LOS ANGELES–The Turkish Consul General to Los Angeles Hayri Hayret Yalav in a recent letter to the Armenian Youth Federation–once again denied the Armenian Genocide–and told the AYF that their claims of a genocide were "exaggerated."
In response to a letter delivered by representatives of the AYF during an impromptu meeting with Yalav–the actual issue of the Genocide was sidestepped and the usual scapegoats and historically impaired reasoning was used to cover up the Armenian Genocide.
Furthermore–Yalav also stated that he would not pass the letter on to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel–to whom the correspondence was addressed.
"After studying the content of your letter. I would like to inform you that I have decided not to convey it to Turkey. It is a repetition of the Armenian allegations on the so-called `genocide’," said Yalav in his letter addressed to Christopher Guldjian–chairman of the AYF Central Executive.
"Your allegation that the Ottoman Empire carried out a systematic and deliberate plan to annihilate the entire Armenian population is not supported by and contrary to historical evidence. Hence–the so-called "Armenian genocide" far from being an historical fact–is disputed by many scholars," asserted Yalav.
Calling the events surrounding the Armenian Genocide as reactions to instigations from so-called "Armenian Revolutionaries," Yalav went on to stress that Armenia’s of the Ottoman Empire desired a union with the empire’s traditional enemy–Czarist Russia. He added that the Armenia’s’ insistence to assist Russia forced Ottoman authorities to take action.
"In short–the Ottoman officials were clearly justified in their decision to attempt to remove their Armenian populations from the path of the invading Russia’s they were actively supporting," continued Yalav.
"Blame must be apportioned to the Russian government which had no legitimate right to the lands conquered: to the Ottoman government which was not strong enough to defend its empire from Russia or to protect its people from each other; but most of all–to the Armenian nationalists who were willing to sacrifice their own people in the name of their ideology," emphasized Yalav.
"Mr. Yalav’s assertions that Armenia’s were massacred by Ottoman Turks because of Russia is absurd–and yet another attempt by the Turkish government to revise history and not take responsibility for the mistakes of its predecessors," state Guldjian.
"For us–and for all Armenia’s–the fact of the Armenian Genocide is not up for debate," Guldjian continued–adding that "we are interested in having Turkey recognize the Genocide. Their persistent refusal still reverberates in the region and poses an obstacle to lasting peace in the Caucasus."