Armenian Tragedy Cannot be Denied

Armenian Tragedy Cannot be Denied, Says Turkish Parliementarian

ISTANBUL (Marmara)--In a recent interview with Turkish-Armenian journalist Raffi Arax, left-wing Turkish member of parliament said that a terrible tragedy had taken place against the Armenian people and Turkey must recognize this crime.
In response to the question: “What does 1915 represent to you?” Parliament member *beep* Ouras said: “The pain and sorrow resulting from the big tragedy of 1915 are very evident. In my opinion the important issue is not what to call this tragedy--genocide, ethnic cleansing; The important aspect is a crime has been committed and this cannot be denied.”
Ouras added that the perpetrators of the crime were the Ittihadist government.
“We, as citizens of the Republic of Turkey, why should we defend this policy left to us by the Ittihadist government,” said Ouras adding that the time was ripe for Turkey to reconcile with its history.
“We must face-to-face with history, heal the wounds, and regard our Armenian compatriots in a different light, defend them, facilitate their ownership of assets, develop relations with Armenia and return assets seized in the old days,” asserted Ouras.
“To do the opposite is not logical. I am from the Sebastia region and have heard what happened from my grandparents. The %u218official' story can lie but it cannot convince the people,” added the parliament member.
“If the wounds of a tragedy continue to bleed today, we have only one thing to do: to place ourselves in the victims' shoes and heal the wounds,” expressed Ouras.
“We see that we haven't gotten anywhere through this denialist policy,” added Ouras.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007