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"AZERBAIJAN'S WHIMS IMPEDE OPENING THE ARMENIA-TURKEY BORDER"
http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/10/11/118994/
October 11, 2012 13:03
Political scientist Gagik Hambaryan expressed an idea talking about the
Armenia-Turkey protocols signed in Zurich on this very day three years
ago during a conversation with www.aravot.am that although President
Serzh Sargsyan had skillfully used the football diplomacy showing
that the Armenian people that had undergone a genocide committed by
the Ottoman Empire were ready to normalize their relations with the
neighbor without preconditions, not denouncing that document when
Turkey hadn't ratified them was a serious mistake.
"Serzh Sargsyan made right calculations, but when those protocols were
signed and not ratified by Turkey and our president was stating all the
time that if the Turkish government didn't ratify within a reasonable
period of time, we would take back our signature, that taking back the
signature should have been done as early as last year, because we have
waited for quite a long time and the time is against us. Besides, our
president should have remembered that signing these protocols led to
worsening the relations between Armenia and the Diaspora. Regardless
of the tension with the Diaspora, we were able to prove to the
international community that Armenia was ready to improve relations
with Turkey, after that we got proof that Turkey was not ready at
all to implement and we could have taken our signature back without
deepening the controversies between Armenia and the Diaspora, in order
that we could have proved to the international community normally,
on time what steps we had taken and what response we had gotten from
Turkey and wouldn't have deepened our controversies with the Diaspora."
In response to a question of ours whether an ordinary Armenian citizen,
besides the Republic of Armenia, was ready to improve his/her relations
with Turks, since many of our citizens were revengeful toward them,
they demanded respect for their ancestors who had undergone the
genocide, the political scientist said, "Not having relations with
Turkey for many years, our people treated that state stereotypically in
the Soviet times, the very government of Turkey convinced the people
that there had not been an Armenian genocide, but at the same time,
they didn't explain where 3 million Armenians were.
In many cases, the ordinary Turkish resident of Istanbul, Ankara,
Adana or Izmir doesn't know where Armenians are, they had their
opinion that Armenians, betraying the Ottoman Empire during the World
War I, had taken sides with their enemy Russian Empire and had fought
against the Turkish government. They knew this version too, although
let me state that this doesn't mean at all that the annihilation of
a whole nation in its historical motherland is a normal thing. We
should get rid of those stereotypes and prove to Turks themselves,
the international community that the genocide has happened."
In our interlocutor's opinion, in the age of globalization, there
are no problems, which cannot be solved through negotiations. "If we
consider the conflicts between neighbors, Germany and France should
have never normalized the relations with each other, Bulgaria and
Turkey shouldn't have had normal relations, Romania and Hungary should
have always warred against each other and many other versions. As
a result of the war between India and Pakistan, there were tensions
between the two states, which continue up to now, but it doesn't mean
that there are no diplomatic, trade and economic relations between
the neighboring countries. We could establish normal relations with
Turkey maintaining our demands to them and their demands to us,
but this doesn't mean that there should be closed borders between
the OSCE or UN member states. Armenia and Turkey are members of
big international organizations and according to the logic, they
shouldn't have had closed borders, Europe, the US and Russia should
make Turkey open the borders with Armenia," Gagik Hambaryan says. As
for what prevented Turkey from taking practical steps toward opening
the borders, according to our interlocutor, the main impeding force
is Azerbaijan, which although calls itself the younger brother of
Turkey, actually acts as the elder sister making Turkey take steps
that are mostly not in the interest of the foreign policy of Turkey
and generally the region with its whims.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/10/11/118994/
October 11, 2012 13:03
Political scientist Gagik Hambaryan expressed an idea talking about the
Armenia-Turkey protocols signed in Zurich on this very day three years
ago during a conversation with www.aravot.am that although President
Serzh Sargsyan had skillfully used the football diplomacy showing
that the Armenian people that had undergone a genocide committed by
the Ottoman Empire were ready to normalize their relations with the
neighbor without preconditions, not denouncing that document when
Turkey hadn't ratified them was a serious mistake.
"Serzh Sargsyan made right calculations, but when those protocols were
signed and not ratified by Turkey and our president was stating all the
time that if the Turkish government didn't ratify within a reasonable
period of time, we would take back our signature, that taking back the
signature should have been done as early as last year, because we have
waited for quite a long time and the time is against us. Besides, our
president should have remembered that signing these protocols led to
worsening the relations between Armenia and the Diaspora. Regardless
of the tension with the Diaspora, we were able to prove to the
international community that Armenia was ready to improve relations
with Turkey, after that we got proof that Turkey was not ready at
all to implement and we could have taken our signature back without
deepening the controversies between Armenia and the Diaspora, in order
that we could have proved to the international community normally,
on time what steps we had taken and what response we had gotten from
Turkey and wouldn't have deepened our controversies with the Diaspora."
In response to a question of ours whether an ordinary Armenian citizen,
besides the Republic of Armenia, was ready to improve his/her relations
with Turks, since many of our citizens were revengeful toward them,
they demanded respect for their ancestors who had undergone the
genocide, the political scientist said, "Not having relations with
Turkey for many years, our people treated that state stereotypically in
the Soviet times, the very government of Turkey convinced the people
that there had not been an Armenian genocide, but at the same time,
they didn't explain where 3 million Armenians were.
In many cases, the ordinary Turkish resident of Istanbul, Ankara,
Adana or Izmir doesn't know where Armenians are, they had their
opinion that Armenians, betraying the Ottoman Empire during the World
War I, had taken sides with their enemy Russian Empire and had fought
against the Turkish government. They knew this version too, although
let me state that this doesn't mean at all that the annihilation of
a whole nation in its historical motherland is a normal thing. We
should get rid of those stereotypes and prove to Turks themselves,
the international community that the genocide has happened."
In our interlocutor's opinion, in the age of globalization, there
are no problems, which cannot be solved through negotiations. "If we
consider the conflicts between neighbors, Germany and France should
have never normalized the relations with each other, Bulgaria and
Turkey shouldn't have had normal relations, Romania and Hungary should
have always warred against each other and many other versions. As
a result of the war between India and Pakistan, there were tensions
between the two states, which continue up to now, but it doesn't mean
that there are no diplomatic, trade and economic relations between
the neighboring countries. We could establish normal relations with
Turkey maintaining our demands to them and their demands to us,
but this doesn't mean that there should be closed borders between
the OSCE or UN member states. Armenia and Turkey are members of
big international organizations and according to the logic, they
shouldn't have had closed borders, Europe, the US and Russia should
make Turkey open the borders with Armenia," Gagik Hambaryan says. As
for what prevented Turkey from taking practical steps toward opening
the borders, according to our interlocutor, the main impeding force
is Azerbaijan, which although calls itself the younger brother of
Turkey, actually acts as the elder sister making Turkey take steps
that are mostly not in the interest of the foreign policy of Turkey
and generally the region with its whims.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress