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Oskanian Issues Statement On Armenia-Turkey Protocols Freeze

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  • Oskanian Issues Statement On Armenia-Turkey Protocols Freeze

    OSKANIAN ISSUES STATEMENT ON ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS FREEZE

    By Asbarez
    Apr 26th, 2010
    YEREVAN

    Through his Civilitas Foundation, former Armenian Foreign Minister
    Vartan Oskanian issued his perspective on the recent suspension of
    the Armenia-Turkey protocols. We present his statement below:

    It was clear from the beginning that a prolonged presentation of the
    desirable as real is not sustainable, and that the government would
    have to finally acknowledge reality.

    I am astonished by two things, however. First, the government is
    openly acknowledging that for one whole year they watched as Turkey
    placed preconditions before them, Turkey exploited the process for
    its own benefit, and they not only tolerated this, but continuously
    insisted that this is not happening and that this whole process is
    a big success and an unprecedented diplomatic victory.

    Second, if there were half a dozen possible exit strategies from
    this situation - from doing nothing to revoking Armenia's signature -
    the government has chosen the option least beneficial to us. Turkey
    no longer has an obligation to open the border before the Karabakh
    conflict is resolved which is what Turkey had wanted all along. The
    Armenian side did that which is most desirable for Turkey: neither
    ratified the protocols nor revoked them thus giving Turkey the
    opportunity to continue to remain actively engaged in the Karabakh
    process.

    For a whole year, the authorities rejected the problems in the
    Armenia-Turkey process and responded to all criticism by insisting
    that all is well. Today, in fact, we see that they did understand
    that things were not proceeding as desired, yet they prolonged the
    process for more than a year, hoping that it would be possible to
    avoid accepting the truthfulness of the criticism.

    Today, I want to invite attention to the fact that the same problems
    are inherent in the Karabakh process. In response to my criticism,
    they continue to insist that all is well, and there are no dangerous
    developments.

    But this is no time to gloat. Nor is this about stubbornly insisting
    on the absolute truthfulness of one's own position. The facts cannot
    be ignored. The negotiations are proceeding unfavorably. The situation
    must be corrected, even if that requires making clear policy changes.

    The government must boldly assess the situation, and acknowledge its
    seriousness so that we will not find ourselves in the same situation
    regarding Karabakh.

    But for that, there first must be acknowledgment and acceptance that
    there are in fact problems, there must be an attempt to identify their
    root causes, and no longer resort to the tradition of negating reality.

    I am also worried about another trend. For two years, various
    government representatives applauded the Armenia-Turkey process and
    ignored all the problems. They raised public expectations about a
    speedy normalization of relations and opening of the border. And
    when none of that happened for reasons that were obvious from the
    beginning, there is an opposite and equally extreme reaction. The
    same public relations machine is subsumed by anti-Turkish propaganda.

    Various government representatives have adopted extremist stereotypical
    positions. Incautious policies all-around have brought us to a
    dead-end in Armenia-Turkey relations and this new tendency can further
    deteriorate an already-delicate situation, and render impossible
    necessary future positive developments.
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