Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were on board of the crashed Airbus A-321 plane.
Gazeta.ru reports that the Russian leader has asked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to set up a state commission responsible for investigating further circumstances. He has also ordered Emergency Minister Vladimir Puchkov to send aircrafts to the crash site.
The airbus, which had over 200 passengers and seven crew members on board, was flying from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, Russia. Citing Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry, Reuters reported earlier that it disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes after taking off. The plane was reported to be at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 meters).
Putin calls Armenian president to express condolences over Gyumri tragedy
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, to once again express condolences over the killing of an Armenian family of six in the city of Gyumri. Report RT
“Putin said he’s confident that the investigation will be completed as soon as possible and the perpetrator will be punished,” presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russian head of state also stressed that he hopes the Russian doctors who arrived to Gyumri and their Armenian colleagues will provide “the required high-quality medical assistance” to the only survivor of the attack – sixth-month-old Sergey Avetisyan.
Putin also assured Sargsyan of Russia’s readiness to provide a medical plane to deliver the injured baby to Moscow for further treatment if needed, Peskov added.
READ MORE: Russian soldier in Armenia detained in mass killing of local family
According to the investigation, serviceman Valery Permyakov went AWOL from Russia’s 102 Military Base in Gyumri on January 12.
The soldier is accused of making his way into a private home and using an AK-47 to massacre a family of six, including a two-year-old child.
He was arrested by Russian border guards the same day as he attempted to cross into Turkey.
READ MORE: Protesters demand Russian soldier’s trial in Armenia, clash with police
During the interrogation, Permyakov said he wasn’t acquainted with the Avetisyan family, and broke into their home to find alcohol.
The serviceman is to be prosecuted by a Russian court. There have been massive rallies in Gyumri demanding that Permyakov face trial in Armenia. About a dozen people have been injured in the demonstrations.
Statement of NCWA concerning condolences of Erdogan
The National Congress of Western Armenians has issued a declaration on the letter of condolence of Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey.
The text of the declaration is below.
“On 23 April 2014, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey issued a condolence message to the descendants of the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire during World War I: “We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren.”
The National Congress of Western Armenians considers this statement a first step, and as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tze says, “A thousand-mile journey starts with a single step.” Mr Erdogan’s step naturally cannot and could not satisfy all the expectations of Western Armenians, who are descendants of the Armenian citizens of the former Ottoman Empire; nevertheless, we are hopeful that after this statement, the authorities in Turkey will join the constructive dialogue that has started between Turkish civil society and ourselves. The National Congress of Western Armenians pursues the aim of creating the full set of conditions for the restoration of Western Armenians’ rights, compensation for losses they suffered, and their return to the historical homeland.
The administration of Prime Minister Erdogan, and specifically the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu, have qualified the deportation of the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire as “wrong and inhuman.” As a consequence of the deliberate racist and ultranationalist policies of the Union and Progress government of the Ottoman Empire, the two and a half million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 were subjected to forced deportations, indiscriminately of gender or age, mass murders, forced assimilation and deprivation of belongings. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Republican Turkey systematically continued and completed the process of denying them their fatherland and their property.
Today’s Western Armenians, the descendants of the Armenian citizens of the former Ottoman Empire, more than anything else, expect the Turkish authorities to engage in a constructive dialogue with their representatives. In this sense, we await the Turkish authorities to take new and tangible steps taken in response to the civil society’s struggle for the country’s democratization, such as the revision of Article 66 in Turkey’s Constitution that deals with ethnic groups, the abolishment of the notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, and the re-opening (without preconditions) of the state border with the Republic of Armenia, where more than one million descendants of Western Armenians reside.
In keeping with the logic Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay expressed in his 30 April 2014 message about Prime Minister Erdogan’s statement, the National Congress of Western Armenians would like to believe that, as Turkey undertakes democratization processes in view of entering the European Union, it will, at long last, also start the long and complex process of acknowledging Western Armenians’ interests and restoring their rights.
We inform you that the National Congress of Western Armenians, in anticipation of these developments, is preparing a statement of claims addressed to the Turkish authorities and will soon make it public.”
Armenian President expressed his condolences to Turkey
Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday sent a telegram of condolences to Turkish President Abdullah Gül after an accident at a coal mine in Turkey, which has left hundreds of people killed.
According to the official website of the head of the Armenian state, in his telegram Serzh Sargsyan expressed his sincere condolences to President Gul and the people of Turkey and sent words of comfort to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to injured in the accident.
At least 232 people were killed in the explosion that occurred at a coal mine in the Turkish city of Soma, 13 May 100 people remained trapped in the mine.
Turkish PM Erdoğan extends condolences to grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians
ANKARA, Turkey (A.W.)—Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement today “on the events of 1915,” a day before the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The statement comes at a period of intense pressure on Ankara, and is seen as an effort to preempt international recognition of the Armenian Genocide on the threshold of the centennial.
Employing euphemisms and the age-old “everyone suffered” denialist refrain, Erdogan concludes his statement by wishing that “the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren.”
Below is the full text of the statement, in English, as posted on the prime minister’s website.
***
THE MESSAGE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN ON THE EVENTS OF 1915
(UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION)
“The 24th of April carries a particular significance for our Armenian citizens and for all Armenians around the world, and provides a valuable opportunity to share opinions freely on a historical matter.
It is indisputable that the last years of the Ottoman Empire were a difficult period, full of suffering for Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Armenian and millions of other Ottoman citizens, regardless of their religion or ethnic origin.
Any conscientious, fair and humanistic approach to these issues requires an understanding of all the sufferings endured in this period, without discriminating as to religion or ethnicity.
Certainly, neither constructing hierarchies of pain nor comparing and contrasting suffering carries any meaning for those who experienced this pain themselves.
As a Turkish proverb goes, “fire burns the place where it falls.”
It is a duty of humanity to acknowledge that Armenians remember the suffering experienced in that period, just like every other citizen of the Ottoman Empire.
In Turkey, expressing different opinions and thoughts freely on the events of 1915 is the requirement of a pluralistic perspective as well as of a culture of democracy and modernity.
Some may perceive this climate of freedom in Turkey as an opportunity to express accusatory, offensive and even provocative assertions and allegations.
Even so, if this will enable us to better understand historical issues with their legal aspects and to transform resentment to friendship again, it is natural to approach different discourses with empathy and tolerance and expect a similar attitude from all sides.
The Republic of Turkey will continue to approach every idea with dignity in line with the universal values of law.
Nevertheless, using the events of 1915 as an excuse for hostility against Turkey and turning this issue into a matter of political conflict is inadmissible.
The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain. To evaluate this painful period of history through a perspective of just memory is a humane and scholarly responsibility.
Millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives in the First World War. Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences – such as relocation – during the First World War, should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes among towards one another.
In today’s world, deriving enmity from history and creating new antagonisms are neither acceptable nor useful for building a common future.
The spirit of the age necessitates dialogue despite differences, understanding by heeding others, evaluating means for compromise, denouncing hatred, and praising respect and tolerance.
With this understanding, we, as the Turkish Republic, have called for the establishment of a joint historical commission in order to study the events of 1915 in a scholarly manner. This call remains valid. Scholarly research to be carried out by Turkish, Armenian and international historians would play a significant role in shedding light on the events of 1915 and an accurate understanding of history.
It is with this understanding that we have opened our archives to all researchers. Today, hundreds of thousands of documents in our archives are at the service of historians.
Looking to the future with confidence, Turkey has always supported scholarly and comprehensive studies for an accurate understanding of history. The people of Anatolia, who lived together for centuries regardless of their different ethnic and religious origins, have established common values in every field from art to diplomacy, from state administration to commerce. Today they continue to have the same ability to create a new future.
It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together their losses in a decent manner. And it is with this hope and belief that we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren.
Regardless of their ethnic or religious origins, we pay tribute, with compassion and respect, to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the same period and under similar conditions.”