YEREVAN (AA) - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Turhan Comez told Armenian deputies and officials on Saturday that Turkey was ready to debate genocide claims both in historical and in legal platforms.
Responding to questions of some Armenian deputies about Armenian claims of 'genocide,' Comez explained them the historical realities and noted that the Armenian claims were baseless.
Reminding of the UN Genocide Convention, Comez said that genocide meant committing mass massacre with the intention of killing all members of an ethnic or religious group. Many Muslim Turks were killed during the uprising of Armenian gangs, said Comez, adding that the Ottomans adopted the Deportation Law in order to protect the integrity of the country.
''Citizens (of Armenian origin) living in Izmir and Istanbul were not asked to migrate. Therefore the decision (of deportation) can't be considered within the UN Genocide Convention of 1948. Maximum security measures were also taken to guarantee the safe deportation of Armenians showing that Ottomans didn't have the intention to kill them,'' Comez told Armenian politicians.
''Turkey is right in its point of view historically and legally against those claims,'' he said.
Comez added that the two sides shouldn't get stuck on the past, but look for common interests for the future.
2005-06-11