Mansur Yavaş reacts sharply to Trump's '1915' claims: Issues warning to the AKP

Yavaş made a harsh statement regarding the 1915 events, which came back to the agenda ahead of April 24. Yavaş noted that the US President followed in the footsteps of his predecessors by reiterating claims regarding 1915, but pointed out that he did not use the term "genocide" this time, stating that this stance is part of a constructed understanding aimed at distorting history.

In a post on X, Mansur Yavaş stated that Trump, like former presidents, repeated the claims made regarding the 1915 events.

Stating that unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump did not use the term "genocide," Yavaş described this as "noteworthy" and wrote the following:

"US President Trump has repeated the claims made by his predecessors regarding the 1915 events with his statement today, but unlike President Biden, he did not use the term 'genocide' this time. 

While this point is noteworthy, it is seen that his general stance regarding the 1915 period is maintained in its main outlines. In this way, President Trump continues to share in the understanding of the distortion and falsification of history. Similar statements have also come from other circles, such as Canada.

We reject these baseless claims, which target our history—a history that has no shameful or dark pages for the Turkish Nation—and which are put forward entirely due to the domestic policy and propaganda concerns of the US and similar countries, and the guidance of 'genocide lobbies,' and which have no legal or historical basis, just as we have in the past, and we will continue this line with determination in the future.

Our country, as the successor to the Ottoman Empire, has taken every step and developed proposals to date so that this tragic period, which was also a result of the provocative, encouraging, and destructive policies of imperialism that intensified on a global scale and primarily against our country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, can be revealed in all its aspects and discussed bravely, openly, and sincerely. Because, above all, those who lost their lives during this period of history were all our citizens, regardless of their faith or ethnic group, and we commemorate them all with respect.

While third countries essentially have no right to speak on this matter, any contribution they might consider making should, in summary, aim for objectivity, avoiding provocation, and supporting not only the future of our country's relations with Armenia but also regional and global peace, tranquility, and stability.

At the stage reached today, while the nature of the 1915 events and the responsible powers behind them have begun to be discussed and questioned even in Armenia in recent times, and even its 'recognition' at the international level has been removed from Armenia's foreign policy priorities, the latest provocative statements coming primarily from the US and some other circles constitute a truly exemplary and contradictory situation. The provocative approaches of these third actors strengthen and support our conviction that the real reasons behind them are not peace, tranquility, and stability on a bilateral and regional scale.

It would be a valuable start for the bilateral and regional peace, prosperity, and tranquility of the countries in the region if Turkey's calls—which have remained unanswered to date—to reveal all the realities regarding the 1915 period, especially the provocative roles of external actors and the destructive support for the terrorist groups of the period, were heeded; and if the problems between Turkey-Armenia and, in parallel, Azerbaijan-Armenia were permanently overcome with an understanding that embraces the future on the basis of good neighborliness.

On this occasion, we observe with concern that our country's government, which said that necessary steps would be taken in response to the 'genocide' accusations against Turkey by former US President Biden and others on April 24, 2021, has not been able to pursue an effective policy on this issue, and indeed, following the statement in question, various regulations supporting Armenian theses have been implemented in various states of the US. 

We would like to remind our country's government of its responsibilities and the commitments in question. Our nation wants to know what counter-steps Turkey has taken since April 24, 2021. Because the silence and inaction of our government embolden the policies of Armenian circles and their supporters against our country and encourage them to take new destructive steps.

The Turkish Nation has a clear conscience before history, and there is no issue from the past to the present that it needs to hide, cover up, or account for. Those who truly need to reckon with their past are, in essence, those who attempt to direct such accusations at Turkish history and the nation. These powers will in no way be able to escape accounting before humanity one day.

With this understanding, we declare to the whole world once again that we reject the April 24 statements of US President Trump, all his predecessors, and other Western leaders, and that the beloved children of the Turkish Nation, who were massacred by collaborative gangs with the support of foreign powers during this period, will never be forgotten.