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  • ANKARA: What happens if Syrian Armenians are settled in NK

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    Aug 12 2012


    What happens if Syrian Armenians are settled in Nagorno-Karabakh?

    by Mehmet Fatih ÖZTARSU*
    12 August 2012 / ,

    The growing violence in Syria is strongly affecting the ethnic and
    religious elements in the country. This tension and upheaval raise
    concerns and worries among the Armenians in the country as well; for
    this reason, a portion of the Armenian population is seeking refuge in
    Armenia.


    The Armenian Ministry for the Diaspora has announced that there has
    been a visible increase in the number of Syrian Armenians filing an
    application for Armenian citizenship in 2012 and that so far, 4,000
    applications for citizenship have been received. The current state of
    affairs in the city of Aleppo, historically a center of Armenian
    immigration, is one of the major concerns held by the Armenian
    authorities right now. It should also be noted that some Armenian
    groups have acted in favor of Bashar al-Assad's regime so far. This is
    a huge handicap because the initial signs of the problems that will be
    exacerbated in the post-Assad era have become visible in the ongoing
    clashes where the Armenian people are subjected to violence by the
    opposition groups.

    Currently, the Armenian government is taking proper measures to
    facilitate the visa process for Syrian and Lebanese Armenians, to
    create proper infrastructure of education for the Armenians coming
    from foreign countries, to appoint teachers who would give lectures on
    Western Armenian to the newcomers and to ensure that flights become
    less expensive. Armenian authorities also note that the state is ready
    to deal with the problems of Syrian Armenians, including the
    acquisition of citizenship status and their settlement in the country.

    Sergey Minasyan from the Caucasian Institute in Yerevan notes that the
    post-Assad Syria will not serve Armenian interests, also adding that
    Syrian Armenians could be settled in Nagorno-Karabakh. Arguing that
    this would contribute to the economic development of the region,
    Minasyan wanted to stress other points. There are reasons for ignoring
    the problems that previously settled Armenians in the region
    encountered, including social adaptation and unemployment this time.

    First, it is extremely important to promote the flow of capital held
    by Armenians through recognition of the Syrian Armenians as proper
    citizens. In addition, there will emerge chances for the diaspora to
    extend help to these people; therefore, this will promote and improve
    the image of the diaspora. Funds have already been created for this
    purpose. For this reason, settlement of Syrian Armenians in
    Nagorno-Karabakh is a reasonable option for Yerevan.

    Second, the new political concept developed to improve ties between
    Armenia and the diaspora seeks to develop the relations and to
    preserve unity between Armenia, the diaspora and Nagorno-Karabakh
    despite all disagreements. To this end, the settlement of the Syrian
    Armenians in the region seems to be a great opportunity for Yerevan to
    achieve this goal. This has already been set at the Panarmenian
    Congress, convened to secure unity and integrity. Bold steps have been
    taken in recent years to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh with the world and
    to promote development in the region. Bako Shakyan, the leader of the
    so-called Nagorno-Karabakh administration, has met with
    representatives of the Iranian Armenian Society in the US, the
    Argentinean Armenian society members, the representatives of Dashnak
    Party on the American continent and some Armenian businessmen in
    Europe on political and economic matters concerning the region. The
    talks were fruitful; extensive investments have been made in
    Nagorno-Karabakh in such fields as mining and energy. Slovakia and the
    Czech Republic started construction of a huge hydroelectric plant in
    Nagorno-Karabakh. The opposition parties in Armenia including the
    Dashnak Party, as well as ruling parties, are eager to ensure that
    Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as an independent state and that
    Azerbaijan is presented as an aggressor. To this end, the Armenian
    authorities used as propaganda the blacklisting by Azerbaijan of
    deputies and academics from various countries visiting
    Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Third, there is eagerness to change the demographic outlook of
    Nagorno-Karabakh. In other words, by this change, Armenia seeks to
    acquire a stronger position in the probable future peace talks. From
    another perspective, however, this will be an attempt that will keep
    the issue unresolved. Even though some actors do not recognize the
    existence of two separate Armenian states and advocate the annexation
    of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia -- and there are some disagreements
    between the politicians in Yerevan and in Karabakh -- this matter
    needs to be considered in the long run. If it becomes successful in
    this, Yerevan will have secured strong solidarity between Armenians,
    and in that case, it can gain a stronger position in the
    Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Some experts hold that even though it seems
    unlikely, Armenia's interest in this issue alone should be considered
    important.

    ARABASLIK A new political move: Comparing Nagorno-Karabakh with Cyprus

    The Armenian authorities who are leading the way in the Karabakh issue
    note that they take Turkey as an example, arguing that economic
    development is much more important than military power. Armenia, which
    frequently stresses that it has liberated the Nagorno-Karabakh
    territories, also argues that Turkey needs to worry about the Cyprus
    issue rather than the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Shavars Kocharyan, the
    deputy foreign minister of Armenia, who reacted to Turkey's criticism
    of the recently held elections in Karabakh also called on Turkey to
    stop teaching a lesson to Armenia. In fact, this approach is not new
    and will not be the last time because all Armenian politicians and
    experts use the Cyprus card against Turkey when it comes to the
    Nagorno-Karabakh issue. This is similar to the situation where Turkey
    was silenced due to its approaches vis-à-vis the regional conflicts.
    In international venues where Turkey was accused of committing
    genocide against Armenians, Turkey attempted to raise the issue of
    massacres in the Balkans. However, in each attempt, the Turkish
    authorities had to stop because of strong accusations. Our politicians
    and experts who experienced this frequently are displeased with this
    situation. Therefore, Turkey, instead of reiterating its conventional
    statements by which it declared it did not recognize the elections
    that it did not officially recognize, should be able to take alternate
    political, economic and cultural moves. This is possible through
    closer attention to regional developments and reshaping foreign
    policy. Otherwise, a Turkey that becomes hand-tied vis-à-vis diverse
    issues will have to deal with the risk of inability to promote its
    just causes in the eyes of the international community.



    *Mehmet Fatih Öztarsu is a strategic outlook analyst based in Armenia.

    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-289339-what-happens-if-syrian-armenians-are-settled-in-nagorno-karabakh-by-mehmet-fatih-oztarsu*.html

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