President of Turkish Coalition of America: We call on to end illegal Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan's lands

Lincoln McCurdy, President of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) in Washington, says that the most objectionable with President Barack Obama’s statement and other statements regarding the tragic events in the final, turbulent period of the Ottoman Empire, is that they consistently ignore equally tragic loss of even more Muslims in Eastern Turkey, Caucasus and the Balkans.

There can be moral statement on those years that ignores or denies the ethnic cleansing of Ottoman Turks from the Balkans, Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus with 5 million lost and 5.5 million refugees, McCurdy said.

“We call on everyone to respect all human loss and suffering regardless of the race, ethnicity or religion of the victims, and to place the Armenian tragedy in its proper historical context. In this context, TCA supports the establishment of a joint historical commission tasked with uncovering a complete historical narrative that could pave the way for reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian people.”

“TCA also called on all interested parties to reinvigorate their efforts to end the illegal Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory and end the plight of nearly one million refugees in Azerbaijan. We stand by our position that a just and lasting solution to this conflict is as essential to peace and stability in the region as any element of the recent Turkey-Armenia protocols. We believe that it is in the United States interest and in the interest of all the countries in the region that all frozen conflicts are approached with a view to prevent future conflicts and create an environment that serves the people of the region,” McCurdy added.


/APA/