Armenian Genocide : Erdogan went on the offensive

* Armenian Genocide bill will not pass !

British Justice Minister Jack Straw on Tuesday assured Turkey's Prime Minister that Parliament would not pass a resolution recognizing the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide, CNNTürk reported.

"The chance of this becoming law is zero. I can assure everyone on this issue, Straw said.

After the Swedish parliament adopted an Armenian genocide resolution last week, many have turned their attention to the British Parliament, where a draft will be submitted to a House of Commons committee after a second reading on April 30.

If it is approved, an Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day will be established in the country.

"The English government and the opposition do not support this draft," Straw said.

The British committee is scheduled to hold its last evaluation in late March; the first reading of the draft was made Jan. 6. A similar draft will follow the same process in the British House of Lords.

* 100,000 Armenians deport up ?

Turkey's Prime Minister has warned that he might deport up to 100,000 Armenians living in Turkey without citizenship after resolutions passed by U.S. and Swedish lawmakers defining World War One-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Earlier this month, Turkey withdrew its ambassadors to Washington and Stockholm after a U.S. congressional committee and the Swedish parliament passed the non-binding resolutions.

It also warned that the resolutions could affect progress in fragile reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia.

Asked during an interview with the BBC Turkish service in London on Tuesday what he thought about the resolutions, Erdogan said:

"There are currently 170,000 Armenians living in our country. Only 70,000 of them are Turkish citizens, but we are tolerating the remaining 100,000. If necessary, I may have to tell these 100,000 to go back to their country because they are not my citizens. I don't have to keep them in my country."

Erdogan accused the Armenian Diaspora of being behind the resolutions in foreign parliaments, and called on Armenia and other foreign governments to avoid being swayed by their lobbying.

“Armenia has an important decision to make. It should free itself from its attachment to the Diaspora. Any country which cares for Armenia, namely the U.S., France and Russia, should primarily help Armenia to free itself from the influence of the Diaspora," Erdogan said.

* Written guarantees !

Turkey demands written guarantees from US to send its Ambassador back to Washington.

“Ankara should have written guarantees that the resolution will not be put on the House floor. Only in this case Ambassador Tan will return to Washington,” Taraf daily quoted a source speaking on condition of anonymity.

Turkey recalled its Ambassador to the US, Tamik Tan, minutes after the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the House Committee on Foreign Relations.

Meanwhile, Ambassador to Sweden Zergun Koruturk, who was recalled after the Swedish Riksdag passed a resolution recognizing the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Pontiac Greeks, has already returned to Stockholm.

Public Radio of Armenia