"POSITIONS OF TURKEY’S NEGATIONISM ARE SHATTERED," ASSURES EXPERT HAKOB CHAQRIAN
By G. Gevorgian

AZG Armenian Daily
06/10/2007

The Resolution on the Armenian Genocide (Res. 106) is submitted to
the Foreign Relations Department of the Representatives’ Chamber of
the US Congress and shall be voted on October 10.

"The international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is very
important, as it will strengthen our positions relative to Turkey in
our international affairs, which also implies consolidation of our
stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I think that the Chamber
of Representatives will pass the resolution, as well as the General
Assembly of the Chamber, but the Senate shall decline it again.

Anyway, there is also another notion: the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the Congress of the United States is one thing, and the
recognition, for example, by Bolivia, quite different. At present, the
USA is the only full-fledged superstate in the world, which manipulates
the international society. Therefore, in case of recognizing the
Genocide, the United States de facto undertake the responsibility of
amending its grave conseqneces," said yesterday during a discussion
in Yerevan Hakob Chaqrian, expert of Turkish affairs and analyst of
"Azg" daily.

The other invitee to the discussion, political science doctor and
expert of the Startegic Research Center Armen Ayvazian, in his turn
said that this year the chances of the resolution’s adoption at the
Representatives’ Chamber are higher than the previous year.

Hakob Chaqrian noted that by October 10 a large delegation of
the Turkish Parliament is to arrive in the USA, in order to lobby
against the Resolution 106, in spite of the fact that the previous
4 delegations had no success. "Positions of Turkey’s negationism
are shattered, he said, they don’t know what to do." "How can we
recognized it if we have denied it for 90 years," Chaqrian reminded
the words of a Turkish delegate to Europe.

Armen Ayvazian pointed out another circumstance. To his opinion, the
Armenians have perfunctory look on the problem of the recognition of
the Genocide. "We have to determine for ourselves, what do we want,
so that we can decide what to do next," he said. He noticed that the
text of the Congress’ Resolution on the Armenian Genocide has not
been even translated into Armenian yet.

In return Hakob Chaqrian augmented that an example of Armenians
perfunctory attitude to the Genocide are the deliberations and
tittle-tattles about Matthew Bryza’s marriage with Zeyno Baran. He
explained this situation by the weakness of the Armenian foreign
policy.

Armen Ayvazian pointed out 5 important moments which are to be
observed when speaking about the recognition of the Genocide by any
state. To his opinion, it is very important, what locations and what
time periods are mentioned in the texts of the resolutions, and how
the responsibilities and the consequences are phrased.

Mr. Ayvazian estimated the phrasings of the US Congress Resolution
106 as rather positive. "Be it approved by the Senate or no, it is
already a step forward," added Mr. Chaqrian.

Chaqrian also marked that the President of the United States is the
only head of a foreign state who addresses the public with an annual
speech dedicated to the Genocide. "Although he does not use the word
‘genocide’, the rest of the phrasings correspond to the terms of the
UN Convention on Genocide," he said.

The expert observes no immediate dependence between the adoption
of the Resolution 106 and the activity of the Armenian Diaspora
in America. "When the United States need to restrain Turkey, they
activate the ‘Hay Dat’ organization, when they need to reduce the
tension they activate the American Armenian Association. I don’t mean
that those Armenian organizations are fully under control of the US
Government, but in some cases they have no choice but abiding with
the state institutions. Therefore, the power of the Diaspora must
not be overestimated," concluded Mr. Hakob Chaqrian.