WILL ANKARA’S ARMENIAN INITIATIVE WORK?
By Lale Sariibrahimoglu

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 26 2007

Yet another April 24 was commemorated by many countries as the day to
mourn for the Armenians believed to have been subjected to a so-called
genocide during World War I at the hands of Ottoman Turks.

Ankara, denying the event was genocide, does accept that there were
killings of Armenians that took place under Ottoman Turkish rule
between 1915 and 1918. Ankara however refutes the characterization of
the events as genocide and says that the deaths were not the result
of a deliberate campaign, but rather took place during the relocation
of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

However since around 18 countries worldwide, as well as the majority
of US states, recognize the World War I incidents as genocide,
Ankara has long faced a difficult task in proving the opposite. This
is mainly because it had not launched any tangible initiative,
until 2005 when the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
offered the establishment of a joint committee of Turkish and Armenian
historians, who would investigate whether the World War I events were
indeed genocide.

Under strong pressure, mainly from the hard-line Armenian diaspora,
Yerevan has so far refrained from accepting the Turkish offer, which
also contained a pledge to open all the Turkish archives without
any limitations.

Ankara has long been complaining about the failure of the powerful
nations of the world, such as the US, Britain and Russia, to
convince and encourage Yerevan to agree to the Turkish offer for
the establishment of the joint historians committee. Many Turkish
diplomats believe that Yerevan cannot single-handedly take a step to
agree on meeting with Turkish historians and that powerful nations
should therefore play a role in bringing Yerevan to the table to
discuss the matter.

In an attempt to renew its joint committee idea, Ankara launched
a campaign on the same day of the commemoration of the so-called
Armenian genocide, April 24. Selecting five influential US dailies,
including the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Ankara called on
Armenia, in a full page advert, to join the committee in an attempt
to shed light on what happened in 1915.

The advert states that third parties can participate in the committee’s
work, while guaranteeing that Turkey will open all its archives without
any restrictions. Turkey is ready to face its past, said the same ad,
calling on Armenia to do same.

Such an initiative, as far as I know, comes 88 years after the British
High Commissioner based in Ýstanbul, acting on an Ottoman Turkish
request, invited some countries to participate in a commission to
investigate the alleged Armenian genocide. This request, turned down
by Britain the same year, was proof of reluctance on the part of some
European countries to investigate the matter, writes Turkey’s veteran
diplomat Gursel Demirok in his latest book "Turks in Europe from the
Viewpoint of a Consul General."

But between 1919 and 2005 we have to admit that Turkey did not do much
at all to have its case heard through the examination of its archives.

Still Ankara’s latest initiatives should not be underestimated, though
coming quite late, and should be heard and responded to positively
by Armenia as well as by other nations with influence on Yerevan.

One of those countries is of course the US, where there has been an
influential Armenian lobby in the US Congress in particular, which
could influence Armenia in agreeing to the Turkish offer.

This offer also proves Turkey’s sincerity in shedding light on the
events of 1915. Perhaps for the first time in its history, Turkey
has been displaying its readiness to face the claims and unearth the
realities, if possible.

Thus publishing the advert directly taking on Armenia as an
interlocutor, Ankara has been doing the right thing. But this
initiative can only bear fruit if the powerful nations of the world,
in particular the US, take genuine steps to convince Armenia to agree
to the Turkish offer of the joint historians committee.

The convening of the committee can also be expected to mark the
beginning of establishing confidence between the two neighbors,
helping interaction between the peoples of both countries, while
contributing to the reduction of historic enmity.

–Boundary_(ID_y0Fw2PGYK8ymvhaJrNkVDA)–