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Montreal Gazette, Quebec
March 5 2010
U.S. 'genocide' vote hurts stability: Azerbaijan
By Afet Mehtiyeva, ReutersMarch 5, 2010 3:55 PM
BAKU - Turkish ally Azerbaijan on Friday condemned as a blow to
regional stability a U.S. House panel resolution labelling the World
War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide".
Oil-producing Azerbaijan, a close Muslim and Turkic-speaking ally of
Turkey, said the resolution adopted on Thursday "could reduce to zero
all previous efforts" to resolve the conflict over the Armenian-backed
rebel region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The strongly-worded statement by parliament underscored the deep links
in the region between unresolved historical grievances and modern-day
territorial disputes.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev telephoned Turkish President
Abdullah Gul and described the resolution as "misrepresenting
historical reality and fuelling tension in the region," state news
agency Azertac reported.
Azerbaijan traditionally sees any affirmation of Christian Armenian
grievances against Turkey as, by extension, an expression of support
for Armenia in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan believes Western support for Armenia will only harden
Yerevan's resolve against compromising over the Armenian-populated
region, which broke away in fighting that erupted as the Soviet Union
headed towards its 1991 collapse.
ANGRY SPEECHES
After angry speeches in parliament, lawmakers voted unanimously to
adopt the statement warning the resolution "damages efforts to restore
peace and stability in the region" ' where pipelines carry Azeri oil
and gas to the West.
The non-binding resolution, adopted by 23 votes to 22 by the U.S.
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, calls on President
Barack Obama to ensure U.S. policy formally refers to the 1915
killings as genocide.
The vote opened the way for the measure possibly to be considered by
the full House, although it was unclear whether it would come to a
vote there, and if so whether it could pass.
Azerbaijan called for the resolution to be rejected, saying it
"contradicts U.S. interests in the region and the U.S. strategic
partnership with Azerbaijan and Turkey."
Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks but
denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it amounted to genocide '
a term employed by many Western historians and some foreign
parliaments.
A ceasefire was agreed in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1994 after 30,000 people perished.
But more than 15 years of international mediation have failed to forge
a peace deal, and the spectre of conflict still hangs over the South
Caucasus, a key energy transit region.
Tensions have been rising since Turkey and Armenia last year moved to
overcome their legacy of mistrust, signing accords to establish
diplomatic ties and open their border ' closed by Turkey in 1993 in
solidarity with Azerbaijan during the war.
Faced with an Azeri backlash, Turkey says it will not ratify the deal
without Armenian concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/ news/Azerbaijan+blasts+vote+Armenian+genocide/2645 157/story.html
March 5 2010
U.S. 'genocide' vote hurts stability: Azerbaijan
By Afet Mehtiyeva, ReutersMarch 5, 2010 3:55 PM
BAKU - Turkish ally Azerbaijan on Friday condemned as a blow to
regional stability a U.S. House panel resolution labelling the World
War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide".
Oil-producing Azerbaijan, a close Muslim and Turkic-speaking ally of
Turkey, said the resolution adopted on Thursday "could reduce to zero
all previous efforts" to resolve the conflict over the Armenian-backed
rebel region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The strongly-worded statement by parliament underscored the deep links
in the region between unresolved historical grievances and modern-day
territorial disputes.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev telephoned Turkish President
Abdullah Gul and described the resolution as "misrepresenting
historical reality and fuelling tension in the region," state news
agency Azertac reported.
Azerbaijan traditionally sees any affirmation of Christian Armenian
grievances against Turkey as, by extension, an expression of support
for Armenia in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan believes Western support for Armenia will only harden
Yerevan's resolve against compromising over the Armenian-populated
region, which broke away in fighting that erupted as the Soviet Union
headed towards its 1991 collapse.
ANGRY SPEECHES
After angry speeches in parliament, lawmakers voted unanimously to
adopt the statement warning the resolution "damages efforts to restore
peace and stability in the region" ' where pipelines carry Azeri oil
and gas to the West.
The non-binding resolution, adopted by 23 votes to 22 by the U.S.
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, calls on President
Barack Obama to ensure U.S. policy formally refers to the 1915
killings as genocide.
The vote opened the way for the measure possibly to be considered by
the full House, although it was unclear whether it would come to a
vote there, and if so whether it could pass.
Azerbaijan called for the resolution to be rejected, saying it
"contradicts U.S. interests in the region and the U.S. strategic
partnership with Azerbaijan and Turkey."
Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks but
denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it amounted to genocide '
a term employed by many Western historians and some foreign
parliaments.
A ceasefire was agreed in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1994 after 30,000 people perished.
But more than 15 years of international mediation have failed to forge
a peace deal, and the spectre of conflict still hangs over the South
Caucasus, a key energy transit region.
Tensions have been rising since Turkey and Armenia last year moved to
overcome their legacy of mistrust, signing accords to establish
diplomatic ties and open their border ' closed by Turkey in 1993 in
solidarity with Azerbaijan during the war.
Faced with an Azeri backlash, Turkey says it will not ratify the deal
without Armenian concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/ news/Azerbaijan+blasts+vote+Armenian+genocide/2645 157/story.html