TURKEY SUMMONS U.S. AMBASSADOR IN ANKARA TO EXPRESS DISCOMFORT OVER OBAMA’S SPEECH
Anadolu Agency
April 27 2009
Turkey
ANKARA (A.A) – 27.04.2009 – Turkey summoned the U.S. Ambassador in
Ankara, James Jeffrey, and expressed discomfort over U.S. President
Barack Obama’s statement on the occasion of the "Armenian Remembrance
Day" on April 24. Jeffrey was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs on Saturday and Turkey’s reaction, and views were communicated
to him, said sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Obama’s statement on April 24, "Armenian Remembrance Day" stirred
wide reaction and drew severe critism from Turkey’s top officials
and politicians on the grounds that it was biased.
Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul was the first to criticize Obama. He
told reporters the following day that not only Armenians but hundreds
of thousands of Turks and Muslims had lost their lives during the
events of 1915, adding that pain and suffering of all people who lost
their lives in 1915 should be remembered.
Gul said statesmen and politicians could not pass judgement on events
in the history, adding that it was time to look to the future and
give a chance to diplomatic efforts for solution of issues between
Turkey and Armenia, and Armenia and Azarbaijan.
Gul was followed by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan who argued that
Obama’s statement was related with a pledge he made to Armenian
lobbies during his election campaign.
"Such a sensitive issue requiring expertise, which should in fact be
left to historians, is continuously being used as a tool for politics
and exploited by lobbies every year, and this prevents normalization of
relations between people and countries," Erdogan was quoted as saying.
Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan also criticised Obama’s statement and
said such statement on events of 1915, seriously harmed the process
for normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkish Foreign Ministry regarded Obama’s statement unacceptable in
a press release issued Sunday, noting that history could be construed
and evaluated only based on undisputed evidence and documents. (OZG-AO)