HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS PRESENT PETITION TO PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT–PRESSURE ERDOGAN TO ACKNOWLEDGE GENOCIDE AND CEASE CAMPAIGN OF DENIAL
BRUSSELS/PARIS (European Parliament Press–AFP)–On the sixteenth anniversary of the adoption of the first European Parliament resolution that called on the Turkish authorities to recognize the 1915 genocide of 1.5 million Armenia’s–the President of the European Parliament Pat Cox–was handed a petition on Wednesday from the Society of Genocide Opponents–a non-governmental human rights organization of Turkish citizens residing in Germany. Jonas Sjstedt–a member of European Parliament and a representative of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden–accompanied the group in presenting the petition. The petition–which calls on the Turkish Parliament to recognize this genocide–has been signed by 11,000 people–including 10,000 signatures from Turkish citizens.
ERDOGAN GETS LETTER FROM IFHR
On Wednesday–a leading human rights organization called on Turkey to recognize the massacre of 1.5 million Armenia’s at the beginning of the last century as a genocide.
In an open letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan–the International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) expressed concern about recent Turkish educational guidelines regarding Turkey’s treatment of minorities–especially Armenia’s.
The guidelines–said the IFHR–called on schools to "lead a denialist campaign regarding the oppression of minorities throughout Turkish history–in particular regarding the Armenian community."
In 2001–France triggered a storm in its relations with Turkey when its parliament passed a law calling the massacres a genocide.
The IFHR is a non-governmental organization based in Paris.