Turkey to raise to new level denial of Armenian genocide: Expert
14.06.2011,
22:11
After the Sunday parliamentary elections in Turkey in which prime minister Recep Erdogan’s Justice and Development party won about 50 percent of the vote, Ankara will raise to a new level its policy of denying the Armenian Genocide.
YEREVAN, June 14. / ARKA /. After the Sunday parliamentary elections in Turkey in which prime minister Recep Erdogan’s Justice and Development party won about 50 percent of the vote, Ankara will raise to a new level its policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, an Armenian expert in Turkish studies said today.
Speaking at a news conference, Ruben Melkonian, deputy dean of the Oriental Studies Department of Yerevan State University, said the ruling Justice and Development Party won a landslide victory on Sunday, gaining, according to unofficial data, about 50% of the vote.
He said several Turkish scholars who fiercely oppose the recognition of the Armenian Genocide have been also elected to the parliament in a proof that Turkey will continue to deny the genocide.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was the first genocide of the twentieth century. Turkey has been denying the accusations of mass killings of 1.5 million of Armenians during the World War One and is extremely sensitive to criticism from the West regarding this question.
The fact of the Armenian genocide was first recognized in 1965 by Uruguay. Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Chile, Argentina, 42 U.S. states, the Vatican, European Parliament and World Council of Churches also recognized it. -0-
Speaking at a news conference, Ruben Melkonian, deputy dean of the Oriental Studies Department of Yerevan State University, said the ruling Justice and Development Party won a landslide victory on Sunday, gaining, according to unofficial data, about 50% of the vote.
He said several Turkish scholars who fiercely oppose the recognition of the Armenian Genocide have been also elected to the parliament in a proof that Turkey will continue to deny the genocide.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was the first genocide of the twentieth century. Turkey has been denying the accusations of mass killings of 1.5 million of Armenians during the World War One and is extremely sensitive to criticism from the West regarding this question.
The fact of the Armenian genocide was first recognized in 1965 by Uruguay. Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Chile, Argentina, 42 U.S. states, the Vatican, European Parliament and World Council of Churches also recognized it. -0-
