Turkish Foreign Ministry has turned into an institution circulating “complaining” texts
We would not be mistaken if we record that the past days were turning for Armenia. Ahead to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the estimates by the international community, the events commemorating the centennial of the Armenian Genocide in various cities and the reaction of the leading international press was unprecedented. Today is a good opportunity to emphasize that the Turkish authorities failed to resist the messages of recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide duly made by the world prior to April 24, which were addressed to the Turkish government authorities. And the behavior that is currently displayed by official Ankara is not only disturbing, but also very funny.
Recently, Turkish President Erdoğan has condemned the attendance of Russian and French leaders to the events commemorating the centennial of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan. “We would have wished that Putin had not gone to Armenia, nor Mr. Hollande. They should first, one-by-one, clean the stains on their own histories. The last countries to speak of genocide are Germany, Russia, and France. What happened during the two world wars that had been initiated by Germany in the past century is before our eyes.” Erdoğan went on to accuse the EU of “not telling the truth” in recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, referring to the World War I, has noted that France, England, and Russia were “the provokers of the Armenians” to take part in the WWI. “These are the three countries which do all kind of evil to all nations. Their voice sounds frequently. They are not right.”
It is noteworthy that official Ankara directed the arrow of criticism in the direction of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries. The Turkish government authorities slammed these very countries. The Turkish Foreign Ministry in these few days has turned into an institution circulating “complaining” texts. Though the Armenian public is disappointed with US President Barack Obama’s April 24th speech in the sense that he still did not utter the term ‘genocide’, but anyway, it still did not make the Turkish government authorities happy. Ankara’s disappointment is understandable to some extent.
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Obama welcomed Pope Francis’s speech (in which, as we know, the Pope called the occurrence happened 100 years ago a genocide), then the US president stated that ” Beginning in 1915, the Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire were deported, massacred and marched to their deaths. Their culture and heritage in their ancient homeland were erased”, and again he used the wording “Meds Yeghern” in Armenian. This means that the fact of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the US is unambiguously, and this is clearly realized by the Turkish government authorities. The Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Obama’s statement. “US President Barack Obama’s statement is highly far from assessing, based on a just memory, the painful period of the shared history between the Turks and Armenians… We condemn the unilateral declaration of US President about events of 1915 and reject any discriminatory and biased approach to the legal assessment”.
Well, the latest events taking place in Germany angered official Ankara. Here, the word “genocide” used by German President Joachim Gauck became an opportunity for the response of Turkish Foreign Ministry. “German President Gauck has no right to attribute to Turks, contrary to law and historical truth, a crime that was never committed. The Turkish nation will not forgive or forget the comments made by President Gauck.” Moreover, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has even stressed that Gauck “has disregarded” the opinions of hundreds of thousands of Turkish-German citizens whom he also represents. As for France, the Turkish government authorities long ago consider this country “the friend of Armenians”.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also condemned Hollande of presenting “unfounded allegations” to the “Turkish identity, history and society” and reminded that 600,000 Turks are living in France, who accept this kind of “discriminatory” statements by the French authorities negatively. The Russian-Turkish statements on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide were interesting. The Turkish Foreign Ministry even condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech during the event commemorating the centennial of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan. “Despite all our warnings and calls, Russian President Vladimir Putin has labeled the events of 1915 as genocide. This kind of statements are null and void for Turkey.” Turkey’s estimates did not remain unresponsive.
Moscow immediately reacted to Ankara’s accusations, probably, trying to mitigate the anger. First, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and then Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia attaches great importance to the relations with Turkey and does not think that President Vladimir Putin’s attendance to the events held in Yerevan will negatively impact on them. “It’s quite natural that the President was present together with other leaders in Yerevan. It’s very important to get familiarized with President Putin’s speech and it’s very important not to forget that Turkey is at the same time our strategic partner,” said Peskov.
If we sum up the events of the last few days, we should note that the official Ankara as a result of its actions appeared in some self-isolation and furthermore became separated from the civilized world, and as a result of its non-diplomatic and unclear posture, it seems that it furthermore pushed the international community out of itself. However, there is something encouraging in all of this – the changes in the perception of the Turkish society, and based on the statements made by Turkey and the Turks around the world, one can predict that the day is not too far when the Turkish society will demand the Turkish government to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
EMMA GABRIELYAN
