26.04.2021 Ankara
HAK-İŞ, MEMUR-SEN, TESK, TÜRK-İŞ, TİSK, Turkey KAMU-SEN, TOBB and TZOB, which form the Turkish wing of the Turkey-European Union (EU) Joint Consultative Council (JCC), responded to the trumped up genocide statement in US President Joe Biden's message regarding the events of 1915.
The
joint statement reads:
“We
are trade unions and professional organizations representing Turkey's workers,
farmers, employers, civil servants, tradesmen, merchants, industrialists and
producers.
We
unequivocally reject and condemn the statement made by the President of the
United States regarding the so-called genocide on April 24, 2021.
We
see this statement, which is not based on any scientific or legal basis, as a
result of political populism.
We
emphasize that the statements made by the President of the United States and
those who have taken similar steps have no legal value and that they do not
have the legal and scientific knowledge to make judgments on historical issues.
We
hope that it will be recognized that this statement, which distorts historical
facts, will yield no results other than to polarize the peoples and make it
difficult to achieve peace and stability in the region.
We
remind you that Turkey's proposal for the establishment of a Joint Historical
Commission on that period in 2005 was not accepted by the Armenian side.
Historical
facts cannot be falsified or altered according to the conjunctural political
purposes or internal political interests of politicians.
Turkey
has never shied away from confronting its history and will not be lectured by
anyone, including the United States.
This
statement will never be accepted in the conscience of our nation and will cause
a difficult and deep wound in the alliance relationship between our countries.
The
United States should correct this grave mistake, which serves no purpose other
than to satisfy certain political circles, stop serving the agenda of these
circles that seek to engender hostility from history, and support efforts to
ensure that different nations live peacefully in the region.
On
this occasion, we pay tribute to individuals of all nationalities and faiths
who lost their lives before and during the First World War.
We
remind and remember 58 of our citizens, including 31 diplomats and their family
members, who were killed in despicable attacks by Armenian terrorist
organizations.
Hak-İş
Trade Union Confederation (HAK-İŞ)
Civil
Servants Confederation (MEMUR-SEN)
Turkey
Tradesmen and Craftsmen Confederation (TESK)
Turkey
Trade Unions Confederation (TÜRK-İŞ)
Turkey
Employers Unions Confederation (TİSK)
Turkey
Public Servants Unions Confederation (Turkey KAMU-SEN)
Union
of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)
Union
of Agricultural Chambers of Turkey (TZOB)”