TANER AKCAM: WE SHOULD GIVE UP VICTIM AND CULPRIT CONCEPTS

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish foreign policy aimed at establishment of relations with Armenia should be changed, professor of Faculty of History of Minnesota Twin City (US) Taner Akcam stated in Yerevan today. In his words, just the official stand of the two countries forms the basis for the opposition in the Armenian issue. Neither Turkey, nor Armenia should hide, but they should actively participate in the talks. In his words, holding talks at the moment is expedient to change the public opinion and provide for contacts between the Armenian and Turkish peoples. As noted by Akcam, the concepts of victim and culprit should be given up, the issue just needs to be evaluated from the human point of view. Turkey has to stop criminal proceedings for statements on the Genocide in Turkey and should put the Genocide issue for public discussion not to determine whether the Armenian Genocide was committed or not, but to «acknowledge its history and to mourn over the past.»