V.OSKANIAN: GUL’S INSISTENCE THAT ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER IS ESSENTIALLY OPEN IS DISINGENUOUS

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 6 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. "We remain amazed that a letter
sent by President Kocharian to Prime Minister Erdogan in April 2005
remains ignored, simply because the Turkish authorities did not like
the response contained therein, and do not wish to broaden the scope
of discussion beyond history." Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan
Oskanian said about it, commenting upon Turkish Foreign Minister
A.Gul’s interview to Radio Liberty. Noyan Tapan was informed about
it by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department.

In Foreign Minister’s words, President Kocharian clearly said to Prime
Minister Erdogan that the "suggestion to address the past cannot be
effective if it deflects from addressing the present and the future. In
order to engage in a useful dialog, we need to create the appropriate
and conducive political environment. It is the responsibility of
governments to develop bilateral relations and we do not have the
right to delegate that responsibility to historians.

That is why we have proposed and propose again that, without
pre-conditions, we establish normal relations between our two
countries."

In that context, President Kocharian said, "an intergovernmental
commission can meet to discuss any and all outstanding issues between
our two nations, with the aim of resolving them and coming to an
understanding."

Foreign Minister Gul’s recent comments to Radio Liberty, insisting
that the existence of flights between Armenia and Turkey, and of
Armenian citizens in Turkey, is evidence that "the borders are
essentially open," in V.Oskanian’s opinion, is disingenuous. First,
the number of Armenians from Armenia living and working in Turkey
do not approach the numbers he claims. Second, open borders assumes
direct contacts between peoples, unobstructed relations across the
border and a functioning transport infrastructure."

"We stand by our response which we consider to be a positive one and
we wonder whether the Turkish insistence on a historical commission
is genuine," V.Oskanian said. In his words, "after all, we have in
fact agreed to discussions on all issues, in the context of open
borders. Further, so long as Article 301 which criminalizes mere
discussion of the genocide topic remains on the books in Turkey, an
invitation to open dialogue cannot be taken seriously. Finally, outside
Turkey, scholars – Armenians, Turks and others – have studied these
issues and have reached their own independent conclusions. The most
notable among these is the May 2006 letter to Prime Minister Erdogan
by the International Associationn of Genocide Scholars wherein they
collectively and unanimously affirmed the fact of the Genocide and
called on the Turkish government to acknowledge the responsibility
of a previous government."

"In light of these complex realities, we can only repeat our readiness
to enter into dialogue and normal relations with our neighbor,"
the RA Foreign Minister stated.