LAWMAKER STUNS ARMENIAN RESEARCHER IN TV DEBATE
AzerNews Weekly
May 6 2009
Azerbaijan
For the first time, representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia – the
two countries embroiled in a long-standing conflict – have jointly
participated in a television program.
During the debate on Turkish Show TV channel`s Politics Realm program,
MP Ganira Pashayeva, representing Azerbaijan, apparently stunned the
Armenian representative by citing undisputed facts.
The program discussed US President Barack Obama`s recent statement
branding the 1915 developments in Ottoman Turkey as a "great disaster",
referring to the World War I-era events that Armenians claim to
be genocide.
The Armenian researcher, Harutyun Filyan, said his country was not
satisfied with Obama`s statement, claiming the expressions used did
not fully reflect the alleged sufferings of Armenians.
"Armenia was expecting more attention from President Obama," Filyan
said speaking in Turkish.
In her response, Pashayeva said the US president had actually paid
more attention to Armenians than was necessary.
"America is one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering
resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
conflict. This being said, the pro-Armenian slant in the US president`s
address questioned Washington`s unbiased efforts in the prospect of
conflict settlement," the lawmaker said.
In his message on the occasion of April 24, the day considered
by Armenians as the date marking the alleged genocide, President
Obama did not use the term "genocide of Armenians" but made moving
comments lamenting the 1915 developments. The Turkish government
expressed discontent with some of the expressions used by Obama,
while Armenian Diaspora organizations accused the White House leader
of allegedly failing to keep his pre-election promise to recognize
the so-called genocide.
Pashayeva emphasized that repeated statements have been made asserting
that the issue of the alleged genocide should be left to historians,
though Armenians have opposed this position.
Filyan was dumbfounded in the face of the questions raised by the
Azerbaijani MP. "I am neither a historian nor a politician, so I
won`t be able to answer your questions," he said, dodging Pashayeva`s
queries.
The government in Yerevan has accused Turkey of genocide against
Armenians in the latter years of the Ottoman Empire, which preceded
modern Turkey. The Turkish government says the events were part of
clashes involving Armenian groups supporting Russia against Turkey
during World War I. Ankara insists the killings were not orchestrated
by the Ottoman government and Turkish President Abdullah Gul has
proposed opening Ottoman archives to international scholars to try
to resolve the dispute.
Pashayeva also asked a stunning question about the Garabagh
conflict. "Look at the state borders of Armenia, which you established
in 1918. Was Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh [an Azerbaijani region currently
under Armenian occupation] inside those borders?" Filyan answered
confusingly, "I don`t remember."
Upper Garabagh is one of the Azerbaijani regions where mass settlements
of Armenians has occurred since 1820. In 1813, the Garabagh Khanate
had been transferred to the Russian Empire. Following this, in 1822,
the khanate was invalidated and the Russian government settled tens
of thousands of Armenians there from Turkey and Iran. In 1923, the
USSR leadership forcefully established the Upper Garabagh Autonomous
Region. In 1989, however, that autonomy was invalidated by a decision
of the Azerbaijani parliament.
In the 1990s, the parliament of Armenia, which was pursuing a policy
of occupation and ethnic cleansing, passed an illegal and unilateral
decision seeking to annex the region, triggering the outbreak of war
with Azerbaijan. Further, Armenian armed forces occupied Upper Garabagh
and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts, defying international
law. The hostilities ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994,
but peace talks have not yet resulted in resolving the conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress