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IS THE GENOCIDE PART OF THE COMMON CULTURE?

Politics

«We have a common culture», said doctor Turhan Chomez, deputy of the Turkish Parliament during the meeting with the Yerevan State University professors and students. Doctor Chomez is the youngest deputy in Turkey, member of the governing «Fairness and Development» party, and is the advisor and assistant of the Prime Minister Rejeb Taip Erdoghan. He explained his visit to Armenia by his desire «to make a step in the Armenian-Turkish relations».

He informed that they had fears in Turkey that he would not be received well in Turkey. «I was not very quiet while coming but when I return I will tell that I was received warmly», said the Turkish deputy. «Today I am your friend from Turkey», finished the prologue of his speech Doctor Chomez. Then YSU pro-rector Aram Avetisyan invited the professors and student of the University to an interview.

The President of the YSU Student Council immediately informed the Doctor that «we do not have a common culture». The he asked, «Is it normal to condition the Armenian-Turkish relations by the Armenian-Azeri ones? ». The Turkish deputy did not answer the question (by the way, he did not answer any question about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Armenian-Azeri relations - editorial). He only said, «In order to make the settlement of the relations of the two countries possible it is necessary to see the common circles of problems». Then he said that the relations must be established without prejudice. According to him, the reconsideration of prejudices must be the first step towards the establishment of relations.

President of the YSU Students Scientific Union Erjanik Mirzoyan asked the deputy if he has been to the Genocide Victims Museum or if he is going to visit it. Turhan Chomez said that he is here as a guest of the Armenians and added, “The program of my visit was made by Mr. Ozalan, and I did not find it necessary to visit it”. The deputy qualified the Armenian Genocide as “something very bad”. “It is impossible not to mourn the death of so many Armenians because of the migration”, he added. And he said that “for 850 years we have lived together with the Armenians”. “And during the war with Byzantium there were many Armenians fighting on our side”, added his assistant.