PM Admits Turkey Past Was "Facists"

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In April Barack Obama failed to go the full distance and publicly - as President - call the Armeninian holocaust what it was: Genocide. Many human rights groups were dismayed and furious. But Obama went too far for Turkey which dubbed his remarks "unacceptable." Which makes is surprising that Turkey's PM has conceded that Turkey's past was "facist."

According to The National:

Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has become his country’s first head of government to acknowledge publicly that his country displayed a “fascist approach” in dealing with its minorities in the past, when Christians and Jews fled abroad after coming under pressure.

“For years, these things were done in this country,” Mr Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party in Duzce, north-western Turkey, last weekend.

“People of other ethnicities were driven from the country. Did we win anything because of that? This was the result of a fascist approach.”

These words are extremely important. If built upon and followed up by others, they could pave the way for a reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey.

It is possible that Turkey's PM has taken the first important step toward healing. I stress, however, that this needs to be the beginning ... others must follow the PMs lead.

mattwion's picture

Posted May 27th, 2009 by mattwion