FRENCH PROFESSOR OPTIMISTIC OVER NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.01.2010 20:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The moment of normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations has come, and the Protocols of the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations provide a good opportunity, regardless of
whether they would be ratified in the parliaments of two countries
or not, Professor Catherine Kessedjian from the University of
Pantheon-Assas, Paris told the third Forum on "Armenian-Turkish
Protocols: reality and myth" held at George Washington University.

The forum was attended by both Armenian and Turkish, Azerbaijani,
Russians, American students, diplomats. Catherine Kessedjian attached
importance to the very fact of the Protocols. According to her, these
documents clearly evidence that Armenia and Turkey pledge to adhere to
international standards of peaceful solutions to the problems. "We,
the Armenians and Turks should reach an agreement. That is why the
protocols are so essential, " the professor said.

In regard to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey,
Catherine Kessedjian noted that there are at least psychological
problems in Turkey to admit this fact. She recalled, the legal term
"crime against humanity" was first used in respect to Armenian people.

French professor expressed hope that in the coming years by the
100-year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, certain processes to
restore justice will start in international bodies.

The "The Armenian-Turkish Protocols: reality and myth" forum was
organized by Policy Forum Armenia, American Society of International
Law and the Faculty of Law at George Washington University. The
first forum was held at George Washington University in November
2009, the second one was held on December 17 at Lincoln Center of
Fordham University (New York). Policy Forum Armenia is an independent,
nonprofit organization that aims to strengthen the discourse around
the state policy of Armenia.

The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the common 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.

The Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire (1915-23) was the 21st
century’s first genocide characterized by the use of massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead
to the death of the deportees, with the total one-and-a-half million
number of Armenian deaths. The date of the onset of the genocide
is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman
authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community
leaders in Constantinople. Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted
Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of
miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now
Syria. To date, twenty countries have officially recognized the events
of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars and historians
accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also recognized by
influential authoritative media including The New York Times, BBC,
The Washington Post, The Associated Press.