Cablegate: Turkish Mfa Spokesman On Iranian Leader's December

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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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UNCLAS ANKARA 007247

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL TU IR
SUBJECT: TURKISH MFA SPOKESMAN ON IRANIAN LEADER'S DECEMBER
8 HOLOCAUST STATEMENT

1. (U) On 9 December 2005, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman
Namik Tan delivered a statement in reply to a question about
Iranian President Ahmadi-Nejad's 8 December 2005 statement
casting doubt on the holocaust. The text of the Turkish
statement is below.

2. (U) Begin Text:
It is very important today to promote and develop dialog,
understanding, and friendship between countries and nations.
This is all the more vital in a world which has been riddled
with problems for such a long time. It is not possible to
approve of such confrontational statements at a time when
what is needed is dialog, compromise, and cooperation. Such
statements will not promote the interests of either those who
issue them or anyone else. They can only fuel instability
and the crisis of confidence.

That the Jews were subjected to genocide during World War I
(Holocaust) is an historical fact which hurt the conscience
of humanity. This crime against humanity has been recognized
by international law, too.

Our country extended help to those Jews who fled Nazi tyranny
by admitting them as refugees. Our country is also a
signatory to a recent related resolution passed by the United
Nations General Assembly.

It should be everybody's priority to try to solve the
existing problems and prevent new problems and disasters.
End text.
WILSON

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