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FM: PROTOCOLS TO PAVE WAY FOR REGIONAL PEACE, INCLUDING AZERBAIJAN
Today's Zaman
Oct 22 2009
Turkey
Two protocols signed between Armenia and Turkey for re-establishing
ties and reopening their mutual border will eventually help change
the status quo in the Southern Caucasus, which currently serves
the interests of neither Armenia and Turkey nor Azerbaijan, Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.
Davutoglu was speaking as the government sent the two protocols to
Parliament for ratification. The governing party holds a majority in
the 550-seat Parliament, and the accords are likely to be ratified.
But it is not clear when voting will take place since there is no
timetable on when the ratification should take place. Armenia and
Turkey signed the protocols in Zurich on Oct. 10. They need to be
ratified by both parliaments to go into force. Underlining that the
mutual recognition of the border protocols and the implementation
of a "dialogue on the historical aspect [of Turkey-Armenia disputes]
with the aim of restoring mutual confidence between the two nations"
were important parts of the protocols, Davutoglu said: "What we aim at
is laying the ground for general normalization in the Caucasus. What
we want to do is create a 'just memory'."
Normalization can be meaningful when it is comprehensive, but not
when it is only between two countries, the minister added, stressing
that normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan would
also accelerate reconciliation and peace between Baku and Yerevan,
provided that Turkey's firm support for the protection of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity continues.
"The status quo is not useful for any of these countries. We should
remove the status quo with peaceful means in order to avoid seeing
the emergence of a new risk," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu's speech was frequently interrupted by opposition lawmakers,
who accuse the government of making concessions by signing the
documents. "The protocols are against the national interests of our
country," said Oktay Vural, who addressed the session on behalf of
his Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). He claimed that the protocols
were signed under pressure from the US and said, "The MHP will oppose
as strongly as it can when Parliament begins voting on the protocols."
The Republican People's Party's (CHP) Å~^ukru Elekdag criticized the
government for pushing for protocols in Parliament although there is
no progress on Armenia's Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Azerbaijan.
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), on the other hand,
welcomed the protocols. "We support the resolution of Turkey's domestic
and foreign issues with dialogue," Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_ of the DTP
told Parliament. He also called for a "more open" debate on Turkey's
history: "I'm saying it openly, the massacres of the Armenians are
not mentioned in our textbooks," he said.
Today's Zaman
Oct 22 2009
Turkey
Two protocols signed between Armenia and Turkey for re-establishing
ties and reopening their mutual border will eventually help change
the status quo in the Southern Caucasus, which currently serves
the interests of neither Armenia and Turkey nor Azerbaijan, Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.
Davutoglu was speaking as the government sent the two protocols to
Parliament for ratification. The governing party holds a majority in
the 550-seat Parliament, and the accords are likely to be ratified.
But it is not clear when voting will take place since there is no
timetable on when the ratification should take place. Armenia and
Turkey signed the protocols in Zurich on Oct. 10. They need to be
ratified by both parliaments to go into force. Underlining that the
mutual recognition of the border protocols and the implementation
of a "dialogue on the historical aspect [of Turkey-Armenia disputes]
with the aim of restoring mutual confidence between the two nations"
were important parts of the protocols, Davutoglu said: "What we aim at
is laying the ground for general normalization in the Caucasus. What
we want to do is create a 'just memory'."
Normalization can be meaningful when it is comprehensive, but not
when it is only between two countries, the minister added, stressing
that normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan would
also accelerate reconciliation and peace between Baku and Yerevan,
provided that Turkey's firm support for the protection of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity continues.
"The status quo is not useful for any of these countries. We should
remove the status quo with peaceful means in order to avoid seeing
the emergence of a new risk," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu's speech was frequently interrupted by opposition lawmakers,
who accuse the government of making concessions by signing the
documents. "The protocols are against the national interests of our
country," said Oktay Vural, who addressed the session on behalf of
his Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). He claimed that the protocols
were signed under pressure from the US and said, "The MHP will oppose
as strongly as it can when Parliament begins voting on the protocols."
The Republican People's Party's (CHP) Å~^ukru Elekdag criticized the
government for pushing for protocols in Parliament although there is
no progress on Armenia's Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Azerbaijan.
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), on the other hand,
welcomed the protocols. "We support the resolution of Turkey's domestic
and foreign issues with dialogue," Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_ of the DTP
told Parliament. He also called for a "more open" debate on Turkey's
history: "I'm saying it openly, the massacres of the Armenians are
not mentioned in our textbooks," he said.