Turkey Prime Minister, Recep Tayip Erdogan, threatens to expel 100,000 Armenian’s from Turkey.
The Turkish Prime Minister threatened to expel 100,000 Armenian’s from Turkey if foreign governments carried on to recognising the killing of Armenian’s during World War I by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
Erdogan, raised the stake in the row that saw two ambassadors being re-called from the United States and Sweden after both country’s parliaments recognised the Armenian killings as genocide.
Erdogan also cancelled a visit to Stockholm in protest to the recognition which was passed with a single vote in Sweden.
The Turkish Prime Minister explained that he did not have to tolerate the 100,000 Armenian’s which are in Turkey illegally.
Erdogan said in London yesterday “In my country there are 170,000 Armenians; 70,000 of them are citizens. We tolerate 100,000 more then what we should. So, what am I going to do tomorrow? If necessary I will tell the 100,000: okay, time to go back to your country. Why? They are not my citizens. I am not obliged to keep them in my country,”.
Erdogan continued to say that pressure from foreign parliaments are jeopardizing improved ties between Turkey and Armenia.
According to historians, an estimated 1.5 million Armenian’s were killed by the Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Turkeys have sternly denied the genocide talks of the Armenian mass killings as they say the amount of killings were much less then the 1.5 million that historians believe to be and that at the time of the killings there was civil war and unrest in the country.
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100,000 more than he needs to tolerate? Sounds like he’s trying to punish talks of a genocide by committing a new one.
Turkey would harm more Armenians if they did not acknowledge that there was no genocide in Armenia. It is like the Kurdistan or Balkan debate: IF TUrkey is going to govern the region and then likely join the Eu with many member states in Asia minor and the Balkans it should be more mature. FOr instance Serbia doesn’t acknowledge that they committed genocide and neither does any other Balkan country and they were all bloody places anyhow. Most Nazis whom TUrkey shared an interest with in removing the Orthodox and converting eastern europe to their policy dont acknowledge that they committed genocide but merely were doing war with their enemies. WHich includes unarmed civilians. So what does Turkey gain in denying its heritage as a Khaneid of the West. Why dont they improve relations by developing more peaceful and tolerant policy with many countries surrounding Turkey. Liberal TUrkish policy is headed toward the EU. But that includes accepting that the past was not peaceful or done in humanism. Then actions like economic programs cultural tolerance could lead to orthodox and muslim coexistence and integration instead of bloody feuds. What does an unemployed Armenian have to suffer even more than his ancestors from a powerful turkish federation? Where does NaTO get those CObra helicopters to shoot down those deadly rock throwers of Kurdistan and Soviet tanks killing entire families in their homes. VEry powerful countries like TUrkey should be preventing bloodshed and instability and learning from their past not denying it. If it reduces chance of EU membership then maybe the Prime minister should realize that the Ottomans were the gravest threat to Europe second only to NAzism. But if they acknowledge and accept it. Modern day Turkish dont exterminate people anymore so they shouldnt be held accountable for the Ottomans. but if they do not see that the Ottomans were bloody brutes then ho can anyone trust turkey not to repeat its history which it obviously sees nothing wrong with? Sometime diplomacy comes with uncomfortable challenges but if turkey works on mending its past into a more tolerant and liberal future I am sure eventually the West will include turkey.