Etyen Mahçupyan, an adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu who has recently been in the news for his remarks on the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, is no longer formally serving in the position, Today’s Zaman reports.
Mahçupyan, the first Turkish Armenian to be a prime ministerial adviser, is no longer in the post due to legal restrictions on age, the Hürriyet daily's website, quoting Mahçupyan, said. He said he was “automatically” removed from the post when he turned 65 on March 9 but that he continues his job on an “honorary” basis.
“I am currently abroad and I continue my work [as a prime minister's adviser]. The only difference is that I no longer get paid,” he told Hürriyet.
Mahçupyan, appointed to his post by Davutoğlu in October 2014, created a stir when he said it was impossible not to accept that Armenians were subject to genocide during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
“It is impossible not to describe what was done to the Armenians in 1915 as genocide while what happened in Bosnia and Africa is accepted as genocide,” Mahçupyan reportedly told a website, karar.com, earlier this week.
He also defended Pope Francis' characterization of the 1915 events as the first genocide of the 20th century, saying the Vatican has finally dispensed with a “100-year psychological burden.”
The government has criticized the pontiff after his remarks, and Prime Minister Davutoğlu even accused him of joining an “axis of evil” formed against his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Turkey.
Turkey also lashed out at the European Parliament, which has passed a non-binding resolution to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.
