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Turkey's Armenian policy subcontracted to Azerbaijan?
By CENGIZ AKTAR
March 7, 2012
Azerbaijan is not a country Turkey knows well. It is one of the lands
of the Turkic world `stretching from the Balkans to China' that we
discovered with amazement at the end of the Cold War. I remember well
the incredulity surrounding the Christian Gagauz Turks who emerged in
Moldova. I also recall the disappointment when the only way to talk
with these brothers was using Russian! It soon became clear that
ethnic roots were not going to be sufficient for Turkey to shape
meaningful partnerships with the brothers to the east.
To wit, a gene mapping project completed recently revealed that we
actually don't have much in common with our ethnic kin. The study has
also shown genetic kinship with non-Turks living in Anatolia. No
surprise indeed! But the geographical distance from them was not
compensated for with knowledge about them, either. Today, with a few
exceptions, there is no unbiased academic research into the `Turkic
World.'
Russia, on the other hand, has been working hard to rebuild some of
the power it lost in these regions since the collapse of the Soviet
Union. Through a series of economic, political and military maneuvers,
it has retaken control in the region, with the exception of Georgia
and, of course, the Baltic countries. It has riveted its power into
place by all means possible, whether blackmail, division or invasion.
Let us not forget that the one place in which there was no
commemoration of the Khojaly massacre was Moscow.
Russian assertiveness is very much valid for the Caucasus, which, as a
region, lies right under our nose. Turkey has never been a regional
actor with regards to the Caucasus; neither now, under the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government, nor under any previous
government. The Turkish influence in the Arab world has no match in
the Caucasus. Quite to the contrary, it is now a Caucasian country
which is asserting its influence over Turkey: Azerbaijan.
In 2009, the signing of the Zurich Protocols between Armenia and
Turkey was a brave initiative aimed at normalizing relations. It meant
that for the first time in some 90 years the Turkish state was trying
to follow a different path from the one based on the denial of the
Great Catastrophe that befell not only the Armenians, but all of
Anatolia. In the final tally, however, Turkey's more pressing energy
needs forced it to choose Azerbaijan over normalizing relations with
Armenia. In the meantime, however, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has
sneaked in. So much so that, in order to satisfy an unhappy Azerbaijan
with the idea of normal relations between Armenia and Turkey, during
his 2009 visit to Baku the Turkish prime minister made it clear to
Ilham Aliyev, his Azerbaijani counterpart, that he would stand up for
Nagorno-Karabakh. So came to a grinding halt Turkey's first Armenia
policy before it had even begun.
Standing up for, or taking ownership of, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem
gained pace following this Azerbaijani `victory,' with the matter
receiving Turkish public support despite the fact that most people
could not even spot Azerbaijan, let alone Karabakh, on a map. The Feb.
26 rally was certainly the peak of these endeavors. Notwithstanding
the demonstrators who were there to commemorate Khojaly in a dignified
manner, the overall tone of the gathering was an obvious reversion to
good old denialism, but this time via the Karabakh issue. With the
prime minister endorsing the rally, it now looks like Turkey's
traditional Armenian policy is stronger than ever. In conclusion,
Turkey appears as though it has subcontracted its policies regarding
Armenia, as well as the Armenians, wholly to Azerbaijan.
We have been writing about this for months now. Thanks to its recent
relative economic and diplomatic successes Turkey appears more and
more to be an over-confident country. The reason behind the inability
to develop policies is the blindness triggered by that overconfidence.
But the direction things are taking does not augur well. Look at the
events: The murder of private Sevag Balikci on last year's April 24
Day; the outrageous verdict in the Hrant Dink case; a sudden increase
in provocations against non-Muslims; the air of `victory' following
the recent French Constitutional Court's decision, and now Feb. 26.
And look at the attacks hurled from Baku at Turkish columnists who
point out the ruinous road Turkey has begun to take. Writing on
www.1news.az, apparently a mouthpiece of Aliyev, in his piece `No one
should dare to blacken the rally against the Khojaly Genocide in
Taksim' Erestun Habibbeyli said: `People who found those who betrayed
the Turkish state 100 years ago to be justified do not shirk away from
bending the truth when it comes to a massacre which took place just 20
years ago right before their eyes. ... The Turkish Parliament should not
stop at the declaration of its speaker; it should give its opinion on
the massacre of civilians in Khojaly and recognize the genocide. ... It
is important to keep the Khojaly events alive, to let the world know
of Armenian murders, the crimes they have committed, and just how
hypocritical they are.'
A roadmap for Turkey?
From: Baghdasarian
Turkey's Armenian policy subcontracted to Azerbaijan?
By CENGIZ AKTAR
March 7, 2012
Azerbaijan is not a country Turkey knows well. It is one of the lands
of the Turkic world `stretching from the Balkans to China' that we
discovered with amazement at the end of the Cold War. I remember well
the incredulity surrounding the Christian Gagauz Turks who emerged in
Moldova. I also recall the disappointment when the only way to talk
with these brothers was using Russian! It soon became clear that
ethnic roots were not going to be sufficient for Turkey to shape
meaningful partnerships with the brothers to the east.
To wit, a gene mapping project completed recently revealed that we
actually don't have much in common with our ethnic kin. The study has
also shown genetic kinship with non-Turks living in Anatolia. No
surprise indeed! But the geographical distance from them was not
compensated for with knowledge about them, either. Today, with a few
exceptions, there is no unbiased academic research into the `Turkic
World.'
Russia, on the other hand, has been working hard to rebuild some of
the power it lost in these regions since the collapse of the Soviet
Union. Through a series of economic, political and military maneuvers,
it has retaken control in the region, with the exception of Georgia
and, of course, the Baltic countries. It has riveted its power into
place by all means possible, whether blackmail, division or invasion.
Let us not forget that the one place in which there was no
commemoration of the Khojaly massacre was Moscow.
Russian assertiveness is very much valid for the Caucasus, which, as a
region, lies right under our nose. Turkey has never been a regional
actor with regards to the Caucasus; neither now, under the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government, nor under any previous
government. The Turkish influence in the Arab world has no match in
the Caucasus. Quite to the contrary, it is now a Caucasian country
which is asserting its influence over Turkey: Azerbaijan.
In 2009, the signing of the Zurich Protocols between Armenia and
Turkey was a brave initiative aimed at normalizing relations. It meant
that for the first time in some 90 years the Turkish state was trying
to follow a different path from the one based on the denial of the
Great Catastrophe that befell not only the Armenians, but all of
Anatolia. In the final tally, however, Turkey's more pressing energy
needs forced it to choose Azerbaijan over normalizing relations with
Armenia. In the meantime, however, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has
sneaked in. So much so that, in order to satisfy an unhappy Azerbaijan
with the idea of normal relations between Armenia and Turkey, during
his 2009 visit to Baku the Turkish prime minister made it clear to
Ilham Aliyev, his Azerbaijani counterpart, that he would stand up for
Nagorno-Karabakh. So came to a grinding halt Turkey's first Armenia
policy before it had even begun.
Standing up for, or taking ownership of, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem
gained pace following this Azerbaijani `victory,' with the matter
receiving Turkish public support despite the fact that most people
could not even spot Azerbaijan, let alone Karabakh, on a map. The Feb.
26 rally was certainly the peak of these endeavors. Notwithstanding
the demonstrators who were there to commemorate Khojaly in a dignified
manner, the overall tone of the gathering was an obvious reversion to
good old denialism, but this time via the Karabakh issue. With the
prime minister endorsing the rally, it now looks like Turkey's
traditional Armenian policy is stronger than ever. In conclusion,
Turkey appears as though it has subcontracted its policies regarding
Armenia, as well as the Armenians, wholly to Azerbaijan.
We have been writing about this for months now. Thanks to its recent
relative economic and diplomatic successes Turkey appears more and
more to be an over-confident country. The reason behind the inability
to develop policies is the blindness triggered by that overconfidence.
But the direction things are taking does not augur well. Look at the
events: The murder of private Sevag Balikci on last year's April 24
Day; the outrageous verdict in the Hrant Dink case; a sudden increase
in provocations against non-Muslims; the air of `victory' following
the recent French Constitutional Court's decision, and now Feb. 26.
And look at the attacks hurled from Baku at Turkish columnists who
point out the ruinous road Turkey has begun to take. Writing on
www.1news.az, apparently a mouthpiece of Aliyev, in his piece `No one
should dare to blacken the rally against the Khojaly Genocide in
Taksim' Erestun Habibbeyli said: `People who found those who betrayed
the Turkish state 100 years ago to be justified do not shirk away from
bending the truth when it comes to a massacre which took place just 20
years ago right before their eyes. ... The Turkish Parliament should not
stop at the declaration of its speaker; it should give its opinion on
the massacre of civilians in Khojaly and recognize the genocide. ... It
is important to keep the Khojaly events alive, to let the world know
of Armenian murders, the crimes they have committed, and just how
hypocritical they are.'
A roadmap for Turkey?
From: Baghdasarian