Turkish Intellectuals Address Open Letter To R. Kocharian

[Siamanto]

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS ADDRESS OPEN LETTER TO R. KOCHARIAN

ArmenPress
Aug 1 2005

ISTANBUL, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS: A group of Turkish intellectuals
addressed an open letter to the Armenian President Robert Kocharian in
which the authors express concern about the fate of Turkish scientist
Ektan Turkilmaz who was arrested in Yerevan while trying to smuggle
out of Armenia tens of books "of historical and cultural value" dating
back to 17 and 20 centuries. In the letter, published in the Turkish
Daily News, the authors say they are sure that Turkilmaz violated
the law unknowingly.

"No one warned him against it," wrote Turkish intellectuals, calling
on the Armenian authorities not to sharpen the tensed and fragile
relations between Armenia and Turkey. According to the Armenian
national security service, Ektan Turkilmaz, 33, a Turkish citizen
from Istanbul and a student of a US-based Duke University, in North
Carolina, was arrested aboard a plane bound from Yerevan to Istanbul.

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg119744.html

[TomServo]

Hahahaha. Very clever, Siamanto.

[Armenian]

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS...

oh, that's funny

[TomServo]

“Come to Turkey. We have intellectuals now!”

[winoman]

Most of these are the same folks who were going to participate in the Armenian genocide conference. Armenian scholars have also protested this incident. His arrest and detainment is quite silly and has been handled poorly. Kocharian or someone ought to just pardon the guy as he clearly meant no harm and its being blown way out of proportion. Don't they see that they have just killed/reversed a public realtions boon - with this guy having been the first Turk tyo acess the Armenian State archives and such - and now turned it into cannon-fodder for denialist Turks. Can't anyone just think through these thigs for a bit? Are we always going to be beholden to fringe elements who get us into these messes?

[MagieSimpson]

"no one warned him against it"


HA HA HA HA,some intellectuals alright. He has to have it explained to him that there's something wrong with smuggling? I suppose that since they think something they steal belongs to them forever that is a problem.

[Armenian]

Most of these are the same folks who were going to participate in the Armenian genocide conference. Armenian scholars have also protested this incident. His arrest and detainment is quite silly and has been handled poorly. Kocharian or someone ought to just pardon the guy as he clearly meant no harm and its being blown way out of proportion...

Mind your kosher business.