ANKARA (Noyan Tapan)–The British Embassy in Ankara issued an announcement Tuesday regarding statemen’s made in Yerevan by British Ambassador to Armenia Timothy Jones–who characterized the events of 1915 to 1923 as "Genocide."
This statement has irked Turks and has received wide coverage in Turkey.
The British Embassy in Turkey announced that Timothy Jones has qualified the 1915-23 events as "a painful historic event," and never used the word Genocide. The word was later added by the mass media–states the announcement. According to the same source–both sides have suffered losses in 1915-16 and the issue is yet to be discussed by historians.
"We do not believe that the 1915-16 events can be qualified as ‘Genocide’ based on the 1948 UN Convention–according to which the term ‘genocide’ has a specific definition."
Last week–the Armenpress news agency–which initially reported Jones’ commen’s–announced that it is in possession of an audio tape from the event–where the ambassador made the statement. The tape–Armenpress asserted–has clearly recorded Jones as using the word "Genocide."