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Armenia-Turkey: Yerevan awaiting Erdogan's reply to invitation to
attend 2015 Genocide commemorations
Genocide | 08.09.14 | 10:33
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Armenian FM: Turkey should reconcile with its own past
Turkey is in dispute with itself: it should reconcile with its own
past to be able to build its future. This was the main message of the
article by Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian
published in the French newspaper Le Figaro late last week.
On August 28, Nalbandian attended the inauguration of newly elected
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and handed him President Serzh
Sargsyan's invitation to visit the commemorative events which will
take place on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in
Yerevan on April 24, 2014. The "commemoration year" has already begun,
and it promises to be a challenge for Turkey.
Greece's parliament is going to consider a bill criminalizing the
denial of genocides, including the Genocide of Armenians. Member of
the National Assembly of France Valerie Boyer has also prepared a new
bill on Armenian Genocide criminalization, and it, according to
experts, has a chance of being passed this year.
French President Francois Hollande has already announced that he will
arrive in Yerevan on April 24. Pope Francis will also be with Armenia
on this day. Other world leaders have not yet responded to Sargsyan's
invitation. Apparently, they are waiting for Erdogan's reply, because
if the Turkish president declines the invitation, it would mean that
Turkey continues its policy of denial. And the visit to Yerevan by
each of the world leaders will be evidence of an open confrontation
with Turkey.
"The president of Armenia has invited the Turkish president to visit
Armenia on April 24, 2015, on the occasion of the commemoration of the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. We hope it will not be a
missed opportunity and Turkey's president will be in Yerevan on that
day," Nalbandian wrote in his article. He also reminded that by
speaking about "common pain" and "just memory", the new prime minister
of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu emphasizes that "the main goal of Erdogan's
statement is prevention of worldwide efforts of the Genocide
recognition."
On April 23, Erdogan issued a first-of-its-kind message on the
"Armenian Issue" with words of condolences addressed not to Armenians
alone, but to all victims of the events during World War I.
The Armenian issue is part of the policy of Western countries to curb
Turkey. Political analyst Igor Muradyan believes that the United
States and European countries, along with Iran and a number of Arab
countries, actively stop attempts of Turkey to expand to Central Asia,
the Middle East and the Caucasus. And the Armenian issue is used as
one of the main weapons
in this police of containment.
There is also another issue - the events in the Middle East could lead
to the division of Iraq, Syria, and the creation of a Kurdish state.
If events develop this way, one would be able to talk about the
termination of the Treaty of Lausanne that determined the new borders
across the region after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First
World War. It was because of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that
Armenian lands were divided between Turkey and Russia.
The revocation of the Treaty of Lausanne may open up enormous chances
for Armenia to restore historical justice. However, the assessment of
Armenian diplomacy in this matter is not entirely positive - analysts
believe that Armenian diplomats should more firmly defend the
country's interests. For example, some took note that Nalbandian's
article has no mention of compensation and claims of Armenians.
Although in one of his recent interviews Nalbandian for the first time
declared about the inevitability of reparations.
In Turkey they are trying by all means to resist these processes, but
at the same time they understand the inevitability of recognition of
the property rights of Armenians. It is hardly a coincidence that
there are reports in the Turkish press that Erdogan is building a new
presidential palace and intends to leave Cankaya Palace. For nearly
100 years Turkish presidents have used Chankaya Palace as their
official residence. The building was originally the Kasabian Estate
and belonged to an Armenian named Ohannes Kasabian, an escapee of the
Armenian Genocide.
In his article Nalbandian offers ratification of the 2009 Zurich
protocols, normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and opening of
the borders as steps towards reconciliation. However, Turkey continues
to push for a solution to the Karabakh conflict in favor of its
regional cousin Azerbaijan as a precondition for normalization of
relations with Armenia. While in Baku last week, Erdogan stated that
the Turkish-Armenian relations would not be settled until the Karabakh
conflict was resolved.
http://armenianow.com/genocide/56662/armenia_genocide_turkey_100th_anniversary_nalbandi an_erdogan
attend 2015 Genocide commemorations
Genocide | 08.09.14 | 10:33
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Armenian FM: Turkey should reconcile with its own past
Turkey is in dispute with itself: it should reconcile with its own
past to be able to build its future. This was the main message of the
article by Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian
published in the French newspaper Le Figaro late last week.
On August 28, Nalbandian attended the inauguration of newly elected
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and handed him President Serzh
Sargsyan's invitation to visit the commemorative events which will
take place on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in
Yerevan on April 24, 2014. The "commemoration year" has already begun,
and it promises to be a challenge for Turkey.
Greece's parliament is going to consider a bill criminalizing the
denial of genocides, including the Genocide of Armenians. Member of
the National Assembly of France Valerie Boyer has also prepared a new
bill on Armenian Genocide criminalization, and it, according to
experts, has a chance of being passed this year.
French President Francois Hollande has already announced that he will
arrive in Yerevan on April 24. Pope Francis will also be with Armenia
on this day. Other world leaders have not yet responded to Sargsyan's
invitation. Apparently, they are waiting for Erdogan's reply, because
if the Turkish president declines the invitation, it would mean that
Turkey continues its policy of denial. And the visit to Yerevan by
each of the world leaders will be evidence of an open confrontation
with Turkey.
"The president of Armenia has invited the Turkish president to visit
Armenia on April 24, 2015, on the occasion of the commemoration of the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. We hope it will not be a
missed opportunity and Turkey's president will be in Yerevan on that
day," Nalbandian wrote in his article. He also reminded that by
speaking about "common pain" and "just memory", the new prime minister
of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu emphasizes that "the main goal of Erdogan's
statement is prevention of worldwide efforts of the Genocide
recognition."
On April 23, Erdogan issued a first-of-its-kind message on the
"Armenian Issue" with words of condolences addressed not to Armenians
alone, but to all victims of the events during World War I.
The Armenian issue is part of the policy of Western countries to curb
Turkey. Political analyst Igor Muradyan believes that the United
States and European countries, along with Iran and a number of Arab
countries, actively stop attempts of Turkey to expand to Central Asia,
the Middle East and the Caucasus. And the Armenian issue is used as
one of the main weapons
in this police of containment.
There is also another issue - the events in the Middle East could lead
to the division of Iraq, Syria, and the creation of a Kurdish state.
If events develop this way, one would be able to talk about the
termination of the Treaty of Lausanne that determined the new borders
across the region after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First
World War. It was because of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that
Armenian lands were divided between Turkey and Russia.
The revocation of the Treaty of Lausanne may open up enormous chances
for Armenia to restore historical justice. However, the assessment of
Armenian diplomacy in this matter is not entirely positive - analysts
believe that Armenian diplomats should more firmly defend the
country's interests. For example, some took note that Nalbandian's
article has no mention of compensation and claims of Armenians.
Although in one of his recent interviews Nalbandian for the first time
declared about the inevitability of reparations.
In Turkey they are trying by all means to resist these processes, but
at the same time they understand the inevitability of recognition of
the property rights of Armenians. It is hardly a coincidence that
there are reports in the Turkish press that Erdogan is building a new
presidential palace and intends to leave Cankaya Palace. For nearly
100 years Turkish presidents have used Chankaya Palace as their
official residence. The building was originally the Kasabian Estate
and belonged to an Armenian named Ohannes Kasabian, an escapee of the
Armenian Genocide.
In his article Nalbandian offers ratification of the 2009 Zurich
protocols, normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and opening of
the borders as steps towards reconciliation. However, Turkey continues
to push for a solution to the Karabakh conflict in favor of its
regional cousin Azerbaijan as a precondition for normalization of
relations with Armenia. While in Baku last week, Erdogan stated that
the Turkish-Armenian relations would not be settled until the Karabakh
conflict was resolved.
http://armenianow.com/genocide/56662/armenia_genocide_turkey_100th_anniversary_nalbandi an_erdogan