The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the main opposition Republican People`s Party (CHP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) signed the declaration on Thursday, which said the resolution termed the decision “inappropriate and unacceptable.”
Despite our calls, the European Parliament preferred to deepen the problem and the gap between the two societies instead of encouraging the Armenian side, which abstains from discussing the issue impartially and scientifically, for dialogue in this regard. We strongly condemn this biased approach which was adopted contrary to the idea of creating peace and tolerance and a common future instead of war and clash, which is the idea which constitutes the raison d`être of the European Parliament,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day, CHP leader leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Turkish political parties may issue a joint declaration against the resolution.
In response to a question by a reporter following a meeting with European Union member countries` ambassadors, Kılıçdaroğlu said the EU`s much-talked about resolution was discussed in the meeting. The CHP leader told the media that he explicitly said to the EU ambassadors during the meeting that his party is against the resolution and finds it wrong.
"We told them that the European countries have great knowledge of the universal law and acknowledge the description of `genocide.` We explained to the ambassadors how severe the repercussions of the EU`s description of [the 1915 events as] `genocide` would be," Kılıçdaroğlu said.
When a reporter asked whether the CHP would contribute to a joint declaration against the EP`s decision, as Davutoğlu proposed on Wednesday, Kılıçdaroğlu said such a joint declaration might be drafted. "We share the same views on this issue. Hence, there is no problem on this. There are problems in other issues," he stated.
Kılıçdaroğlu also stated he said in the meeting that Pope Francis, who recently called the 1915 mass killing of Armenians the "first genocide of the 20th century," made the issue into one about Muslims and Christians, and that the pope`s remarks might be a risk to international peace.
Kılıçdaroğlu`s meeting with the EU ambassadors took place at the Latvia Embassy. Kılıçdaroğlu said the electoral process, ahead of Turkey`s upcoming June 7 elections, was also tackled in the meeting.
Meanwhile, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli slammed the EP decision in a statement he released on Thursday, saying that the resolution is nothing more than a piece of garbage. According to Bahçeli, the decision does not comply with historical facts, international law and the human conscience. "You can`t find a trace of a genocide or a massacre in the glorious history of the Turkish nation," Bahçeli said in his statement.
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