The Turkish authorities may have to choose between the bad and the worse, expert of Turkish studies Andranik Ispiryan told reporters today. He added that the authorities will refuse from the events marking Gallipoli anniversary, when they come to understand that they will lose more if they don’t refuse.
Speaking about the reports on cancellation of the events, Ispiryan noted that the news was reported by Today’s Zaman and was not reposted by any other Turkish periodical, something that happens in case of urgent news.
The expert also called attention to the fact that the report was written by a young Azerbaijani girl, who has recently moved to Istanbul. Surprisingly, there was a large reference to the Armenian Genocide.
“It was very surprising that an extended article presented approaches on the Armenian Genocide to foreign readers. Sure, no personal opinions were presented, but the reference was unprecedented for Turkish media,” Ispiryan said.
What’s the most important is that Today’s Zaman belongs to Fethullah Gülen, number one enemy of the Turkish authorities, and that’s where the shoe pinches. He’s now considered even more dangerous than the Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK).
“On many occasions the Turkish authorities, including Prime Minister Davutoglu, have accused Gülen of leading an anti-Erdogan, anti-Turkish campaign on the international arena. Even the Turkish President declared that he’s more dangerous that the PKK, as the latter has done no harm to Turkey on the international arena,” the expert said.
Ispiryan does not rule out that the reports on the cancellation of the April 24 events could well be a “bait” for the Armenian media outlets. “Usually this is being done by pro-government media outlets, while in this case they only refuted the report,” he added.
At the same time, Andranik Ispiryan does not exclude that the issue of cancellation of the events marking the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Battle is being considered by the Turkish elite, and the Gulenists used the opportunity to disseminate the information.
The expert concluded that in this case Turkey will have to chose between the bad and the worse.
