Anna Nazaryan
Public Radio of Armenia
The bill introduced in the Turkish Parliament by Sebahat Tuncel, member of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, will most probably be rejected, expert of Turkish studies Hakob Chakryan told reporters today.
The bill urges President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to publicly apologize for the Armenian Genocide from the Parliament floor. The next day the President will have to read out the text of apology in one of the massacre sites. Thereafter a parliamentary commission should be formed within a year, which shall be provided access to all state archives.
As for the possibility of certain steps by Ankara, Chakryan said: “Erdogan made a step last year, when he expressed condolences to all Armenians for the events of 1915. After that President Serzh Sargsyan invited the Turkish leader to participate in commemoration events in Armenia on April 24, 1915. Now the ball is again in the Turkish court,” the expert said.
Hakob Chakryan does not believe the border could open in 2015. “Even if it opens, it may close with the same success if there are no diplomatic relations.”
According to him, what’s most important about the bill is that it will allow to voice the word ‘genocide’ in the Turkish Parliament.
He reminded that even uttering the letter ‘g’ was prohibited in 1990s, as Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code envisaged punishment for that. The situation improved in 2002, but not because Erdogan became Prime Minister, but because of Turkey’s aspiration for EU membership.
