November 27, 2014 - 13:14 AMT
Turkish MP calls on Erdogan to apologize for Armenian Genocide

The Istanbul deputy of Kurdish Democratic Society Party Sebahat Tuncel submitted a document to the parliament urging President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to apologize for the Armenian Genocide on behalf of Turkey.

The parliamentarian also called Erdogan to apologize for the mid-20th century Kurdish massacres in Dersim, Marash, Sivas and Corum.

The President is urged to offer apologies from a parliamentary tribune, to be followed by mourning events at one of the massacre sites. Further, according to the document, Turkey's state archives should be disclosed, April 24 announced as a remembrance day, with moral and material damages compensated to Armenians.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered what the government said were "unprecedented condolences" on April 23, 2014 to the grandchildren of the Armenian Genocide survivors.

"The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain. To evaluate this painful period of history through a perspective of just memory is a humane and scholarly responsibility.

Millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives in the First World War. Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences - such as relocation - during the First World War, should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes among towards one another.

In today’s world, deriving enmity from history and creating new antagonisms are neither acceptable nor useful for building a common future.

With this understanding, we, as the Turkish Republic, have called for the establishment of a joint historical commission in order to study the events of 1915 in a scholarly manner. This call remains valid. Scholarly research to be carried out by Turkish, Armenian and international historians would play a significant role in shedding light on the events of 1915 and an accurate understanding of history," Erdogan's statement said.