06 June 2012, 15:00
Georgia's MFA to check content of textbooks on history of Turkey
Turkish textbooks contain a map, on which the territory of modern Georgia, in particular, Adzharia, and Armenia are parts of Turkey. At present, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) checks the information. The Turkish side calls the incident a mistake.
Istanbul schoolchildren received multimedia tutorials, which contain a map of Turkey with entire Armenia, some regions of Iraq, Bulgaria, Greek part of Cyprus, and Georgia. Authors of the textbook on the history of Turkey write that Batumi is originally a Turkish city, which is at present a part of Georgia.
According to information disseminated by Turkish newspaper "Milliyet", the CD, which contains the map, has been prepared within the national educational programme initiated by the Ministry of Education. Under the programme, the authorities distribute free educational materials and organize for parents of schoolchildren special events: in particular, invite them to the lessons with their children.
Representatives of the Georgian community demanded that Levent Burhan, Turkish Ambassador, should present an explanation.
"Naturally, we are studying the issue, and I believe that in this case, the reality in a small degree corresponds to a temperature of excitement. I will refrain from the details until we have any specific information," stated Nikoloz Vashakidze, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the "Georgia-Online" reports.
Last week, in Tbilisi, Bulent Arinc, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, stated that "it was unacceptable that such books were printed" and demanded to provide him with information on the issue, the "Georgia Today" reports. Bulent Arinc has noted that it is the first time when he hears about such a fact and that he is sure that this is just a mistake, the "News.ge".
