Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 24 2009
Turkey pledges punishment for disrespect to Azeri flag
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey have apparently
resolved disagreements and misunderstandings which eventually led to
the delivery of a diplomatic note of protest to Azerbaijani officials
because of their decision to remove a Turkish flag in front of an
embassy building in Baku.
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu was in Baku on Thursday where he had
talks with both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, on the sidelines of a foreign
ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC).
Last week, Baku removed Turkish flags from a monument to 1,130 Turkish
soldiers who died while fighting for Azerbaijan’s independence in
1918. The move was followed earlier this week with the removal of the
flag in front of the Religious Affairs Consultancy Office, affiliated
with the Turkish Embassy, as well as the flags in front of Turkish
schools. Azerbaijani officials cited a law on foreign flags for their
removal.
`We also have a law on flags, but Azerbaijan is an exception to our
flag law. We don’t consider the Azerbaijani flag a foreign flag,’
DavutoÄ?lu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency while
speaking to reporters in Baku, noting that he discussed the issue with
Mammadyarov.
`We spoke amiably and frankly to remove these misunderstandings. The
Azerbaijani flag is the same as a Turkish flag for us,’ he said.
Tensions escalated when Turkish authorities, upon the request of world
soccer’s governing body FIFA, banned Azerbaijani flags at a World Cup
qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams
earlier this month. The Azerbaijani decision to remove Turkish flags
apparently came in response to the ban on Azerbaijani flags during the
soccer game.
The image of an Azerbaijani flag thrown in a garbage can was annoying
for him, DavutoÄ?lu said, adding: `We’re having this incident
investigated. In any place in Turkey, there is no writing `WC’ on
garbage cans. Somebody must have written it and taken the picture of
this garbage can; this is provocation — a provocation which aims at
sowing seeds of discord between us and our [Azerbaijani] brothers.’
Mammadyarov said: `As far as the crisis over the flag is concerned,
Mr. DavutoÄ?lu has told us that Turkey is investigating the incident
and that those who are guilty will be punished. We agreed to resolve
any problems jointly.’
Later, DavutoÄ?lu and Mammadyarov visited both the Turkish cemetery and
the Azeri cemetery where soldiers who died for Azerbaijan’s
independence in 1918 are buried.
24 October 2009, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES ANKARA