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TURKEY'S RAILWAY ANNOUNCEMENT 'AIMED TO APPEASE BAKU'
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
http://asbarez.com/116203/turkey%E2%80%99s-railway-announcement-%E2%80%98aimed-to-appease-baku%E2%80%99/
ARF political affairs director Giro Manoyan
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet Daily News)--Giro Manoyan, director of the
international secretariat of the ARF, says Turkey's consideration
of reopening the railway link between Turkey and Armenia is aimed at
"opening a position in negotiations with Azerbaijan." Manoyan was in
Istanbul to attend a Socialist International meeting.
"I believe Mr. Davutoglu's announcement was more like a negotiation
maneuver with Aliyev, rather than with Armenia. I'm not sure what
Turkey is expecting from Azerbaijan, but I think Davutoglu's not so
secret announcement, which was made during a closed door session in
Parliament, was actually made public for the Turkish side to have a
sort of opening position in negotiations with Azerbaijan," Manoyan
said on Nov. 12 in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News.
Manoyan was in Istanbul to attend a council meeting of the Socialist
International (SI), representing the ARF, which is an opposition party
in the Armenian parliament, holding 5 of 90 seats. He was commenting
on recent news reports that Turkey is considering reopening the
Kars-Gyumri section of the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line, which
has not been operational since 1993, when Turkey closed the border
with Armenia, amid its war with Azerbaijan for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The idea to reopen the railway came as a question to Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu during a closed-door Parliament briefing on Nov. 6.
The minister said opening the border with Armenia and reopening the
railway could be brought to the agenda under the framework of a peace
plan that includes the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia stopped after signing the
protocols in 2009, and there is nothing that has happened since then,
Manoyan said. "So I don't think what Mr. Davutoglu said has anything
to do with reality."
"Consensus for moving on from recognition efforts" Manoyan, who is also
a member of the State Commission for the Coordination of the Armenian
Genocide Centennial, expressed his views on 2015 preparations. "There's
a certain consensus among the Armenian community that they should
move on from efforts to push Turkey to recognize the 1915 killings as
genocide for the 2015 centennial campaign," according to Manoyan. "That
doesn't mean there should be no recognition effort," he maintained,
adding that they "should go further and start presenting claims
regarding Armenian rights."
"Discussions, studies are going on regarding what reparation claims
should be made and there's some approach that regardless of whether
Turkey recognizes the genocide or not, there are certain claims which
can be made against Turkey as a state or those who have benefitted
from Armenian properties, et cetera," Manoyan said.
In further comments on the protocols signed between Armenia and
Turkey in 2009 in an effort to normalize relations, Manoyan reiterated
his party's position and suggested that Armenia should withdraw its
signatures because "it has already given too much to Turkey."
Instead, Armenia should put a very short draft on the table, with
three to four paragraphs saying, "The two countries have decided
to establish diplomatic relations, the two countries have decided
to establish land links and develop economic and other ties, and
the two countries have decided to resolve all outstanding issues
between the two countries peacefully, based on international law,"
according to Manoyan. "We should put this on the table and wait. If
there's ever any government in Turkey that is really in a position
to establish relations with Armenia, without any preconditions, then
they sign it, we sign it and we start. Because the position Turkey
has taken regarding Armenia, especially the blockade, is really,
according to international law, an expression of hostility," he said.
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
http://asbarez.com/116203/turkey%E2%80%99s-railway-announcement-%E2%80%98aimed-to-appease-baku%E2%80%99/
ARF political affairs director Giro Manoyan
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet Daily News)--Giro Manoyan, director of the
international secretariat of the ARF, says Turkey's consideration
of reopening the railway link between Turkey and Armenia is aimed at
"opening a position in negotiations with Azerbaijan." Manoyan was in
Istanbul to attend a Socialist International meeting.
"I believe Mr. Davutoglu's announcement was more like a negotiation
maneuver with Aliyev, rather than with Armenia. I'm not sure what
Turkey is expecting from Azerbaijan, but I think Davutoglu's not so
secret announcement, which was made during a closed door session in
Parliament, was actually made public for the Turkish side to have a
sort of opening position in negotiations with Azerbaijan," Manoyan
said on Nov. 12 in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News.
Manoyan was in Istanbul to attend a council meeting of the Socialist
International (SI), representing the ARF, which is an opposition party
in the Armenian parliament, holding 5 of 90 seats. He was commenting
on recent news reports that Turkey is considering reopening the
Kars-Gyumri section of the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line, which
has not been operational since 1993, when Turkey closed the border
with Armenia, amid its war with Azerbaijan for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The idea to reopen the railway came as a question to Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu during a closed-door Parliament briefing on Nov. 6.
The minister said opening the border with Armenia and reopening the
railway could be brought to the agenda under the framework of a peace
plan that includes the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia stopped after signing the
protocols in 2009, and there is nothing that has happened since then,
Manoyan said. "So I don't think what Mr. Davutoglu said has anything
to do with reality."
"Consensus for moving on from recognition efforts" Manoyan, who is also
a member of the State Commission for the Coordination of the Armenian
Genocide Centennial, expressed his views on 2015 preparations. "There's
a certain consensus among the Armenian community that they should
move on from efforts to push Turkey to recognize the 1915 killings as
genocide for the 2015 centennial campaign," according to Manoyan. "That
doesn't mean there should be no recognition effort," he maintained,
adding that they "should go further and start presenting claims
regarding Armenian rights."
"Discussions, studies are going on regarding what reparation claims
should be made and there's some approach that regardless of whether
Turkey recognizes the genocide or not, there are certain claims which
can be made against Turkey as a state or those who have benefitted
from Armenian properties, et cetera," Manoyan said.
In further comments on the protocols signed between Armenia and
Turkey in 2009 in an effort to normalize relations, Manoyan reiterated
his party's position and suggested that Armenia should withdraw its
signatures because "it has already given too much to Turkey."
Instead, Armenia should put a very short draft on the table, with
three to four paragraphs saying, "The two countries have decided
to establish diplomatic relations, the two countries have decided
to establish land links and develop economic and other ties, and
the two countries have decided to resolve all outstanding issues
between the two countries peacefully, based on international law,"
according to Manoyan. "We should put this on the table and wait. If
there's ever any government in Turkey that is really in a position
to establish relations with Armenia, without any preconditions, then
they sign it, we sign it and we start. Because the position Turkey
has taken regarding Armenia, especially the blockade, is really,
according to international law, an expression of hostility," he said.