Turkey: Historian's dismissal not gesture to Armenia
The removal from office of a controversial historian known as a hard-liner in debates on Armenian allegations of "genocide" was not connected to recent efforts to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said.
Professor Yusuf Halaçolu, who had served as the president of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK) since 1993, was removed from office by a Cabinet decision that went into effect earlier this week. The Gazi University professor is a strong denier of allegations that Armenians were subjected to genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I.
In conferences and panel discussions organized by the TTK, Halaçolu had asserted that claims of genocide were entirely false and that the TTK was in possession of thousands of pages of archived documents that could refute allegations that Armenians faced genocide in 1915. "I believe it is completely wrong to think there is a link between Halaçolu and this situation," Babacan said at a press conference for Turkish journalists in New York on Thursday, referring to the recent thaw in ties between Turkey and Armenia. "We are trying to create an atmosphere of dialogue with Armenia and looking forward to the normalization of ties. There are many factors that affect decisions to appoint officials in institutions. Linking these two things together is wrong," he added.
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Professor Yusuf Halaçolu, who had served as the president of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK) since 1993, was removed from office by a Cabinet decision that went into effect earlier this week. The Gazi University professor is a strong denier of allegations that Armenians were subjected to genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I.
In conferences and panel discussions organized by the TTK, Halaçolu had asserted that claims of genocide were entirely false and that the TTK was in possession of thousands of pages of archived documents that could refute allegations that Armenians faced genocide in 1915. "I believe it is completely wrong to think there is a link between Halaçolu and this situation," Babacan said at a press conference for Turkish journalists in New York on Thursday, referring to the recent thaw in ties between Turkey and Armenia. "We are trying to create an atmosphere of dialogue with Armenia and looking forward to the normalization of ties. There are many factors that affect decisions to appoint officials in institutions. Linking these two things together is wrong," he added.