“Turkey is not audacious”
Out of the Armenian delegates, only member of the BHK (Prosperous Armenia) party Naira Zohrabyan had the chance to ask Turkish President Abdullah Gul a question at the PACE.
Mrs. Zohrabyan called on the Turkish President to recognize the Armenian Genocide as soon as possible, assuring him that that is primarily in the interests of Turkey. "The sooner Turkey comes to grips with that and has the courage to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the sooner it will be able to relieve itself from that heavy burden and find its place among civilized countries," said Naira Zohrabyan in closing.
The Turkish President not only didn't avoid answering the question, but asked if he could be given the chance to answer in detail. "We don't think genocide is the appropriate term in this case. We don't think there was a genocide. We have to be out in the open. We have to create a commission, open all archives, study all documents and come to terms with all results. Yes, 100 years ago there was human suffering, rebellion, there were deportees and we are sorry for that. But when you say genocide, that presupposes planned killings and we don't agree with that."
Again, the Turkish President proposed to create a joint Armenian-Turkish commission and added: "If we take a look at history, Europeans should not look at each other in their faces. We believe that, as Ataturk said, we have to look forward. I can't accept your charge."
As Naira Zohrabyan told "A1+" during a telephone conversation, Abdullah Gul's response gives her grounds to say that modern-day Turkey doesn't have that much audacity, courage and democratic resource to face the past and come to grips with the historical fact."
The other members of the Armenian delegation didn't get a chance to ask their questions.
