Turkish scholars welcome Nobel laureates' initiative

PanARMENIAN.Net - 86 Turkish scholars, writers and retired ambassadors welcomed the initiative of 53 Nobel laureates, who called on Armenians and Turks to establishment of contacts, cooperation and tolerance.



"We, the undersigned Turkish scholars and writers, welcome the call of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity issued on April 9, 2007. We view this call as a doorway to opening a process of dialogue between Turks and Armenians and as a stepping stone which will work to keep that door open facilitating the culture of peace to bear fruit. We would like to state that we are willing to do our part to make positive contributions to this end.



It can not be refuted that Turks and Armenians have been living closely together under the Turkish Republic, as was the case during the time of the Ottoman Empire, as a result of which they have developed common cultural values. We believe these values may form the basis for the development of future relations.



Turkey does not evaluate the tragic events of 1915 which befell the Ottoman Armenians as genocide as defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide… After evaluating various documents several academics, both Turkish and foreign, have arrived at the conclusion that the requisite genocidal intent was not present with respect to the Ottoman Armenians. We view that differing accounts expressed by a given committee or other groups on this matter should not be seen as anything other than the practice of the freedom of expression. We would like to declare that we are prepared to discuss this issue within the frame of joint committees together with Armenian historians and all those interested; we believe that engaging in dialogue is the only way forward to solve our outstanding problems," the reply says.



An appeal calling for tolerance, contact and cooperation between Turks and Armenians, signed by 53 Nobel laureates of various fields, was issued on April 9, 2007 by The Elie Wiesel Foundation based in New York. The appeal calls for Armenians and Turks to encourage their governments to open the Turkish-Armenian border, generate confidence through civil society cooperation, improve official contacts, allow basic freedoms and to address the gap in perceptions over the Armenian Genocide. The action was initiated by executive director David Phillips who had earlier coordinated the Armenian-Turkish Reconciliation Commission, the Turkish Daily News reports.