CTC’s response to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Statement
Council of Turkish Canadians (CTC) responds to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s statement regarding the Armenian Commemoration of 1915 events.
We deeply regret that the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s statement issued on April 23, 2011 reflects an uninformed and one-sided representation of history, with potentially far reaching consequences on peace and harmony within Canada’s multicultural fabric.
As Canadians of Turkish descent, we share the grief of all who lost their ancestors during the events of World War I. Yet, supporting the use of a legal term; genocide, in the absence of neither an international court decision nor a consensus among historians is misleading and unacceptable.
The final years of the Ottoman Empire were a tragic period. Turks, Armenians and other inhabitants of Eastern Anatolia suffered immensely from an inter-communal warfare. However, singling out the Armenian sufferings and ignoring nearly 2.5 million Turks and other inhabitants of the region within the Ottoman Empire who perished or were killed directly or indirectly by Armenian rebels in cohorts with invading Russian forces, does not serve justice, and defies Canadian fairness and objectivity.
Prime Minister argues that “We must never forget the lessons of history. Nor should we allow the enmities of history to divide us.” We agree with him. The memory of lost lives of Armenians, Turks and other peoples of the region needs to be respected, and correct lessons need to be learned and remembered. However, taking sides on historical events serves no purpose other than creating deep rifts between two communities. We need to go beyond the politics of the tragic past and establish a factual account of history. This can be accomplished through an honest and open dialogue between Turks and Armenians who signed protocols including the formation of an international commission of historians to conduct an impartial scientific examination of the events. Unfortunately, this was strongly opposed by the Armenian Diaspora.
We expect our Government to support dialogue and reconciliation instead of favouring the narrative of one group, which undermines peace and harmony in Canada. We expect our Prime Minister to act in the best interest of Canada and refuse to become a political instrument of an ethnic group in propagating one-sided view of history at the expense of dividing the Canadians of different ethnic origins and damaging relations with a NATO ally and trade partner; the Republic of Turkey, while tarnishing the international reputation of Canada as a peace builder and peace broker.
About the Council of Turkish Canadians
CTC is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to advocate and promote on behalf of Canadians of Turkish origin.
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Contact:
Council of Turkish Canadians
Tel: 613-422-3622
