Saturday 17 January 2015

Armenian News...Erdogan's Invitation


asbarez.com

Sarkisian Slams Erdogan’s Invitation to Turkey on April 24 
16 January 2015

Erdogan Invites World Leaders to Turkey to Commemorate 
Gallipoli Centennial on April 24 

YEREVAN—President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday responded to an 
invitation from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who 
announced Thursday that he would be inviting world leaders to 
Turkey on April 24 to mark the centennial of the Battle of Gallipoli, 
reported the Armenpress news agency.

Erdogan made his intentions known to public during a joint press 
conference Thursday with Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev who 
is on an official visit to Turkey.

“On April 24, the day that the Armenian Diaspora has dedicated 
to  commemorate the so-called Armenian Genocide, world leaders 
will gather in Turkey to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle 
of Gallipoli,” Erdogan said that joint press conference. 

In a response made public on Friday by the presidential press 
service, Sarkisian rejected Erdogan’s invitation, saying that the day 
coincides with the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, which 
was committed by the Ottoman Empire.

Below is the text of the letter to Erdogan provided by the presidential 
press service.

“Dear Mr. President,

I received your invitation to participate in the commemoration ceremonies 
marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli. Armenian 
artilleryman, Captain Sargis Torosyan joined the troops of the Ottoman 
Empire in the Battle of Gallipoli and was an officer who was self-dedicated 
to ensuring the defense and security of the Empire. That same year, 
the wave of massacres and forceful deportations planned and perpetrated 
by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people also led to the death 
of even Sargis Torosyan. It was as a result of that unprecedented massacre 
that Rafael Lemkin coined the term “genocide”, and it was the impunity of 
that crime that prepared ground for the Holocaust and the genocides in 
Ruanda, Cambodia and Darfur. Leaving aside the significance of the 
Battle of Gallipoli or Turkey’s disputed role during WWI and WWII, we 
need to remember that peace and friendship must first be hinged on the
courage to confront one's own past, historical justice and universal 
memory. Alas, Turkey continues its conventional denial policy and is 
“perfecting” its instrumentation for distorting history. This time Turkey 
is marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli on April 24, 
but the battle began on March 18, 1915 and lasted until late January 
1916, after which the allies’ operation started on April 25. What is the 
purpose if not to distract the world’s attention from the 100th 
anniversary  of the Armenian Genocide? I would advise you to 
remember in your calls for world peace to make a call to the world to 
recognize the Armenian Genocide and commemorate the 1.5 million 
innocent victims. Each of us has a duty to transmit the real story to the 
future generations and prevent the repetition of crimes and prepare 
ground for the rapprochement and future cooperation between peoples, 
especially neighboring peoples. 

P.S. Your Excellency, a couple of months ago, I invited you to 
Yerevan to respect the memory of the innocent martyrs of the 
Armenian Genocide together on April 24, 2015. Armenians don’t 
accept being hosted by the guest without receiving a response 
to the guest’s invitation.” 

According to the Hurriyet Daily News, in marking the 100th anniversary 
of the Battle of Gallipoli, the Turkish government will organize 
ceremonies with the participation of 8,500 Australians and 2,000 
New Zealanders. The U.K.’s Prince Charles and his two sons, and 
the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, are expected to 
take part in commemorations. 

A day before the April 24 ceremonies in Çanakkale, the government 
is planning to host a reception and a “Summit of Peace” in Istanbul 
on April 23, the day when Turkey marks the 95th anniversary of the
foundation of the Turkish Parliament.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has signed invitation letters 
to his counterparts, while President Erdogan has sent letters to the 
heads of state, accompanied by the message, “We would be delighted 
to have you with us on the 100th anniversary commemorations of the 
Battle of Gallipoli.” 

During Thursday’s press conference, Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s 
support for Azerbaijan, emphasizing that “Ankara will continue to 
back Azerbaijan on the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” 
reported the Today’s Zaman newspaper.

“I would like to mention this once again: we will continue to extend 
our support for Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict so 
that it finds its solution in the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” 
Erdoğan said in a joint press conference held with his Azerbaijani 
counterpart in Ankara on Thursday. 

Erdogan also said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
in Europe Minsk Group, tasked with negotiating a resolution to the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has failed in its mission.

“Turkey is extremely sensitive towards this issue and as Turkey, our 
position is explicit. It is not possible at all that we will step back from 
this point [backing Azerbaijan],” Erdogan said stressing the importance 
of the strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan in both 
defense and energy realms.

“Azerbaijan will be strong as long as Turkey is powerful,” Aliyev
 said,  extending his gratitude to Ankara’s continuing support in 
what he  called “justice and international law,” referring to the 
Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict.

No comments: