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Daily Sabah, Turkey
May 2 2014
ERDOÄ?AN'S MESSAGE AS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
PM ErdoÄ?an received Turkey's Armenian Orthodox patriarch yesterday
where the two discussed ErdoÄ?an's statement on the 1915 incidents and
problems facing the Armenian community in Turkey
by Daily Sabah
ISTANBUL ' TURKEY'S Orthodox Armenian Patriarch Aram Atesyan expressed
his pleasure with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's condolence
message on the 1915 incidents during a visit to the Prime Ministry
yesterday. Atesyan said, "Our community and our patriarchate praise
Erdogan's statement.
As he did several times before on several issues, the prime minister
took the first step toward a solution through sharing in Armenians'
pain on April 24. As the prophet sent a pigeon, Erdogan extended an
olive branch. We cannot ignore that.This olive branch is the symbol of
peace. We do not want this branch to die but we want this branch to
bear fruit. There is a corpse on the table. Unless a solution is
reached, the corpse's stench becomes unbearable. The two nations must
unite for a solution."Atesyan said, " "Our country is at peace. These
people experienced much pain. Yet, we need to get together to find a
solution."
After saying, "Our country is at peace; we cannot ignore the
developments,"AteÅ?yan added, "These people experienced much pain. Yet,
we need to get together to find a solution." During his visit, AteÅ?yan
was accompanied by the Chairman of Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian
Hospital Foundation and General Director of Å?iÅ?li Karagözyan School
Dikran Gülmezgil. Both of them also thanked ErdoÄ?an for his statement.
While replying to journalists' questions, AteÅ?yan said the statement
should be seen as a bridge between the two peoples to further
relations. He said that ErdoÄ?an did not inform him on what the next
steps would be but he stated that he was sure that there would be new
steps concerning the Armenian question.He added that "both sides must
make sacrifices to deepen the friendship."
ErdoÄ?an and Aramyan also held talks about problems currently facing
the Armenian community. One of the issues was the process of returning
the community's goods which had been confiscated in the Turkish
Republic's early years. "We still demand some property. There are
still problems that must be solved in the courts. But we need time. I
believe all of these problems will be solved," said AteÅ?yan.
Despite the negative atmosphere between the two countries, which has
lasted for decades, Turkey, one of the first countries to recognize
Armenia's independence in 1991, has taken steps to mend relations.
President Abdullah Gül was the first Turkish president to visit
Armenia when in 2008 he watched a football match between the two
countries' national football teams. The visit aimed to mend and
improve both political and economic relations. The following step was
to establish diplomatic ties, as the two countries do not have
diplomatic relations. Following the visit, the two countries signed
two protocols to "establish diplomatic ties" and "improve bilateral
relations" in 2009. Yet, the Armenian Constitutional Court cancelled
the protocols as Armenian politicians were unhappy with the ongoing
process and raised genocide claims. In 2010, Armenia halted the
processes and relations were frozen.
In the background of the negative response to Turkey's outreach,
Turkey's steps to broaden minorities' rights continued independently
from relations with Armenia.Turkey launched reform packages to return
property previously belonging to minorities.
Additionally, those who could prove they were citizens of the Ottoman
Empire after fleeing to different countries after World War I were
guaranteed to receive Turkish citizenship.In 2010, one of the most
important churches, the Akhdamar Church in Turkey's eastern city of
Van, was opened for religious ceremonies. In 2011, another big
Armenian church in Turkey's southeast in Diyarbakır, Surb Giragos
Church, was opened for religious ceremonies. In the last three years,
10 properties were returned to Armenian foundations.
Moreover, several properties are to be returned to Armenians as the
process continues.
According to Foreign Ministry sources, Turkey has been aiming to
normalize relations with Armenia to contribute to security and
stability in the Caucasus region. In 2013, Foreign Minister Ahmet
DavutoÄ?lu visited Armenia's capital, Yerevan, as the two countries
were members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization.DavutoÄ?lu said the visit was an important step and
overcame many psychological barriers.Analysts noted that despite
Armenia's reluctance to improve relations, DavutoÄ?lu's visit was
significant in terms of signaling a new reconciliation process when
Armenia is ready.
Besides the diplomatic attempts, in 2006 Turkey offered to create a
commission that would include Turkish and Armenian historians to delve
into the 1915 incidents. The commission was to open Armenian, Turkish,
British, German and Russian archives to shed light on the issue. If
the alleged genocide was proven at the end of the commission's
investigations, Turkey said it was ready to admit the occurrence. Yet
Armenian officials did not accept the offer, putting forth several
excuses. Turkey opened nearly 100,000 archives, including Foreign
Ministry and Prime Ministry archives. Turkey also allows eligible
researchers who meet requirements to search Turkish Army archives.
Sources say Turkey will open the army archives to the public next year
on the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents. However, the other
countries have not been keen on opening and publishing their archives,
while the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry founded a commission to
find and translate archive documents into Turkish and English.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/05/02/armenian-patriarch-praises-erdogan-for-his-condolences
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
May 2 2014
ERDOÄ?AN'S MESSAGE AS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
PM ErdoÄ?an received Turkey's Armenian Orthodox patriarch yesterday
where the two discussed ErdoÄ?an's statement on the 1915 incidents and
problems facing the Armenian community in Turkey
by Daily Sabah
ISTANBUL ' TURKEY'S Orthodox Armenian Patriarch Aram Atesyan expressed
his pleasure with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's condolence
message on the 1915 incidents during a visit to the Prime Ministry
yesterday. Atesyan said, "Our community and our patriarchate praise
Erdogan's statement.
As he did several times before on several issues, the prime minister
took the first step toward a solution through sharing in Armenians'
pain on April 24. As the prophet sent a pigeon, Erdogan extended an
olive branch. We cannot ignore that.This olive branch is the symbol of
peace. We do not want this branch to die but we want this branch to
bear fruit. There is a corpse on the table. Unless a solution is
reached, the corpse's stench becomes unbearable. The two nations must
unite for a solution."Atesyan said, " "Our country is at peace. These
people experienced much pain. Yet, we need to get together to find a
solution."
After saying, "Our country is at peace; we cannot ignore the
developments,"AteÅ?yan added, "These people experienced much pain. Yet,
we need to get together to find a solution." During his visit, AteÅ?yan
was accompanied by the Chairman of Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian
Hospital Foundation and General Director of Å?iÅ?li Karagözyan School
Dikran Gülmezgil. Both of them also thanked ErdoÄ?an for his statement.
While replying to journalists' questions, AteÅ?yan said the statement
should be seen as a bridge between the two peoples to further
relations. He said that ErdoÄ?an did not inform him on what the next
steps would be but he stated that he was sure that there would be new
steps concerning the Armenian question.He added that "both sides must
make sacrifices to deepen the friendship."
ErdoÄ?an and Aramyan also held talks about problems currently facing
the Armenian community. One of the issues was the process of returning
the community's goods which had been confiscated in the Turkish
Republic's early years. "We still demand some property. There are
still problems that must be solved in the courts. But we need time. I
believe all of these problems will be solved," said AteÅ?yan.
Despite the negative atmosphere between the two countries, which has
lasted for decades, Turkey, one of the first countries to recognize
Armenia's independence in 1991, has taken steps to mend relations.
President Abdullah Gül was the first Turkish president to visit
Armenia when in 2008 he watched a football match between the two
countries' national football teams. The visit aimed to mend and
improve both political and economic relations. The following step was
to establish diplomatic ties, as the two countries do not have
diplomatic relations. Following the visit, the two countries signed
two protocols to "establish diplomatic ties" and "improve bilateral
relations" in 2009. Yet, the Armenian Constitutional Court cancelled
the protocols as Armenian politicians were unhappy with the ongoing
process and raised genocide claims. In 2010, Armenia halted the
processes and relations were frozen.
In the background of the negative response to Turkey's outreach,
Turkey's steps to broaden minorities' rights continued independently
from relations with Armenia.Turkey launched reform packages to return
property previously belonging to minorities.
Additionally, those who could prove they were citizens of the Ottoman
Empire after fleeing to different countries after World War I were
guaranteed to receive Turkish citizenship.In 2010, one of the most
important churches, the Akhdamar Church in Turkey's eastern city of
Van, was opened for religious ceremonies. In 2011, another big
Armenian church in Turkey's southeast in Diyarbakır, Surb Giragos
Church, was opened for religious ceremonies. In the last three years,
10 properties were returned to Armenian foundations.
Moreover, several properties are to be returned to Armenians as the
process continues.
According to Foreign Ministry sources, Turkey has been aiming to
normalize relations with Armenia to contribute to security and
stability in the Caucasus region. In 2013, Foreign Minister Ahmet
DavutoÄ?lu visited Armenia's capital, Yerevan, as the two countries
were members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization.DavutoÄ?lu said the visit was an important step and
overcame many psychological barriers.Analysts noted that despite
Armenia's reluctance to improve relations, DavutoÄ?lu's visit was
significant in terms of signaling a new reconciliation process when
Armenia is ready.
Besides the diplomatic attempts, in 2006 Turkey offered to create a
commission that would include Turkish and Armenian historians to delve
into the 1915 incidents. The commission was to open Armenian, Turkish,
British, German and Russian archives to shed light on the issue. If
the alleged genocide was proven at the end of the commission's
investigations, Turkey said it was ready to admit the occurrence. Yet
Armenian officials did not accept the offer, putting forth several
excuses. Turkey opened nearly 100,000 archives, including Foreign
Ministry and Prime Ministry archives. Turkey also allows eligible
researchers who meet requirements to search Turkish Army archives.
Sources say Turkey will open the army archives to the public next year
on the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents. However, the other
countries have not been keen on opening and publishing their archives,
while the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry founded a commission to
find and translate archive documents into Turkish and English.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/05/02/armenian-patriarch-praises-erdogan-for-his-condolences
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress