The statement of PM Davutoğlu is below:
“In the last years of Ottoman Empire, many Ottoman Empire citizens who had lived in peace and brotherhood for centuries lived through pain and agony which still have engraved them.
We understand the difficulties that minorities have experienced during World War I as grandchildren of the nations which have different ethnicity and religious origins and send our condolences to those grandchildren with our respects to the innocent Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives.
In the memory of Ottoman Armenians to protect the Armenian cultural heritage is Turkey’s historical and humanistic mission.
With this approach, this year on 24 April, we will memorialize Ottoman Armenians in Turkey like in all over the world with a ritual which will be organized by Armenian Church.
Like our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in his message belonging to 23 April 2014 that it would be more meaningful for both Turkey and Armenia to memorialize the Ottoman Armenians with a properly arranged ceremony.
On 20 January 2015, I published a message on the occasion of the death anniversary of Hrant Dink saying it is possible to have maturity for two ancient nations to understand each other and look to future together.
Today as a part of our historical responsibility and moral duty, we memorialize with respect those who lost their lives during the events took place a hundred years ago without discriminating.
On the other hand, we believe that in addition to remembering those who lost their lives, it is also important to face the past honestly.
It is possible to identify the reasons and the responsible ones of those agonies experienced during the World War I.
However, lying burden on Turkey and holding only our country responsible are conscientiously and legally unacceptable.
We still remember that Muslim Turkish and Ottoman citizens were exposed to exile and massacres a hundred year ago.
To ignore this reality and to discriminate between unfortunate events are historically wrong and conscientiously unacceptable.
Thus, we realize that clashing of these ideas throughout the years achieves no result.
All Ottoman citizens’ memory and conscience must be respected and considered in this context.
To realize the truth, it is enough to have honest memory, sympathy, a respectful discourse and an objective approach.
Turkey makes a stride while providing environment for all kinds of opinions, documents and information to be discussed openly and freely in order to create a common future.
As the grandchildren of two nations who shared the same fate with joy and sadness a hundred year ago, our common duty is to bind up wounds and rearrange our relationship.
Turkey will continue to do her best for peace and brotherhood.
We call for all third parties to support this common peace instead of reopening old wounds.
With these feelings and thoughts, we memorialize Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during the deportation and we share their children’s and grandchildren’s pain.
Last year former PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent his condolences for the first time. (NV/BD)
