ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES
Haroutyun Gevorkyan
Hayots Ashkharh, Armenia
Dec 20 2007
By the initiative of the NA Committee on Foreign Relations, yesterday
the Parliament started the two-day hearings devoted to the theme
"Armenian-Turkish Relations: Problems and Perspectives"
ONLY IN FRIENDLY CONDITIONS
Foreign Minister VARDAN OSKANYAN introduced Armenia’s attitudes towards
the relationship with Turkey. "The difficulty of the Armenian-Turkish
relations is on the one hand conditioned with the burden of the past
and on the other hand – with the imperative of living in the same
region together, in conditions of peace, security and stability,
and establishing friendly relations. The challenge is to synthesize
the past with the present and future.
Armenia is sure that the problems of the past are possible to solve
only in conditions of establishing friendly relations between the
two countries, when the borders are open and there are diplomatic ties.
Turkey, on the contrary, wishes to establish diplomatic ties and open
the borders only after solving all the problems of the past the way
it desires. Armenia does not advance any preconditions, while Turkey
insists on preconditions: settling the Karabakh conflict or, at least,
returning the neighboring territories to Azerbaijan, recognizing the
borders of Turkey and waiving the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
All the three preconditions do not stand any criticism from the point
of view of international law.
TURKEY -A CLASSICAL EXAMPLE OF TOTALITARIANISM
NA Vice-Speaker VAHAN HIVHANNISYAN, member of the ARFD Bureau,
viewed the Armenian Turkish relations purely from the angle national
and political interests and stated that the situation has come to
a deadlock.
"A great number of regional and geopolitical obstacles are
being mentioned in terms of introducing final clarifications in
the Armenian-Turkish conflict. Whereas it is clear that no mutual
agreement can be reached between democracy and dictatorship. Armenia
is not a country of classical democracy, while Turkey is a classical
example of dictatorship and totalitarianism.
Even if Turkey waives the preconditions it has advanced, no dialogue
will be possible as long as Kemal Ataturk, Taleat Pasha, Enver,
Nazim and Jemal are considered to be heroes and not murderers.
Changing the Turkish society is the only way out. Armenia has no
problems in terms of searching new solutions, because it has already
said what it had to say.
V. Hovhannisyan also had doubts as to the fact there might be purely
positive expectations from a neighboring country which is a member
to the European Union. "That Turkey mustn’t be allowed to become an
EU member under any circumstances is a radical opinion. As to the
opinion that Turkey’s membership to the European Union is only for
the good of Armenia, this approach is radical too. The whole question
is how Turkey will join the European Union: whether it will change
or remain in the present-day status.
If the European Union is going to admit Turkey to its family, having no
other way out as a result of a political calculation, Turkey will no
longer have any reason to change. As a result, instead of Turkey’s
adopting the European value system, Europe will have to introduce
quite a new system of values. This will, after all, lead to the
collapse of the European Union.