Turkish Press
April 12 2014
Turkish parties criticize U.S. decision on Armenian allegations
Friday, April 11, 2014
ANKARA – The United States (U.S.) should leave the events of 1915 in
the Ottoman Empire to historians and instead pay attention to ongoing
massacres and tragedies across the world, the Deputy Chairman of
Turkey’s ruling AK Party told journalists Friday.
Salih Kapusuz criticized the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
for approving a bill regarding Armenian allegations regarding the 1915
incidents rather than paying attention to the ongoing massacre in
Syria and that against the Muslim society in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The U.S. Senate Committee approved a draft resolution Thursday that
supports Armenian allegations.
“While Turkey welcomed Armenians who lived in Syria’s Kessab town and
fled from the cruelty of [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, the U.S. is
just interested in Armenian allegations,” Kapusuz said at a press
conference.
Syrian opposition forces provided 18 Syrians of Armenian descent safe
passage Saturday to a border town in Turkey’s Hatay province. Two
sisters of Armenian descent had sought refuge in Hatay earlier that
week.
Kapusuz also condemned the U.S. for its inaction in the face of
thousands of photographs of torture victims in Syria, as well as the
mass death sentence recently handed down in Egypt.
“Turkey wants to offer a helping hand to the needy in the region and
worldwide. Since June 2013, some circles want to see Turkey more
isolated, dealing with its domestic issues like terrorism and not
paying attention to Syria or Palestine. That’s why they target the
[Kurdish] ‘peace process’ and our domestic peace. They would like to
see interest rates going up, growth rate and export decreasing, and
unemployment rising in Turkey,” he added.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also
criticized the draft resolution, saying that Armenian allegations have
the power to negatively affect relations between the U.S. and Turkey.
“The bill is one-sided and does not comply with the truths. However,
it is important for both relations between the U.S. and Turkey and for
Turkey’s position in the world,” Deputy Chairman Faruk Logoglu said in
a statement released by the CHP.
During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire approved a deportation
law for Armenians amid their uprising with the help of invading
Russian army. As a result, an unknown number of people died in civil
strife. The Armenian diaspora and the state of Armenia term the
incidents as “genocide” and ask for compensation, whereas Ankara says
that while Armenians died during the deportation, many Turks also died
due to the attacks by Armenian gangs all across Anatolia.
The draft bill has yet to be put to a final vote.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress