The government of Turkey has officially condemned an Argentinean bill that refers to the mass killings of Armenians [BBC Q/A] in Turkey around the time of World War I as genocide and establishes a day of annual commemoration on April 24. Turkey [CIA factbook, JURIST news archive] has asked the Argentine government to block the draft law which last week passed the Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Spanish], the lower house of the Argentine parliament, with 175 votes in favor and 2 abstentions. The Turkish government claims the draft not only disregards the historical facts, but is in violation of international law [Turkish Daily News report]. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that "The expulsion decision made in May 1915 by the Ottoman Empire was a legitimate precaution taken purely on security motives against certain Armenian groups who were in collaboration with invading forces." Turkish Daily News has more.
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