Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Despite the first signs of the change in Turkish and Armenian perspectives after the assassination of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, it is a big question how long the optimist climate is going to prevail.
The never ending discussions between Armenia and Turkey are recently reanimated once again in the last days. In his visit to Paris, Armenian president Rober Kocharyan rejected Turkey's offer to set up a joint panel of historians and experts to debate the issue, and suggested an intergovernmental commission while stating that Yerevan is ready to start the diplomatic relations with Turkey. In his view, it is the politicians who will start the diplomatic relations not the historians. Although he does not set any preconditions for the establishment of diplomatic ties, Kocharyan stresses on their expectation of Turkey’s acceptance of the Armenian claims. In his view, “Turkish foreign policy towards Armenia will be aggressive and threatening as long as Turkey does not apologize for what happened in 1915”.
The Turkish side of the coin is on the other hand quite different. Turkey has suspended her diplomatic relations with Armenia after the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh where Armenian and Azerbaijani forces fought from 1988 to 1994. The conflict resulted in Armenia winning control over Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani regions. In 2005, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe once again stated that the territory is under the Armenian occupation agreeing with the OSCE decision on this issue. Another crucial aspect is the Armenian Declaration of Independence in 1991 which was accepted as part of the Armenian constitution by the Armenian Parliament. In this declaration, Turkish territories are referred to as the Western Armenia.
Although Kocharyan’s suggestion to reestablish the diplomatic relations might be viewed as a positive attempt, one must also note that his statements do not consider the other side of the coin. This consequently calls for skepticism about his statements.
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On the other hand, Ara Sarafyan, the British historian with Armenian origin responded affirmatively to the suggestion from Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halaçoğlu, the head of the Turkish Historical Society, who was asking for a collaborative study about the “genocide” claims. Sarafyan wants to conduct the study in Harput town, where there was a significant Armenian population during the Ottoman Empire.
Halaçoğlu accepts Sarafyan’s suggestion and evaluates this as a “really significant event”.
The latest news in the last days is crucial when one takes Kocharyan’s claims and the thin line of objectivity between history and politics. Obviously, the future will show us to what extent and by whom-the politicians or the historians- the relations between two neighbors will be formed.
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Irem Guney (U.S.A.K.)
21 February 2007
Turks in Germany: Integration and Exclusion
