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OTTOWA, Canada (CTV)--Turkey's
decision to recall its ambassador to Canada to protest an event
commemorating the Armenian genocide is "blatant blackmail" of
the Canadian government and people, said a prominent member of
the Canadian-Armenian community on Wednesday.
Turkey has recalled Ambassador Rafet Akgunay to protest the
decision by some Parliamentarians to attend an event Tuesday
night that commemorated Canada's recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. Canada's Parliament voted in favor of a member's bill
acknowledging the genocide five years ago under former Prime
Minister Paul Martin.
Turkey's move to recall its ambassador is "ridiculous" and the
Canadian government should respond in kind, said Aris Babikian,
the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of
Canada.
"This is purely and blatant blackmail of Canada and the Canadian
people. And this is blatant interference in our internal
affairs," Babikian told CTV.ca in a telephone interview from
Ottawa on Wednesday. "We are not a banana republic where Turkey
can dictate what to do, what to say, what to organize."
The event was organized by the Congress of Canadian Armenians on
the fifth anniversary of Canada's decision to formally recognize
the Genocide.
The event in question was attended by Citizenship and
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael
Ignatieff, among other members of Parliament.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a message to the event's
organizers in which he paid tribute to the "terrible loss of
life during the demise of the Ottoman empire in 1915, and in
particular the horrific suffering endured by the Armenian
people."
Calls to spokespersons for Kenney and Ignatieff, as well as to
Turkey's embassy in Ottawa, were not immediately returned on
Wednesday.
According to Burak Ozugergin, a spokesperson for Turkey's
Foreign Ministry, Akgunay was recalled for "thorough evaluations
and consultations."
Ozugergin did not specify why the ambassador was recalled or how
long the recall the will last.
However, a Turkish government official who spoke on the
condition of anonymity said the move was in response to the
event held in Ottawa on Tuesday evening to commemorate the
killing of Armenians at the close of the First World War.
This is not the first time that Turkey has recalled its
ambassador to Canada over the genocide issue. In 2006, Turkey
withdrew its ambassador, pulled out of a planned military
exercise in Canada and criticized Harper for comments he made on
the Genocide.
Babikian said that Canada's decision to recognize the genocide
not only acknowledges an important human rights issue. It also
honors the Canadians who raised money to bring Armenian orphans
to Canada in 1922, an event that Babikian said marked Canada's
role in "pioneering" international humanitarian efforts.
The issue is also coming to the fore in the United States, where
legislators have introduced a bill that would reaffirm the US
record on the Genocide. If the legislation is passed.
Intense opposition from the Bush administration quashed a
similar bill two years ago.
As a Senator and as a presidential candidate, President Obama
was a strong advocate of proper Armenian Genocide recognition
and swift action to stop the Darfur Genocide. During his 2008
campaign for the White House, Obama repeatedly pledged to
“respond forcefully to all genocides,” including the one
currently raging in Darfur.
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