PanARMENIAN.Net

Ankara tries to convince international community of
good attitude to Armenia

Turkey opens a church but outlaws praying in it.
Turkey speaks of tragedy of 1915 but stubbornly denies
the term `genocide.’
30.03.2007 GMT+04:00

The inauguration of the St. Cross Church, forethought by the Turkish
government as counterbalance to the Armenian lobby throughout the
globe, has taken place. Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan of
Constantinople attended the inauguration ceremony although
representatives of the Echmiadzin and Cilician Catholicosates did not
arrive.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Patriarch could nothing but attend the
inauguration, since his absence might have negative consequences for
the Armenian community of Istanbul. According to the Turkish
Constitution, an Armenian Patriarch is merely an official and any step
against Turkey may harm the 70-thousand Armenian community of
Istanbul.

Ankara failed to reach its goal to make the inauguration a universal
event. Neither the Turkish Prime Minister nor the Minister of Foreign
Affairs appeared at the ceremony. Furthermore, representatives of the
Armenian Diaspora refused to arrive. However that may be, Turkey is
doing its utmost to convince the international community of its good
attitude to Armenia. The latest example is the condolences expressed
on the death of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. Turkish
Ambassador to Georgia attended the funeral; Turkish MFA officials made
notes in the mourning book in the Armenian Embassies. Thus, we can say
that Turkey gave a lesson to Azerbaijan on the conduct accepted in the
civilized world. Turks’ attitude towards Armenian is scarcely better
than Azeris’ but sometimes one should observe the rules accepted in
diplomacy. Unfortunately, Baku has not mastered them yet.

Turkey proceeds with the policy launched in mid 1990-ies. Despite the
sad experience of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Committee,
Turkey still calls on Armenia to form a joint commission of
historians, now with participation of a third party. `I propose to
form this commission with participation of a third party, including
the United States, to cast light on this tragedy and pave ways for
joint work,’ Turkish FM Abdullah Gul writes in the articles titled
`Politicization of the Armenian tragedy’ published in The Washington
Times.

According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, such a commission may
promote normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. However, what
Turkey says is not that what it does. Turkey opens a church but
outlaws praying in it. Turkey speaks of tragedy of 1915 but stubbornly
denies the term `genocide.’ Moreover, it speaks of `Muslims and Turks
who died during the World War I’, not to mention spelling Akdamar
instead of Akhtamar. The Armenian MFA says it did want to describe the
opening of the St. Cross Church as a real move towards reconciliation
of the Armenian and Turkish peoples. `However it’s extremely hard to
do this if the Turkish government doesn’t recognize the true value of
civilization and the people, who built this monument. Armenia thinks
that lifting of the blockade imposed in 1993 may facilitate real
progress in the Armenian-Turkish relations,’ the RA MFA statement
says. «PanARMENIAN.Net» analytical department