A bunch of lies?

Azg Armenian Daily has a strong opinion piece, entitled "Mr. Oskanian you should be ashamed for telling the armenian nation a bunch of lies."

In a new book titled "Unsilencing the Past," former chair of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC), David Phillips offers his perspective on the activities of the controversial organization, and its relationship with high-ranking government officials and political organizations in Armenia and abroad.

It's an interesting look into TARC and the role played by domestic Armenian politics as well as relations with Ankara.

The first official reaction from the Armenian government offered support to the newly developed group. "Armenia has always had a positive attitude towards public contacts and dialogue between the two peoples, which allow for the exchange of opinions and discussions on the existing problems," a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stated.

Armenian critics of TARC argued that it has no popular mandate to deal with the issue and accused the Armenian members of the commission of participating in a Turkey-US conspiracy to derail international recognition of the genocide. Given this sentiment, Phillips asserts that the Armenian commissioners insisted during the process that then government of Turkey needs to come to terms with its past. The commissioners and were also "incensed" with comments made by TARC member Gunduz Aktan, whose aggressive denials of the genocide nearly disrupted initial efforts to form the commission.

Read the full article.

Posted by Matt on February 09, 2005 | TrackBack | Email to a friend