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  • ANKARA: Caucasus Analyst Oztarsu: Only Dialogue Can Solve Turkish, A

    CAUCASUS ANALYST OZTARSU: ONLY DIALOGUE CAN SOLVE TURKISH, ARMENIAN PROBLEMS

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    Oct 27 2013

    27 October 2013 /YONCA POYRAZ DOÄ~^AN, Ä°STANBUL

    Though Turkey's relations with Armenia have been strained by a number
    of historical and political issues, a Turkish Caucasus analyst who
    lived and studied in Armenia points out in his new book that only
    dialogue can solve problems.

    "There is a great panorama of civil society activities, and I can say
    that our political problems will be solved by these initiatives. Young
    and liberal people come together and discuss their own agendas without
    any political motivations," Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu said for this week's
    Monday Talk.

    Turkey recognized the state of Armenia soon after its 1991
    independence. However, Turkey closed its border with Armenia in
    1993 because of its war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region
    of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    In October 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord in
    Switzerland normalizing relations after a century of hostility. Under
    the agreement, Turkey and Armenia were to establish diplomatic ties and
    reopen their shared border. But the accords never went much further.

    Since the protocols were signed, Turkey has been insisting that
    their ratification be linked to the successful resolution of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh issue, a precondition that was not part of the
    original negotiations between Ankara and Yerevan. On the other hand,
    Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the 1915 killing of hundreds of
    thousands of Armenians as an act of genocide, but Turkey refuses to
    do so.

    On Oct. 10 this year, the signing's fourth anniversary, Turkish Foreign
    Minister Ahmet Davutoglu suggested that Turkey is still trying to
    find ways to move forward.

    Answering our questions, Oztarsu talked about the possibility of this
    and his experiences living in Armenia.

    Let's start with the title of your book, "But Which Turks and
    Armenians?" Why did you choose this title for your book?

    Two nations have their own image against each other. There is an image
    of "enemy," but nobody knows who this enemy is. I want to clarify this
    issue and create a new perspective on definitions. We are two nations,
    as Turks and Armenians, of [the] same geography, and these people
    lived together for centuries [with] a common cultural background. We
    should be careful while we are discussing the historical conflict.

    There is a problem, but nobody knows which Turks and Armenians are
    subjects of this dispute. Do we point out the Turks and Armenians
    of the 20th century or today's nations? Should we care only about
    our ancestors or today's generation? We can understand each other by
    asking these questions first.

    Is there a personal reason why the Caucasus have been an interesting
    area of work for you?

    I graduated from university in Baku. I lived there for five years,
    and all specialists of the international relations department at the
    university were expected to choose a region to develop an expertise. I
    decided to be an expert on the Caucasus, which is one of the most
    prominent areas for Turkish scholars.

    What has it been like living and studying in Armenia? What was the
    most unexpected thing for you while living there?

    First of all, it is so hard for a Turk. I lived in a country [that]
    has a political and social opposition against Turkey and Turks. There
    is no Turkish diplomatic mission there. I had two challenges. First,
    I was living there as a foreigner and as a Turkish person. Second,
    I started my master's degree as a Turkish student. There are too many
    legal problems because you [need to] apply to the Ministry of Education
    for being a student. But your documents cannot be approved easily
    without many bureaucratic confirmations. The nationality section [on my
    ID card] was written inaccurately [on my] first documents; according
    to the Armenian authorities, I was a Syrian student and my country
    was the Syrian Arab Republic, because they couldn't believe that I
    applied for a master's program in an Armenian university as a Turkish
    person. I faced multifarious problems, but the police interrogation
    was the most unexpected thing for me. They asked me why I came to
    Yerevan and [why I] wanted to be student. Several times they ... asked
    unintelligible questions. Some of them kindly told me to leave their
    country as soon as possible before something bad happened to me.

    Have you ever felt that your life was in danger while living in
    Armenia?

    It is very normal to feel your life is in danger as a Turk there. I am
    sure that ordinary people would not do anything to harm me, but police
    are different. Pressure [from] the police created some concerns in my
    daily life. Because they wanted me to leave their country, they were
    looking to find something [so they could] deport me. They couldn't
    find anything, but somebody in [the] government [got in the way of]
    my education. Finally, the dean of the faculty that I had applied to
    declared that they don't want to see any Turkish students in their
    university.

    'University dissolved my right of education on gov't orders' So you
    were not able to complete your education in Armenia?

    My university dissolved my right of education seven months after my
    registration because the Armenian government doesn't want to provide
    education [to] a Turk. I had to leave the university, although all
    of my professors tried to prevent it. This is an important concern
    for anybody who would like to study or do business in Armenia. There
    is no Turkish diplomatic mission, so there is nothing to do in an
    emergency situation. On the other hand, the Armenian government must
    ensure [the] rights of everybody, not discriminate against them,
    under its international obligations.

    What happened in the end?

    I transferred my credits to a Georgian university in Tbilisi and
    completed my master's education. Some of my lecturers [were] fired
    at my previous university in Armenia because they were defending my
    rights against their government's decision. An ironic [event] took
    place: All of my friends apologized on behalf of their state.

    According to them, this is one of the most important problems of
    Yerevan officials who [put] pressure on foreigners, especially Turks.

    Soviet mentality still persists; the Soviet Union didn't collapse in
    Armenia in that regard. I know too many strange stories of Turks who
    try to work in Armenia. Most of them are under the threat of Yerevan
    officials, and the same politicians blame Turkey on the issue of
    Armenian migrants.

    Very few people in Turkey know Armenia and the way people live there.

    What myths do you think Turks have against Armenia?

    We are thinking that this state is totally against Turkish people. So
    there is no trust [that would make them want] to visit and meet its
    people. I share several examples about myths in my book. I always
    defend dialogue among people. Turkish and Armenian people share a great
    historical and cultural background. You can find various common values
    if you meet an Armenian. Political pressure is a negative factor on
    perceptions. Both governments have unfavorable approaches at [the]
    political level.

    >From your stories in the book, we get the feeling that Armenian
    civil society has been working well with Turkish civil society. How
    effective are they and how much support do they get? Has this work
    between the two civil societies been diminished because initiatives
    to start diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia failed?

    There is a great panorama of civil society activities, and I can say
    that our political problems will be solved by these initiatives. Young
    and liberal people come together and discuss their own agendas without
    any political motivations. They can find financial support from
    Western organizations. Their work is valuable; they create reports,
    surveys and tangible projects. I think civil society can build a
    ground[work] before diplomatic relations. We need to establish an
    environment of trust at the level of the people. Most of the Turkish
    and Armenian people were against the normalization process because
    of unsatisfactory civil initiatives. But today, the situation is
    different and civil society activists can take a leading role on the
    normalization of relations.

    'Two sides not politically ready to move forward' There have been
    past reports in some media organizations that diplomatic relations
    might start between Turkey and Armenia behind the scenes. Do you
    think this is likely?

    Some media organs have interesting news on secret talks. I don't think
    that this is real and logical. First of all, Ankara and Yerevan are
    on opposite sides because of political concerns, and public opinion
    is very important for the two governments. Today, [the] two sides
    are not ready politically and reports of secret talks are not credible.

    Davutoglu said just very recently that Turkey attaches importance to
    its relations with Armenia and to developing new solutions for better
    ties. He added that, for lasting relations, Armenia has to deal with
    the problems in the South Caucasus, particularly those related to
    Azerbaijan. He spoke in Switzerland, where Turkey and Armenia had
    signed twin protocols in 2009 in order to normalize their ties,
    but as we all know, the protocols have failed. What do you make of
    Davutoglu's statement in Switzerland?

    I think Mr. Davutoglu wants to draw the attention of Yerevan and Baku.

    Armenia is being the Kaliningrad of the Caucasus region by
    participating in the customs union. Armenia's political, economic
    and security dependence on Russia will continue. On the other side,
    Ilham Aliyev won elections for the third time in Azerbaijan and he
    will create a new kind of policy, because the region and the world
    are changing. Mr. Davutoglu's statement seem [to show] that Ankara
    wants to play a role in the Karabakh issue on the eve of important
    developments. Karabakh is a key subject in Turkish-Armenian relations.

    Thus, Turkish officials should work for a consensus between Yerevan
    and Baku.

    What is your evaluation of the news of a September announcement that
    Armenia would be entering into a customs union formed by a Russian
    initiative?

    This is an indispensable decision of Yerevan. 2013 has been a year
    of great protests in Armenia. Especially the energy crisis created
    a strong opposition. Russia follows its traditional policy to create
    pressure over some governments such as Yerevan, Kiev and Tbilisi to
    be a part of the customs union. Natural gas prices have been rising,
    and the opposition started to mobilize people against the Armenian
    government. Yerevan declared its decision to join the customs union
    suddenly and abolished the danger of a possible revolution.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    'Recognition of genocide unwavering issue' The issue of genocide is a
    sensitive topic between Turkey and Armenia and between the peoples. You
    must have had questions from Armenians in that regard while living
    there. What do you tell them when they ask you what you think of it?

    I [have] always said that the 1915 events are not applicable for
    the definition of genocide, which has a systematic process -- like
    creating symbols and propaganda -- separating people based on their
    ethnic identity, etc. Nobody remembers these kinds of initiatives
    on either side. But massacres occurred among many different ethnic
    groups. Recognition of genocide is an unwavering issue for Armenians,
    like believing in God. If you explain how real genocide happens,
    they feel like they must protest you. They grew up with this
    mentality. It is a crime against humanity and you must recognize
    it; if you don't, they say that you are inhuman. But we can't see
    any humanitarian approach from Armenia in regards to tragedies in
    Palestine, Egypt, Syria and other places. Yerevan strongly supports
    the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sometimes I tell them that I can
    recognize the genocide if they need it so much, but I also ask them:
    What happens after that? They are telling me that my apology would
    show that I recognize the value of humanity. Then, I ask about the
    crimes in Syria against humanity. Most of them defend Assad. There
    is a great contradiction making the Armenian genocide claims not so
    innocent. It is the same thing for Karabakh. Armenian public opinion
    and officials aren't interested in massacres in Karabakh. Zori Balayan,
    who practiced inhuman medical experiments on Azerbaijani children and
    women during the Karabakh war, is a hero for Armenians; the Khojaly
    massacre is not important for them; mass massacres are only military
    operations, and Armenian soldiers liberated Karabakh, they did not
    occupy it. We should be aware of the terms used here. Why does the
    Armenian side continue to blame Turkey regarding the events of 1915
    while they change some terms for their own interests? [In] the end,
    what happened in Karabakh is a liberation movement for them and the
    events of 1915 [are] not genocide for us.

    So are you saying that the events of 1915 could or should be considered
    genocide by the Turkish side if the Armenian side considers what
    happened in Karabakh an occupation and massacre?

    We have a struggle with terms -- like in the case of "freedom fighter"
    and "terrorist." If Armenians really want to condemn crimes against
    humanity, they should start with their crimes; not only the Karabakh
    massacres, they should also recognize the crimes of Dashnaktsutiun
    during and after World War I and ASALA's [Armenian Secret Army for the
    Liberation of Armenia] terrorist activities against Turkish diplomats.

    Thereafter, I personally promise to recognize their genocide
    definition.

    In less than two years, in 2015, Turkey will find itself in a tough
    situation during the events commemorating the centennial of the
    "Armenian genocide." Is there anything that the Turkish government
    can do to build something constructive for the relations?

    2015 projects are up to officials in Ankara. Our bureaucrats say that
    they have their own plans and, unfortunately, nobody pays attention
    to the offers of the Caucasus analysts. There should be projects to
    improve dialogue between Turks and Armenians. There is [the] Public
    Diplomacy Coordination Department of the Turkish Prime Ministry. This
    department can produce films and organize seminars and conferences.

    The Turkish government should welcome Armenians to Turkey without any
    preconditions. Our main problems can be solved only through dialogue.

    The two sides don't know each other. Turkey should be aware of Turkey's
    responsibilities as a regional power and establish Turkish-Armenian
    relations without foreign intervention.

    PROFILE: Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu

    Graduating from the International Relations department at Baku
    Caucasus University, Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu studied for his master's
    degree in political science and Caucasus affairs at the European
    Regional Academy of Armenia and Ilia State University in Georgia
    from 2011-2013. He is the only Turkish analyst who studied in Baku,
    Yerevan and Tbilisi. He worked as a media observer in the USA with
    the partnership of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)
    and joined the politics and leadership program of the Atlantic
    Council in both Washington, D.C., and New York. He is a member of
    the Young Turkey Young America fellowship program at the Atlantic
    Council. He writes articles for the Today's Zaman and Zaman dailies
    in Turkey and Aravot in Armenia. Currently, he is co-president of
    the Strategic Outlook Institute based in Turkey's Konya province,
    and he lives in Tbilisi as a freelance journalist and Caucasus analyst.

    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-329915-caucasus-analyst-oztarsu-only-dialogue-can-solve-turkish-armenian-problems.html


    From: Baghdasarian
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