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Gul says Perincek's detention in Switzerland unacceptable

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  • Gul says Perincek's detention in Switzerland unacceptable

    Gül says Perinçek's detention in Switzerland unacceptable

    Monday, July 25, 2005

    DIPLOMACY


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

    ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


    Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül 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.

    Gül calls the Swiss move to detain Workers' Party (İ leader Dogu
    Perinçek 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.

    Perinçek 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 İP 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.



    Tension in ties again?

    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 Perinçek as he is suspected of violating
    Swiss anti-racism laws by denying the alleged genocide.

    Perinçek 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 Halaçoglu, 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.

    Gül said Turkish diplomatic missions in Switzerland have been
    instructed to take the necessary measures in regard to
    Perinçek'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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