ANKARA - The General Staff has said that it disapproved the online apology campaign for the events of 1915.
Gen. Metin Gurak, chairman of the General Staff Communication Department, said at a press briefing in Ankara on Friday, "we definitely do not consider the campaign right. This apology is wrongful and it may lead to harmful consequences."
A group of Turkish intellectuals and academicians issued an apology to Armenians on the internet earlier in the week for the events of 1915, boosting a nationwide discussion.
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he did not accept or support the campaign. "They might have committed such a crime themselves as they are apologizing now. The Republic of Turkey does not have such a concern. One can apologize if there is a crime necessitating such an apology. Neither my country, nor my nation has such concerns," Erdogan said.
Yesterday, the Presidential Press Center said in a statement that President Abdullah Gul considered recent discussions in the Turkish public opinion and academic circles over the events in 1915 a sign of existence of a democratic discussion atmosphere in Turkey which was more civilized and freer than many other countries and a sign of Turkish people`s reconciliation with their history and their self-confidence.
Armenia and Turkey do not have diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since 1993 when Turkey protested Armenia`s occupation of the Upper Karabakh.
In September, President Gul visited Armenia to watch a World Cup qualifying match as a goodwill gesture.
(UK-MS)
(MIL)