PM WARNS ARMENIA RULING COULD DERAIL NORMALIZATION EFFORTS

Hurriyet
Jan 20 2010
Turkey

Complaining about Armenia’s recent constitutional court ruling on the
two countries’ protocols, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
says, ‘We took it directly to our Parliament, without making changes.

We didn’t employ a mediator on the text. We didn’t carry out any
read-between-the-lines operations. This is a proof of our sincerity.

Armenia has tried to change the text’ Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said Wednesday a ruling by a top Armenian court could derail
efforts to end a century of hostility between the two neighbors.

In its decision about the constitutionality of protocols that
could pave the way for diplomatic relations with Turkey, the court’s
reference to the 1915 killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire has drawn ire from Ankara. Foreign Ministry sources said the
reference to the killings in the ruling is against the spirit of the
normalization process with Yerevan.

In Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said the court’s reference both to the killing
of Armenians and to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh is problematic. "This will challenge the process
unless the mistake is corrected. It’s definitely unacceptable to
Turkey," Erdogan told a news conference.

"We have never taken the protocol to our Constitutional Court. We took
it directly to our Parliament, without making changes. We didn’t employ
a mediator on the text. We didn’t carry out any read-between-the-lines
operations. This is a proof of our sincerity.

Armenia has tried to change the text," he said.

The accords, signed by the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia
in October 2009, need parliamentary approval in both countries for
ratification.

The Armenian court’s Jan. 12 decision established that the Turkish
protocols conform to the country’s constitution, but the six-page
decision’s fifth article makes reference to Armenia’s declaration
of independence in a manner that has provoked Turkey. Meanwhile,
the document’s 11th paragraph says, "The Republic of Armenia stands
in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the
1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia."

Another source of uneasiness in Ankara is the ruling’s fourth article,
which stipulates that the mutual obligations being undertaken by the
protocols are being conducted under principles of international law.

The court also said the protocols have an exclusively bilateral
and interstate nature and do not concern any third party. The final
provision has been interpreted as a response to Turkey’s linking of
the protocols’ success with a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Turkey has repeatedly said progress on full normalization with Armenia
depends on Yerevan making concessions in its unresolved conflict with
Azerbaijan over the occupied province.

FM relays Turkey’s concerns to Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was accompanying Erdogan
in Saudi Arabia, spoke with Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian
on the phone to convey Ankara’s uneasiness over the court ruling.

Davutoglu relayed Turkey’s expectation of an Armenian clarification
on the issue from the Armenian side, according to ministry spokesman
Burak Ozugergin.

Davutoglu told his counterpart the court ruling made unacceptable
preconditions and restrictive provisions. He also expressed Turkey’s
commitment to the spirit and objective of the protocols and relayed his
expectation that the Armenian government do the same, Ozugergin said.

The minister said accusations that the Turkish side was attempting
to delay the process were baseless since Ankara was one step ahead
of Armenia having already forwarded the protocols to Parliament.

Opposition: Withdraw the protocols

The leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, said
Wednesday the government should permanently withdraw the protocols
from Parliament in response to the grave situation. The party also
called on the government to apologize to the Turkish nation.

Devlet Bahceli said the protocols with Armenia would not change
the country’s policies and was particularly irked by references to
"genocide" and "Western Armenia."

"In this ruling, it has been understood once more that Armenia’s stance
toward international law and its hostile approach toward Turkey has
not changed. This situation is an embarrassing failure and fiasco
for the [ruling Justice and Development Party] AKP government and
the foreign minister who signed the protocols," he said.

Republican People’s Party, or CHP, deputy Hakkı Suha Okay, meanwhile,
also complained about the Armenian court ruling.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress