UPDATE 2 - Turkish leader blasts Biden's 'unfounded' remarks on 1915 events

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Merve Aydogan, Seda Sevencan and Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish president on Monday denounced US President Joe Biden's "unfounded" statement on the events of 1915, saying it is "contrary to the facts."

Addressing a news conference following a three-hour Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "US President Biden made a statement that is unfounded, unjust, and contrary to the facts about the painful events that took place more than a century ago."

Expressing his and Turkish nation's "immense" distress over Biden's statement, Erdogan once more stated that the US president's remarks "have no historical and legal basis."

"As Turkey, we believe that it is inhumane to contest the sufferings of history," Erdogan said, reminding that Turkey is the only nation and state that is without rebuke and has a clear and satisfied conscience about its history.

The president also said that the US and Europe "would not be able to appear in public" if they were to "compete" on the events in history.

"If you call it genocide, you should look in the mirror and evaluate yourselves," said Erdogan.

He further stated: "Investigating historical events and revealing the truth should be left to experts and historians, not to politicians."

On a proposed joint history commission on Armenian claims, Erdogan said Turkey is yet to receive a response on its offer.

"We have assured researchers of the commission of access to our archives, but other parties have not responded," he added.

Erdogan underscored that there is "no concrete evidence regarding Armenian allegations nor any international court decision."

Giving a detailed historical background to the Armenian issue, Erdogan said that until the World War I, the Armenian gangs caused about 40 riots, which got out of control and turned into massacres.

The Turkish leader also said that millions of Turkish and Kurdish civilian population from the eastern Van to northeastern Kars provinces and from the eastern Erzurum province to the central Anatolian region were massacred by the Armenian gangs.

"There are mass graves of Turks massacred by Armenians in many places, but nowhere can you find mass graves belonging to Armenians," he said.

Erdogan went on saying that prior to the World War I, the records show that a total of 1.3 million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire.

"There are over 1 million documents in our archives now. Come in and examine the documents," he added.

Regarding the April 24, 1915 incidents claimed by Armenians, Erdogan said: "Nothing happened on April 24 in terms of human tragedy."

"April 24, 1915 is only the day when the Ottoman Empire shut down [Armenian] organizations such as Dashnak, Hinchak and Ramgavar, which were engaged in activities with countries that were at war with the empire, and arrested 235 administrators of them," he said.

Noting the relocation and resettlement law was still not introduced on that date, Erdogan said no such casualties from the Armenian side happened.

"The Armenian community in our country recognized this date as a day of remembrance of their own suffering, in line with the general practice in the world," he said.

Despite knowing the truth on the events regarding the mentioned date, Erdogan reminded that Turkey still sends a message to those Armenian communities, sharing their pain.

The Ottoman Empire did not send the Armenian population elsewhere, it relocated them within its territory, he said.

"Individuals subject to this law were given a week to prepare, and those who had an excuse were exempted from relocation. Necessary administrative measures were taken during the referral process, and adequate funds were provided to local units in this regard," Erdogan added.

"Following the arrests made by the Ottoman state on April 24, the relocation and resettlement law was enacted on May 27, and it was put into effect on June 1. The move [by Ottomans] was not taken due to a possible threat or danger, but [it was] rather a measure taken against an actual ongoing rebellion and increasing massacres [by Armenian gangs]," he said.

The Turkish president further recalled that mentioned dates also coincides with the Ottoman Empire's historical struggle on many fronts, especially in Canakkale.

"Due to full mobilization, almost all of the men were at the battlefield and those vulnerable women, children and the elderly were left behind. Armenian gangs not only clashed with the Turkish army or the armed Turkish guards protecting their districts but also massacred innocent and defenseless people," he added.

Saying that the Armenian gangs massacred defenseless civilian Turks and Kurds in the Anatolia and Circassians on the Caucasus side, Erdogan said: "Armenian gangs boasted about the massacres they committed and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to migrate."

"Many documents related to this are available in the archives of the countries of the region," Erdogan added.

He further stressed that "with the relocation and resettlement law, the Ottoman Empire decided to temporarily send the Armenian population, on which the gangs who committed these massacres were based, to other regions. Moreover, this decision did not cover all Armenians in the country, but only the Armenian population in places where gang attacks are intense."

On Saturday, Biden called the events of 1915 a "genocide," breaking with American presidents' long-held tradition of refraining from using the term.

- Turkish stance on 1915 events

Turkey's position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey objects to the presentation of these events as "genocide," describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia as well as international experts to tackle the issue.

In 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Turkey's then prime minister and now president – expressed his condolences to the descendants of Armenians who lost their lives in the events of 1915.