WHAT ARE TURKISH AUTHORITIES AFRAID OF?

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[01:41 pm] 20 December, 2007

"Turkey is the neighbor, which continues keeping Armenian-Turkish
frontier closed. It is the inheritor of the country that committed
the genocide and denies that historical fact", said Hayk Demoyan,
the director of the Armenian Genocide Musuem-Institute.

Reflecting on preconditions from the Turkish part which are becoming
harsher, Demoyan said to the participants of the hearing at the NA:
"Don’t you think that it is high time to call the preconditions
ultimatums? They are not preconditions, they are ultimatums".

He finds the Turkish policy natural and underlines: "One presents
ultimatums to a country in war, while the Turkey is the country which
has implemented military actions against the RA for many times. The
blockade of frontiers, transport and energy blockade, coalition
formation, lobbying against a country are considered military actions."

As to the "leaving the history to historians" thesis, Demoyan noted:
"History was written by historians.

It’s time to leave the history to lawyers, since Turkish-Armenian
relations should be solved on legal and political level".

Whether Turkey will recognize the fact of the Armenian genocide or not,
the historian finds that a psychological problem lays in the basis
of the vital issue: "No one can deny that we have a psychological
problem as genocide victims". Demoyan is confirmed that today’s Turkey
is unable to recognize the fact of the Armenian Genocide.

"The recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a stroke for the modern
Turkish state legend, since the Turkish culture is the culture of
power. Turkey does not have the culture of acknowledging its guilt",
considers the historian. Demoyan pointed out the article published in
a CoE periodical which says: "A center of Turkish-Ottoman culture is
built in stead of the Museum of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan,
"Since the Museum of the Armenian Genocide does not reflect the
reality"".

"I completely understand the fear and the efforts of Turkish people,
since each year more and more Turks visit Tsitsernakaberd. I met
Turks who cried after seeing the expositions of the Museum. This is
what the Turkish authorities are afraid of", he said.

Demoyan considers that we need to work out a "double containment"
agenda "since besides Turkey we have also another neighbor –
Azerbaijan". Hayk Demoyan does not have expectations form Turkey’s
access to the EU. He considers that Turkey may become a full member
of the European family, follow the European values, if the country
builds a museum devoted to the Armenian Genocide.