EAFJD: On Erdogan’s Message To The Armenians

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
For Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
Bruxelles, 1000
Belgique

Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 26 / 27
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Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message to the Armenian
people on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
() is nothing more than Turkey’s renewed
denial tactics under international pressure to accept her past and
reconcile with it – especially with the centenary of the Armenian
Genocide approaching. Though unprecedented the message, it is nothing
more than a try to obstruct the international recognition and
condemnation of Turkey for what it did to the Armenians, beginning April
24, 1915. By once again stating “the establishment of a joint historical
commission in order to study the events of 1915 in a scholarly manner”
Erdogan is omitting what independent scholars and academics have
classified the “events” as Genocide.

By putting the extermination of the Armenians in the overall context of
the losses of the Ottoman Empire, and conveying his condolences to the
grandchildren of those perished, Erdogan rather than offering them
peace, is insulting their memory. The massacres of the Armenian people
in their historical lands were centrally planned and executed
meticulously, even after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. If the Prime
Minister of Turkey wants to convey his condolences, he firstly needs to
acknowledge that there was an Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey.

“There can be reconciliation and peace between the two nations, between
Turks and Armenians, only when Turkey accepts her genocidal past,
condemns it, and pays the necessary reparations to the Armenian people,
financial and territorial”, said European Armenian Federation for
Justice and Democracy President, Kaspar Karampetian, and concluded “all
the rest is just talk and a continuation of Turkey’s denial of the
Armenian Genocide”.

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