Adding to angry comments about the Pope Francis’ description of the Ottoman-era killing of Armenians as genocide, Turkey’s prime minister said on Wednesday that the pontiff has joined “an evil front” plotting against Turkey.
Ahmet Davutoglu made the comments at an event in Ankara outlining the ruling party’s platform for June parliamentary elections and presenting its candidates. He called the pope’s description of the killings of an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians as “the first genocide of the 20th century” unjust. Turkey responded to the pope’s words Sunday by recalling its ambassador to the Vatican. Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide.
Turkey, however, has insisted that the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide. It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognising the massacres as genocide. “An evil front is being formed before us...Now the pope has joined it and these plots,” Davutoglu said.
He said Turkey was willing to confront its history, but added: “We won’t allow our nation to be insulted through history, we won’t allow Turkey to be blackmailed through historic disputes.” Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Turkey’s present-day treatment of Armenians when asked about a resolution on the killings that the European Parliament is expected to consider.
Ahmet Davutoglu made the comments at an event in Ankara outlining the ruling party’s platform for June parliamentary elections and presenting its candidates. He called the pope’s description of the killings of an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians as “the first genocide of the 20th century” unjust. Turkey responded to the pope’s words Sunday by recalling its ambassador to the Vatican. Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide.
Turkey, however, has insisted that the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide. It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognising the massacres as genocide. “An evil front is being formed before us...Now the pope has joined it and these plots,” Davutoglu said.
He said Turkey was willing to confront its history, but added: “We won’t allow our nation to be insulted through history, we won’t allow Turkey to be blackmailed through historic disputes.” Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Turkey’s present-day treatment of Armenians when asked about a resolution on the killings that the European Parliament is expected to consider.