Shifting Gallipoli events’ date greatly harmed Ankara: Turkish journalist

April 29, 2015 - 15:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Cumhuriyet journalist Duygu Guvenc slammed Ankara for shifting the date for Gallipoli commemoration to April 24 to divert attention from the Armenian Genocide recognition campaign.

“Moving the date for commemoration of the 100th anniversary of [the Battle of] Gallipoli to April 24 harmed Turkey a lot,” the journalist said, noting that the number of states that recognized the Genocide or reformulated Genocide-related resolutions grew by 10 in 2015.

“Vatican, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and Syria are the countries that used the ‘genocide’ term in 2015. Still, Ankara takes every effort to prevent the German parliament’s decision that reflects German president’s remarks on Genocide,” she noted.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.