Striking Remarks By Erich FeiglPublished: 4/22/2005
BY TUFAN TURENC
HURRIYET- A panel on ‘Turkish-Armenian Relations and Historical Facts’ was held earlier this week at Istanbul Technical University (ITU). Among the speakers at the panel was well-known Austrian author and documentary filmmaker Professor Erich Feigl, who made various incisive remarks during his speech.
Feigl is an expert on Middle Eastern, Central Asian and American cultures and religions. He has produced several documentaries which have attracted worldwide attention. He became acquainted with the events of 1915 while doing historical research, and he quickly developed an interest in the issue. Meanwhile, Turkish Attaché for Labor and Social Affairs in Vienna Erdogan Ozen, a close friend of his, was murdered by the terrorist Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) in 1984. Ozen’s murder affected him so much that he wrote a book on Armenian terror called ‘A Myth of Terror.’
In his speech, Feigl lamented that Turkey has been unable to counter the psychological war waged by the Armenians. Feigl said that the total number of Armenians who lived under Ottoman rule was 1.7 million, and only 700,000 of them were sent away by the Ottomans. Therefore, their assertion that 1.5 million Armenians were killed is nonsensical.
Feigl also presented a new document, in which Boghos Nubar, leader of the Armenians in exile early in the last centrury, admits that the Armenians took sides with the enemy during the war. ‘It’s most fortunate that I could discover this document before the Armenians could find and destroy it,’ Feigl said. ‘Because they have successfully destroyed almost every document against them.’
Feigl also urged that Turkey not agree to discuss their claims, let alone recognize them. ‘If you recognize their claims or even agree to discuss the issue with them, next they will demand your money and land. You should never ever do that,’ he said.
Feigl ended his speech with a striking statement: ‘This land is yours. You didn’t settle in Anatolia after the Battle of Malazgirt. Archeological findings at Catalhoyuk prove that you have been here for more than 10,000 years’.
http://turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=40719
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Received on Mon Apr 25 11:50:05 2005