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PROTOCOLS PROCESS: TURKEY REACTS TO ARMENIA'S DECISION TO RECALL NORMALIZATION ACCORDS FROM PARLIAMENT
NEWS | 19.02.15 | 11:03
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Although on February 16 the Armenian president turned to the National
Assembly in order to withdraw the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, official
Ankara announced that as before they remain committed to the Protocols
signed in October 2009 in Zurich between the two nations with the
aim of normalizing their bilateral relations.
Nevertheless, in his letter to Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan,
President Serzh Sargsyan points out the absence of the political will
of Turkish officials, their attempt to distort the "letter and spirit"
of the Protocols with preconditions.
"Parallel to that, toward the centennial of the Armenian Genocide
their policy of denial and editing the history takes another wave. I
have many times spoken of time being limited, including in September
2014 from the UN General Assembly rostrum. Unfortunately, Armenia's
calls were not heard by the Turkish government," the letter said.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic described Armenia's
decision of withdrawing the Protocols as "wrong and unfortunate,"
and Yerevan's stance as "incoherent and insincere".
"Yerevan has decided to withdraw the Protocol on Establishing of
Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol on Developing Relations in order
"to create a reason to accuse Turkey" ahead of the 100th anniversary
of the massacres of Ottoman Armenians. Turkey disagrees with the
attitude taken by the Armenian side and will remain loyal to regional
normalization process," Bilgic said.
In an interview with the Armenian Public TV Armenia's Deputy Foreign
Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said that "the ball is in the Turkish
court", and it is obvious that interested states, the international
community would be waiting for Turkey's steps.
"We can cancel the signatures at all, and we can also ratify them, I
mean, everything depends on further developments. How will the events
develop, what attitude will Turkey have, whether it will change or
not, and if yes, toward which side? Thus, we have moves in different
directions," he said.
The chairman of the Armenian Institute of International and Security
Issues, political analyst Styopa Safaryan said that President
Sargsyan's step was belated, because of which "we witnessed Turkey's
"cynical policy"" - in the sense of planning the celebration of the
100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, which according to him,
is more directed toward the very problem of the Genocide.
"The Battle of Gallipoli battle becomes an event which is organized
to show to the world that these Armenians who only remember their pain
at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial on April 24, they actually forget and
ignore, and offend others' grief, not remembering about them, because
the British, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians died here,"
Safaryan said, presenting the way Turkey wants it to be seen. "Had
we withdrawn the Protocols much earlier, there would have started an
international process, giving more time to work with world leaders,
to convince them."
Member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) parliamentary
faction Lyudmila Sargsyan does not exclude that the NA withdraws the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols in order to bring the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) into the coalition.
"Their step of withdrawing the Protocols speaks of the fact that
they want to please the ARF. That step is ridiculous, because once
Serzh Sargsyan did everything to ratify them, in order to put the
fact of Genocide under suspicion, to prevent the Genocide from
recognition. I cannot say whether he did it purposefully, he is not
a mature statesman," Sargsyan said.
Armenian officials and members of the ruling Republican Party have
denied that the protocols signed with Turkey in any way call into
doubt the fact of the Genocide or undermine the international process
of Genocide recognition. On the contrary, they have praised Sargsyan's
policies on normalization with Turkey, saying that Armenia has shown
itself as a credible international partner.
There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. Turkey
closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in response to the victories
of ethnic Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Ankara's
regional ally, Azerbaijan. In 2008 President Serzh Sargsyan initiated
the process of rapprochement with Turkey that resulted in the signing
of two diplomatic protocols in 2009.
http://armenianow.com/news/60763/armenia_turkey_normalization_protocols_withdrawal
From: A. Papazian
NEWS | 19.02.15 | 11:03
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Although on February 16 the Armenian president turned to the National
Assembly in order to withdraw the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, official
Ankara announced that as before they remain committed to the Protocols
signed in October 2009 in Zurich between the two nations with the
aim of normalizing their bilateral relations.
Nevertheless, in his letter to Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan,
President Serzh Sargsyan points out the absence of the political will
of Turkish officials, their attempt to distort the "letter and spirit"
of the Protocols with preconditions.
"Parallel to that, toward the centennial of the Armenian Genocide
their policy of denial and editing the history takes another wave. I
have many times spoken of time being limited, including in September
2014 from the UN General Assembly rostrum. Unfortunately, Armenia's
calls were not heard by the Turkish government," the letter said.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic described Armenia's
decision of withdrawing the Protocols as "wrong and unfortunate,"
and Yerevan's stance as "incoherent and insincere".
"Yerevan has decided to withdraw the Protocol on Establishing of
Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol on Developing Relations in order
"to create a reason to accuse Turkey" ahead of the 100th anniversary
of the massacres of Ottoman Armenians. Turkey disagrees with the
attitude taken by the Armenian side and will remain loyal to regional
normalization process," Bilgic said.
In an interview with the Armenian Public TV Armenia's Deputy Foreign
Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said that "the ball is in the Turkish
court", and it is obvious that interested states, the international
community would be waiting for Turkey's steps.
"We can cancel the signatures at all, and we can also ratify them, I
mean, everything depends on further developments. How will the events
develop, what attitude will Turkey have, whether it will change or
not, and if yes, toward which side? Thus, we have moves in different
directions," he said.
The chairman of the Armenian Institute of International and Security
Issues, political analyst Styopa Safaryan said that President
Sargsyan's step was belated, because of which "we witnessed Turkey's
"cynical policy"" - in the sense of planning the celebration of the
100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, which according to him,
is more directed toward the very problem of the Genocide.
"The Battle of Gallipoli battle becomes an event which is organized
to show to the world that these Armenians who only remember their pain
at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial on April 24, they actually forget and
ignore, and offend others' grief, not remembering about them, because
the British, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians died here,"
Safaryan said, presenting the way Turkey wants it to be seen. "Had
we withdrawn the Protocols much earlier, there would have started an
international process, giving more time to work with world leaders,
to convince them."
Member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) parliamentary
faction Lyudmila Sargsyan does not exclude that the NA withdraws the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols in order to bring the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) into the coalition.
"Their step of withdrawing the Protocols speaks of the fact that
they want to please the ARF. That step is ridiculous, because once
Serzh Sargsyan did everything to ratify them, in order to put the
fact of Genocide under suspicion, to prevent the Genocide from
recognition. I cannot say whether he did it purposefully, he is not
a mature statesman," Sargsyan said.
Armenian officials and members of the ruling Republican Party have
denied that the protocols signed with Turkey in any way call into
doubt the fact of the Genocide or undermine the international process
of Genocide recognition. On the contrary, they have praised Sargsyan's
policies on normalization with Turkey, saying that Armenia has shown
itself as a credible international partner.
There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. Turkey
closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in response to the victories
of ethnic Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Ankara's
regional ally, Azerbaijan. In 2008 President Serzh Sargsyan initiated
the process of rapprochement with Turkey that resulted in the signing
of two diplomatic protocols in 2009.
http://armenianow.com/news/60763/armenia_turkey_normalization_protocols_withdrawal
From: A. Papazian