A Turkish official on Tuesday stood by his position that Ottoman Turks did not commit genocide against Armenians, after similar comments last week made him the focus of an investigation by Swiss authorities. Turkey’s European Union Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis told reporters last week during a visit to Zurich that the incidents in 1915 “did […]
Turkish Minister Repeats Denial of Armenian Genocide, Despite Swiss Investigation
Army: Turkey’s Jets Bomb Kurdish Rebel Bases In Iraq
The Turkish military says its jets have bombed three positions in northern Iraq believed to be hideouts of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. A statement said the jets hit the suspected rebel shelters in Iraq’s Zap region near the Turkish border earlier Friday and returned safely after the “effective” operation. The military did not provide […]
Turkey Seeks Life Sentence for Ex-Military Chief
Turkish prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for a former army chief in an alleged plot to topple the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. General Ilker Basbug has been jailed since January 6, when he was arrested as a suspect in an alleged Internet campaign aimed at destabilizing Mr. Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted government. Prosecutors also […]
Ship Sinks in Turkey; Eight People Missing
Eight people are missing after a cargo ship sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast Tuesday evening. Officials say the Cambodian-flagged freighter, Vera, went down in stormy weather near Eregli town in the northern province of Zonguldak. Governor of Zonguldak Province, Erol Ayyildiz, said three of the 11 people on board have been rescued. They have […]
Cargo Ship Sinks in Black Sea off Turkey, 10 Missing
Turkish rescuers are searching for 10 Polish crew members of a cargo ship that sank during a storm in the Black Sea Tuesday. Two crew members were rescued when the Cambodian-flagged ship Vera went down near the coastal city of Zonguldak. Authorities say the ship was headed to the Turkish port of Aliaga from Russia […]
French Lawmakers Seek Rejection of Armenian Genocide Law
French lawmakers are calling on the country’s constitutional court to examine and overturn a new law punishing denial of the Armenian genocide. Lawmakers from both the Senate and the lower house of parliament who oppose the law made the appeal to the court Tuesday, saying they had gathered the more than 60 signatures needed to […]
Turkey Showcases Film to Mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Turkey’s observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day began with a broadcast of a French documentary on the Holocaust on state run television. Filmmaker Claude Lanzmann’s “Shoah” was shown late Thursday, on the eve of the observance. Lanzmann says the broadcast marked the first time a predominantly Muslim country has shown his 1985 biographical film of […]
Turkey Showcases Film to Mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Turkey’s observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day began with a broadcast of a French documentary on the Holocaust on state run television. Filmmaker Claude Lanzmann’s “Shoah” was shown late Thursday, on the eve of the observance. Lanzmann says the broadcast marked the first time a predominantly Muslim country has shown his 1985 biographical film of […]
Turkey Slams France Over ‘Genocide’ Bill, Armenia Hails Vote
An aide to French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the president will sign the Armenian genocide bill into law within two weeks, despite the threat of Turkish sanctions. The French Senate passed the bill Monday making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians by Turks nearly 100 years ago was genocide. The […]
Turkey Slams France Over ‘Genocide’ Bill, Armenia Hails Vote
Turkey has criticized as “discriminatory and racist” a bill passed by the French Senate making it a crime to deny the mass killings of Armenians by Turks nearly 100 years ago were genocide — while Armenia welcomed the vote. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday dismissed the bill as “null and void” and vowed […]