TURKEY DISPLEASED WITH RA DECLARATION ON INDEPENDENCE?
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 12:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey believes that the RA Constitutional Court’s
Jan.12 verdict conflicts with the essence and spirit of the Protocols
on normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, Milliyet
newspaper said.
Paragraph 5 of the Armenian Constitutional Court argumentation
affirms that the protocols "cannot be interpreted…in a way that
would contradict the provisions of the preamble to the Republic of
Armenian constitution and the requirements of Paragraph 11 of the
[1990] Declaration of Independence of Armenia."
The 11th paragraph of the Declaration reads that "the Republic of
Armenia stands in support of the task of achieving international
recognition of the 1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.
Commenting on the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court, the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the decision contains
preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and
spirit of the Protocols.
"The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these
Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach
cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed
allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence
to the primary provisions of these Protocols.
We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian Government," the
Ministry said.
The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.
On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.
The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Armenia was adopted
on August 23, 1990.
It says, "The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist
Republic expressing the united will of the Armenian people; aware of
its historic responsibility for the destiny of the Armenian people
engaged in the realization of the aspirations of all Armenians and the
restoration of historical justice; proceeding from the principles
of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the generally
recognized norms of international law; exercising the right of
nations to free self-determination; based on the December 1, 1989,
joint decision of the Armenian SSR Supreme Council and the Artsakh
National Council on the Reunification of the Armenian SSR and the
Mountainous Region of Karabakh; developing the democratic traditions
of the independent Republic of Armenia established on May 28, 1918;
Declares the beginning of the process of establishing of independent
statehood positioning the question of the creation of a democratic
society based on the rule of law."