Armenian-Turkish Relations

[Armanen]

Re: Armenian-Turkish Relations

It’s Turkey, Not Armenia, That’s Hindering Rapprochement: Amberin Zaman

Ankara doesn’t stand behind its signature on the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, said Turkey correspondent for The Economist and Taraf columnist, Amberin Zaman, who also happens to be married to U.S. Embassy in Armenia’s Deputy Chief of Mission Joseph Pennington.

“Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the following to his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian: ‘Stand behind your signature on the Protocol. We expect a display of political will from the Armenian side. Otherwise, a completely new situation will arise.’ However, it’s Turkey who isn’t standing behind their signature,” said Zaman, adding that though there was no clause in the Protocols which referred to Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey has nevertheless connected that issue with the process of establishing Armenia-Turkey relations.

The Taraf columnist also noted that such a situation wouldn’t have come about if the Protocols were implemented immediately. “If instead of presenting the Protocols in parliament, they were put into effect, this unpleasant ‘new state of affairs’ wouldn’t have come about, and the process wouldn’t have been hindered,” writes Zaman, adding that the final point to this issue was that after the United States, Russia made a statement that the establishment of Armenia-Turkey relations shouldn’t be tied to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Source :http://www.tert.am/en/news/2010/01/22/amberini/

This is the second american state department official who is/has been involved with/in Armenia and has a turkish wife. The other being matt 'the c*ck' bryza.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Armenian-Turkish Relations

Turkey Warns Deal With Armenia Could Collapse
01 February 2010

LONDON — Efforts to reconcile Turkey and Armenia and open their common border could fail unless the process is carried out "properly," Turkey's foreign minister said Friday.

"If we are not convinced that the process is being carried out properly. There is no possibility to carry it forward," Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish journalists in London.

Davutoglu's warning is the strongest response yet from Turkey to an Armenian court ruling in January that has cast doubt over accords signed in October. The Constitutional Court reaffirmed the Armenian government's obligation to seek recognition of the World War I mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide — a term vehemently rejected by Turkey.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/a...se/398667.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenian-Turkish Relations

TURKEY SHOULDN'T NEGLECT AZERBAIJAN'S INTERESTS, US DIPLOMAT SAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.02.2010 11:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Chairman of
American Turkish Council's (ATC) Board of Directors, Richard Armitage
stated that Turkey should not neglect Azerbaijani interests in the
process of normalization of relations with Armenia.

Commenting on the ongoing Turkey-Armenia dialogue to VOA News,
Armitage said that the U.S. administration supports this initiative.

"I am not sure whether Turkish Parliament will ratify Zurich protocols
or not, but the initiative towards normalization of relations with
Armenia cannot be underestimated. On the other hand, Turkey should not
damage Azerbaijan's interests. I know that our Azerbaijani friends
get surprised at the speed of the process. Besides, they are not
being well informed on this issue. The ties with Azerbaijan should
be repaired," he said.

As to adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution in the
U.S. Congress, Armitage said, "Yes, I am concerned about that a
bit. The Armenian Diaspora is strong, especially in California. This
is a political reality in United States. I have worries about the
probability of revival of the genocide resolution. But I hope the
Armenian Diaspora will be farsighted and will show an appropriate
attitude, realizing how difficult the mission of Turkish government
is."

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic
destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during
and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to
lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths
reaching 1.5 million.

The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be
April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250
Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople.

Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes
and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of
food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria.

To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially recognized
the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars
and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also
recognized by influential media including The New York Times, BBC,
The Washington Post and The Associated Press.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.

The Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res. 106) was submitted to the
House of Representatives by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), on
January 30, 2007, during the 110th United States Congress. It was
a non-binding resolution calling upon the US President to ensure
that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States
record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. Upon
its introduction it was referred to United States House Committee
on Foreign Affairs where it passed a 27-21 vote and was sent back
for a full house vote. On October 26, 2007, in a letter addressed
to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, four key sponsors of the bill,
requested a debate on the bill in full House to be postponed.

In 2009, another congressional resolution affirming the U.S. record
on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.252) was been formally introduced
in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA),
George Radanovich (R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk
(R.-Ill). It currently has 134 co-sponsors.

[JohnCanadian]

I support the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia a good step forward

The rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia I support very much as this will be able to assist in the letting go of the past that has poisoned Turkish-Armenian relations for years.

With Turkey and Armenia establishing relations, this is a key area of Democracy which is to cooperate with neighboring partners and to establish a good framework in which Turkey and Armenia can work together collectively. Both countries can show tolerance and more understanding.

This is a step forward for reconciliation and the two countries working together in a responsible and mature way.

Turkey and Armenia should ratify this agreement as it would ensure stability and peace among neighboring countries and between Turkey and Armenia.

The European approach of tackling issues together is very important for Turkey and Armenia to embrace.

[londontsi]

Re: I support the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia a good step forward

The rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia I support very much as this will be able to assist in the letting go of the past that has poisoned Turkish-Armenian relations for years.

This protocol is NOT about letting go of the past.

Its all about having a civilized neighborly relations.
Indeed the Armenian nation should never forget the past.

[Mukuch]

Re: I support the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia a good step forward

The rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia I support very much as this will be able to assist in the letting go of the past that has poisoned Turkish-Armenian relations for years.

With Turkey and Armenia establishing relations, this is a key area of Democracy which is to cooperate with neighboring partners and to establish a good framework in which Turkey and Armenia can work together collectively. Both countries can show tolerance and more understanding.

This is a step forward for reconciliation and the two countries working together in a responsible and mature way.

Turkey and Armenia should ratify this agreement as it would ensure stability and peace among neighboring countries and between Turkey and Armenia.

The European approach of tackling issues together is very important for Turkey and Armenia to embrace.

Typical turkish point of view. Letting go the past? Why? Why we should let it go? The only ones who is interested in forgetting the past are turks. They want to forget their cannibal past. We will not forget. WE MUST NOT FORGET! Let the past to spit on face of turks every time mentioned! Than maybe turks will become humans and we will think about "tolerant and more understanding

[gegev]

The people who are 100% sure that they can fool Armenians on the AG issue, are chronic fools. Whether the under-developed is from a “developed” or other country. As a teacher I know that: most kids learn before talking, and just a few start their first steps with giving speeches.

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenian-Turkish Relations

TURKEY'S OPPOSITION PARTY PROPOSES WITHDRAWING OF NORMALIZATION PROTOCOLS WITH ARMENIA

People's Daily Online
March 23 2010
China

Turkey's leading opposition party on Monday brought forward a motion
that requests a parliamentary session on withdrawing the country's
normalization protocols with Armenia, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet
Daily News reported.

"There is no advantage but instead serious disadvantages of keeping
the protocols in the parliament," the newspaper cited the motion,
signed by key members of the main opposition Republican People's Party,
as saying.

The motion came after a U.S. congressional panel and the Swedish
parliament passed resolutions that recognize the killings of Armenians
at Ottoman hands during the World War I as genocide this month.

Holding the normalization protocols at the parliament created
pressure on Turkey, while the current situation would inevitably have
destructive consequences on relations between Turkey and European
Union countries, says the motion.

Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize relations last October
but they needed to be ratified by the two countries' parliaments
before taking effect. The U.S. government has urged Turkey to approve
the protocols as soon as possible.

Turkey and Armenia have been bogged down in a row over the deaths of
Armenians under Ottoman rule during the World War I. Armenians claim
that more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic
genocide then, but the Turkish government insists the Armenians were
victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the Ottoman
empire collapsed before modern Turkey was created in 1923.

[hipeter924]

Re: I support the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia a good step forward

Typical turkish point of view. Letting go the past? Why? Why we should let it go? The only ones who is interested in forgetting the past are turks. They want to forget their cannibal past. We will not forget. WE MUST NOT FORGET! Let the past to spit on face of turks every time mentioned! Than maybe turks will become humans and we will think about "tolerant and more understanding

I look forward to the day they stop the following sentence constructions:

Alleged 'Genocide'

"So-Called Genocide"

"False Armenian allegations"

Armenian 'Massacres'

"Armenian's, Greeks, and Assyrian's Genocided 3 million Turk's"

"Recognition of the Armenian Genocide undermines the Armenian-Turkish negotiations"

and list goes on....

[Federate]

Re: Armenian-Turkish Relations

Armenian Poll Shows Weak Popular Support For Turkey Ties


Only one in three Armenians supports Armenia’s fence-mending agreements with Turkey and the possible opening of the border between the two estranged nations, according to an opinion poll released on Monday.

The poll conducted by the Armenian Marketing Association (AMA) appears to be the most comprehensive survey yet of Armenian public opinion on the dramatic thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations. The non-governmental group interviewed some 2,500 randomly chosen residents across the country in late January and early February.

The survey, which the AMA says was not financed or commissioned by any other organization, found not only a lack of popular support for the Western-backed rapprochement but also a large number of Armenians undecided about its various aspects and implications.

“Many people are confused, they don’t know whom to believe,” the AMA chairman, Aram Navasardian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. He said the confusion stems from diametrically opposite assessments of the process made by the Armenian government and its political opponents.

According to the AMA, nearly 31 percent of respondents supported, to varying degrees, the increased diplomatic, civil-society and other contacts between Armenia and Turkey. Almost the same percentage of those polled fully or largely opposed such contacts, with the remaining 40 percent either undecided or having no definite opinion.

Accordingly, only 36.3 percent of respondents said the normalization protocols signed by Ankara and Yerevan last October are good for Armenia. Most of the others were either undecided or said the protocols favor only the Turkish side.

The AMA poll suggests that public opinion is almost evenly split on the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, which is envisaged by the protocols. It shows that only one-third of Armenians want to have an open border with Turkey while those who are firmly or mostly against make up just over 30 percent of the population.

Western governments and lending institutions say border opening would have a quick and highly positive impact on the Armenian economy. The Armenian government takes a similar view. The AMA said it is shared by only 41.2 percent of those polled, with another 36.3 percent being “neutral” on the subject or not knowing whether cross-border commerce with Turkey would bring their country economic benefits.

Navasardian stressed that AMA pollsters did not seek to identify reasons for the popular attitudes towards Armenia’s relations with Turkey and the controversial protocols in particular. He said that should be the subject of a separate study.

A similar but less detailed survey was conducted by the government-linked Armenian Sociological Association (ASA) in Yerevan last September, three weeks before the signing of the protocols. According to its findings, 52.4 percent of city residents were unhappy with the Turkish-Armenian deal and only 39 percent approved of it.

Armenian political groups opposed to the protocols primarily reject a clause envisaging the creation of a Turkish-Armenian historical “subcommission” that would presumably look into the 1915 massacres of Armenians by Ottoman forces. They say the Turks would exploit the very existence of such a body to prevent more countries from recognizing the massacres as genocide. The Armenian government denies this.

Some of the protocol critics, notably the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), also strongly object to Yerevan’s pledge to recognize the existing Turkish-Armenian frontier. They also say that its possible opening would cause Armenia more economic losses than benefits.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1997050.html