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Turkey warns France over Armenian genocide law

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Published 19 December 2011
17 comments
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Armenia, Armenian genocide, France, French elections 2012, Turkey

Turkey has warned France of grave consequences should the French Senate pass a bill today (19 December) that would penalise denial of the massacre of over 1 million Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire.

Speaking in Libya on Saturday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged France to face its own history before judging the history of others, the Turkish press reports.

Erdoğan's strong reaction came in response to a vote by the French Senate to criminalise denial in France of the so-called Armenian genocide of 1915 and make it punishable by a maximum one-year prison sentence and a €45,000 fine – a punishment that would bring denial of the alleged genocide up to par with denial of the Holocaust.

"Today, nobody talks about the 45,000 Algerian deaths in 1945 or the role of France in the massacre of 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994,” Erdoğan said.

Turkish officials have warned France of grave consequences should the bill be passed by the French Senate. Erdoğan sent a letter to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday, warning him of the damage the bill would cause to bilateral relations.

“This bill directly targets the state of the Turkish Republic, the Turkish nation and the Turkish community in France and is seen as hostile,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying in the letter, seen by the Anatolia news agency.

Speaking in a joint press conference with Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, chairman of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), Erdoğan repeated Turkey's official stance regarding the Armenian deaths of 1915 as an historical matter that calls for the judgement of historians and academics rather than as a matter of politics to be voted on in parliaments.

French election strategies?

Ankara has also raised doubts regarding Sarkozy's motives in changing his stance regarding the Turkish-Armenian conflict, speculating that the French president might be seeking votes from the strong Armenian community in France to gain an advantage over his Socialist Party rival, François Hollande.

The Socialist candidate is also a known defender of the “Armenian genocide” and said that he would support a law to make genocide denial punishable by French courts.

“The bill is completely against common sense. The toll [in the case the bill passes into law] will be on French firms conducting business in Turkey,” Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış said on Saturday (17 December).

Business to suffer

Two days before, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had invited executives from French firms in Turkey to his ministry to discuss the possible results of such a law for French investment in the country.

Apparently unmoved by Ankara's warnings, Sarkozy's ruling party reaffirmed its faith in the bill, expressing support for its passage. Lawmakers interviewed by AFP said that they were “determined at this time” that the bill should not return from the Senate, as it did back in 2006 during a first attempt.

France had previously brought the same bill to the agenda five years ago, but the French Senate refused to discuss it even though France recognised the Armenian deaths of 1915 as genocide in 2001.

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COMMENTS

  • Hey Euractiv,

    Even the Turks don't use anymore the wordings "so-called Armenian Genocide". Are you more denialist that Turkey? Is Euractiv a so-called media ?

    By :
    Maxime Gauin
    - Posted on :
    19/12/2011

  • There are fake genocides of the 20th century forced on the people of the world to believe with the threat of jail if you reject it.
    People should be free to believe the truth & have a re-examining of these so called genocides.

    Thanks to everyone for your great articles & Merry Christmas xxx

    Webmaster of Kitchenaid Artisan 5 Qt Mixer

    By :
    KitchenAid Artisan 5 Qt Mixer
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • though I think the discussion should be about research and judgement of outcomes, now french politicans tell people what they should believe.
    another dimension of this discussion should be role of european powers during the massacres of armenians and other peoples before/during/after WWI and also in recent history.
    and yet a third dimension would be what france attempts to accomplish by this? it is a pretence if they claim that this is an attempt for justice - they are among the last who can claim any honor of it.

    By :
    anonymous
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • I dont understand this Armenians killed more Turkish citizens in east Turkey with Russians but no one talks about this and also France massacred thousands of Tunisian and North african also Ruanda but no one talks about it. Isnt it interesting ?

    By :
    Anonymous
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 1
    The ancestors of the Armenians who made their history are the real deniers. As you know, whoever disagree with the Armenian genocide claims are labelled as ‘deniers’, as ‘agents of Turkish government’, or ‘people hired by the Turkish government’ or ‘disingenous scholars/authorities’ Turkish nationalists’, ‘Turkish racists’. And, here are the names of Armenians who comply with the these terms:

    “Garo Pasdermichan (Pastirmaciyan), the Ottoman deputy of Erzurum and commander of all the Armenian officials and soldiers of the Ottoman Third Army which joined the Russian Army in 1914, was the main denier and Turkish racist. Because, he wrote in his book ‘Why Armenia Should Be Free’ (Boston, Dec.1918, Hairenik Publishing Company p. 16-17) that annual Congress of Armenian Party Dashnagzoutiun was held in Erzurum in August 1914, before the war broke, and Turkish emissaries offered Dashnaks an autonomous Armenia (made up of Russian Armenia and the three Turkish vilayets of Erzurum, Van and Bitlis) under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire’, if they joined the Turkish side and stopped supporting the Russians. He also stated that the executive committee of the Dashnagzoutiun rejected the proposal! The Armenian members of this parley were the well-known publicist E.Aknouni, the representative from Van, A.Vramian, and the director of the Armenian schools in the district of Erzurum, Mr Rostom.

    Another main denier was Boghos Noubar Pasha, the Armenian National Delegation President in The Paris Peace Conference 1919 who also stated that the Turks offered them autonomy in August 1914, much before the deportation, but they rejected this proposal and placed themselves without hesitation on the side of the Entente Powers from whom they expected liberation [Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States The Paris Peace Conference 1919 (United States Government Printing Office, 1948, Vol IV, p 139-157)].

    Armenian Boghos Noubar Pasha, who told that ‘150 000 Armenian volunteers in Russian Army were the only forces against Turks’ (Times of London , 1919 Jan 30 Link: http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2007/10/2013-150-000-armenian-volunteers-in.html) was obviously a denier and agent of Turkish government.

    Hovannes Katchaznouni, the first prime-minister of the Armenian state founded in 1918 and the prime authority of the Dashnagzoutiun Party who wrote a book ‘Dashnagzoutiun Has Nothing to do Anymore’ was also another chief denier. Because, in his book which is banned in Armenia at present, he stated that
    *it was a mistake to establish the volunteer units.
    *They were unconditionally allied with Russia,
    *They massacred the Moslem population,
    *The Armenian terrorist acts were directed, at winning the Western public opinion.
    *British occupation aroused hopes of the Dashnaks,
    *They were provoked by imperial Sea to Sea land demand,
    *They had not taken into consideration Turkey’s power,
    * They should have used a peaceful language towards the Turks but they (Armenian Dashnaks) rejected the Turks who suggested to negotiate with them and they went on making war
    (KS Papazian the writer of ‘Patriotism Perverted’ published in 1934, in Boston, also confirms this Turkish suggestion. Note that ‘Patrionism Perverted’ is banned in Armenia).
    *The decision of the deportation of Armenians was a rightful measure taken by Turks.
    *Turkey had acted with an instinct of self-defence.
    *Their government was a Dashnak dictatorship.
    *The fault was within the Dashnak Party. They should commit suicide. They had nothing to do.
    Vratsyan, the last prime minister of Dashnaks who wrote in an article published in December 3 1920 issue of Araç, that they transformed Armenia to an arenna of endless wars with its neighbours for the Entente Powers (RGASPİ fond 80, list 4, file 83, sheet 136) was another chief denier and agent of Turkish government.

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 2
    Armenian Messrs. Ahonian and Hadissian who were the spokesmen of the Armenian delegation of the New Armenian Republic and visited Sultan Mehmet VI, Vahdeddin in Istanbul on September 6, 1918 were also Turkish nationalists. See the telegram sent by Mr Ahorian to the Armenian Prime Minister Kachaznuni:
    ‘On September 6th, when we were in Selamlik we had an audience. We presented our congratulations on his accession to the throne. We submitted our best wishes for the development of the Empire and its well-being. We stated that the Armenian nation would never forget that it was the Ottoman Government which first conceived the idea of founding an independent Armenia, and recognized it, that the Armenian Government would do everything possible to protect friendly relations between the two countries and to strengthen them. His Majesty thanked us. He stated that he was very happy at seeing the envoys of independenbt and free Armenia, that he wished not only her development , but that she be strong in order to retain her independence. His Majesty is entirely convinced that friendly relations will always exist between the two neighboring countries, Turkey and Armenia, in order that both of them may develop. He concluded his remarks by stating that he was very hapy to see that Armenia had the strength to found an independent state which was able to send envoys to Istanbul, and repeated his best wishes for our country’. (Erich Feigl, A Myth of Terror, Edition Zeitgeschichte Freilassing, Salzburg, Austria p.97)
    The Armenian Soviet historian A.A.Lalayan who stated that the Dashnaks displayed extreme courage to massacre Turkish women, children and ill and old people (Contrarevolyutsionnıy ‘Daşnaktsutyun’ İ İmperialisti-çeskaya Voyna 1914-1918 gg.’, Revolyutsionnıy Vostok, No.2-3, p.92, 1936) and who also quoted the following report of a Dashnag officer, Aslem Varaam written in 1920, in Beyazit-Varan was an Armenian denier and he was also hired by the Turkish government . The report of Aslem Varaam was

    "I exterminated the Turkish population in Bashar-

    Gechar without making any exceptions. One some times

    feels the bullets shouldn't be wasted. So, the most

    effective way against these dogs is to collect the

    people who have survived the clashes and dump them in

    deep holes and crush them under heavy rocks pressed

    from above, not to let them inhabit this world any

    longer. So I did accordingly. I collected all the

    women, men and children and extinguished their lives

    in the deep holes I dumped them into, crushing them

    with rocks."

    A.Lalayan, Revolutsionniy Vostok (Revolutionary East) No: 2-3, p.92 vd, Moscow, 1936; Istoricheskie Zapisky No 2, p.101, 1928

    Armenian T. Haçikoğlyan who told that the Dashnaks eradicated thousands of Turks with their bloody hands
    (T. Haçikoglyan, 10 Let Armyanskoy Sttrelkovoy Divizii,p4-6. İzdatelstvo Polit. Uprav. KKA, Tiflis, 1930) was also a denier and agent of Turkish government.

    The Armenian poet Mikael Nalbandyan who wrote these lines in his poem ‘The March of People of Zeytun, was another denier and Turkish nationalist:

    ‘..Şad ısdrugner yeğan azad/Miyayin menk mnank hılu hıbadag/Zeytuntsiner mer zposank/E baderazm yev arşavank/ Sur, tur, kıntag yev hıratsan/ Mer khağalikın en havidyan….’

    (A lot of slaves were set free/ Only we were left who were obedient/Amusements of us, people of Zeytun are/ War and raid/ Our inexhaustible toys are/ Sword, saber, bullet and gun…….) (Nor Knar, p99). Zeytun was one of the places where the Armenians rebelled and massacred the Turks and Muslims.

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 3
    Even Gourgen Mıgırdıç Yanıkyan (age 78), the Armenian murderer of Los Angeles prime consul of Turkey Mehmet Baydar (age 49) and the co consul Bahadır Demir (age 30) in Santa Barbara, in 1973, was a real denier, Turkish nationalist and agent of Turkish government.

    Because he admitted in his trial on June 13, 1973, via his attorney Lindsay that he (Yanıkyan) had been a member of an army made up of 10 000 volunteers to fight against the Turks in Armenia, in the beginning of March 1915 and in chief of this army had been an Armenian general called Andranik.

    This had been prepared as four parties and had started to battle with the Turks in Iğdır, under the leadership of Russian general Dron and had proceeded to Van,
    they had occupied Van and meanwhile had destroyed and had fired Turkish villages (Dışişleri Bakanlığı

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 4
    So, it is not surprising that both the book of Hovannes Katchaznouni, the first prime-minister of the Armenian state, ‘Dashnagzoutiun Has Nothing to do Anymore’ and the book of K.S.Papazian ‘Patrionism Perverted’ are banned in Armenia. It is also a fact that all the copies of the book of Hovannes Katchaznouni, in all languages were collected from the libraries in Europe by Dashnags. The book is included in the catalogues but no copies can be found in the racks.

    It is not surprising either that, the Armenians even claim that nobody called A.A. Lalayan, the Soviet-Armenian historian, ever lived!

    Yes, they can ban the books of the makers of their history,

    they can buy American, French and other European politicians by their votes and urge them to accept historical resolutions and memorial laws in their parliaments,and those politicians may be suitable to be bought,

    they can threaten the historians who do not support their thesis, they can sue them, they can even bomb their houses as they did before

    (http://209.232.239.37/gtd1/ViewIncident.aspx?id=56624)

    but they can never ban scholar thought and silence the historians of the world, even in France!

    Note that Pierre Nora, president of the association ‘Liberty for history’ founded in 2005, has recently stated that the history should not be a slave to currency or written under the dictation of competing memoirs; in a free state, it does not belong to any political authority to define the historical truth and restrict freedom of the historian under threat of criminal sanctions. In a democracy, freedom for history is the freedom of all

    (http://www.lph-asso.fr//articles/46.html, . http://www.lph-asso.fr//tribunes/49.html)

    Now do you understand why the Armenians vehemently resist the establishment of historical joint commissions made up of historians from Armenia, Turkey and other countries?

    Do you understand why Prof Richard Hovannisian from California University (the father of the first Foreign Minister of Armenia) said:

    ‘It is very dangerous to establish such an historical commission…’ in an interview with Armenian Reporter?

    http://www.kophaber.com/news_detail.php?id=4726

    Do you understand why the Armenians have not admitted to International Court of Justice for more than 90 years and why they urge politicians to write their history as they want?

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 4
    Of course, even these few examples give great harm to the present Armenian thesis and lead people to question the Armenian’s innocence, their predominance in Ottoman population, and most importantly their genocide thesis. Of course, the fact that Turks offered the Dashnaks an autonomous Armenia (made up of Russian Armenia and the three Turkish vilayets of Erzurum, Van and Bitlis) under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire’, if they joined the Turkish side and stopped supporting the Russians, the other fact that the executive committee of the Dashnagzoutiun rejected the proposal in August 1914 before the war broke and that they rejected all other Turkish calls of negotiations repeated during WWI too, are the major points that are not wanted by the Armenians to be known (Garo Pastırmacıan, Why Armenia Should be Free?, Boston, Dec.1918, Hairenik Publishing Company p. 16-17 and Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States The Paris Peace Conference 1919 , United States Government Printing Office, 1948, Vol IV, p 139-157).

    Of course they fear a question of why the Turks did offer autonomy to Armenians if they decided to eradicate them.

    And they fear the question of why and how the Armenian prime minister Simon Vratzian applied the Turkish government on March 18, 1921 and asked military help of the Turks against the Bolsheviks, in spite of the fact that the Turks committed a (so-called) genocide and murdered 1.5 million Armenians!

    And they also are very frightened of the question how the Ottoman Government eradicated 1,5 million of Armenians but in spite of this it was the Ottomans who first conceived the idea of founding an independent Armenia, and recognized it first. Moreover, it was the Ottoman Sultan who first wished not only the development of Armenian Republic, but that she be strong in order to retain her independence! Astonishingly, it was the Ottoman Sultan, who stated that friendly relations would always exist between the two neighboring countries

    That is, the Armenian ancestors who created their history (the top representatitives of the Ottoman Armenians, Dashnags and prime ministers of Armenia), the Armenian historians and poets who wittnessed this period and even the Armenian murderers of Turkish diplomats are the main deniers!

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 5
    So, it is not surprising that both the book of Hovannes Katchaznouni, the first prime-minister of the Armenian state, ‘Dashnagzoutiun Has Nothing to do Anymore’ and the book of K.S.Papazian ‘Patrionism Perverted’ are banned in Armenia. It is also a fact that all the copies of the book of Hovannes Katchaznouni, in all languages were collected from the libraries in Europe by Dashnags. The book is included in the catalogues but no copies can be found in the racks.

    It is not surprising either that, the Armenians even claim that nobody called A.A. Lalayan, the Soviet-Armenian historian, ever lived!

    Yes, they can ban the books of the makers of their history,
    they can buy politicians by their votes and urge them to accept historical resolutions and memorial laws in their parliaments,

    they can threaten the historians who do not support their thesis, they can sue them, they can even bomb their houses as they did before

    (http://209.232.239.37/gtd1/ViewIncident.aspx?id=56624)

    but they can never ban scholar thought and silence the historians of the world even in France!

    Note that Pierre Nora, president of the association ‘Liberty for history’ founded in 2005, has recently stated that the history should not be a slave to currency or written under the dictation of competing memoirs; in a free state, it does not belong to any political authority to define the historical truth and restrict freedom of the historian under threat of criminal sanctions. In a democracy, freedom for history is the freedom of all (http://www.lph-asso.fr//articles/46.html, . http://www.lph-asso.fr//tribunes/49.html)

    Now do you understand why the Armenians vehemently resist the establishment of historical joint commissions made up of historians from Armenia, Turkey and other countries?

    Do you understand why Prof Richard Hovannisian from California University (the father of the first Foreign Minister of Armenia) said:

    ‘It is very dangerous to establish such an historical commission…’ in an interview with Armenian Reporter?

    http://www.kophaber.com/news_detail.php?id=4726
    Do you understand why the Armenians have not admitted to International Court of Justice for more than 90 years and why they urge politicians to write their history as they want?

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • 5
    Of course, even these few examples give great harm to the present Armenian thesis and lead people to question the Armenian’s innocence, their predominance in Ottoman population, and most importantly their genocide thesis.

    Of course, the fact that Turks offered the Dashnaks an autonomous Armenia (made up of Russian Armenia and the three Turkish vilayets of Erzurum, Van and Bitlis) under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire’, if they joined the Turkish side and stopped supporting the Russians, the other fact that the executive committee of the Dashnagzoutiun rejected the proposal in August 1914 before the war broke and that they rejected all other Turkish calls of negotiations repeated during WWI too, are the major points that are not wanted by the Armenians to be known

    (Garo Pastırmacıan, Why Armenia Should be Free?, Boston, Dec.1918, Hairenik Publishing Company p. 16-17 and Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States The Paris Peace Conference 1919 , United States Government Printing Office, 1948, Vol IV, p 139-157).

    Of course they fear a question of why the Turks did offer autonomy to Armenians if they decided to eradicate them.

    And they fear the question of why and how the Armenian prime minister Simon Vratzian applied the Turkish government on March 18, 1921 and asked military help of the Turks against the Bolsheviks, in spite of the fact that the Turks committed a (so-called) genocide and murdered 1.5 million Armenians!

    And they also are very frightened of the question how the Ottoman Government eradicated 1,5 million of Armenians but in spite of this it was the Ottomans who first conceived the idea of founding an independent Armenia, and recognized it first.

    Moreover, it was the Ottoman Sultan who first wished not only the development of Armenian Republic, but that she be strong in order to retain her independence! Astonishingly, it was the Ottoman Sultan, who stated that friendly relations would always exist between the two neighboring countries

    That is, the Armenian ancestors who created their history (the top representatitives of the Ottoman Armenians, Dashnags and prime ministers of Armenia), the Armenian historians and poets who wittnessed this period and even the Armenian murderers of Turkish diplomats are the main deniers!

    Therefore, France is actually being prepared to penalize the makers of the Armenian history!What a tragic comedy!

    By :
    Fehmi Colpan
    - Posted on :
    20/12/2011

  • Armenian Genocide thesis depends on forgeries, falsified documents and lies which were confirmed by the English authorities themselves.

    After the Ottoman State was defeated in the 1st World War in 1918, the English, and their allies arrested 144 high level Ottoman veteran or civil officials including the ex-prime ministers, ex-deputies, governors and many newspapermen, and banished them to Malta Island, claiming that they were responsibles for the death of Armenians.

    However, the English authorities, had to make them all free in 1921, since they could not find any proof to be able to verdict them.

    The following documents belong to English archives:

    Last word of Attorney General of Malta Tribunals The letters written by H.M. Procurator-General’s Department to Mr Lancelot Oliphant (directed by Earl Curzon of Kedleston) dated July 29th, 1921 read:

    ‘It seems improbable that the charges made against some of the accused will be capable of legal proof in a Court of Law.’

    (F.O. 371/6502/E.5845: L.Olipant (F.O.) to Mr Woods (Procurator-General’s Department) 5845/132/44 of May 31st,1921)

    ‘Until more precise information is available as to the nature of the evidence which will be forthcoming at the trials, the Attorney General does not feel that he is in a position to express any opinion as to the prospect of success in any of the cases sumitted for his consideration’

    (F.O. 371/6504/E.8745: Woods (Procurator-General’s Department) to the Under Secretary of Stat efor FO., of July 29th, 1921)

    In reply, Mr WS Edmonds minuted:

    ‘From this letter, it appears that the chances of obtaining convictions are almost nil…

    ‘The American Government, we have ascertained, cannot help with any evidence…

    ‘In addition to the ABSENCE OF LEGAL EVIDENCE there is the extreme unlikelihood that the French and Italians would agree to participate in constituting the court provided for in art.230 of the Treaty (of Sevres)….

    ‘ON THE OTHER HAND WE CERTAINLY CAN NOT RELEASE ANY TURKS UNTIL OUR OWN PRISONRES ARE RETURNED…. THE PROPER TIME FOR THE RELEASE OF THE TURKS SEEMS TO BE WHEN IT CAN BE DONE AS PART OF A GENERAL SETTLEMENT WITH TURKEY.’

    ‘IT IS REGRETTABLE THAT THE TURKS HAVE BEEN CONFINED AS LONG WITHOUT CHARGES BEING FORMULATED AGAINST THEM….’ (PRO-F.O. 371/6504/E.8745: Minutes by Edmonds of August 3rd,1921)

    Please note that the Ottoman government had been taken prisoners by the English and all the Ottoman archieves had been under control of them and cynically an Armenian official was assigned to the Ottoman Archives.

    Also note that the famous Blue Book, the telegrams of Aram Andonian and the diary of Ambassador Morgenthau which are proposed as supporters of the present Armenian thesis even now, had already been published at that time.

    Please also note that during the trial in Berlin of the Armenian assassin Soghomon Tehlirian, who had murdered Talat Pasha in Berlin on March 15th, 1921, none of the Andonian documents were accepted by the court as evidence (Dashnakists’ book Justicier du Genocide, 1981, p.213).

    Therefore, the advocates of Armenian thesis of genocide should have found a new and reliable proof of a genocide which could not be found by no means by the English and their allies themselves including France just at the time of these events.

    I invite the advocates of Armenian thesis of genocide to display these new evidences. I cordially believe that these evidences will make a real contribution to the scholarship of history.

    By :
    yalcinkaya
    - Posted on :
    21/12/2011

  • 1
    Armenian Genocide thesis depends on forgeries, falsified documents and lies which were confirmed by the English authorities themselves.

    After the Ottoman State was defeated in the 1st World War in 1918, the English, and their allies arrested 144 high level Ottoman veteran or civil officials including the ex-prime ministers, ex-deputies, governors and many newspapermen, and banished them to Malta Island, claiming that they were responsibles for the death of Armenians.

    However, the English authorities, had to make them all free in 1921, since they could not find any proof to be able to verdict them.

    The following documents belong to English archives:

    Last word of Attorney General of Malta Tribunals The letters written by H.M. Procurator-General’s Department to Mr Lancelot Oliphant (directed by Earl Curzon of Kedleston) dated July 29th, 1921 read:

    ‘It seems improbable that the charges made against some of the accused will be capable of legal proof in a Court of Law.’

    (F.O. 371/6502/E.5845: L.Olipant (F.O.) to Mr Woods (Procurator-General’s Department) 5845/132/44 of May 31st,1921)

    ‘Until more precise information is available as to the nature of the evidence which will be forthcoming at the trials, the Attorney General does not feel that he is in a position to express any opinion as to the prospect of success in any of the cases sumitted for his consideration’

    (F.O. 371/6504/E.8745: Woods (Procurator-General’s Department) to the Under Secretary of Stat efor FO., of July 29th, 1921)

    By :
    yalcinkaya
    - Posted on :
    21/12/2011

  • 2
    In reply, Mr WS Edmonds minuted:

    ‘From this letter, it appears that the chances of obtaining convictions are almost nil…

    ‘The American Government, we have ascertained, cannot help with any evidence…

    ‘In addition to the ABSENCE OF LEGAL EVIDENCE there is the extreme unlikelihood that the French and Italians would agree to participate in constituting the court provided for in art.230 of the Treaty (of Sevres)….

    ‘ON THE OTHER HAND WE CERTAINLY CAN NOT RELEASE ANY TURKS UNTIL OUR OWN PRISONRES ARE RETURNED…. THE PROPER TIME FOR THE RELEASE OF THE TURKS SEEMS TO BE WHEN IT CAN BE DONE AS PART OF A GENERAL SETTLEMENT WITH TURKEY.’

    ‘IT IS REGRETTABLE THAT THE TURKS HAVE BEEN CONFINED AS LONG WITHOUT CHARGES BEING FORMULATED AGAINST THEM….’ (PRO-F.O. 371/6504/E.8745: Minutes by Edmonds of August 3rd,1921)

    By :
    yalcinkaya
    - Posted on :
    21/12/2011

  • 3
    Please note that the Ottoman government had been taken prisoners by the English and all the Ottoman archieves had been under control of them and cynically an Armenian official was assigned to the Ottoman Archives.

    Also note that the famous Blue Book, the telegrams of Aram Andonian and the diary of Ambassador Morgenthau which are proposed as supporters of the present Armenian thesis even now, had already been published at that time.

    Please also note that during the trial in Berlin of the Armenian assassin Soghomon Tehlirian, who had murdered Talat Pasha in Berlin on March 15th, 1921, none of the Andonian documents were accepted by the court as evidence (Dashnakists’ book Justicier du Genocide, 1981, p.213).

    Therefore, the advocates of Armenian thesis of genocide should have found a new and reliable proof of a genocide which could not be found by no means by the English and their allies themselves including France just at the time of these events.

    I invite the advocates of Armenian thesis of genocide to display these new evidences. I cordially believe that these evidences will make a real contribution to the scholarship of history.

    By :
    yalcinkaya
    - Posted on :
    21/12/2011

  • No law should ban freedom of speech.

    No one in today's Turkey is to blame for the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Soldiers (under commands of an Ottoman and German general).

    Armenian armed guerrillas have murdered (during WW-I in 1915) as many innocent Turks and Kurds.

    Armenia has a population of 1.5 million and this number was 500.000 in 1915. Armenians killed in 1915 is near 300 thousand.

    The number of Turks killed around WW-I is over 3.5 million.

    Why don't the French pass similar bills for the massacres of azeri Turks by Armenians, muslims by Sirbs, Palestinians by Jews etc.

    By :
    NZ
    - Posted on :
    22/12/2011

  • Let's bear in mind that France was one of the invaders who also divided the Ottoman land according to the benefits of the winners of WW1, and Armenian state holds the legacy of Armenian political entities of the time who collaborated against the Ottomans in order to get land from east-Anatolia.
    What is being done now is for Armenians to pursue their desire of land from Anatolia, for France to threaten Turkey of what was not accomplished back then.
    West owes that to Armenia whom they left alone with the Soviets.

    By :
    anonymous
    - Posted on :
    22/12/2011

EurActiv reserves its right to remove comments regarded as offensive, racist, or homophobic as well as hate-speech in general. Spamming or posts with an obvious commercial character will be removed as well. Thank you for your understanding.

Background: 

Hundreds of thousands of Christian Armenians died during forced removals in 1915 by the Ottoman army from what is now Eastern Turkey, but Turkey denies that the move constituted genocide.

The country's attitude vis-à-vis the bloodshed in 1915 is one of the defining aspects of modern Turkish diplomacy, with any use of the term ‘genocide’ either within Turkey or abroad swiftly denounced by Ankara.

Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was killed in 2007 after openly saying that the events of 1915 were genocide.

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