VARTAN OSKANIAN CALLS FOR STARTING A NATIONAL MOVEMENT AGAINST SIGNING OF ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS
NOYAN TAPAN
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Former Foreign Minister of Armenia,
Director of the Civilitas Foundation Vartan Oskanian calls on the
authorities not to sign the pre-signed Armenia-Turkey protocols,
by which Turkey gets what it has been seeking in vain for 17 years,
while not giving anything in return.
At the September 22 public discussion held by the Civilitas Foundation,
V. Oskanian declared that today the solution of domestic problems
is more important to Armenia than the resolution of its external
problems. Among domestic problems, he mentioned the establishment of
democracy and the implementation of economic reforms in the country,
also the elimination of the consequences of the March 1 events in
Yerevan. "Without resolution of these problems, we will be too weak
to deal with the complex task of opening the borders," the former
foreign minister said, adding that during his term of office, Armenia
was not a democratic country.
In his words, the protocols issued on August 31 contain preconditions
regarding both Karabakh and the Genocide recognition. He said the
provision on recognition of the existing Armenian-Turkish borders
is especially unacceptable because it deprives the Armenian people
of the opportunity to assert their historical rights. "A lot of
countries have territorial claims to each other, but it does not
mean that they do not have diplomatic relations and open borders. We
have territorial problems even with our friendly neighboring country
Georgia. It is inadmissible to include the border recognition issue
in the protocol," V. Oskanian noted. Member of the ARF Bureau Vahan
Hovhannisian added that the word "border" is absent in the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
V. Oskanian called for starting a "national movement" against the
signing of Armenia-Turkey protocols and expressed a readiness to be
in the first ranks of this movement. At the same time he stated that
this call does not mean a demand for Serzh Sargsyan to step down.