Written declaration No. 592 | Doc. 13773 | 23 April 2015

Historical controversy between Turks and Armenians

Signatories: Mr Reha DENEMEÇ, Turkey, EC ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT, Spain, EPP/CD ; Lord Donald ANDERSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Egemen BAĞIŞ, Turkey, EC ; Mr Deniz BAYKAL, Turkey, SOC ; Ms Gülsün BİLGEHAN, Turkey, SOC ; Ms Nunzia CATALFO, Italy, NR ; Mr Christopher CHOPE, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Arcadio DÍAZ TEJERA, Spain, SOC ; Mr Şaban DİŞLİ, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Ms Josette DURRIEU, France, SOC ; Ms Nezha EL OUAFI, Morocco ; Ms Tülin ERKAL KARA, Turkey, EC ; Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Azerbaijan, EC ; Mr Claudio FAZZONE, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Gvozden Srećko FLEGO, Croatia, SOC ; Mr Hans FRANKEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Azerbaijan, EC ; Ms Adele GAMBARO, Italy, ALDE ; Mr Valeriu GHILETCHI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Francesco Maria GIRO, Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Ingebjørg GODSKESEN, Norway, EC ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Mehmet Kasim GÜLPINAR, Turkey, EC ; Mr Sabir HAJIYEV, Azerbaijan, SOC ; Mr Hamid HAMID, Bulgaria, ALDE ; Mr Oleksii HONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Haluk KOÇ, Turkey, SOC ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Valentina LESKAJ, Albania, SOC ; Mr Thierry MARIANI, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Meritxell MATEU PI, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Jean-Claude MIGNON, France, EPP/CD ; Mr João Bosco MOTA AMARAL, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Piotr NAIMSKI, Poland, EC ; Mr Michele NICOLETTI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Aleksandar NIKOLOSKI, ''The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'', EPP/CD ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Ömer SELVİ, Turkey, EC ; Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Azerbaijan, EC ; Ms Maria Edera SPADONI, Italy, NR ; Ms Karin STRENZ, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Elkhan SULEYMANOV, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Mr Tuğrul TÜRKEŞ, Turkey, EC ; Mr Ahmet Kutalmiş TÜRKEŞ, Turkey, ALDE ; Mr Viktor VOVK, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Piotr WACH, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Morten WOLD, Norway, EC ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE ; Mr Mohamed YATIM, Morocco

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Over nine centuries of co-existence between Turks and Armenians is overshadowed by the tragic events during the World War I.

The ongoing dispute over this tragedy in the final years of the Ottoman Empire continues to distress Turks and Armenians today.

Communal and national memories that include the monumental loss of life, suffering and deprivation continue to mark their relations. Competing narratives on the 1915 events keep two peoples apart.

Bearing in mind the above, we, the undersigned members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,

• commemorate the centenary of the Word War I and as an inseparable part of this tragedy we honour and pay compassion to the losses of peoples, fallen in the lands of the Empire in 1915;
• call on Turkey and Armenia to draw lessons from history towards a better future;
• invite both parties to address their history together and forge a new constructive relationship on the basis of dialogue, empathy and mutual respect;
• believe that an objective academic study of the relevant archives is necessary to reveal the truth;
• encourage both countries for the normalization of relations to ensure durable peace and stability in the Caucasus; and reiterate our support for the initiatives raised to these ends.