Sir, - With reference to Emin Yilmaz`s oblique denial of the genocide of the Armenian people in the Turkish-Ottoman Empire in 1915 (November 18th), may I draw your readers' attention to this extract of the European Parliament's Session Documents of April 15th, 1987, pages 28/29. Under the heading "Conclusion", it reads:
"The events in Turkey affecting the Armenians during the war period of 1915-1917 must be described as genocide within the meaning of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Recognition of these facts by the European Parliament, as the only directly elected international parliament in the world, is in keeping with its mission to regard violations of human rights and rights of peoples as a matter of international concern and to expose such violations.
"It is plain that the present Turkish government cannot be made at all responsible for the acts of genocide committed by the Young Turks. The present rulers are, however, the heirs of the Turkish state, on the territory of which these events occurred. In view of this fact, the Turkish government can no longer deny the history of the Turkish-Armenian question and the element of genocide. Recognition of these events will, of course, only have moral consequences, but Turkey would thereby implicitly play a special preventive role in consolidating respect for human rights in the international community. Moreover, such recognition would eliminate one of the main reasons for the senseless, desperate and inexcusable acts of terrorism committed by splinter groups from the Armenian diaspora." - Yours, etc.,
Sandycove, Co Dublin.