Turkey slams Netherlands' recognition of 1915 events as 'genocide'
BY DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES
ISTANBUL EU AFFAIRSFEB 26, 2021
Turkey condemned the decision of the Dutch House of Representatives to recognize the 1915 incidents as so-called “genocide” against Armenians, calling it null and void.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said the decision is a null attempt to rewrite history with political motives.
“Councils are not venues to write history and trial it. Those who agree with this decision, instead of looking for what actually happened in 1915, are after votes as a populist,” Aksoy said.
He invited the signatories of the decision to examine the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 and the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
“We invite you to support the efforts for a better understanding of a historical issue,” he said, adding that Turkey’s proposal for a joint History Commission, which was not answered by Armenia, was one such effort.
He said the Dutch House of Representatives is detached from reality as it has frequently been in recent years.
Aksoy invited the Dutch government to wage a struggle against racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia rather than discriminatory practices leading to the resignation of the government and instead of taking decisions against Turkey.
Turkey objects to presenting the 1915 incidents as “genocide,” rather calling them a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties in the heat of World War I.
Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia under the supervision of international experts to examine the issue.
In 1915, the Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following revolts when some sided with invading Russians, which resulted in some Armenian casualties.
Yerevan has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey officially refuted the Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that although Armenians died during the relocation, many Turks also lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
Turkey slams Netherlands' recognition of 1915 events as 'genocide'
Turkey condemned the decision of the Dutch House of Representatives to recognize the 1915 incidents as so-called “genocide” against Armenians, calling...
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