361) Perincek: Withdrawal Of A Draft On So-called Armenian Massacre From Swiss Senate Is A Success

Swiss Senate takes Armenian claims off the table

ISTANBUL - A proposal concerning the so-called Armenian genocide has been withdrawn from the Swiss Senate, said Dogu Perincek, leader of Turkey's Workers' Party (IP), at a press conference on Monday.

Perincek described the decision, announced by Swiss Senate Foreign Relations Committee head Peter Briner over the weekend, as the first successful stage of international efforts carried out by the IP and the Kuvayi Milliye movement.

He explained that their campaign and the testimony he gave to the police last weekend in the Swiss town of Winterthur influenced the committee. "Briner declared that the events of 1915 are not the concern of the Swiss state, that the problem should be dealt w

ith by Turkey and Armenia, and that it's not parliamentary business and should be left to historians."

Perincek went on to say that they hadn't expected such an early victory. He testified in Winterthur due to remarks he made at meetings in Lausanne and Bern where he said that the claims of the Armenian "genocide" are international and historical lies. Under Swiss law it's a crime to deny any genocide.

He emphasized that the IP would continue to break the Swiss law on "genocide," and they they aim to have the issue removed from the Swiss Parliament's agenda.

He stressed that the IP's campaign was successful despite efforts by the ruling Justice and Democracy (AK) Party government and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). "We invited their members to join us in our efforts but those interested in helping us were prevented from joining us by their leaders." Perincek underlined that the IP has shown what a government and a Foreign Ministry should do when faced by groundless claims that attack the integrity of the country.

Perincek also stated that he's returning to Lausanne soon to testify again. Asked about the IP's future plans, he replied that they will continue to hold press conferences open to the public in various European cities and called on state officials, intellectuals, and the government itself to also carry out similar campaigns in European capitals as well.

The New Anatolian
10 August 2005

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ISTANBUL - ''Withdrawal of a draft resolution on the so-called Armenian massacre from the Swiss Senate is a success. We have been carrying out a struggle in international fora against the so-called Armenian genocide,'' Labor Party (IP) chairman Dogu Perincek said on Monday.

Perincek, who held a press conference at the party HQ in Istanbul, recalled that Peter Briner, president of the Senate foreign affairs committee, stated that Swiss Senate gave up to include a draft resolution on the so-called Armenian massacre on its agenda. Briner, in his statement, emphasized that the 1915 events will never be an issue for the Swiss Senate.

Perincek said Briner's statement acknowledged that, ''the problem should be discussed between the related countries --i.e. Turkey and Armenia-- and that the issue should be left to historians''.

Perincek said the draft about the so-called Armenian massacre was removed from the agenda 14 days after he was interrogated by a Swiss prosecutor. ''The withdrawal of the draft is a great success,'' Perincek stated.

Stressing that this is an opportunity for Turkey, Perincek said, ''let us act altogether and defeat the Armenian genocide lie in all European capitals.''

Perincek had been detained in Winterthur city of Switzerland as he said, ''Armenian genocide is nothing but an international lie'' at a news conference, but he was released after being interrogated.

A legal procedure was also opened in Switzerland against Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu, the Chairman of the Turkish Historical Society, because of his statement refuting the so-called Armenian genocide allegations.

Published: 8/8/2005
turkishpress.com

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Labor Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek returned to Turkey late on Sunday after holding a press conference in Switzerland on the ''so-called Armenian genocide''.

Speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, Perincek said that he went to Switzerland, after a legal procedure against Turkish Institute of History (TTK) Chairman Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu was launched in this country.

"Armenian genocide" is an international lie. It is a historical lie. I said this in Switzerland and Swiss police recorded it,'' Perincek noted.
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Swiss authorities questioned the leader of a minor left-wing Turkish party for saying that the killings of Armenians during World War I could not be classified as genocide, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Dogu Perincek, the chairman of the Workers' Party (IP), was briefly detained in the Swiss town of Winterthur where he was taking part in activities marking the 82nd anniversary of the Lausanne Treaty, the founding accord of modern-day Turkey, the agency said.

He was questioned by the city prosecutor for three-and-a-half hours before being released.

Winterthur police spokesman Werner Benz was quoted by the agency as telling reporters that Perincek was questioned for saying "the Armenian genocide is an international lie," a remark which was deemed to be racist under Swiss law.

"This assertion contravenes anti-racism norms and constitutes a crime under Swiss law," a Zurich police official said.

Perincek already faces a complaint lodged in mid-July by the Swiss-Armenian Association following a speech he gave in May, when he said no genocide of Armenians ever took place.

Two months ago, the Turkish press reported that judicial authorities in Winterthur had also launched an investigation against the head of the Turkish History Foundation, Yusuf Halacoglu, for rejecting claims that Armenians were the victims of genocide by Turks in a conference in the Swiss town last year.
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Gul says Perincek's detention in Switzerland unacceptable
Monday, July 25, 2005 Turkish Daily News

Two months after opening an inquiry into historian Halacoglu, a new criminal probe has been launched into politician Perincek in Switzerland for denying alleged Armenian genocide, threatening new diplomatic tension in ties

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul expressed regret at the detention of a Turkish political party leader in Switzerland for remarks denying an alleged Armenian genocide and said it was unacceptable.

Gul calls the Swiss move to detain Workers' Party (Ä°P) leader Dogu Pericek for questioning for a speech he made in Switzerland as a behavior that does not respect the principle of freedom, one of the most basic values of the modern world, Foreign Ministry sources said yesterday.

Perincek was detained on Saturday for questioning by Swiss authorities in the city of Winterthur for his remarks at a conference on Friday in the Swiss town of Opfikon-Glattburg.

In his speech, given to honor the 82nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne laying the foundations of the modern-day Turkey, he denied the allegations that 1.5 million Armenians were victims of genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire during World War I as an international lie.

The Ä°P leader was questioned at the prosecutor's office in the canton of Winterthur for 3.5 hours before he was released.

He was told by prosecutor Rolf Jaeger that he was free to go after he had been questioned for about 15 minutes but the questioning prolonged, because he insisted that his account on what happened in eastern Anatolia at the beginning of the last century be recorded officially first, Anatolia news agency said.

In a joint statement yesterday, the prosecutor's office in Winterthur and the police department of Zurich said that a criminal probe has been launched into Perincek as he is suspected of violating Swiss anti-racism laws by denying the alleged genocide.

Perincek is the second Turkish citizen who has got into legal trouble in Switzerland for denying the alleged genocide. In May, an inquiry was opened in Switzerland into Yusuf Halacoglu, head of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK), for public remarks in Switzerland on the same issue.

The Swiss National Council has approved a resolution recognizing the alleged genocide and denying the alleged genocide is a violation of the country's anti-racism laws.

Turkey denies Armenian allegations and says Armenians were killed as the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell civil unrest caused by the revolt of Ottoman Armenians in collaboration with the Russian army during World War I. Ankara says parliaments of third countries should avoid adopting resolutions on the issue, as it requires a scientific study.

Gul said Turkish diplomatic missions in Switzerland have been instructed to take the necessary measures in regard to Perincek's detention and added that Turkey would decide what steps to take in the light of further assessments of the situation
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In the speech honouring the 82nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, which fixed the borders of modern-day Turkey, Perincek called claims of genocide against the Armenians an imperialist lie, authorities said.

Perincek is also under investigation from authorities in canton Vaud after a complaint from a Swiss-Armenian Society over a speech he gave in Lausanne in May.

Gul described Saturday's questioning as "unacceptable" and "absolutely contrary to the principle of free speech".

On Sunday, Perincek repeated his denial of the Armenian genocide at celebrations attended by about 2,000 Turks near the Beau-Rivage hotel, scene of the treaty negotiations.
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Following text has been automatically translated from French by an online software without the intervention of human translators :

Dogu Perincek, announced at the press conference that the research carried out by its party in the Soviet files proves that the allegations according to which Turkey would have perpetrated a "genocide" against the Armenians during the First World War are not true. " a war took place between the Armenians, the State ottoman and the Moslem populations of Anatolia between 1914 and 1922.