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WHAT IS TURKEY'S 2015 STRATEGY? - TODAY'S ZAMAN
February 03, 2014 | 00:01
Armenian News-NEWS.am presents below an abridged version of Turkish
analyst Orhan Kemal Cengiz's article published in Today's Zaman daily
of Turkey.
"Upon putting some pieces together, we can get a picture of the
likely strategy that will be used and steps that will be taken by
Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government for 2015, which marks
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
"Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Switzerland in October
and during his visit he spoke to Swiss authorities about Turkey's
sensitivities regarding a statue Armenians want to erect in Geneva. We
can understand from this 'sensitivity' that the Foreign Ministry's
official position on 1915 has not changed even an inch.
"We should also take note of what Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc,
spokesperson for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said
about 2015: 'It is the 100th year of both the Dardanelles and the
claims of an Armenian genocide. We are working seriously. There is
work being done via symposiums, conferences, panels, publications
and documentaries. But we are also engaged in very special public
diplomacy activities that could affect the entire world.'
"His statement also shows that the government is quite determined to
repeat well-known cliches of official state policies on this matter.
"You know our political parties cannot come together to reach an
agreement on anything, but it appears that, except for the pro-Kurdish
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), they all were in agreement on the
necessity to do something for 2015.
"The Turkish History Institution (Turk Tarih Kurumu) is also making
preparations for 2015. The president of the institution said they are
working on a complete text of Turkey-Armenian relations in preparation
for 2015.
"In addition to all of this, you can clearly see in Erdoğan's
discourse that not only was the possibility of reconciliation
altogether excluded, but non-Muslims were excluded from his discourse
as well. He frequently describes Turkey as a mosaic made of diverse
ethnic identities. You can often hear him mentioning Arabs, Kurds,
Turks, Circassians and the Laz. But when describing this mosaic,
Erdoğan never mentions Turkey's non-Muslims, including the Armenians,
Greeks, Jews and Syriacs.
"When we put together all these pieces of preparation and discourse
from the government and Erdoğan, we can predict that Turkey's defensive
approach of denying the Armenian genocide is not going to change
in 2015.
"Unless the government takes unlikely, unprecedented and bolder steps
on the Armenian question in an attempt to repair its harmed image
in the international arena, it would not be wise to expect dramatic
changes in the official stance of Turkey with regard to 1915."
http://news.am/eng/news/192035.html
February 03, 2014 | 00:01
Armenian News-NEWS.am presents below an abridged version of Turkish
analyst Orhan Kemal Cengiz's article published in Today's Zaman daily
of Turkey.
"Upon putting some pieces together, we can get a picture of the
likely strategy that will be used and steps that will be taken by
Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government for 2015, which marks
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
"Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Switzerland in October
and during his visit he spoke to Swiss authorities about Turkey's
sensitivities regarding a statue Armenians want to erect in Geneva. We
can understand from this 'sensitivity' that the Foreign Ministry's
official position on 1915 has not changed even an inch.
"We should also take note of what Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc,
spokesperson for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said
about 2015: 'It is the 100th year of both the Dardanelles and the
claims of an Armenian genocide. We are working seriously. There is
work being done via symposiums, conferences, panels, publications
and documentaries. But we are also engaged in very special public
diplomacy activities that could affect the entire world.'
"His statement also shows that the government is quite determined to
repeat well-known cliches of official state policies on this matter.
"You know our political parties cannot come together to reach an
agreement on anything, but it appears that, except for the pro-Kurdish
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), they all were in agreement on the
necessity to do something for 2015.
"The Turkish History Institution (Turk Tarih Kurumu) is also making
preparations for 2015. The president of the institution said they are
working on a complete text of Turkey-Armenian relations in preparation
for 2015.
"In addition to all of this, you can clearly see in Erdoğan's
discourse that not only was the possibility of reconciliation
altogether excluded, but non-Muslims were excluded from his discourse
as well. He frequently describes Turkey as a mosaic made of diverse
ethnic identities. You can often hear him mentioning Arabs, Kurds,
Turks, Circassians and the Laz. But when describing this mosaic,
Erdoğan never mentions Turkey's non-Muslims, including the Armenians,
Greeks, Jews and Syriacs.
"When we put together all these pieces of preparation and discourse
from the government and Erdoğan, we can predict that Turkey's defensive
approach of denying the Armenian genocide is not going to change
in 2015.
"Unless the government takes unlikely, unprecedented and bolder steps
on the Armenian question in an attempt to repair its harmed image
in the international arena, it would not be wise to expect dramatic
changes in the official stance of Turkey with regard to 1915."
http://news.am/eng/news/192035.html