16 March 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
The Norwegian government has refused to take a position in debates on whether the killings of Armenians in eastern Anatolia a century ago constitute genocide, as Armenians claim today.
“There is no doubt that the Armenians were victims of massive atrocities in 1915. The Norwegian authorities have not taken a position on whether the atrocities can be characterized as genocide in accordance with current criteria. Nor do we believe there are legal grounds for doing so,” the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Friday. “In our view, this tragedy is an important topic in historical terms, but should not be a legal or political issue today.” The statement said the concept of genocide was defined in international treaties to which Norway is party but emphasized that the rules contained in the treaties “do not apply retroactively.” It also announced its backing for talks between Turkey and Armenia to normalize their relations and called for the ratification of protocols signed by the two countries in October to happen as soon as possible.
