Issue Of Armenian Genocide Discussed

[MosJan]

ISSUE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DISCUSSED IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT

 

YEREVAN, APRIL 7. ARMINFO. Turkish Parliament debates the Armenian question AM Central Daylight Time CHP deputy S. Elekdag called on the state archives to be opened to resolve the Armenian question. Allegations that the Ottoman Empire carried out a campaign of genocide against its Armenian citizens in the early part of last century were debated in the Turkish parliament's harmonisation and foreign relations committee Tuesday night.

 

As Turks.US informs, it was the first time that the issued of the "so-called genocide" (Turks say) had been formally discussed in the parliament. Speaking in the parliament session Zaman newspaper writer Etyen Mahzupyan targeted the choice of American historian Justin McCarthy to speak on the issue. McCarthy had been invited to Turkey by the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Mahzupyan said that McCarthy was not reputable international historian and claimed his name was involved in money deals. CHP deputy Sükrü Elekdag defended McCarthy saying that his Blue Book was written under war condition and that this caused some problems in the book but denied claims against the writer.

 

"Turkey does not have to take into account the diaspora," Mahzupyan said. "It has to take into account the Armenians living in Turkey and Armenia as a neighbour, let us not deal with the past but the future." When Mahzupyan was reminded of the uncovering of mass graves he said no solution would be reached over this issue but that a link between PKK and Armenian question could be made.

 

The chief editor of the Armenian daily Agos, Hrant Dink, said that the move of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leader Deniz Baykal to call for the opening of the Ottoman archives and for historians to discuss the allegations was a historic event but that politics and history should be separated. He added that the move needed new openings. Writer Levon Panos Debagyan said that Armenians were used by the Russians and British and said," Here is my country, I call them to leave us."