OBAMA AVOIDS CONCRETE COMMENTS ON ARMENIAN ISSUE AND THE PKK
BIA
glish/113653/obama-vague-on-armenian-issue-and-the -pkk
April 7 2009
Turkey
US president meets president Gul and addresses the parliament. He
avoids making concrete statements on recognizing Armenian genocide
claims and support on fighting Kurdish rebels; praises Turkey-US
relations as a model of alliance.
US President Barack Obama has met President Abdullah Gul and addressed
the General Assembly in Ankara during the first day of his visit to
Turkey. Faced with questions on recognizing Armenian Genocide claims
and aiding the struggle against armed Kurdish rebel group, the PKK,
Obama abstained from making concrete statements.
Among the topics of discussions were the situation in Afghanistan
and the fight against terrorism. Obama, expressed a continued support
for the latter.
PKK and the Kurdish issue Responding to a question during the press
conference, Obama assured the audience that the PKK was regarded as a
"terrorist organization" by the US. He said that their collaboration
with the Turkish administration was showing results, as attacks by
the PKK were in decline. "We discussed with president Gul on how to
further our support."
Armenian issue He said that his views on the Armenian Genocide claims
had not changed, but that he was encouraged by the recent talks between
Turkey and Armenia. In 2008, he had asserted that the events of 1915
amounted to a "genocide". This time, he refrained from using the word
and noted that his aim was to facilitate the ongoing dialogue between
the two peoples.
On the other hand, President Gul voiced the Turkish position and
proposed to leave the discussion to historians. He claimed that both
Muslim Turks and Armenians suffered during the times of war and that
the Turkish administration has opened the archives to anyone willing
to work on them.
"As the problems in the Caucasus are resolved, the dialogue between
Turkey and Armenia will go further" he added.
In parliament During his speech in parliament, Obama referred to recent
reforms in Turkey and demanded a continuing effort of democratization.
He welcomed the Kurdish broadcasts in state television as well as
the abolition of State Security Courts. Nonetheless, he stressed that
further reforms were needed for freedom of expression and freedom of
faith, citing the opening of the seminary in Heybeliada.
The Armenian issue could be discussed in parliament, he told the
MPs. Regarding Cyprus, the Obama stated that both the US and the UN
supported a federation of the two peoples.
As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama emphasized that they
supported a two-state solution.
The US President said that while Turkey and his country had not always
agreed on everything, the two states were stronger when they acted
together. He said Turkey and the US had to listen to each other and
seek common ground.
Protests Around 500 protesters gathered in Ankara and tried to walk
to parliament, shouting "Yankee go home!". The police intervened and
took 21 people into custody.
Activists criticized Obama’s visit as part of a plan to "subcontract
Turkey" to the wars the US and the NATO are waging in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Obama met with opposition party leaders following his address in
parliament. He is expected to arrive in Istanbul later this evening
(6 April) and to participate in several meetings tomorrow.(EZO/BC/AGU)