Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s speech at the General Council of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on October 21 was followed by a speech delivered by Selahattin Demirtaş, member of the opposition Democratic Society Party (Turkish: Demokratik Toplum Partisi — DTP). He accused the Turkish authorities of distorting history and of not writing about the Armenian massacres in history textbooks, Turkish mass media reported.

Selahattin Demirtaş, who is head of the DTP faction in the Turkish Parliament, voiced his support for the Armenian-Turkish protocols. He pointed out, however, that the “100-year-old problem” in the Turkish-Armenian relations still remains unsolved and needs opener discussions.

To prove their sincerity, the Turkish authorities have to write about the Armenian massacres in their history textbooks. The textbooks exaggerate the attacks by Armenians, but do not contain any information on the massacres of Armenians committed by Turks. The Turkish authorities are not taking any steps to put an end to the hate for Armenians in the country. A glaring example is the passivity in investigating the Hrant Dink murder case. The expression “a son of Armenian” is perceived as an insult in Turkey even now. First of all, history textbooks must “speak in a language of peace” not of hatred, Demirtaş said. He reminded the attendees that, about a year ago, Canan Arıtman, member of the Republican People's Party (RPP), while criticizing Turkish President Abdulah Gul, said his mother had Armenian roots.

“In his turn, President Gul was troubled by the talks about his mother’s Armenian descent. The government must prevent any racist claims concerning Armenian identity – and not only concerning Armenians, but all the ethnic groups,” Demirtaş said. He pointed out that the authorities prohibited the burial of the well-known singer Aram Tigran in Diyarbakir only because he was an Armenian.

An interesting situation developed while parliamentarians were speaking. When a member of the Nationalist Movement Party (Turkish: Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) approached the platform, the Justice and Development Party faction left the hall and vice versa. MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, however, stayed during the whole course of the sitting.