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ANKARA'S ARMENIAN CHARM OFFENSIVE
The Majalla Magazine
May 5 2014
Turkey's stance on the Armenian tragedy takes a dramatic turn as the
centennial of the 1915 atrocities approaches
by Barcin Yinanc
ANATOLIAN DISPATCHES blog: Posts from across the Bosporus. The
Republic of Turkey is turning its attention eastwards and proving
itself a heavyweight in the Middle East arena. 'Anatolian Dispatches'
sets the compass to the new Turkish orientation.
Turkey has again weathered that time of the year when ambassadors line
up in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get their share of
protests on April 24 when Armenians remember the massacre of their
kin at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915. This year the Dutch and
Georgian ambassadors were among several heads of mission in Ankara
to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hear the official reaction
to their country's unveiling of a monument or a statue in memory of
the Anatolian Armenians who were killed or deported en masse during
the First World War.
But this year, on the 99th anniversary of the Armenian tragedy,
there was a significant shift in Turkey's official stance toward
the commemorations. In previous years Turkey has objected to the
remembrance day; during tributes in 2012, Turkey's Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said: "There is no difference for us between April 23
and April 24." This year, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
issued a surprise written statement on April 23, in which he said:
"The 24th of April carries a particular significance for our Armenian
citizens and for all Armenians around the world, and provides a
valuable opportunity to share opinions freely on a historical matter."
With this statement, Turkey has officially accepted April 24 as a
remembrance day, a huge step as it is the first time a Turkish leader
has formally offered condolences for the mass killings. "The statement
was certainly as dramatic and impressive as it was unexpected," said
Richard Giragosian, the head of a Yerevan based think tank. Giragosian
was in Istanbul to attend one of the commemoration ceremonies that
have been held in several cities across Turkey for the past few years.
Omer Lutem, a retired Turkish ambassador who spent four decades
dealing with the Armenian issue, believes that Armenian efforts toward
recognition of the atrocities as genocide--expected to peak next year
for the 100th anniversary--are behind Erdogan's statement. "With the
centennial of 1915 approaching, I think the government had the idea
to do something that would withdraw people's attention, especially
the Armenians. I think this is the main cause," he said.
The prime minister's statement was certainly part of an effort to fend
off the Armenian campaign for next year's milestone commemorations.
But not everyone thinks the impending centennial is behind Turkey's
change of heart. Volkan Vural, another retired ambassador, believes
it was soul searching, and a wider drive to reconcile with Turkey's
minority groups that enabled the government to review the past. The
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has previously tried to
deal with the issue by improving the rights of minorities in Turkey,
which include Armenians, and also attempting to normalize relations
with Armenia, with which it has no diplomatic relations.
Yet a 2009 initiative to foster ties with Armenia did not end well
after disagreement over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani
territory under the occupation of Armenia. As Turkey's relations
with Azerbaijan outweigh those with Yerevan, a renewed effort
toward reconciliation with Armenia looks unlikely. The prospect
of appeasement looks even slimmer given Turkey is in the midst of
an electoral period, with presidential elections due in August and
general elections scheduled for next year.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government, which refuses to recognize the
atrocities committed in 1915 as genocide, continues to work on its
much touted "counter offensive" to Armenian plans for the centennial.
Vural has in the past suggested an apology be issued along with
an offer of citizenship to the children of survivors. "No apology
for genocide, but an apology for the deportation that caused human
suffering," he said. The offer of citizenship to the descendants of
displaced Armenians is currently being discussed in Ankara.
At the same time, many take the view that the impact of the centennial
should not be exaggerated. "There will definitely be headaches. It
will probably poison relations with some countries, not all, but with
some like France and the United States, to a certain extent and Latin
American countries as well. But I don't think this will be a very
disturbing thing for Turkey," said Vural.
All views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do
not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed
to, The Majalla magazine.
http://www.majalla.com/eng/2014/05/article55249843
From: Baghdasarian
The Majalla Magazine
May 5 2014
Turkey's stance on the Armenian tragedy takes a dramatic turn as the
centennial of the 1915 atrocities approaches
by Barcin Yinanc
ANATOLIAN DISPATCHES blog: Posts from across the Bosporus. The
Republic of Turkey is turning its attention eastwards and proving
itself a heavyweight in the Middle East arena. 'Anatolian Dispatches'
sets the compass to the new Turkish orientation.
Turkey has again weathered that time of the year when ambassadors line
up in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get their share of
protests on April 24 when Armenians remember the massacre of their
kin at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915. This year the Dutch and
Georgian ambassadors were among several heads of mission in Ankara
to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hear the official reaction
to their country's unveiling of a monument or a statue in memory of
the Anatolian Armenians who were killed or deported en masse during
the First World War.
But this year, on the 99th anniversary of the Armenian tragedy,
there was a significant shift in Turkey's official stance toward
the commemorations. In previous years Turkey has objected to the
remembrance day; during tributes in 2012, Turkey's Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said: "There is no difference for us between April 23
and April 24." This year, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
issued a surprise written statement on April 23, in which he said:
"The 24th of April carries a particular significance for our Armenian
citizens and for all Armenians around the world, and provides a
valuable opportunity to share opinions freely on a historical matter."
With this statement, Turkey has officially accepted April 24 as a
remembrance day, a huge step as it is the first time a Turkish leader
has formally offered condolences for the mass killings. "The statement
was certainly as dramatic and impressive as it was unexpected," said
Richard Giragosian, the head of a Yerevan based think tank. Giragosian
was in Istanbul to attend one of the commemoration ceremonies that
have been held in several cities across Turkey for the past few years.
Omer Lutem, a retired Turkish ambassador who spent four decades
dealing with the Armenian issue, believes that Armenian efforts toward
recognition of the atrocities as genocide--expected to peak next year
for the 100th anniversary--are behind Erdogan's statement. "With the
centennial of 1915 approaching, I think the government had the idea
to do something that would withdraw people's attention, especially
the Armenians. I think this is the main cause," he said.
The prime minister's statement was certainly part of an effort to fend
off the Armenian campaign for next year's milestone commemorations.
But not everyone thinks the impending centennial is behind Turkey's
change of heart. Volkan Vural, another retired ambassador, believes
it was soul searching, and a wider drive to reconcile with Turkey's
minority groups that enabled the government to review the past. The
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has previously tried to
deal with the issue by improving the rights of minorities in Turkey,
which include Armenians, and also attempting to normalize relations
with Armenia, with which it has no diplomatic relations.
Yet a 2009 initiative to foster ties with Armenia did not end well
after disagreement over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani
territory under the occupation of Armenia. As Turkey's relations
with Azerbaijan outweigh those with Yerevan, a renewed effort
toward reconciliation with Armenia looks unlikely. The prospect
of appeasement looks even slimmer given Turkey is in the midst of
an electoral period, with presidential elections due in August and
general elections scheduled for next year.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government, which refuses to recognize the
atrocities committed in 1915 as genocide, continues to work on its
much touted "counter offensive" to Armenian plans for the centennial.
Vural has in the past suggested an apology be issued along with
an offer of citizenship to the children of survivors. "No apology
for genocide, but an apology for the deportation that caused human
suffering," he said. The offer of citizenship to the descendants of
displaced Armenians is currently being discussed in Ankara.
At the same time, many take the view that the impact of the centennial
should not be exaggerated. "There will definitely be headaches. It
will probably poison relations with some countries, not all, but with
some like France and the United States, to a certain extent and Latin
American countries as well. But I don't think this will be a very
disturbing thing for Turkey," said Vural.
All views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do
not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed
to, The Majalla magazine.
http://www.majalla.com/eng/2014/05/article55249843
From: Baghdasarian