Problem Not about Recognition of 1915 Events but about Their Qualification as "Genocide"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey reacted in the past very harshly but inefficiently against the recognition of the "genocide", Erkut Emcioğlu, International Relations Coordinator of ARI Movement said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net "In fact, the problem in Turkey is not about the recognition of the events which occurred in 1915 but about the qualification of those events as "genocide". I think the word "genocide" prevents both parts from talking about the events and I think this is a real pity. I always defend that the Armenian Diaspora in the US or in Europe does not help the Turkish-Armenian "state to state rapprochement", he said.



At that he underscored that "a vote on this issue will be very unfortunate." "Turkey and Turks will certainly react more seriously than they did against the French Law but I have my doubts about the efficiency in the long term of Turkish reactions (it can be a wide range of reaction: boycott of American products, restriction of military cooperation, no help to the US in Iraq and more generally in the Middle East, rapprochement with Russia and Iran etc...) However, if the recognition occurs, one shall not forget that this is a resolution not a law like it was the case in France. Turkish political leaders may or may not prefer to explain it to the Turkish public opinion. A resolution does not have legal effects. This aspect should may be underlined by the Turkish politicians," he said.

Full text of the interview