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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 25 2015
Turkey's attempt to distract from Armenian centennial commemorations falls short
Serzh Sarksyan
January 24, 2015, Saturday/ 17:00:00/ DENÄ°Z ARSLAN / ANKARA
The Turkish government's move this year to invite more than 100
leaders around the world for the centennial commemorations of the
Gallipoli Campaign of World War I to be held on the same day as the
Armenians' centennial commemoration of what they call the `Armenian
genocide' has been perceived as a crude attempt to distract attention
from the Armenian commemorations.
In an attempt to reduce the impact of the centennial commemoration
ceremonies of the Armenian `genocide' this year on April 24 in
Armenia, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has come
up with the idea of celebrating the 100th anniversary of World War I's
Gallipoli Campaign on two-day-long ceremonies on April 23-24.
Turkey traditionally commemorates its fallen soldiers in the Battle of
Gallipoli -- also known as Çanakkale on March 18 every year. But just
two years ago, then-president-Abdullah Gül marked the 98th anniversary
of the Çanakkale Battle on March 18 in 2013.
No one in Turkey at the time suggested that the Çanakkale Battle
should be remembered on April 24. March 18 is the day the British
started its bombardment of the Dardanelles peninsula.
The Gallipoli commemorations will take place on April 23-24 this year
for the first time and the Turkish government has sent invitations to
more than 100 leaders around the world, whose soldiers fought in World
War I, including Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu had to explain last week that other
ethnic groups, including Arabs and Armenians also fought at Gallipoli.
`We [Turks and Armenians] fought together at Gallipoli. That's why we
have extended the invitation to President Sarksyan as well,' he said.
Speaking to Agos daily after President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's
invitation to Sarksyan, many Turkish citizens of Armenian descent
reacted strongly to ErdoÄ?an's invitation to Sarksyan, calling it a
`joke' and an `ill-mannered' act, and further criticizing it as a
`political maneuver.'
In an open letter addressed to President ErdoÄ?an, Sarksyan immediately
rejected the invitation to the Gallipoli commemoration ceremonies,
adding that the invitation itself shows that Turkey continues to
pursue its `denial policy' of the Armenian `genocide.'
Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an
independent think tank in Yerevan, said the timing of the Gallipoli
invitation could not have been worse.
`In fact, in what seems to be a rather selective reinterpretation of
history, the Turkish government has set the two-day Gallipoli
commemoration for April 23-24, in a blatant disregard for the
traditional April 24 commemoration of the Armenian genocide,' said
Giragosian in an email reply to Today's Zaman.
Giragosian stated that ErdoÄ?an's move only triggered an intense
negative reaction in Armenia and tended to confirm the perception of
Turkey as an `insincere and unreliable interlocutor,' as the timing of
the Turkish state commemoration of Gallipoli is viewed as `a crude
attempt to distract from and deny the Armenian genocide
commemoration.'
Armenia is preparing a wide-scale anniversary ceremony for the 1915
events on April 24 and invited a number of leaders around the world.
French President François Hollande and US President Barack Obama are
among those invited to Yerevan for the ceremonies in Armenia.
Yerevan commemorates the mass killings of Armenians every April 24 and
often use the anniversary as an opportunity to lobby Western countries
to brand the killings as genocide. Ankara denies claims that the
events of 1915 amounted to genocide, arguing that both Turks and
Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted against the Ottoman
Empire during World War I in collaboration with the Russian army,
which was then invading Eastern Anatolia.
Giragosian pointed out that there are concerns over recent
developments in Turkish politics. `For one, the rapid rise of
President ErdoÄ?an as the most powerful, but most polarizing politician
is a cause for worry. And given his rather unpredictable and
inflexible personal posture on many issues, there is concern that he
will have and hold too much personal and political power, without due
deference to the rule of law or democratic institutions within
Turkey,' he said.
`At the same time, the future of both Turkey's broader regional policy
and its more specific policy towards Armenian-Turkish normalization
are ever more hostage to the outcome of domestic Turkish politics,'
Giragosian added.
ErdoÄ?an's invitation could be interpreted as an olive branch to
Armenia, with which Turkey has no diplomatic relations. But Sarksyan
in his letter to ErdoÄ?an last week indicated his doubts about the
sincerity of the invitation and expressed his expectation that Turkey
will reply first to Armenia as to whether it will attend the
ceremonies to commemorate the Armenian `genocide' in Yerevan.
`For his part, the Armenian president had little choice but to reject
the invitation,' said Giragosian.
Last year, the Turkish government pulled another trick from its bag,
only one day before April 24 to reduce the impact of the April 24
commemorations by Armenia. In a historic first for the Turkish
Republic last year, ErdoÄ?an, who was prime minister at the time,
extended Turkey's condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians who
had lost their lives in 1915.
The statement, which doesn't include the word `genocide,' was welcomed
by the West and Armenians living in Turkey, but was short of
satisfying Yerevan.
Another `olive branch' to Armenians came this week from Prime Minister
Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu. The prime minister released a statement on Tuesday to
commemorate slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink eight years
ago and called for a new beginning in Turkish-Armenian relations.
He stated that a relocation policy and the events of 1915 took place
under the harsh conditions of World War l, and Turkey shares the pain
of Armenians.
`Our desire to share pain, heal wounds and re-establish friendships
are sincere. Our prospect is friendship and peace,' DavutoÄ?lu said.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç also denied on
Wednesday that ErdoÄ?an's message for Armenians last year and
DavutoÄ?lu's statement addressed to Armenians are `tactical' steps to
reduce the effects of centennial commemorative events of 1915.
Speaking at a press conference on Jan. 21, Bilgiç said that both
statements by ErdoÄ?an and DavutoÄ?lu are `sincere.'
Nalbandian: 'It's inappropriate'
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who was visiting Brussels
to attend the Armenia-EU Cooperation Council on Jan. 20, told
journalists that it's not appropriate to organize the Gallipoli
commemoration events in Turkey on April 24.
`I don't think it is appropriate to organize such an event in Turkey
on April 24 and I couldn't believe that anybody could perceive this as
a proper step,' said Nalbandian.
He also recalled that the Armenian president had invited ErdoÄ?an to
participate in the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian `genocide' in April 2015.
`I conveyed the written invitation to President ErdoÄ?an being in
Ankara in August of last year,' said Nalbandian.
He had attended President ErdoÄ?an's inauguration ceremony in Ankara in
late August. `Till now we haven't received any response,' he added.
The chief spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Tigran
Lazarian, posted a tweet on Jan. 20, after DavutoÄ?lu's call for a new
beginning with Armenia saying, `How can we speak of a `new beginning'
if the starting point is an aggressive denial of the Armenian genocide
-- a double crime!'
Lazarian also accused ErdoÄ?an of `seeking to keep foreign leaders
away from the Armenian commemorations by creating an impromptu -- and
historically inaccurate -- anniversary of his own, ` according to an
article by Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty on Jan. 16.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkeys-attempt-to-distract-from-armenian-centennial-commemorations-falls-short_370620.html
Jan 25 2015
Turkey's attempt to distract from Armenian centennial commemorations falls short
Serzh Sarksyan
January 24, 2015, Saturday/ 17:00:00/ DENÄ°Z ARSLAN / ANKARA
The Turkish government's move this year to invite more than 100
leaders around the world for the centennial commemorations of the
Gallipoli Campaign of World War I to be held on the same day as the
Armenians' centennial commemoration of what they call the `Armenian
genocide' has been perceived as a crude attempt to distract attention
from the Armenian commemorations.
In an attempt to reduce the impact of the centennial commemoration
ceremonies of the Armenian `genocide' this year on April 24 in
Armenia, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has come
up with the idea of celebrating the 100th anniversary of World War I's
Gallipoli Campaign on two-day-long ceremonies on April 23-24.
Turkey traditionally commemorates its fallen soldiers in the Battle of
Gallipoli -- also known as Çanakkale on March 18 every year. But just
two years ago, then-president-Abdullah Gül marked the 98th anniversary
of the Çanakkale Battle on March 18 in 2013.
No one in Turkey at the time suggested that the Çanakkale Battle
should be remembered on April 24. March 18 is the day the British
started its bombardment of the Dardanelles peninsula.
The Gallipoli commemorations will take place on April 23-24 this year
for the first time and the Turkish government has sent invitations to
more than 100 leaders around the world, whose soldiers fought in World
War I, including Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu had to explain last week that other
ethnic groups, including Arabs and Armenians also fought at Gallipoli.
`We [Turks and Armenians] fought together at Gallipoli. That's why we
have extended the invitation to President Sarksyan as well,' he said.
Speaking to Agos daily after President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's
invitation to Sarksyan, many Turkish citizens of Armenian descent
reacted strongly to ErdoÄ?an's invitation to Sarksyan, calling it a
`joke' and an `ill-mannered' act, and further criticizing it as a
`political maneuver.'
In an open letter addressed to President ErdoÄ?an, Sarksyan immediately
rejected the invitation to the Gallipoli commemoration ceremonies,
adding that the invitation itself shows that Turkey continues to
pursue its `denial policy' of the Armenian `genocide.'
Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an
independent think tank in Yerevan, said the timing of the Gallipoli
invitation could not have been worse.
`In fact, in what seems to be a rather selective reinterpretation of
history, the Turkish government has set the two-day Gallipoli
commemoration for April 23-24, in a blatant disregard for the
traditional April 24 commemoration of the Armenian genocide,' said
Giragosian in an email reply to Today's Zaman.
Giragosian stated that ErdoÄ?an's move only triggered an intense
negative reaction in Armenia and tended to confirm the perception of
Turkey as an `insincere and unreliable interlocutor,' as the timing of
the Turkish state commemoration of Gallipoli is viewed as `a crude
attempt to distract from and deny the Armenian genocide
commemoration.'
Armenia is preparing a wide-scale anniversary ceremony for the 1915
events on April 24 and invited a number of leaders around the world.
French President François Hollande and US President Barack Obama are
among those invited to Yerevan for the ceremonies in Armenia.
Yerevan commemorates the mass killings of Armenians every April 24 and
often use the anniversary as an opportunity to lobby Western countries
to brand the killings as genocide. Ankara denies claims that the
events of 1915 amounted to genocide, arguing that both Turks and
Armenians were killed when Armenians revolted against the Ottoman
Empire during World War I in collaboration with the Russian army,
which was then invading Eastern Anatolia.
Giragosian pointed out that there are concerns over recent
developments in Turkish politics. `For one, the rapid rise of
President ErdoÄ?an as the most powerful, but most polarizing politician
is a cause for worry. And given his rather unpredictable and
inflexible personal posture on many issues, there is concern that he
will have and hold too much personal and political power, without due
deference to the rule of law or democratic institutions within
Turkey,' he said.
`At the same time, the future of both Turkey's broader regional policy
and its more specific policy towards Armenian-Turkish normalization
are ever more hostage to the outcome of domestic Turkish politics,'
Giragosian added.
ErdoÄ?an's invitation could be interpreted as an olive branch to
Armenia, with which Turkey has no diplomatic relations. But Sarksyan
in his letter to ErdoÄ?an last week indicated his doubts about the
sincerity of the invitation and expressed his expectation that Turkey
will reply first to Armenia as to whether it will attend the
ceremonies to commemorate the Armenian `genocide' in Yerevan.
`For his part, the Armenian president had little choice but to reject
the invitation,' said Giragosian.
Last year, the Turkish government pulled another trick from its bag,
only one day before April 24 to reduce the impact of the April 24
commemorations by Armenia. In a historic first for the Turkish
Republic last year, ErdoÄ?an, who was prime minister at the time,
extended Turkey's condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians who
had lost their lives in 1915.
The statement, which doesn't include the word `genocide,' was welcomed
by the West and Armenians living in Turkey, but was short of
satisfying Yerevan.
Another `olive branch' to Armenians came this week from Prime Minister
Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu. The prime minister released a statement on Tuesday to
commemorate slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink eight years
ago and called for a new beginning in Turkish-Armenian relations.
He stated that a relocation policy and the events of 1915 took place
under the harsh conditions of World War l, and Turkey shares the pain
of Armenians.
`Our desire to share pain, heal wounds and re-establish friendships
are sincere. Our prospect is friendship and peace,' DavutoÄ?lu said.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç also denied on
Wednesday that ErdoÄ?an's message for Armenians last year and
DavutoÄ?lu's statement addressed to Armenians are `tactical' steps to
reduce the effects of centennial commemorative events of 1915.
Speaking at a press conference on Jan. 21, Bilgiç said that both
statements by ErdoÄ?an and DavutoÄ?lu are `sincere.'
Nalbandian: 'It's inappropriate'
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who was visiting Brussels
to attend the Armenia-EU Cooperation Council on Jan. 20, told
journalists that it's not appropriate to organize the Gallipoli
commemoration events in Turkey on April 24.
`I don't think it is appropriate to organize such an event in Turkey
on April 24 and I couldn't believe that anybody could perceive this as
a proper step,' said Nalbandian.
He also recalled that the Armenian president had invited ErdoÄ?an to
participate in the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian `genocide' in April 2015.
`I conveyed the written invitation to President ErdoÄ?an being in
Ankara in August of last year,' said Nalbandian.
He had attended President ErdoÄ?an's inauguration ceremony in Ankara in
late August. `Till now we haven't received any response,' he added.
The chief spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Tigran
Lazarian, posted a tweet on Jan. 20, after DavutoÄ?lu's call for a new
beginning with Armenia saying, `How can we speak of a `new beginning'
if the starting point is an aggressive denial of the Armenian genocide
-- a double crime!'
Lazarian also accused ErdoÄ?an of `seeking to keep foreign leaders
away from the Armenian commemorations by creating an impromptu -- and
historically inaccurate -- anniversary of his own, ` according to an
article by Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty on Jan. 16.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkeys-attempt-to-distract-from-armenian-centennial-commemorations-falls-short_370620.html