In Turkey’s deep-rooted history, every month of the year has landmarks with both sorrowful and triumphant events that are commemorated. The month of April is no exception as it bears two very important dates pertaining to recent history with consequences that shape the present. One of them is the victory of the Gallipoli campaign on 25 April 1915 against the then Allied Powers of the First World War. This victory, which has ushered in Mustafa Kemal -the founding father of the Republic- to the world stage, became a beam of hope for the future in the pressing days of the war. The other very important date is 23 April 1920, the inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, whose 99th anniversary we celebrated yesterday. This is the day the new state of Turks was initiated and as such is commemorated as a day of new beginning with pride and joy.

Probably with an intention to cast a shadow on these two glorious days of the Republic of Turkey and the Turks, possibly also to obviate the initiatives of Turkey to be integrated to the West, certain Western circles, in their numerous endeavors to exclude Turkey, appear to be instigating and encouraging to establish a calumnious 24 April event in between these two days. These hostile efforts are reminiscent of initiatives on the years preceding the First World War, as the full-fledged support and means of the Christian West is directed to certain extremist sections of the Armenian community to stage the same ugly play.

Turkey has no scruples to face with its vast historical past. Should there be an account taking with the past, Turks would have much more to ask for than to oblige. In fact, Turkey, at the highest instance, has offered to establish a commission of historians to set the record right, to inquire the allegations that certain Armenian circles have been provoked and encouraged to claim. This Turkish proposal has not been responded in any way.

The allegations and claims that certain Armenian circles have been provoked and encouraged to pronounce against Turkey and Turks unfortunately leads to only one result: It sows the seeds of enmity and hostility, rekindles the painful memories of the treachery, the vicious murders, and the cruelty Turks have suffered in the past.  Yet, Turks have swallowed them as pains of the past and opened a new chapter to build a prosperous future.

The world is changing rapidly. The superiority and order of the West is fast eroding. Turkey is now becoming a center piece in an evolving Eurasia, meriting to be a looked as a partner for regional peace, stability and prosperity. Turkey cannot be and shall not be hindered with calumnious allegations, nor ploys of diverting from target, nor change of its future orientation with past distortions. It is elementary wisdom for our eastern neighbor Armenia to do away with these provocations, however appealing and rewarding they may seem, and to comply with establishing good neighborly relations in the South Caucasus.