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2015, TURKEY, FRANCE
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=286138
July 10 2012
Turkey
YAVUZ BAYDAR
In the aftermath of the Sarkozy era, which Turkey's foreign minister,
Ahmet Davutoglu, has described as "a nightmare," the shaping of
policies between Ankara and Paris will be very significant.
France may be -- hopefully -- brought to a new way of thinking,
recognizing that a different approach to Turkey will reinforce its
power status in the EU, while Turkey with the President Francois
Hollande administration may find a friendly counterpart benevolent
enough to resolve some key problems between the two nations.
The most significant issue that has stood between the two capitals,
pouring poison into relations, is the tragic fate of the Ottoman
Armenians in 1915. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was personally a
driving force inflicting blows on the open wound, coldly calculating
Turkey's reaction, and insisting on a law in France criminalizing the
denial of the Armenian genocide. He was doomed to fail, and by forcing
the French constitution in the wrong direction, he did. The question
remained: What did he care less about, the pain of the Armenians
worldwide, freedom of speech, or the Turks' desire to join the EU?
Probably each one mattered less than the next.
The new era in France under Hollande is sending mixed signals, while
Turkey continues to conduct a slow-motion search for ways to deal with
that horrific part of its past. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius
declared after meeting with Davutoglu that there would be no attempts
to enliven the "denial law" bid. However, other sources suggest that
President Hollande is not in total agreement with this stance. He
is in touch with some influential diaspora organizations in France,
and has pledged that the issue will remain on France's agenda.
Taken equally in relation to both countries, if Hollande's stance is
as reported, it spells trouble, notably for the simple reason that
what Sarkozy tried to do only complicated things, pushing Turkey
into defensive mode, as under Justice and Development Party (AKP)
rule it is in constant search mode. Lessons of that period are clear:
If you mean well for Turkey, this is absolutely no way to show it.
Hollande is smart enough to understand this, but he also knows that
many of his prominent comrades in the EU -- in both the Socialist and
Green camps -- have remained rather firm that the positive aspects
of the AKP revisiting the past far outweigh its negatives. In other
words, it is not who will be punished for the denial of genocide that
matters as much as how the Turkish state will be helped to come to
terms with apology, regret or whatever the appropriate response may
be in relation to the crimes committed by the military junta of the
late Ottoman Empire. Awareness of this shows the difference between
cynicism and friendly commitment.
The search mode of Ankara is undeniable. Davutoglu reaffirmed it
during his Paris visit. On his way back, he deeply explored the issue
by sending signals to Paris. Here is what he said:
"How I wish that the protocols [between Turkey and Armenia] had been
implemented! But ... it was the balance in the Caucasus that prevented
it. If Armenia had been able to withdraw from only one 'region' of
the seven it occupies in Nagorno-Karabakh, the border would be open. I
had persuaded [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev. Azerbaijan would
also have opened its border then. I still regret it badly, because
we were all on the verge of success. I had asked [Armenian President
Serzh] Sarksyan: 'Withdraw from only one and Yerevan will be the most
beautiful city in the region. It is an advantage to be a neighbor to
Turkey.' He could not because of internal obstacles. But the issue
is still on the table and conditions for implementation can rise again.
We are searching; we know that this will lighten the burden of [the
100th anniversary of the killings of Armenians in] 2015."
The foreign minister continued: "Second, we are searching for a
new language of communication. We are establishing new, different
relations with the diaspora. We have to sit down and talk. Our aim
is to break the ice. Now there is and will be somebody who sits down
before the Armenians and listens to them. I am not a foreign minister
who keeps telling them that 'no, nothing happened in 1915.' Third,
we are preparing for new messages regarding 2015. We are searching
for a new language around the term 'fair memory.' I am also working
on a new book on Ottoman history. I do not call it genocide, but say
nothing when somebody else says it is."
These are not brand new thoughts expressed by Davutoglu. If anything,
it is an example of the search mood, but would be meaningless if
Sarkozy's methodology were to continue in Paris.
The key lies in cooperation between "new" France and "new" Turkey. As
has been demonstrated by Alain Juppe, French minister of foreign
affairs from 2011 to 2012, both governments can facilitate explorative
talks about a commission of independent historians with the aim of
guiding Turkey to finding peace with the events of 1915. After all,
France is the most trusted "protector power" of Armenia in Europe,
and has profound relations with Turkey. A different mode would indeed
help us all overcome nasty obstacles, and the decades-long festering
of buried shame and denial.
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=286138
July 10 2012
Turkey
YAVUZ BAYDAR
In the aftermath of the Sarkozy era, which Turkey's foreign minister,
Ahmet Davutoglu, has described as "a nightmare," the shaping of
policies between Ankara and Paris will be very significant.
France may be -- hopefully -- brought to a new way of thinking,
recognizing that a different approach to Turkey will reinforce its
power status in the EU, while Turkey with the President Francois
Hollande administration may find a friendly counterpart benevolent
enough to resolve some key problems between the two nations.
The most significant issue that has stood between the two capitals,
pouring poison into relations, is the tragic fate of the Ottoman
Armenians in 1915. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy was personally a
driving force inflicting blows on the open wound, coldly calculating
Turkey's reaction, and insisting on a law in France criminalizing the
denial of the Armenian genocide. He was doomed to fail, and by forcing
the French constitution in the wrong direction, he did. The question
remained: What did he care less about, the pain of the Armenians
worldwide, freedom of speech, or the Turks' desire to join the EU?
Probably each one mattered less than the next.
The new era in France under Hollande is sending mixed signals, while
Turkey continues to conduct a slow-motion search for ways to deal with
that horrific part of its past. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius
declared after meeting with Davutoglu that there would be no attempts
to enliven the "denial law" bid. However, other sources suggest that
President Hollande is not in total agreement with this stance. He
is in touch with some influential diaspora organizations in France,
and has pledged that the issue will remain on France's agenda.
Taken equally in relation to both countries, if Hollande's stance is
as reported, it spells trouble, notably for the simple reason that
what Sarkozy tried to do only complicated things, pushing Turkey
into defensive mode, as under Justice and Development Party (AKP)
rule it is in constant search mode. Lessons of that period are clear:
If you mean well for Turkey, this is absolutely no way to show it.
Hollande is smart enough to understand this, but he also knows that
many of his prominent comrades in the EU -- in both the Socialist and
Green camps -- have remained rather firm that the positive aspects
of the AKP revisiting the past far outweigh its negatives. In other
words, it is not who will be punished for the denial of genocide that
matters as much as how the Turkish state will be helped to come to
terms with apology, regret or whatever the appropriate response may
be in relation to the crimes committed by the military junta of the
late Ottoman Empire. Awareness of this shows the difference between
cynicism and friendly commitment.
The search mode of Ankara is undeniable. Davutoglu reaffirmed it
during his Paris visit. On his way back, he deeply explored the issue
by sending signals to Paris. Here is what he said:
"How I wish that the protocols [between Turkey and Armenia] had been
implemented! But ... it was the balance in the Caucasus that prevented
it. If Armenia had been able to withdraw from only one 'region' of
the seven it occupies in Nagorno-Karabakh, the border would be open. I
had persuaded [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev. Azerbaijan would
also have opened its border then. I still regret it badly, because
we were all on the verge of success. I had asked [Armenian President
Serzh] Sarksyan: 'Withdraw from only one and Yerevan will be the most
beautiful city in the region. It is an advantage to be a neighbor to
Turkey.' He could not because of internal obstacles. But the issue
is still on the table and conditions for implementation can rise again.
We are searching; we know that this will lighten the burden of [the
100th anniversary of the killings of Armenians in] 2015."
The foreign minister continued: "Second, we are searching for a
new language of communication. We are establishing new, different
relations with the diaspora. We have to sit down and talk. Our aim
is to break the ice. Now there is and will be somebody who sits down
before the Armenians and listens to them. I am not a foreign minister
who keeps telling them that 'no, nothing happened in 1915.' Third,
we are preparing for new messages regarding 2015. We are searching
for a new language around the term 'fair memory.' I am also working
on a new book on Ottoman history. I do not call it genocide, but say
nothing when somebody else says it is."
These are not brand new thoughts expressed by Davutoglu. If anything,
it is an example of the search mood, but would be meaningless if
Sarkozy's methodology were to continue in Paris.
The key lies in cooperation between "new" France and "new" Turkey. As
has been demonstrated by Alain Juppe, French minister of foreign
affairs from 2011 to 2012, both governments can facilitate explorative
talks about a commission of independent historians with the aim of
guiding Turkey to finding peace with the events of 1915. After all,
France is the most trusted "protector power" of Armenia in Europe,
and has profound relations with Turkey. A different mode would indeed
help us all overcome nasty obstacles, and the decades-long festering
of buried shame and denial.