U.S. PRESSING FOR TURKISH-ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 7 2007

The United States is pressing Turkey to use a rare opportunity
to normalize relations with Armenia that arose after the shock
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a senior
U.S. official indicated on Wednesday.

"The issue of trying to use the tragedy of Hrant Dink’s murder to
improve relations with Armenia is a major focus of our relationship
with Turkey right now," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew
Bryza told RFE/RL.

Bryza said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met
her Turkish counterpart in Washington on Tuesday, is personally
"encouraging" a Turkish-Armenian "reconciliation process" that would
address the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire. He said the issue will also be high on the agenda of his
visit to Turkey that begins on Thursday.

Official Yerevan appears to be pessimistic about the success of those
efforts, however. In an article published by "The Los Angeles Times" on
Wednesday, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian complained that Ankara is
refusing drop its preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations
with Yerevan and opening the Turkish-Armenian border.

"Ankara has let a rare moment pass," Oskanian wrote. "Three weeks after
the assassination of acclaimed Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
it appears the Turkish authorities have grasped neither the message
of Hrant’s life nor the significance of his death."

"We all hoped that the gravity of this slaying and the breadth of the
reaction would have compelled Turkey’s leaders to seize the moment and
make a radical shift in the policies that sustain today’s dead-end
situation," continued Oskanian. "However, after those initial hints
at conciliation, the message out of Ankara has already changed.

"Last week, according to the Turkish media, Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said there can be no rapprochement with Armenians
because Armenians still insist on talking about the genocide."

Dink’s January 19 shooting, widely attributed to his outspoken views
on the Armenian tragedy, was universally condemned in and outside
Turkey. Tens of thousands of Turks took to the streets of Istanbul
for the funeral procession for the slain editor of the bilingual
"Agos" weekly, one of the biggest public events in the country’s
recent history. The massive outpouring of grief and anger led many
Turkish commentators to urge a softening of the long-standing Turkish
policy towards Armenia.

However, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul made it clear late last month
that his government will not reconsider that policy unless Armenia and
its worldwide Diaspora stop campaigning for international recognition
of the Armenian genocide. A high-ranking Turkish Foreign Ministry
official reportedly reaffirmed this line at a meeting with Oskanian’s
deputy Arman Kirakosian, who flew Istanbul to attend Dink’s funeral.

Still, Bryza insisted that the opportunity to improve Turkish-Armenian
ties in the wake of Dink’s murder "most definitely is not lost." "We
want a real discussion so no one can deny what happened [in Ottoman
Turkey,] while at the same time improving bilateral relations between
Armenia and Turkey," he said in a phone interview. "All of that should
happen without preconditions by anybody."

Ankara specifically wants Yerevan to accept Erdogan’s calls for the
creation of a Turkish-Armenian commission of historians that would
look into the tragic events of 1915-1918. Armenian leaders regard the
idea as a Turkish ploy designed to scuttle the increasingly successful
genocide recognition campaign.

Oskanian asserted in his article that genocide recognition is "no
longer a historical issue in Turkey, it’s a political one." "The
[Turkish] prime minister is right," he said. "Armenians do insist
on talking about the genocide. It’s a history-changing event that
ought not, indeed cannot, be forgotten. However, we also advocate a
rapprochement. And one is not a precondition for the other."

"If Turkey can’t seize the moment, it should not be surprised when
others do," he added, referring to a U.S. congressional resolution that
recognizes the slaughter of more than one million Ottoman Armenians
as genocide.

The draft resolution, co-sponsored by more than 140 legislators,
was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week. It
calls on President George W. Bush to "accurately characterize the
systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as
genocide." Bush has declined to use the politically sensitive term
in his annual messages to the influential Armenian-American community.

Bryza stressed that this should not be construed as a policy of
genocide denial. "We do not deny the mass killings and forced exile
of up to 1.5 million Armenians," he said. "There is no denial of
that. All we say is that how we refer to those horrible events should
be determined not by a political decision, but by very thoughtful
people who have a candid and maybe painful exploration of their
shared past."

"We can’t block it," Bryza said, referring to the genocide
resolution. "All we can do is to have a discussion with the
congressional leadership and explain our position. We are going to
do everything we can to make our case."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress