Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli speaks at Parliament. AA Photo

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli slammed Erdoğan’s message on the incidents of 1915, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was more welcoming. 

“There is no point of evaluating [the statement]. This is too much torture for this nation,” Bahçeli told reporters when asked about the statement. 

The CHP, however, welcomed Erdoğan’s move, but asked why the government had finally chosen 2014 for such a statement after years in power.

Erdoğan is abusing history for political reasons, CHP deputy chair Faruk Loğoğlu said, adding that they shared the sorrow and pain of the descendants of those who lost their lives under the circumstances of 1915. 

Erdoğan offering condolences was noting objectionable, Loğoğlu said, but asked the reason for the timing of the message.

“After being this late, why has the prime minister, having ruled for years, chosen 2014? We have to question this,” he said.

The CHP also expressed condolences for all people, regardless of whether they were Armenian, Muslim or from other groups, that lost their lives in the early 20th century, Loğoğlu said.