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Time-For Optimism And Pessimism: Hurriyet

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  • Time-For Optimism And Pessimism: Hurriyet

    TIME-FOR OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM: HURRIYET

    news.am
    Armenia
    April 30 2010

    NEWS.am posts the article "April 24: A time for optimism and pessimism"
    by Barcin Yinanc published in Turkish Hurriyet daily.

    "When Turkey started the reconciliation process with Armenia it had
    two aims: to curb Armenia's 'genocide' recognition efforts and to
    find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in exchange for
    the normalization of relations and the opening of borders. Yet
    the Nagorno-Karabakh dimension got lost in the process. That was
    the critical mistake that made the process doomed to failure," the
    daily reports.

    "Turkey had to keep the Karabakh dimension in sight and get the
    Azerbaijanis at least indirectly involved. The statements of the ruling
    Justice and Development Party, or AKP, that Baku was informed at all
    stages never reflected the truth. The Ä°lham Aliyev administration
    not only insisted that it was kept in the dark but also emphasized
    that it needed to be consulted, not just informed," the source says.

    "Most probably, the current government took the &'two states, one
    nation' concept to mean &'Ankara decides, Baku follows. Since that
    concept was not perceived as such by Baku, the AKP government has
    hit the wall. That's why Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rushed
    to Azerbaijan and made his famous statement that the normalization
    protocols signed with Armenia will not pass Parliament prior to
    a solution on Karabakh. I believe that by doing so, he delivered a
    fatal blow to the reconciliation process, and it was at this time
    that the process got stuck,'" the daily informs.

    "The Armenians, however, have proved better at mismanaging the
    process. Actually, one should not be that surprised-after all, we are
    the children of the same land. The Armenian Constitutional court's
    decision offered the alibi the AKP was looking for on a golden plate.

    Turkey did not miss a minute to use the court's decision to hide its
    unwillingness to pass the protocols through Parliament. Armenians
    made an even bigger mistake by suspending the ratification process,
    just ahead of the annual statement by U.S. President on April 24. If
    Yerevan thought it could exert pressure on President Barack Obama
    to use the &'g' word, it probably saw one more time that strategic
    interests outweighed moral values. Not only the &'g' word was not used,
    the suspension of the ratification process by Armenia has let Turkey
    off the hook," the source reads.

    "The government tried to negotiate a deal with Armenia, trying to
    convince them to establish a commission of experts that will inquire
    the past. But Turkey's real counterpart for the past tragic events are
    the Anatolian Armenians, some who live in Turkey and others dispersed
    all over the world. If we want to face our past and reconcile with our
    mistakes, we need to first start from the Turkish Armenian community.

    The whole discussion is taking place in the absence of Turkish
    Armenians. We need to immediately take measures to improve their
    rights and respond to whatever needs they have; be it the restoration
    of their churches or the solving of the problems of their foundations.

    We should start to communicate with the Armenian diaspora as well,"
    the daily says.

    "By doing so, we should reiterate the fact that Turkey has closed
    its borders with Armenia not because of its efforts to make genocide
    claims recognized internationally but because of its occupation of
    Nagorno-Karabakh. And that while an internal process of reconciliation
    with the past will speed up in Turkey, genocide claims will be less
    of an important issue, while Karabakh will continue to be the main
    obstacles in relations with Armenia," the daily emphasizes.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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