CONFERENCE FOR CAUCASIAN RECONCILIATION IN ANKARA

Azg/arm
29 March 05

Organizers’ Emphatic Affability Towards Armenians Featured it as
Armenian-Turkish

The reconciliation conference of Days of Caucasian Friendship was held
in Ankara on March 18-20. It was organized by the regional clubs of
Rotary International in association with UN representatives of
Rotarian clubs. Delegations from Yerevan, Gyumri, Baku and Tbilisi
clubs as well as Karpis Ter- Yeghiayan from US and Samson Ozararat
from France were invited to the conference.

In view of the facts that the presidents of Rotarian clubs of Yerevan
and Gyumri, Hovsep Seferian and Tigran Beglarian, not only made
reports but also took part in separate discussions being included in
first and second work groups, the Caucasian conference may be called
an Armenia-Turkish one without reserve.

The conference was well organized and aimed at highlighting host’s
attitude towards the Armenian participants. Armenian tunes
accompanying the opening ceremony speak well for the organizers’ mood.

Before we pass on to the work of the conference, let me note that it
was a good chance for members of Yerevan and Gyumri clubs to make
their way to ancient Armenian churches and historic sights of
Cappadocia via Kars-Igdir-Van-Tativan-Nevshehir-Kesaria.

The churches of Arakelots in Kars and Surb Khach of Aghtamar Island
were in poor condition. A tablet on Arakelots church informed,
“Domical mosque, built in 934-936, opened in 1998” and the ornaments
of Surb Khach were either distorted or completely wiped away, let
alone frescos and sanctuary. Karpis Ter-Yeghiayan’s offer to
reconstruct the Surb Khach church of Aghtamar and Ani Cathedral under
the aegis of UNESCO received positive response.

The delegations of Yerevan and Gyumri were warmly welcomed in every
village. Moreover, a group headed by Selahadin Gyonul, president of
Rotary club, arrived in Tativan from Diarbekir to meet them. The
welcome in Ankara was more than warm. It must be noted, though, that
the Turkish Rotarians are an economic power within the country and
have undeniable influence over Turkey’s political circles. This moment
adds to the importance of the conference and underlines its meaning
for future development of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Erhan Ciftcioglu, governor of regional Rotarian clubs, opened the
conference with a short but meaningful speech. He underscored the
importance of reaching progress with small paces, compared the
Caucasus with a “a girl from highlands” who has many admirers,
stressed that the world powers want to see Caucasus united and added:
“We certainly cannot settle centuries-long issues but we are able to
support in their solution. The importance of friendship in Caucasusis
so vital that it cannot be left over to politicians only”.

Ciftcioglu also urged the audience saying: “The purpose of the
conference is not limited to pointing to existing problems in the
Caucasus but to look for ways to overcome them”. The other speakers,
including president of Armenia-Turkish Business Union, Qaan Soyaq, and
Armenian participants followed his example thus creating an atmosphere
of amity in the hall.

Amidst all these, the president of Baku Rotarian club, Ali Musayev,
refused to present his written report that had been previously
introduced to the organizers and stated instead that he meets the
audience halfway. This stepshows that the organizers took measure that
nothing could overshadow friendly moods towards Armenians.

Reasonably, the audience should have appreciated not the content of
his speech but his readiness not to spoil the atmosphere. Conversely,
Seferian and Beglarian made a good impression with their reports. By
the end of the conference a declaration highlighting the importance of
dialogue in the Caucasus and peaceful coexistence in an atmosphere of
mutual trust and reconciliation was accepted. Erhan Ciftcioglu
presented it to the participants as a closing speech.

What’s the reason the reconciliation conference of Days of Caucasian
Friendship was held in Ankara? Qaan Soyaq, one of organizers of the
meeting, indirectly answers this question while evaluating its
result. His feedback was published in March 21 issue of Miliet. Soyaq
voiced an opinion that the situation in the Caucasus has backed
Armenian and Azeri businessmen against the wall and they began looking
for ways out annoyed with such situation. He pointed outthat it should
be an example for Ankara, and Turkey has to give up looking at Armenia
through the prism of Nagorno Karabakh issue.

Moreover, Soyaq posed a question, “Turkey keeps closed its border with
Armenia for 12 years now. What is the result? Did it help the Karabakh
settlement anyhow?” and answers, “No”. Miliet wrote that some
politicians in Ankara agree with Soyaq otherwise they would not have
said that Turkey needs an Armenian policy independent from Azerbaijan.

Qaan Soyaq’s evaluation and Miliet’s conclusions allow to suppose that
Turkey is facing the facts having exhausted its Armenian policy. It’s
turning into imperative for the latter. As far as Turkey needs to
leave its previous positions, the authorities will look for reasonable
preconditions to do that. They need first of all the pendulum of
public opinion swung in their favor. And just then the
non-governmental organizations are caught in the spotlight of the
state.

In other words, Turkey leaves the NGOs to reconsider its Armenian
policy in order to avoid confrontation in the political sphere. The
latter take the pass displaying civil initiative. So, the
reconciliation conference launched as a civil initiative, turning into
means to create preconditions for reviewing Turkey’s Armenian policy
and for forming suitable public opinion.

This civil initiative is undoubtedly to be welcomed if only the
organizers’ hospitality did not change into a demand for
Armenia. Everything has price in the end, especially hospitality.

By Hakob Chakrian in Ankara