Armenia braces for more protests
Thursday, September 17, 2009
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
YEREVAN - Hürriyet Daily News
Armenia is bracing for more protests on Friday against the normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan, as President Serge Sarkisian begins talks with Armenian party leaders on a landmark deal to establish diplomatic ties with Turkey.
Thousands of Armenians are expected to stage a demonstration in Yerevan on Friday to protest the recent diplomatic thaw with Turkey. The former Soviet republic’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, will lead the rally, organizers told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“Sarkisian, who came to power without the support of the Armenian people, is trying to win the international community’s approval by bargaining with Turkey. If Ter-Petrossian were in power, there would be no such deal on the table,” said Levon Zurabian, a spokesperson for Ter-Petrossian.
Turkey and Armenia agreed last month on steps to establish full diplomatic ties for the first time between the neighbors. The countries will hold six weeks of domestic debate over the protocols, drawn up under Swiss mediation, before they are submitted for ratification by their parliaments.
A first sign of rapprochement came in September last year, when Turkish President Abdullah Gül went to the Armenian capital to visit Sarkisian and watch a World Cup soccer qualifying match between the two countries. Sarkisian is expected to visit Turkey for a return match on Oct. 14. U.S. President Barack Obama visited Ankara in April and said he hoped efforts to normalize relations between the two would “bear fruit.”
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
Diaspora deeply anxious
Turkey is taking advantage of the weak political position of Sarkisian’s government, Zurabian said. “The recent steps toward normalization will harm bilateral relations between both nations,” he said. “The protocols are nothing but fake and they [Ankara and Yerevan] want us to believe there are no preconditions.”
Commenting on the reaction of the Armenian diaspora to the normalization talks, Zurabian said many Armenians abroad are deeply anxious about the protocols and disappointed with what he termed “the wrong steps taken by the Sarkisian government.” The Armenian parliament will ratify the protocols, predicted Zurabian, but the Turkish parliament won’t. “Besides, Ankara will not open the border with Armenia unless Yerevan takes steps toward solving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue,” he said.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict in 1994, which left about 30,000 people dead and displaced 1 million. The region’s unilateral independence is not recognized by the international community.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with ally Azerbaijan over Yerevan's backing of ethnic Armenian separatists in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Karabakh is an internal issue of the self-proclaimed republic, said Zurabian. “Let’s leave Karabakh to itself, and it will decide its own future.”
24 Eylül 2009 Perşembe
Right-wing Armenians stage hunger strike against talks
Right-wing Armenians stage hunger strike against talks
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
YEREVAN - Hürriyet Daily News
Supporters of a nationalist Armenian party start a hunger strike in Yerevan to protest the normalization talks between Turkey and Armenia, demanding the resignation of the foreign minister. If the necessary precautions are not taken, they will demand the resignation of President Sarkisian as the next step, says one of the organizers
A right-wing Armenian party has launched a sit-in and hunger strike in Yerevan in protest of the normalization talks between Turkey and Armenia as the government plans to launch political talks on establishing ties with Turkey after decades of hostility.
Nearly 50 members of the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun, protesting outside the foreign ministry on Tuesday said the protocols threatened Armenia’s national interests. They demanded the resignation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian due to his role in normalization talks.
Turkey and Armenia last month agreed on steps toward establishing full diplomatic ties – a first for the neighbors. The countries will hold six weeks of domestic debate over the accords, which were drawn up under Swiss mediation, before they are submitted for ratification by their parliaments.
Settling a century of animosity between the two sides would help foster stability in the southern Caucasus, through which Caspian oil flows to European markets. It may also boost Turkey's chances of achieving European Union membership and improve predominantly Muslim Turkey’s relationship with the United States, where Congress has considering labeling the 1915 killings of Armenians as “genocide.”
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
Turkey also closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with ally Azerbaijan over Yerevan's backing of ethnic Armenian separatists in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Committee offer
Chanting “No concessions to the Turks!” protesters said they would remain outside the ministry throughout the six weeks of consultations. Protesters said they were especially concerned that the deal calls for the creation of an intergovernmental commission to examine the two countries' historical grievances.
The normalization protocols contain grave threats to Armenia’s national interests, said Tatul Harutyunyan, one of the main organizers of the hunger strikes, adding: “A historian committee offer will certainly be the first pre-condition of the Turkish side. Nevertheless, we will not allow Turkey to make the genocide issue a debate topic.”
Turkey has long suggested that a committee of Turkish and Armenian historians re-examine the events of 1915 and could open ways for Turks and Armenians to come together by using archives in Turkey, Armenia and other countries. But Armenian leadership has rejected the overture, dismissing it as a political maneuver.
Demanding an apology
While giving implicit support to the normalization talks, Harutyunyan said Turkey should give up denying the “genocide” and issue an official apology. “We do want the resignation of Nalbandian because he is the one who has signed the agreements with Turkey. If the necessary precautions are not taken, we will demand the resignation of [Armenian President Serge] Sarkisian in the next step,” Harutyunyan told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Meanwhile, Sarkisian will meet with the leaders of Armenia's political parties on Thursday, his spokesman Samvel Farmanian said, as part of internal consultations agreed upon under a deal with Turkey.
“These consultations will be one of the important steps in the public discussion on normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations,” he said. “As the president has promised, these questions, which are of national importance, are becoming the subject of a wide public discussion.”
Nationalist Dashnaktsutyun left the coalition government in April to protest the normalization talks. Sarkisian’s Republican Party, or Hanrabedgan Gusagzsutyun, holds the majority in the parliament with 64 out of 131 seats. Harutyunyan predicted that the protocols would not be approved in the Armenian parliament. “Like the all Armenians across the country, the MPs of Hanrabedgan Gusagzsutyun are worried about our national interests.”
A nationalist Armenian girl holds a placard saying ‘No Concessions to the Turks,’ in a protest against the normalization talks.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
YEREVAN - Hürriyet Daily News
Supporters of a nationalist Armenian party start a hunger strike in Yerevan to protest the normalization talks between Turkey and Armenia, demanding the resignation of the foreign minister. If the necessary precautions are not taken, they will demand the resignation of President Sarkisian as the next step, says one of the organizers
A right-wing Armenian party has launched a sit-in and hunger strike in Yerevan in protest of the normalization talks between Turkey and Armenia as the government plans to launch political talks on establishing ties with Turkey after decades of hostility.
Nearly 50 members of the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun, protesting outside the foreign ministry on Tuesday said the protocols threatened Armenia’s national interests. They demanded the resignation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian due to his role in normalization talks.
Turkey and Armenia last month agreed on steps toward establishing full diplomatic ties – a first for the neighbors. The countries will hold six weeks of domestic debate over the accords, which were drawn up under Swiss mediation, before they are submitted for ratification by their parliaments.
Settling a century of animosity between the two sides would help foster stability in the southern Caucasus, through which Caspian oil flows to European markets. It may also boost Turkey's chances of achieving European Union membership and improve predominantly Muslim Turkey’s relationship with the United States, where Congress has considering labeling the 1915 killings of Armenians as “genocide.”
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this, saying that any deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
Turkey also closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with ally Azerbaijan over Yerevan's backing of ethnic Armenian separatists in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Committee offer
Chanting “No concessions to the Turks!” protesters said they would remain outside the ministry throughout the six weeks of consultations. Protesters said they were especially concerned that the deal calls for the creation of an intergovernmental commission to examine the two countries' historical grievances.
The normalization protocols contain grave threats to Armenia’s national interests, said Tatul Harutyunyan, one of the main organizers of the hunger strikes, adding: “A historian committee offer will certainly be the first pre-condition of the Turkish side. Nevertheless, we will not allow Turkey to make the genocide issue a debate topic.”
Turkey has long suggested that a committee of Turkish and Armenian historians re-examine the events of 1915 and could open ways for Turks and Armenians to come together by using archives in Turkey, Armenia and other countries. But Armenian leadership has rejected the overture, dismissing it as a political maneuver.
Demanding an apology
While giving implicit support to the normalization talks, Harutyunyan said Turkey should give up denying the “genocide” and issue an official apology. “We do want the resignation of Nalbandian because he is the one who has signed the agreements with Turkey. If the necessary precautions are not taken, we will demand the resignation of [Armenian President Serge] Sarkisian in the next step,” Harutyunyan told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Meanwhile, Sarkisian will meet with the leaders of Armenia's political parties on Thursday, his spokesman Samvel Farmanian said, as part of internal consultations agreed upon under a deal with Turkey.
“These consultations will be one of the important steps in the public discussion on normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations,” he said. “As the president has promised, these questions, which are of national importance, are becoming the subject of a wide public discussion.”
Nationalist Dashnaktsutyun left the coalition government in April to protest the normalization talks. Sarkisian’s Republican Party, or Hanrabedgan Gusagzsutyun, holds the majority in the parliament with 64 out of 131 seats. Harutyunyan predicted that the protocols would not be approved in the Armenian parliament. “Like the all Armenians across the country, the MPs of Hanrabedgan Gusagzsutyun are worried about our national interests.”
A nationalist Armenian girl holds a placard saying ‘No Concessions to the Turks,’ in a protest against the normalization talks.
3 Eylül 2009 Perşembe
Karabakh: Armenia enters dangerous course
-Karabakh: Armenia enters dangerous course
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The administration in Nagorno-Karabakh is monitoring the recent developments in the reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia. The text of the protocols that will be signed in six weeks to normalize relations has come under the scrutiny of the administration.
Kegham Bagdasharyan, a member of the local parliament, said Armenia entered a dangerous course by giving its consent to the protocols. “This is the prevailing sentiment in the political circles of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said answering the questions of Hürriyet Daily News and economic Review via e–mail.
Turkey has gained many advandages, according to Bagdasaryan, who argued that Armenia has accepted the preconditions of Turkey.
Bagdasharyan is not convinced by the fact that there is no mentioning to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem in the protocols. “Although there is no mention of the problem, we believe that the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh will be part of the talks,” he said, adding that there cannot be a solution to the problem by excluding the representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The administration in Nagorno-Karabakh is monitoring the recent developments in the reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia. The text of the protocols that will be signed in six weeks to normalize relations has come under the scrutiny of the administration.
Kegham Bagdasharyan, a member of the local parliament, said Armenia entered a dangerous course by giving its consent to the protocols. “This is the prevailing sentiment in the political circles of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said answering the questions of Hürriyet Daily News and economic Review via e–mail.
Turkey has gained many advandages, according to Bagdasaryan, who argued that Armenia has accepted the preconditions of Turkey.
Bagdasharyan is not convinced by the fact that there is no mentioning to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem in the protocols. “Although there is no mention of the problem, we believe that the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh will be part of the talks,” he said, adding that there cannot be a solution to the problem by excluding the representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh
2 Eylül 2009 Çarşamba
Mixed feelings in Armenia
Mixed feelings in Armenia
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Central Office Representative of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) David Shahnazarian said he does not believe that the protocols to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia will pass the Turkish Parliament.
One of the strongest voices of the opposition, Shahnazarian is also pessimistic over the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the near future. “Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan and it will not change its position on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic review in a telephone interview yesterday.
In contrast to Shahnazarian’s views, Stepan Grigoryan, a former diplomat, described the latest developments as “positive.” Commenting on the fact that consent over the protocols will be sought in both parliaments, Grigoryan said: “This is the right step to take. The public should be informed of the process.” He also shared his views on the establishment of a commission to investigate the deaths of Armenians in World War I. “The commission will take up many issues, not only the genocide issue,” Grigoryan said. “Archives will be opened and the commission’s work will bring the two nations closer. There have been similar experiences, historically.” Armenians believe the killings amounted to genocide, a claim refused by the Turkish side.
The editor in chief of daily Aravot newspaper criticized the idea of establishing a commission. Saying that the Armenian administration should make a clear statement on the issue to the public, Aram Abraham said the establishment of a commission would prevent efforts for the international recognition of genocide.
Alexandr İskandaryan, head of the Caucasus Institute, described the latest development as “historic.”
Tevan Poghosyan, Executive Director of the International Center for Human Development, called the latest news a step to be applauded, but said that it is important for Turkey not to step back. “If Turkey wants to be a power in its region, it should not shape its policies according to the views of Azerbaijan,” he said.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Central Office Representative of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) David Shahnazarian said he does not believe that the protocols to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia will pass the Turkish Parliament.
One of the strongest voices of the opposition, Shahnazarian is also pessimistic over the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the near future. “Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan and it will not change its position on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic review in a telephone interview yesterday.
In contrast to Shahnazarian’s views, Stepan Grigoryan, a former diplomat, described the latest developments as “positive.” Commenting on the fact that consent over the protocols will be sought in both parliaments, Grigoryan said: “This is the right step to take. The public should be informed of the process.” He also shared his views on the establishment of a commission to investigate the deaths of Armenians in World War I. “The commission will take up many issues, not only the genocide issue,” Grigoryan said. “Archives will be opened and the commission’s work will bring the two nations closer. There have been similar experiences, historically.” Armenians believe the killings amounted to genocide, a claim refused by the Turkish side.
The editor in chief of daily Aravot newspaper criticized the idea of establishing a commission. Saying that the Armenian administration should make a clear statement on the issue to the public, Aram Abraham said the establishment of a commission would prevent efforts for the international recognition of genocide.
Alexandr İskandaryan, head of the Caucasus Institute, described the latest development as “historic.”
Tevan Poghosyan, Executive Director of the International Center for Human Development, called the latest news a step to be applauded, but said that it is important for Turkey not to step back. “If Turkey wants to be a power in its region, it should not shape its policies according to the views of Azerbaijan,” he said.
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