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WILL ERDOGAN VISIT GENOCIDE MEMORIAL IN 2015?
Al Monitor
Dec 2 2013
Author: Orhan Kemal CengizPosted December 1, 2013
"It is very likely for the prime minister to go to Armenia, lay a
wreath at the so-called Armenian genocide memorial and apologize
to Armenians." This earth-shattering prediction is not based on
information or reports. It's the accusation of a Turkish nationalist
against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has done so many
things to upset us, this nationalist is saying, don't be surprised
if he apologizes to the Armenians.
True. Erdogan's trip to Diyarbakir, his use of the word "Kurdistan"
and admitting openly that his government is negotiating with Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, are all breaking important
taboos for Turkey. Can Erdogan break a similar taboo on the issue of
the Armenian genocide?
What the non-Muslims have suffered in Turkey has rarely been on the
prime minister's agenda. He hasn't repeated his 2009 remarks that
surprised everyone: "Those with different ethnic identities were
expelled from our country. This, in fact, was the consequence of
a fascist approach." No doubt that remark was alluding to the 1915
tragedy and other unfortunate events in Turkey's history.
Erdogan now frequently describes Turkey as a mosaic made up of diverse
ethnic identities. We often hear him mention Arabs, Kurds, Turks,
Circassians and the Laz, but when describing this mosaic Erdogan
never mentions Turkey's long-standing non-Muslims such as Armenians,
Greeks, Jews and Syriacs.
In my various articles for Al-Monitor, I have written that the Armenian
genocide is no longer a taboo subject in Turkey, that new books on the
subject are coming out daily and that there is a free, tolerant media
environment for the subject. Civil society now remembers the victims
of the Armenian genocide in observances on April 24. As the 100-year
anniversary of the genocide approaches, civil society is debating what
to do in 2015 and is preparing action plans to explain the genocide.
All these observances and publications indicate that the approach of
the Turkish government to the issue has somewhat changed. Otherwise,
the police would not have protected activists on April 24 from
protesting extremist, nationalist groups.
But the freedom the government allows to civil society and
intellectuals to debate and observe the genocide doesn't mean a
change to Turkey's official position on 1915. Reports leaked to the
media about the preparations for 2015 by the government indicate that
former official policies are going to prevail.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in a visit to Switzerland
at the end of October, conveyed to Swiss authorities Turkey's
sensitivity about a statue Armenians want to erect in Geneva. From
these "sensitivities," we can conclude that there hasn't been an iota
of change in Turkey's official position.
>From the leaked reports, we also understand that Davutoglu asked
Switzerland to mediate between Turkey and Armenia. According to
Foreign Ministry sources, if Armenia promises to withdraw from five
of seven Azeri plots it is holding in the Karabakh region, Turkey
would be ready to open the Armenian border.
The recent dialogue between the foreign minister and members of
the parliamentary foreign affairs committee suggests that there are
actually preparations to open the border. When a member of parliament
from Igdir at the Armenian border said he was aware of some work at
the closed border crossing, Davutoglu said, "We have such work going
on. If we can persuade Azerbaijan, we can make a surprise. We are
working on the border crossing."
Other aspects of Turkey's preparations for 2015 can be detected from
remarks by government spokesman Bulent Arinc: "2015 is the 100th year
of both the Dardanelles and the claims of the Armenian genocide. We are
working seriously. There is work on symposiums, conferences, panels,
publications and documentaries. But we are also engaged in very special
public diplomacy activities that could affect the entire world."
We also know that leading members of the government and opposition have
met in the parliament to discuss Turkey's 2015 strategy. Sadly, all
these strategies don't appear to be anything else but mere repetition
of Turkey's routine approaches.
The Turkish Historical Society is also preparing for 2015. Mehmet
Metin Hulagu, president of the society, said it is working on a
complete works of Turkey-Armenian relations in preparation for 2015.
When we put all these preparations and views of government officials
together, we can predict that Turkey's defensive attitude based on
denials is not going to change in 2015. Though the Foreign Ministry
is striving to improve Turkey's image related to the Armenian issue
with gestures such as opening the border, it also seems determined
to combat the Armenians' campaign for 2015.
In short, if Erdogan doesn't turn the world upside down with a
last-minute surprise, we are likely to see in 2015 a more refined and
sophisticated version of Turkey's denial policy of the past century.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/erdogan-visit-genocide-memorial.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Al Monitor
Dec 2 2013
Author: Orhan Kemal CengizPosted December 1, 2013
"It is very likely for the prime minister to go to Armenia, lay a
wreath at the so-called Armenian genocide memorial and apologize
to Armenians." This earth-shattering prediction is not based on
information or reports. It's the accusation of a Turkish nationalist
against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has done so many
things to upset us, this nationalist is saying, don't be surprised
if he apologizes to the Armenians.
True. Erdogan's trip to Diyarbakir, his use of the word "Kurdistan"
and admitting openly that his government is negotiating with Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, are all breaking important
taboos for Turkey. Can Erdogan break a similar taboo on the issue of
the Armenian genocide?
What the non-Muslims have suffered in Turkey has rarely been on the
prime minister's agenda. He hasn't repeated his 2009 remarks that
surprised everyone: "Those with different ethnic identities were
expelled from our country. This, in fact, was the consequence of
a fascist approach." No doubt that remark was alluding to the 1915
tragedy and other unfortunate events in Turkey's history.
Erdogan now frequently describes Turkey as a mosaic made up of diverse
ethnic identities. We often hear him mention Arabs, Kurds, Turks,
Circassians and the Laz, but when describing this mosaic Erdogan
never mentions Turkey's long-standing non-Muslims such as Armenians,
Greeks, Jews and Syriacs.
In my various articles for Al-Monitor, I have written that the Armenian
genocide is no longer a taboo subject in Turkey, that new books on the
subject are coming out daily and that there is a free, tolerant media
environment for the subject. Civil society now remembers the victims
of the Armenian genocide in observances on April 24. As the 100-year
anniversary of the genocide approaches, civil society is debating what
to do in 2015 and is preparing action plans to explain the genocide.
All these observances and publications indicate that the approach of
the Turkish government to the issue has somewhat changed. Otherwise,
the police would not have protected activists on April 24 from
protesting extremist, nationalist groups.
But the freedom the government allows to civil society and
intellectuals to debate and observe the genocide doesn't mean a
change to Turkey's official position on 1915. Reports leaked to the
media about the preparations for 2015 by the government indicate that
former official policies are going to prevail.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in a visit to Switzerland
at the end of October, conveyed to Swiss authorities Turkey's
sensitivity about a statue Armenians want to erect in Geneva. From
these "sensitivities," we can conclude that there hasn't been an iota
of change in Turkey's official position.
>From the leaked reports, we also understand that Davutoglu asked
Switzerland to mediate between Turkey and Armenia. According to
Foreign Ministry sources, if Armenia promises to withdraw from five
of seven Azeri plots it is holding in the Karabakh region, Turkey
would be ready to open the Armenian border.
The recent dialogue between the foreign minister and members of
the parliamentary foreign affairs committee suggests that there are
actually preparations to open the border. When a member of parliament
from Igdir at the Armenian border said he was aware of some work at
the closed border crossing, Davutoglu said, "We have such work going
on. If we can persuade Azerbaijan, we can make a surprise. We are
working on the border crossing."
Other aspects of Turkey's preparations for 2015 can be detected from
remarks by government spokesman Bulent Arinc: "2015 is the 100th year
of both the Dardanelles and the claims of the Armenian genocide. We are
working seriously. There is work on symposiums, conferences, panels,
publications and documentaries. But we are also engaged in very special
public diplomacy activities that could affect the entire world."
We also know that leading members of the government and opposition have
met in the parliament to discuss Turkey's 2015 strategy. Sadly, all
these strategies don't appear to be anything else but mere repetition
of Turkey's routine approaches.
The Turkish Historical Society is also preparing for 2015. Mehmet
Metin Hulagu, president of the society, said it is working on a
complete works of Turkey-Armenian relations in preparation for 2015.
When we put all these preparations and views of government officials
together, we can predict that Turkey's defensive attitude based on
denials is not going to change in 2015. Though the Foreign Ministry
is striving to improve Turkey's image related to the Armenian issue
with gestures such as opening the border, it also seems determined
to combat the Armenians' campaign for 2015.
In short, if Erdogan doesn't turn the world upside down with a
last-minute surprise, we are likely to see in 2015 a more refined and
sophisticated version of Turkey's denial policy of the past century.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/erdogan-visit-genocide-memorial.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress