Turkish Parliamentarians Union Sends Letter To U.S. President

ANKARA - Turkish Parliamentarians Union (TPB) sent a letter to U.S. President George Bush, and asked him to assume an objective attitude towards the fanatic campaigns carried out regarding Armenian genocide claims.
The letter, signed by TPB Chairman Hasan Korkmazcan, said that aggressive attitude assumed by the fanatic Armenian organizations for years, ignoring the historical realities, was still maintained, and this stance had a negative impact on bilateral relations between Turkey and Armenia.
''It is obvious that these are unreal claims made for political purposes only. Moreover, anti-Turkish campaigns launched by the Armenian extremists and their supporters are considered as a big misfortune by circles who are in search of peace and compromise, and cause concern to our people, particularly Turkish citizens of Armenian origin,'' noted the letter.
The letter also said, ''furthermore, it has been proven by many scientists that these unreal claims are based on false, obsessive and incomplete information.''
Noting that the so-called Armenian genocide thesis contradicted the related articles of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the letter said, ''Turkey is aware of its responsibilities. Likewise, information and documents reached by Turkish History Society at the end of long researches carried out in the archives of foreign countries disprove the discourses that so-called genocide issue has remained as a taboo in Turkey. The so-called claims are being discussed by our experts, authors and academicians. And, we are trying to clarify the prejudiced and unreal discourses.''
''In this context, we hope that you (President Bush) will assume an objective attitude towards fanatic campaigns based on one-sided interpretations that are not confirmed by either Ottoman or other state archives,'' said the letter.
The letter also welcomed Turkish parliament's initiative to form a joint committee which would examine world archives, and asked U.S. President Bush to support this initiative.