ANKARA (RFE/RL)–Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday claimed that Armenians in the Ottoman Empire never faced genocide and, on the contrary, themselves plotted to exterminate Turks.
Erdogan was reported to angrily deny the historical record of Genocide as he marked the 95th anniversary of a rare Turkish military victory during World War One.
“In 1915 and before that, it was the Armenian side that pursued a policy aimed at exterminating our people which led to hunger, misery and death,” he said in a speech delivered in the city of Canakkale. “Forgetting all that is unfair and heartless. Our warriors always respected ancestral laws and did not kill innocent people even on the battlefield.”
“I should underline that this country’s soldier is bigger than history and that this country’s history is as clean and clear as the sun. No country’s parliament can tarnish it,” Erdogan said, in a clear reference to U.S. and Swedish lawmakers’ latest resolutions recognizing the annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
“There is no genocide in our civilization. Our civilization is the civilization of love, tolerance and brotherhood,” he added, according to “Today’s Zaman” daily.
Erdogan followed a similar line of reasoning last November when he stated that the universally condemned massacres of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Darfur, Sudan were not a genocide. “Muslims don’t commit genocide,” he said.
The Turkish premier did use the word “genocide,” however, when he condemned the deaths of several dozen Turkic-speaking and Muslim Uighurs during unrest in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region last July. “The killings of Uighur Turks by the Chinese police during demonstrations constitute genocide,” he said at the time. “I use this term intentionally.”
Look at this pretty face.
If he has the guts we can go to the city archives in Adana or any other city in Turkey.
How did it happen that Turks became owners of all that property that belonged to Armenians.
Nothing that says you bought it .
Who gave that property to you.
There are University archives that discribe the mass killing of Armenians
There arent any kind of Unversity archives that say Armenians did things like that.
If this is your best argument then my friend Erdogan you have got a big problem in your hand.
Who knows maybe you are also sitting on Armenian owned property
Dont get so happy that I an Armenian called you a friend
I was only laughing at you
Armenian genocide 1915-2010
Genocide denial is not just the simple negation of an act; it is much more the consequent continuation of the very act itself. Genocide should not only physically destroy a community; it should likewise dictate the prerogative of interpretation in regard to history, culture, territory and memory; as the victims, Armenians never existed.
The Turkish have not only murdered humans, destroyed an ancient culture and civilization, and rewritten history, Turkey continues to legitimize the act as well as the racist ideology that led to the act. This includes the legitimization of any and all stereotyping of the Armenian people as a dangerous enemy, as a deadly bogeyman in the closet.
Denial is the final step in the completion of a mass extermination – and the first step towards the next genocide.
Genocide ends when denial stops
He says “There is no genocide in our civilization” It looks like this guy is gradually losing his mind, first he turned dangerous threatening to take care of the 100,000 so-called illegal Armenians; now by saying “There is no genocide in our civilization” he is a comedian and tomorrow I guess he will start crying; he is unstable and mentally sick; definitely needs to see a shrink.
Yes you are right Mr. Prime Minister at the time of that “Civilization” the Genocide word didn’t exist but your ancestors were mastering that barbarous act.
In regards of those 100,000 Armenians, you didn’t invent it or learn from your ancestors, this is the new way of slavery that you learned from your masters; here in US we are using Mexico and over there you are using Armenia as your source of for this Modern Slavery; so please don’t fool us; since your own people are rather wipe European rears therefore you gladly took those Armenians and they the ones who with their sweat and blood are oiling the wheels of your industries and you not going to let them go easily.
I can call this denier ‘An Idiot Enemy of Armenians’ in Turkish paper Hurriyet! Yet, Aspares sensors such comments! As it did with many of my previous comments!
Death to Genocider!
If you believe Erdogan you believe anything.
This is like the Nazis claiming that the Jews started the conflict, with the Warsaw Getto uprising, and that the killing of a few Nazi soldiers by the desperate inhabitants of that getto, justified what the Nazis did to the whole Jewish nation. Why do we bother listening to these shameless liars? Why do we bother trying to get America to recognize the Armenian Genocide, when they already recognized it twice before in the last century? We need to be proactive. Be more like Israel.
I do not believe Erdogan, but I do not believe in what armeniens says. Armenians have never taken a position on their cooperation with the Nazis and thus participated in the Holocaust. Recent documents from W.L. shows that Armenians gave weapons to the Iranians, who fell in arabs hands that ultimately was used against the Jews.
The history of Armenia and Armenians during WWII is readily available on many web sites. You can obtain reliable numbers from any country you wish> Archives of Russia, Germany, Austria etc. are all available.
I think that you are a Turkish agent or a Zionist one ore have been duped by one such. But just in case that you really are ignorant, I will entertain your anti Armenian acuzations with true, legitimate and verifiable answers.
First the Germans rounded us up and sent us to concentration camps. Then, when by hystorical chance, we proved to be of Arian origin, we were released and our young men under German jurisdiction were inducted into the German Armed forces. Nothing much is known of them. They were few and mostly assimilated. After the initial German victories in Russia, a graet number of Soviet prisoners were thaken, and many Armenians among them. Far more numerous were the Azerbaidjany (Tatar) prisoners. The prisoners, all nationalities, were starving. The Germans were not interested in spending scarce resources on inferior prisoners. When the war started going sour for them, the SS had an idea fof setting up National military units, and there were several Armenian units in German iniform, as there were many more Azery, Turkmenistani, Russian Georgian, French, Dutch, even Arab etc.etc. The Armenian units were so ineficient and uninspired, and so plagued with desertion, that the Germans never placed them in combat. Aproximately 30,000 Armenians served in German uniforms. 250,000 Armenian soldiers DIED fighting the Nazis wearing the Soviet uniform. And so the Armenian credentials in this conversation, are solidly on the side of anti Nazis, anti Genocidal regimes everywhere.On the other hand, Hitler trusted the Muslim nationalities. So what does that mean to you and others. If one Armenian was ordered to execute a Jew or any other innocent, what diference does it make. There were never any Armenian concentration camps, or any antisemitic activities in Armenia. The recent dicovery of a 11 to 13 th century Jewish cemetery in Armenia was an event much publicized with academic notice and imediate protective measures for preservation with full unfettered acces for Jewish scolars. On the other hand, when last month the US ambasador to Azerbaidjian wanted to visit the Armenian cemetery at Julfa, he was denied access. The qhole world knows that Azerbaidjian destroyed the ancient site. If I were you, I would take a long deep look at your society and join the milion of modern inteligent muslims throughout the world and affect change in your society before you join the propaganda parade.
Look at this so called discussion. Artabaranians are talking to artabaranians. How pathetic.
Ok just talk, you only can talk and fight on words. Things will change soon. Nothing will help hayastan, not even your brothers hindu.
PS: even your surnames are of turkish origin.