HALACOGLU: ''IF WE GIVE TESTIMONY IN SWITZERLAND, THIS WILL MEAN WE ACCEPT THEIR FAIT ACCOMPLI''
ANKARA (AA) - ''If we give testimony in Switzerland, this will mean we accept their fait accompli,'' Turkish Institute of History (TTK) Chairman Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu said on Thursday while commenting on the opening of a legal procedure against him in Switzerland because of his statement on the allegations of the so-called Armenian genocide.
Halacoglu delivered a speech on ''Necessity of Relocation and Its Consequences'', at a symposium on ''Armenian Allegations and Azerbaijan Reality'' held in Ankara.
Prof. Halacoglu said civilized Europe, which speaks for human rights, tried to prevent his statements as he revealed the reasons of the relocation with documents. ''Those who want to teach us lessons, should first look at their own demerits,'' he noted.
Halacoglu said Armenian allegations talked about ''complete deportation'', while US archives stated that 17,000 of the 25,000 Armenians were sent to exile, and 12,000 of them returned in 1919.
''The allegation that all of the Armenians were relocated was wrong. Thus, allegations of an ethnic cleansing is out of question. There are documents proving that many Armenians returned safely to their homes'' Halacoglu said.
''Will you extend an aid to a community you want to eradicate? Will you give permission to Red Cross to set up a hospital? Will you issue a decree facilitating the return of them in 1918? We understand of all those realities from the list which the Patriarchate sent to the United States. 644,900 people benefited from the aid,'' he noted.
Speaking at the same symposium, retired ambassador Gunduz Aktan said that Armenians fought for political reasons as of 1977 and 1978 and for that reason it was not possible for Armenians to be protected under the Convention on the Prevention & Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Another academician Prof. Dr. Salahi Sonyel said, in his part, that the 'Blue Book', which was based on fabricated documents supporting Armenian claims, harmed Turkish-Armenian relations the most.
(AY-֓-ULG)
2005-05-05