Tweet
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Oct 24 2009
ANKARA AND BAKU PUT UP UNITED FRONT
Turkey and Azerbaijan seek to soothe anger over Armenia deal.
By Kenan Guluzade in Baku
Turkish and Azeri officials this week tried to calm anger sparked in
both countries by Ankara's decision to open diplomatic relations with
Armenia.
The signing of protocols between the two countries last week enraged
many Azeris, who had relied on Turkey to force Armenia to give up its
hold on Nagorny Karabakh, which is internationally considered part of
Azerbaijan.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a protest against the
war in Karabakh, and has been one of Azerbaijan's firmest supporters
ever since.
The rift in relations between the two allies, whose populations are
close ethnic kin, has been bitter. Observers are calling it the `flag
crisis', after Turkish authorities tried to stop fans waving the Azeri
flag at a football match against Armenia on October 14.
The morning after the game, photos appeared on the internet of
confiscated Azerbaijan flags thrown into rubbish bins, angering many
Azeris.
The Azeris responded by removing the Turkish flags from Martyrs'
Alley, an avenue in Baku that commemorates those who died for the
short-lived Azerbaijan Republic that was proclaimed after World War
One, as well as those who died in Karabakh. They also removed the
Turkish flag from in front of a Turkish embassy building.
The Turkish foreign ministry sent an official note of protest, a rare
event in a normally close relationship.
Officially, there are no differences between the two sides over the
Armenia-Turkey peace process, and Turkish president Abdullah Gul rang
his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev to explain what was happening
when parliament began to discuss it on October 21.
`The leaders of the two states agreed to eliminate emotional factors
at this current difficult phase, and came to the joint opinion that
the supposed difficulties in relations between Ankara and Baku do not
actually exist,' said an official statement from the Turkish
government quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
The Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers also tried to calm the
situation when they met in Baku for a meeting of the Organisation for
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said the pictures of
flags in rubbish bins were staged.
`The Azerbaijan flag is not a foreign flag for us. It bears the blood
of all of our martyrs,' he said. `What happened in Bursa during the
Turkey-Armenia match was a provocation.'
He said the current tensions had been whipped up by whoever threw away
the flags, and filmed them in the rubbish bins.
`Turkey will conduct an investigation and punish the guilty,' he said.
Azerbaijan officials also sought to assuage public anger, and on
October 20, parliament speaker Oktay Asadov told deputies there was no
anti-Turkish campaign in the country. But that did not calm ordinary
Azeris, and two unofficial demonstrations protested against the
removal of the Turkish flag from Martyrs' Alley and the arrival of
Armenian officials for the Black Sea summit.
On October 21, a group of young activists from the National Front
tried to pass along Martyrs' Alley with Turkish flags, but were
blocked by police, who detained four of them. The next day, officers
also blocked an unofficial protest by the Organisation for the
Liberation of Karabakh against the arrival of Armenian deputy foreign
minister Arman Kirokosian.
The protesters held placards with slogans `Davutoglu, you are on the
Armenian side' and `Shame on those who invite Armenians to Baku'.
Ali Hasanov, head of the political department of the Azerbaijani
presidential administration, said there was no scandal, and that the
Turkish flags had been removed simply to comply with the law, which
allows foreign flags to be displayed only outside buildings with
diplomatic status.
But Eldar Namazov, head of the opposition forum For the Sake of
Azerbaijan, said the removal of the flags had been a mistake.
`They need to step back. The Turkish authorities should have reacted
more decisively to the disrespect shown to the Azerbaijan flag shown
during the football match in Bursa.
`But even in this case, I think the reactions of the Azerbaijani
authorities against Turkey are unacceptable. The flags must be
restored to their places and steps must be taken to restore trust.
`Even if there is a difference in opinions on the Turkish-Armenian
protocols, such errors must not be allowed.'
The two countries' foreign ministers already tried to show they are
united when, on the evening of October 22, they laid flowers at the
soldiers' graves on Martyrs' Alley.
`There are no problems between Azerbaijan and Turkey. Relations
between the two countries, as before, develop on the principle of `One
Nation ` two states',' said Azerbaijan foreign minister Eldar
Mammadyarov after the ceremony.
Kenan Guluzade, is editor of the website analitika.az.
Oct 24 2009
ANKARA AND BAKU PUT UP UNITED FRONT
Turkey and Azerbaijan seek to soothe anger over Armenia deal.
By Kenan Guluzade in Baku
Turkish and Azeri officials this week tried to calm anger sparked in
both countries by Ankara's decision to open diplomatic relations with
Armenia.
The signing of protocols between the two countries last week enraged
many Azeris, who had relied on Turkey to force Armenia to give up its
hold on Nagorny Karabakh, which is internationally considered part of
Azerbaijan.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a protest against the
war in Karabakh, and has been one of Azerbaijan's firmest supporters
ever since.
The rift in relations between the two allies, whose populations are
close ethnic kin, has been bitter. Observers are calling it the `flag
crisis', after Turkish authorities tried to stop fans waving the Azeri
flag at a football match against Armenia on October 14.
The morning after the game, photos appeared on the internet of
confiscated Azerbaijan flags thrown into rubbish bins, angering many
Azeris.
The Azeris responded by removing the Turkish flags from Martyrs'
Alley, an avenue in Baku that commemorates those who died for the
short-lived Azerbaijan Republic that was proclaimed after World War
One, as well as those who died in Karabakh. They also removed the
Turkish flag from in front of a Turkish embassy building.
The Turkish foreign ministry sent an official note of protest, a rare
event in a normally close relationship.
Officially, there are no differences between the two sides over the
Armenia-Turkey peace process, and Turkish president Abdullah Gul rang
his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev to explain what was happening
when parliament began to discuss it on October 21.
`The leaders of the two states agreed to eliminate emotional factors
at this current difficult phase, and came to the joint opinion that
the supposed difficulties in relations between Ankara and Baku do not
actually exist,' said an official statement from the Turkish
government quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
The Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers also tried to calm the
situation when they met in Baku for a meeting of the Organisation for
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said the pictures of
flags in rubbish bins were staged.
`The Azerbaijan flag is not a foreign flag for us. It bears the blood
of all of our martyrs,' he said. `What happened in Bursa during the
Turkey-Armenia match was a provocation.'
He said the current tensions had been whipped up by whoever threw away
the flags, and filmed them in the rubbish bins.
`Turkey will conduct an investigation and punish the guilty,' he said.
Azerbaijan officials also sought to assuage public anger, and on
October 20, parliament speaker Oktay Asadov told deputies there was no
anti-Turkish campaign in the country. But that did not calm ordinary
Azeris, and two unofficial demonstrations protested against the
removal of the Turkish flag from Martyrs' Alley and the arrival of
Armenian officials for the Black Sea summit.
On October 21, a group of young activists from the National Front
tried to pass along Martyrs' Alley with Turkish flags, but were
blocked by police, who detained four of them. The next day, officers
also blocked an unofficial protest by the Organisation for the
Liberation of Karabakh against the arrival of Armenian deputy foreign
minister Arman Kirokosian.
The protesters held placards with slogans `Davutoglu, you are on the
Armenian side' and `Shame on those who invite Armenians to Baku'.
Ali Hasanov, head of the political department of the Azerbaijani
presidential administration, said there was no scandal, and that the
Turkish flags had been removed simply to comply with the law, which
allows foreign flags to be displayed only outside buildings with
diplomatic status.
But Eldar Namazov, head of the opposition forum For the Sake of
Azerbaijan, said the removal of the flags had been a mistake.
`They need to step back. The Turkish authorities should have reacted
more decisively to the disrespect shown to the Azerbaijan flag shown
during the football match in Bursa.
`But even in this case, I think the reactions of the Azerbaijani
authorities against Turkey are unacceptable. The flags must be
restored to their places and steps must be taken to restore trust.
`Even if there is a difference in opinions on the Turkish-Armenian
protocols, such errors must not be allowed.'
The two countries' foreign ministers already tried to show they are
united when, on the evening of October 22, they laid flowers at the
soldiers' graves on Martyrs' Alley.
`There are no problems between Azerbaijan and Turkey. Relations
between the two countries, as before, develop on the principle of `One
Nation ` two states',' said Azerbaijan foreign minister Eldar
Mammadyarov after the ceremony.
Kenan Guluzade, is editor of the website analitika.az.