Lebanon Armenians Fire Turkish Flag and Insult Turkish PM
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 15 2005
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will visit Lebanon today.
Erdogan will attend the Arab Economy Summit in the capital Beirut.
The Turkish Prime Minister will make the opening speech at the
summit as an honorary guest. Leaders from 30 Arab countries will
also be attending the meetings. “Make democratic reforms,” is the
recommendation that Erdogan plans to make to the Arab World.
Before Erdogan’s visit the Armenian radical groups organized offensive
protest campaigns. The Tashnaks burnt Turkish flag and insulted
Turkish leader. One of the slogans of the Armenian militants was
“Animals are not Welcome”. About 1.500 Armenian militants accused
Turkey of committing genocide in 1915. Tashnak leaders are against
any rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. Dr. Nilgun Gulcan
from ISRI says “the diaspora is against peace and stability in the
Caucasus. The diaspora seeks to continue the problems between Turks
and Armenians”. According to Dr. Gulcan, the diaspora Armenian identity
is based on the 1915 legacy.
Dr. Sedat Laciner, expert on Caucasus studies, argued that the
diaspora’s and Armenia’s interests are contrary:
“The diaspora sabotage any rapprochement attempt between Turkey
and Armenia. The Lebanon Armenians are among the most radicals. The
Tashnaks in particular try to undermine dialogue efforts. The diaspora
try to make Turkey angry and aggressive. They say ‘animal’ to Turkish
leader, and then they accuse Turkey of not being constructive. The
diaspora politics is nourished by the problems. If the problems between
Turkey and Armenia are solved, the diaspora will lose its identity and
influence. They abuse the 1915 events for their own interests. They,
I mean, sacrifice Armenia for their own aims. If Turkey and Armenia
could solve the disputes on historical issues, both countries may
be good allies in the region. An economic and political integration
in the Caucasus is not a utopia. Turkey is the gate to the West for
Armenians. Armenia could not survive by just attacking the 100 million
Turks in the region”.
ERDOGAN TO RECOMMEND ARABS, ‘DEMOCRATIC REFORM’
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan turns his travels to the
Middle East following his five-day US visit last week. The reason for
choosing Lebanon as the host country is that it is known as one of the
“most powerful” countries of the region in terms of economics even
though it has long been associated with Syria, which has experienced
internal conflicts and has been under US-isolation for years. The Arab
Economy Summit is regarded as an important opportunity for Turkey to
send the messages regarding the region. On various occasions, Erdogan
earlier proposed democratic openings to leaders of the countries
with mostly Muslim populations. This time, he is expected to make
similar recommendations again during his Lebanon visit. According to
information received by Zaman from sources close to the Prime Minister,
he will ask the leaders of the Arab world to “Develop your democracy
in order to integrate with the international community and make the
necessary reforms as early as possible” both at the summit and during
his other contacts in Lebanon.
The Lebanese summit also seems important in terms of Turkey explaining
its own economic potential. Turkey, has so far had very limited
commercial contact with rich Arab countries and it is possible to
further penetrate into the region. With this in mind, Erdogan will
advise Arabs in general that foreign investors are welcome in Turkey
and no legal obstacles or objections are being raised anymore; and
in particular, he will suggest that the entrepreneurs of Turkey and
Lebanon look at the possibility of joint investments in different
countries.
Erdogan will first meet with his Lebanese counterpart, Najib Miqati.
Both leaders will exchange opinions on providing regional peace.
Turkish Prime Minister will highlight the importance of democracy in
the prevention of clashes in Lebanon flaring up. The Prime Minister
will later visit the grave of the former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in a suicide car bomb explosion
on February 14.