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Pope justifies ASALA terrorist crimes - Turkish minister

Türkiye Materials 13 April 2015 11:47 (UTC +04:00)
Pope Francis justifies the crimes of the Armenian terrorist organization ASALA by his statement regarding the events of 1915
Pope justifies ASALA terrorist crimes - Turkish minister

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 13

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Pope Francis justifies the crimes of the Armenian terrorist organization ASALA by his statement regarding the events of 1915, said Minister for EU Affairs of Turkey Volkan Bozkir, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported Apr.13.

The minister went on to add that there is no document which proves that the so-called Armenian genocide took place on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

"The statement by the Pope is nothing but a falsification of history for Turkey," said Bozkir.

More than one third of terrorist attacks by ASALA were directed against airports around the world, 50 percent - against diplomatic missions, including Turkish diplomats. ASALA terrorists also carried out a series of terrorist attacks against religious figures and members of the media.

In total, the "service record" of the Armenian terrorist organization comprises 110 acts of terror. Turkish diplomacy suffered from ASALA most of all - 42 killed employees.

At the beginning of the Mass, dedicated to the centennial of the so-called Armenian genocide, Pope Francis said on Apr.12 that in the XX century, mankind experienced three "big unprecedented tragedies" - the so-called Armenian genocide, Nazism and Stalinism. The Pontiff described the tortures endured at the beginning of the last century by Armenians, Syrian Catholics and Orthodox, Assyrians and Greeks, as "the first genocide of the twentieth century."

Statement by Pope Francis regarding the 1915 events doesn't mean anything for Turkey, said the message of the Turkish foreign ministry earlier.

The message said that Vatican unilaterally evaluates the events of 1915, turning a blind eye to the fact that these events led to death of both a part of the Muslim population of Turkey and representatives of other religious minorities.

Previously, Turkish authorities have repeatedly made gestures to Armenia. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's message to the Armenian people on April 24, 2014 is one of such recent gestures.

Erdogan said in that message that the events of 1915 were a difficult time not only for Armenians, but also for Arabs, Kurds and representatives of other nations living in the country.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire allegedly carried out "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Turkey in turn has always denied "the genocide" took place.

While strengthening the efforts to promote the "genocide" in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.

Edited by CN

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu

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