Tweet
Armenia-Turkey agreement delayed
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/ europe/8299712.stm
Published: 2009/10/10 17:09:24 GMT
A landmark agreement normalising ties between Turkey and Armenia after
a century of hostility has been delayed.
It was to be signed at 1500 GMT in Switzerland, but a US state
department spokesman told AFP news agency there had been a "last-minute
hitch".
Armenia is reportedly objecting to a planned statement by Turkey.
The deal has been met by protests in Armenia, where many people say it
does not fully address the 1915 killing of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians.
Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide,
but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among the dignitaries who are
in Zurich for the ceremony.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Mrs Clinton, says the
Armenians apparently raised objections to a statement that was due to
be read out by the Turkish delegation.
Under the deal, the two are set to resume diplomatic ties and re-open
their shared border.
The draft agreement also calls for a joint commission of independent
historians to study the genocide issue.
The accord needs to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
International campaign
On Friday thousands of people protested against the deal in the
Armenian capital, Yerevan.
HAVE YOUR SAY It is in the best interest of both countries that they
forget about the past and start a new era in their relationship Abdul
Malik Niazi, Kabul
"The international recognition of the Armenian genocide will be
hindered by this signature, or ratification," said Vahan Hovanissyan, a
member of parliament for the nationalist Dashnak Tsutyun party.
One protester told the BBC he was not opposed to the opening of the
border, but was "against the setting up of a commission that will allow
Turkey to further postpone declaring the killings as genocide".
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were
deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman empire. They
were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.
Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised
internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so.
Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but says the deaths were
part of the widespread fighting that took place in World War I.
A roadmap for normalising relations between Turkey and Armenia was
agreed in April.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 because of its war with
Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/ europe/8299712.stm
Published: 2009/10/10 17:09:24 GMT
A landmark agreement normalising ties between Turkey and Armenia after
a century of hostility has been delayed.
It was to be signed at 1500 GMT in Switzerland, but a US state
department spokesman told AFP news agency there had been a "last-minute
hitch".
Armenia is reportedly objecting to a planned statement by Turkey.
The deal has been met by protests in Armenia, where many people say it
does not fully address the 1915 killing of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians.
Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide,
but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among the dignitaries who are
in Zurich for the ceremony.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Mrs Clinton, says the
Armenians apparently raised objections to a statement that was due to
be read out by the Turkish delegation.
Under the deal, the two are set to resume diplomatic ties and re-open
their shared border.
The draft agreement also calls for a joint commission of independent
historians to study the genocide issue.
The accord needs to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
International campaign
On Friday thousands of people protested against the deal in the
Armenian capital, Yerevan.
HAVE YOUR SAY It is in the best interest of both countries that they
forget about the past and start a new era in their relationship Abdul
Malik Niazi, Kabul
"The international recognition of the Armenian genocide will be
hindered by this signature, or ratification," said Vahan Hovanissyan, a
member of parliament for the nationalist Dashnak Tsutyun party.
One protester told the BBC he was not opposed to the opening of the
border, but was "against the setting up of a commission that will allow
Turkey to further postpone declaring the killings as genocide".
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were
deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman empire. They
were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.
Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised
internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so.
Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but says the deaths were
part of the widespread fighting that took place in World War I.
A roadmap for normalising relations between Turkey and Armenia was
agreed in April.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 because of its war with
Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh.