TURKISH GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TURKISH GROUP TO THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF OSCE 12th June 2005 Dear Colleague,   I  have been informed that the Parliamentarians from the Republic of Armenia  are  lobbying  for  the  inclusion  of  a  paragraph  on  the  so-called “Armenian genocide” in the Declaration of the 14^th  Annual Session of the OSCE  Parliamentary  Assembly  which  will  be  held  on  1-5  July  2005  in Washington D.C.    I would like to bring to your kind attention that this issue is a matter of high sensitivity for the Turkish public opinion as well as for the Turkish Parliamentarians.  The  Armenian  claim  labeling  the  events  of  1915  as “genocide”  is  a  total  mispresentation,  distortion  of  historical  facts  and unethical political exploitation of human conscience.   Turkey   has   always   maintained   that   parliaments   and   other   political institutions  are  not  appropriate  fora  to  discuss  or  pass  judgments  on  issues concerning history. History is a discipline and past events should be left to the historians  for  evaluation.  In  order  to  shed  light  on  such  a  disputed  historical issue,   the   Turkish   Government   has   already   opened   its   archives   to   all researchers.    Furthermore,    we    encourage    historians,    academicians,    and researchers to discuss this historical issue in every platform. In  this  respect,  Prime  Minister  Recep  Tayyip  Erdo5an  has  made  a joint declaration with Mr. Deniz Baykal, the leader of the main opposition party on 8 March 2005. The declaration proposes  the establishment of a group    of    Turkish    and    Armenian    historians    to    study    together    the developments  and  events  of  1915,  not  only  in  the  archives  of    Turkey  and Armenia but also in the archives of all other relevant countries and to share their findings  with  the  international  public.  Prime  Minister  Erdo5an    has  officially conveyed  this  proposal    to  Mr.  Robert  Kocharian,  President  of  the  Republic  of Armenia,  through  a  letter.  The  letter  also  emphasized  that  acceptance  of  this proposal  would  constitute  a  step  towards  contributing  to  the  normalization  of relations between the two countries.  The Turkish Grand National Assembly on the  other  hand  adopted  a  declaration  on  13  April  2005,  stating  that  it approves  and  fully  supports  this  historical  proposal.  President  Kocharian replied  Prime  Minister’s  letter  on  April  26,  2005.  It  is  being  favorably evaluated by the Turkish Government.

2 I  wish  to  stress  that  the  adoption  of  a  Declaration  by  the  OSCE Parliamentary    Assembly    which    refers    to    the    so-called    “Armenian genocide”  will  deeply  offend  the  Turkish  nation  and  run  counter  to  the principles, norms and commitments that we cherish in the OSCE.   Therefore,  I  am  confident  that  You  will  use  your  influence  not  to allow the Armenian parliamentarians to use the 14^th  Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for their political purposes. Please   accept,   dear   colleague,   the   assurances   of   my   highest consideration. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Yalç@ntaA Vice President of the  OSCE PA and Head of the Turkish Delegation