Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop on Saturday sent a message to his counterpart, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Inara Morenese.
In it, he expressed his regret over the latter’s decision, which was to include the events of 1915 on the Parliament’s agenda.
In his written message, Şentop said, “Parliaments play an important role in developing relations between states and peoples”.
He added, “Being drawn behind the false attempts of some to distort historical facts about the events of 1915 may harm the relations between our two countries”.
And pointed: “The approach far from the scientific and legal approach to history does not serve the past or the present, but rather works to deepen the gap between peoples and stoke the fire of hostility.
Şentop pointed out that the concept of “genocide” is clearly defined in international law, and it is not possible in any way to describe genocide as to what happened.
He explained: “The discourse contrary to the historical facts adopted by the Armenian side undermines the efforts aimed at normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia”.
In his message, the Turkish Parliament Speaker indicated his country’s repeated proposals to form joint committees with the Armenian side.
This is in order to investigate the events of 1915 impartially and subject to legal standards amidst the silence of Armenia.
-Advertisement-
Armenia and the Armenian lobbies around the world in general demand that Turkey recognize what happened during the deportation in 1915 as “ethnic genocide”, and thus pay compensation.
According to the 1948 Convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, regarding the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.
The term “genocide” (ethnic) means the complete or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
Turkey asserts that it is impossible to launch “ethnic genocide” on these events, but rather describes it as a “tragedy” for both sides.
It calls for dealing with the file away from the political conflict, and resolving the issue with a “fair memory” perspective, which means abandoning a one-sided view of history.
Each side understands what the other has experienced, and respects each other’s past memories.
Ankara also proposes to conduct research on these events in the archives of other countries.
In addition to the Turkish and Armenian archives, and the establishment of a joint historical committee that includes Turkish and Armenian historians and international experts.
