted to genocide, saying the death toll of Armenians killed during mass deportations has been inflated and that those killed in 1915 and 1916 were victims of general unrest during World War I.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pope-has-joined-conspiracy-against-turkish-government-pm-davutoglu-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81079&NewsCatID=510
15/4/15
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Erdogan says will disregard European vote on Armenian killings...
ReplyDeletePresident Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would disregard the European Parliament's vote later Wednesday on the 1915 mass killings of Armenians, which the pope this week described as genocide.
The European Parliament is due to debate a resolution to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians under Turkish Ottoman rule.
"Whatever decision the European Parliament takes on Armenian genocide claims, it would go in one ear and out the other," Erdogan told a news conference at Ankara airport before departing on an official visit to Kazakhstan.
"It is out of the question for there to a stain, a shadow called 'genocide' on Turkey," he said..............REUTERS...........dailystar.com.lb
15/4/15
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution that recognizes the 1915 events affecting Armenians as "genocide."..
DeleteThe European Parliament first recognized the 1915 events as "genocide" in a 1987 resolution, which the parliament recalled in a vote Wednesday - the centenary of the 1915 events.
The resolution states: "The importance of keeping alive the memories of the past are paramount, since there can be no reconciliation without truth and remembrance."
It "urges Turkey and Armenia to proceed to a normalization of their relations by ratifying and implementing, without preconditions, the protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations.”
Also, the resolution said that normalization of relations could be done "by opening the border and by actively improving their relations, with particular reference to cross-border cooperation and economic integration.".....aa.com.tr
15/4/15
European Commission calls 1915 events 'tragedy'...
ReplyDeleteThe European Commission has refused to call the 1915 events a "genocide" following the European Parliament’s resolution on the contrary.
The European Commission, the 28-nation-bloc’s executive body, referred to the 1915 events as a "tragedy" Thursday, in defiance of the European Parliament’s resolution to recognize the event as "genocide" Wednesday.
European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic reiterated Thursday European Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva’s remarks Wednesday.
Georgieva told the European Parliament Wednesday that the EU "fully acknowledges the significance of the upcoming commemoration as well as the divergence of views over this tragedy.".....www.aa.com.tr
16/4/15
The White House: Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes’ Meeting with Armenian-American Leaders
ReplyDeleteThis afternoon Denis McDonough and Ben Rhodes hosted leaders from the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Committee of America to discuss the upcoming centennial commemoration of the 1915 atrocities against Armenians. Recalling the deep ties between the Armenian and American peoples, they discussed the significance of this occasion for honoring the 1.5 million lives extinguished during that horrific period, and welcomed the principled advocacy of the Armenian American community on behalf of justice. They pledged that the United States will use the occasion to urge a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts that we believe is in the interest of all parties.
They also noted that the President has asked Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew to lead a Presidential Delegation to Yerevan on April 24, to stand in solidarity with the Armenian people as they commemorate this most solemn of anniversaries.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/21/statement-nsc-spokesperson-bernadette-meehan-chief-staff-denis-mcdonough
21/4/15