Turkish PM Admits Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians...Or Did He?

In a surprising, controversial statement this week, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan kinda-sorta admitted that certain minority groups that may or may not include the Armenians received less than hospitable treatment at certain points in Turkey's history.

"For years, those of different identities have been kicked out of our country. ... This was not done with common sense. This was done with a fascist approach," Erdogan said on May 23, during the annual congress of the Justice and Development Party, held in the western province of Duzce.

"For many years," Erdogan continued, "various facts took place in this country to the detriment of ethnic minorities who lived here. They were ethnically cleansed because they had a different ethnic cultural identity. The time has arrived for us to question ourselves about why this happened and what we have learned from all of this. There has been no analysis of this right up until now. In reality, this behavior is the result of a fascist conception. We have also fallen into this grave error."

F-ing fascists.

Though a bit of a wink-wink, read-between-the-lines type of statement, Erdogan's admission is a major step for a government that has maintained consistent denial about the murder of up to 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during WWI. The article linked above notes a diversity of reaction to the PM's remarks, ranging from outright condemnation, to laudatory praise, to skepticism over his sincerity and motive.

Curious to know what the American Armenian community thinks? (Once y'all are finished making sure Obama knows you're still waiting, of course.)

[Photo: Images of the execution of Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople, marking the beginning of the Genocide in 1915.]