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ARMENIA HAS BEEN DEFEATED, SAYS MARKARIAN
Asbarez
www.asbarez.com/index.html?show article=41773_4/23/2009_1
Thursday, April 23, 2009
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Armenia has been defeated in the
Turkish-Armenian dialogue process because of key concessions
made by Yerevan, declared Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau
chairman Hrant Markarian, who urged Armenia to pull out of the talks
immediately.
"The Armenian side must acknowledge that it has been defeated in
this stage of Turkish-Armenian fence-mending negotiations," said
Markarian who was speaking .at a conference Wednesday dedicated to
the Turkey-Armenia relations and organized by the ARF Supreme Council
of Armenia.
Markarian expressed concern that a tentative agreement reached by the
two governments earlier this year envisions the creation of a joint
commission on the Armenian Genocide. He also called on Armenia's
leadership to abandon the talks if the preliminary principles
envision the creation of a joint commission to study the Genocide
and an explicit recognition of Turkey's current borders by Armenia.
"If there were some agreements on forming some commission of historians
; and if there was any intention on Karabakh and the recognition
of Turkey's territorial integrity and the existing border, we must
abandon all of that," he said.
The ARF repeatedly warned Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian last
year against agreeing to the creation of such a commission which was
proposed by the Turkish side in 2005 and rejected by then President
Robert Kocharian. The warnings came after Sarkisian indicated that
he does not object to the proposal in principle. Analysts close to
the issue have long seen the commission as a Turkish ploy designed
to deter more countries, notably the United States, from recognizing
the Armenian Genocide.
"One year ago we were saying that Armenia stands for normalizing
relations with Turkey without preconditions while Turkey sets
preconditions. We presented ourselves to the world as a peace-loving
nation, whereas Turkey was seen as a crude and inexplicable state,"
Markarian said.
Markarian's remarks follow growing indications that Ankara is again
linking the establishment of diplomatic relations with Yerevan and
reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border with a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favoring Azerbaijan.
Markarian said that the Armenian side itself allowed the Turkish
government to renew that linkage. "One year ago, Turkey did not
have a moral right to even express views on the Karabakh issue as
it wasn't considered a party [to the conflict,]" he said. "Today it
is being presented as a party. It is already becoming clear why the
Karabakh issue should be solved also for normalizing Turkish-Armenian
relations."
The ARF leader said that the shift occurred when Armenia stopped
looking at all national issues as one totality and throughout this
process has slowly conceded in several key areas.
"We need to understand that the issues of Karabakh, the Genocide,
Javakhk, the liberation of Western Armenia and Armenia's independence,
are all intertwined and are a totality. They all must be tackled as
parts of a whole, in which one cannot be sacrificed at the cost of
another," said Markarian. "We fall into a trap when we believe that
we cannot make any concessions on the Karabakh issue, but that we
can make concessions elsewhere."
"Armenia has lost out since it conceded certain principles that the
Armenian government had adopted since 1990. If we had held on strong
to those principles, today the Turkish side would be perceived as the
guilty party. Today Turkey has changed its image and is represented as
a country seeking friendly relations with its neighbors," Markarian
said.
The ARF Bureau urged President Sarkisian's administration in December
to exercise caution in this process, saying that the Turks are
exploiting it to scuttle greater international recognition of the
Armenian genocide. Among the other speakers at Wednesday's conference
was ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Armen Rustamian who spoke
about the unrealized possibilities of Armenia's dialogue with Turkey,
noting that negotiations could have bore fruit if Turkey did not
impose conditions on Armenia.
"Armenian and Turkey should move toward normalizing relations, only if
our national interests are not jeopardized as a result of imprudent
steps," said Rustamian, adding that Turkey never makes a move that
does not benefit its national interests.
"Turkey has managed to create the impression that the process of
normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey exists and is
proceeding in a constructive manner," he said.
At the conclusion of the conference, a five-point declaration was
presented that reiterated the aforementioned views, but specifically
warned against any efforts that could cast doubt on the veracity of
the Armenian Genocide.
Asbarez
www.asbarez.com/index.html?show article=41773_4/23/2009_1
Thursday, April 23, 2009
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Armenia has been defeated in the
Turkish-Armenian dialogue process because of key concessions
made by Yerevan, declared Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau
chairman Hrant Markarian, who urged Armenia to pull out of the talks
immediately.
"The Armenian side must acknowledge that it has been defeated in
this stage of Turkish-Armenian fence-mending negotiations," said
Markarian who was speaking .at a conference Wednesday dedicated to
the Turkey-Armenia relations and organized by the ARF Supreme Council
of Armenia.
Markarian expressed concern that a tentative agreement reached by the
two governments earlier this year envisions the creation of a joint
commission on the Armenian Genocide. He also called on Armenia's
leadership to abandon the talks if the preliminary principles
envision the creation of a joint commission to study the Genocide
and an explicit recognition of Turkey's current borders by Armenia.
"If there were some agreements on forming some commission of historians
; and if there was any intention on Karabakh and the recognition
of Turkey's territorial integrity and the existing border, we must
abandon all of that," he said.
The ARF repeatedly warned Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian last
year against agreeing to the creation of such a commission which was
proposed by the Turkish side in 2005 and rejected by then President
Robert Kocharian. The warnings came after Sarkisian indicated that
he does not object to the proposal in principle. Analysts close to
the issue have long seen the commission as a Turkish ploy designed
to deter more countries, notably the United States, from recognizing
the Armenian Genocide.
"One year ago we were saying that Armenia stands for normalizing
relations with Turkey without preconditions while Turkey sets
preconditions. We presented ourselves to the world as a peace-loving
nation, whereas Turkey was seen as a crude and inexplicable state,"
Markarian said.
Markarian's remarks follow growing indications that Ankara is again
linking the establishment of diplomatic relations with Yerevan and
reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border with a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favoring Azerbaijan.
Markarian said that the Armenian side itself allowed the Turkish
government to renew that linkage. "One year ago, Turkey did not
have a moral right to even express views on the Karabakh issue as
it wasn't considered a party [to the conflict,]" he said. "Today it
is being presented as a party. It is already becoming clear why the
Karabakh issue should be solved also for normalizing Turkish-Armenian
relations."
The ARF leader said that the shift occurred when Armenia stopped
looking at all national issues as one totality and throughout this
process has slowly conceded in several key areas.
"We need to understand that the issues of Karabakh, the Genocide,
Javakhk, the liberation of Western Armenia and Armenia's independence,
are all intertwined and are a totality. They all must be tackled as
parts of a whole, in which one cannot be sacrificed at the cost of
another," said Markarian. "We fall into a trap when we believe that
we cannot make any concessions on the Karabakh issue, but that we
can make concessions elsewhere."
"Armenia has lost out since it conceded certain principles that the
Armenian government had adopted since 1990. If we had held on strong
to those principles, today the Turkish side would be perceived as the
guilty party. Today Turkey has changed its image and is represented as
a country seeking friendly relations with its neighbors," Markarian
said.
The ARF Bureau urged President Sarkisian's administration in December
to exercise caution in this process, saying that the Turks are
exploiting it to scuttle greater international recognition of the
Armenian genocide. Among the other speakers at Wednesday's conference
was ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Armen Rustamian who spoke
about the unrealized possibilities of Armenia's dialogue with Turkey,
noting that negotiations could have bore fruit if Turkey did not
impose conditions on Armenia.
"Armenian and Turkey should move toward normalizing relations, only if
our national interests are not jeopardized as a result of imprudent
steps," said Rustamian, adding that Turkey never makes a move that
does not benefit its national interests.
"Turkey has managed to create the impression that the process of
normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey exists and is
proceeding in a constructive manner," he said.
At the conclusion of the conference, a five-point declaration was
presented that reiterated the aforementioned views, but specifically
warned against any efforts that could cast doubt on the veracity of
the Armenian Genocide.