Armenian expert Ruben Melkonyan explains Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan’s apology for1937-1938 Dersim pogroms by his criticism of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Kemalism ideology.

According to Melkonyan, books revealing archival data about Ataturk’s involvement in crimes against ethnic minorities were released in 2009.

He also noted that Turkey’s opposition forces harshly slammed Erdoğan’s apology fearing they would be followed by apologies for the Armenian Genocide.

Erdoğan apologized last week for the killings of 13,806 people in the southeastern town of Dersim in 1937, stating that “Dersim is among the most tragic events in our recent history. It is a disaster that should now be questioned with courage.”

It was the first time the Turkish state has offered a public apology to redress the events of its past.

According to different sources, thousands of 1915 Genocide survivors were slaughtered in Dersim.