Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Istanbul (Agenzia Fides) - The Turkish leader has taken the unprecedented diplomatic step of extending an invitation to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to ceremonies marking the centenary of the Battle of Gallipoli in Canakkale in late April, which coincides with the Armenian Genocide anniversay and Christian Armenians living in Turkey consider this a provocation. This is what is reported by Agos magazine, the bilingual Armenian weekly published in Istanbul, which defines Erdogan’s invitation "a dishonest step". According to opinions and comments published by the magazine, the provocative intention of the Turkish government is expressed in the choice of placing the celebration on the same day in which the Armenians are preparing to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The so-called "Gallipoli campaign" launched against the Ottoman Empire in the spring of 1915, was one of the most impressive military disasters of the Allied armies during the First World War. Turkish President Erdogan, architect of a policy that many analysts call "neo-Ottoman", has invited dozens of Heads of State on April 24 - including the Armenian - to participate in ceremonies marking the centenary of the Battle of Gallipoli. In recent days, the Armenian press issued a letter of reply sent by Sarkysian to Erdogan in which Armenian President, rejects the invitation, among other things accuses Turkey of perpetuating its political denial regarding the Armenian Genocide through the improvement of manipulations designed to distort history. The Gallipoli campaign began in March 1915 and ended in January 1916. Therefore - concluded Sarkysian - the choice of a date for the celebration is an inappropriate attempt of the Turkish government to "distract world attention from the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 19/01/2015)
