Turkey's main opposition condemns France move on 1915 events

By Baris Gundogan

ANKARA (AA) - The leader of Turkey's main opposition party on Wednesday strongly condemned French move to declare April 24 as a national day marking the so-called Armenian genocide.

“Tertiary countries cannot erase the traces of this tragedy and heal the wounds with groundless and unnecessary decisions,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, chair of the Republican People's Party (CHP), said in a written statement.

Kilicdaroglu’s remarks came as a blast at French President Emmanuel Macron over his plan to commemorate so-called Armenian genocide on April 24.

The main opposition leader said 1915 events are “traumatic” for Turkish and Armenian people, leaving “deep wounds” in collective memories of the two communities.

Speaking of painful events of the past does not help reconstructing a bridge between the Turkey and Armenia, Kilicdaroglu said.

“Action should be taken to rule out disintegration between Turkey and Armenia, new generations should see the future in a peaceful way, not in conflicts,” Kilicdaroglu noted.

Macron announced in early hours of Wednesday on Twitter that “In the coming weeks, France will make April 24 a day for commemoration of the [so-called] Armenian genocide.”

Turkey's position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide, but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.

Turkey has also decried Western hypocrisy in alleging a genocide while ignoring their own dark history, including France's colonialist record in Algeria.