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ANKARA: A historic step on the Armenian issue

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  • ANKARA: A historic step on the Armenian issue

    Daily Sabah, Turkey
    April 25 2014

    A HISTORIC STEP ON THE ARMENIAN ISSUE

    Tulu Gümüştekin 26 April 2014, Saturday


    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a declaration on the
    occasion of April 24, a day generally accepted as a day of mourning
    for the Armenian victims of deportations and massacres that took place
    during World War I. For the first time in the history of the country's
    official declarations, a very humane, understanding and sympathetic
    tone was adopted.

    The prime minister conveyed his sincere condolences to the descendants
    of those Ottoman Armenians who were killed.

    The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul responded with a heart-warming
    message, accepting the condolences with compassion.

    It was almost the only fully favorable reaction to the revolutionary
    change instigated by the prime minister's declaration.

    All of Turkey's traditional allies, the U.S. and France to start with,
    were taken aback by this momentous announcement by Prime Minister
    Erdoğan. In an attempt to heal a centennial wound, he adopted a
    strategy of empathy. Instead of using the perennial diplomatic style
    that characterized the Turkish stance on the matter and usually starts
    with "We regret the losses but..." Erdoğan offered to share in the
    sadness of this terrible event with the descendants of the victims.

    Nobody thought the prime minister was still capable of performing such
    a tour de force because a deep and organized propaganda
    campaign has been waged against him for more than a year, depicting
    him as a backward autocrat losing more and more popular support.

    The recent elections have shown that his popular support is still very
    much alive.

    That was the first nasty surprise for his detractors.

    This second blow totally devastated the image portrayed by his critics
    in the international media.

    Reconciliation with the Armenian diaspora is another story altogether.
    A very long road toward accepting the facts has to be taken on both
    sides. This will not be an easy or rewarding endeavor but it has to be
    done. It has begun from the correct spot, the correct viewpoint:
    empathy, understanding and acceptance instead of denial and
    justification of what remains 100 years later.

    The first steps should be taken in order to wipe away the fears and
    anxiety of the Armenian minority in Turkey that, despite having
    constitutional rights since 1923, legitimately feels rejected and
    ostracized, especially after the murder of journalist Hrant Dink. The
    prime minister's olive branch has been largely welcomed among Turkish
    Armenians, whose minority rights have never been better than under AK
    Party rule.

    The second step should be the normalization of relations with the
    Republic of Armenia, whose economy is in shambles and prospects for
    development nil. That would also require a lot of support on the part
    of Turkey's allies, including the U.S., to normalize the situation in
    the Caucasus.

    Once these steps are taken, a reconciliation deal with the Armenian
    diaspora might surface or at least an atmosphere of trust can be
    initially established. Long endeavors always start with a first step,
    and the prime minister has already taken the first step. The rest is
    perseverance and its responsibility falls on everyone's shoulders.

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