SARKISIAN EXPLAINS TURKEY MOVES TO ARMENIAN PARTIES
Irina Hovannisian
Armenialiberty.org
Sept 17 2009
Armenia — President Serzh Sarkisian and leaders of 52 Armenian parties
meet to discuss Turkish-Armenian agreements on September 17, 2009.
President Serzh Sarkisian acknowledged that his conciliatory policy
toward Turkey is fraught with pitfalls for Armenia on Thursday as
he discussed it with leaders of more than 50 Armenian parties mostly
loyal to his administration.
The five-hour meeting, held behind the closed doors and boycotted by
the country’s most outspoken opposition forces, was part of "internal
political consultations" which the Armenian and Turkish governments
have pledged to hold before signing fence-mending agreements next
month.
"I too see risks, I too have concerns," Sarkisian said in his opening
remarks publicized by the presidential press service. He nonetheless
defended Armenia’s dramatic rapprochement with Turkey that began
shortly after he took office in April last year.
Armenia — President Serzh Sarkisian briefs Armenian party leaders on
his recent agreements with Turkety on September 18, 2009."Let us judge
together," continued Sarkisian. "Are we sacrificing our convictions
and our belief in truth with these documents, or we are paving the
way for driving them home instead of confining ourselves to secluded
purity? Let us understand that together."
The president referred to two draft protocols envisaging the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and
the reopening of their border. Local opposition groups, notably the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), strongly object to
some of their key provisions such as formal recognition of Armenia’s
existing border with Turkey.
Dashnaktsutyun was represented at the meeting by one of its top
leaders, Armen Rustamian. He said he reiterated the nationalist party’s
concerns and pressed Sarkisian to clarify whether the protocols can
be altered before their signing by the two governments.
"It emerged that major changes in them could be made only during the
[parliamentary] ratification phase," Rustamian told RFE/RL. "This
means that if there are really important and serious views [voiced on
the subject,] the negotiating party must take them into consideration
but will be free to decide whether or not to back them … This is
simply unacceptable to us."
Rustamian added that the Dashnaktsutyun concerns were echoed by other
party leaders and seemed to have influenced Sarkisian’s thinking. "I
think that as a result of the discussions, some changes occurred
in the president’s attitudes," he said. "Thank God, there were also
other political forces that had the same concerns and expressed them
in one way or another."
According to Aram Karapetian, the leader of the opposition Nor
Zhamanakner party who also attended the meeting, most participants
agreed that the protocols are "flawed." He said they were also
worried that the planned formation of a Turkish-Armenian commission
of historians would thwart greater international recognition of the
Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. "Serzh Sarkisian looked a
different person after the meeting," claimed Karapetian.
"He had the same concerns which others had," said Vazgen Manukian, the
veteran leader of the National Democratic Union, a once influential
party loyal to Armenia’s current leadership. But, he said, Sarkisian
at the same time made a convincing case for the continuation of the
Turkish-Armenian dialogue.
"When you lock yourself in a room, you won’t have any concerns,"
Manukian told RFE/RL. "But when you get out, walk the streets and
start talking to others, there will always be problems. That’s what
makes life interesting."
Meanwhile, the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) and
Zharangutyun party defended their decision to boycott what they see as
a meaningless discussion. HAK spokesman Arman Musinian also said that
the opposition alliance led by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian
will not cooperate with the authorities on any issue until the latter
release all of the opposition members arrested following the February
2008 presidential election.
For his part, Zharangutyun leader Armen Martirosian insisted on the
party’s demands for a national referendum on the Turkish-Armenian
agreements. "Besides, the foreign minister said in the National
Assembly yesterday that nothing will be changed in the finalized
protocols," said Martirosian. "So what are we supposed to discuss?"