QUESTIONS LINGER OVER SWISS ASSURANCE FOR NORMALIZATION TALKS

Hurriyet
Feb 4 2010
Turkey

Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu (R)

A top Turkish diplomat will travel to Switzerland to seek support
against an Armenian court ruling that Ankara says threatens the
normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Questions linger
over his efforts, however, because Bern considers it a crime to deny
the Armenian "genocide."

Feridun Sinirlioglu, the Foreign Ministry undersecretary, will seek
assurances from Swiss authorities that Armenia’s constitutional
court will not legally prevent discussion of the validity of Armenian
"genocide" claims by a historians’ commission that will be established
as part of the Turkish-Armenian deal.

Sinirlioglu’s visit will also take place just a few days before a final
verdict is issued for three Turks who were found guilty of denying
genocide claims, the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned.

After months of Swiss-mediation and U.S. encouragement, Turkey and
Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish diplomatic ties
and reopen their shared border. It was a historic step toward ending
decades of hostility due to World War I-era killings of Armenians.

But the process hit the rocks after the Armenian court upheld
the legality of the protocols, but underlined that they could not
contradict Yerevan’s official position that the Armenian mass killings
during the late days of the Ottoman Empire constituted "genocide."

Sinirlioglu will visit Switzerland and the United States "to express
our concern" over last month’s ruling, Foreign Ministry’s spokesman
Burak Ozugergin told reporters Wednesday.

Dialogue process

The Armenian court said the interpretation and application of the
protocols should be in compliance with the Armenian Declaration
of Independence, which states: "The Republic of Armenia stands in
support of the task of achieving international recognition of the
1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia."

The protocols noted the parties’ agreement to launch a dialogue
process, including the formation of a committee of historians, to
handle historical issues. If the Armenians continue to consider the
events of 1915 as an undisputable "genocide," in the Turkish view,
the court’s verdict in effect renders the historians’ work obsolete.

Following the decision, Turkey asked Switzerland and the United
States for clarification, the Daily News learned from official
sources. Both said the decision would not hamper the commission’s
discussions but refused to give an assurance in writing, according
to diplomatic sources.

Sinirlioglu will try to convince Swiss authorities at talks in Bern
on Friday to give a binding assurance that the historians’ commission
will work without any prejudice about the final outcome. This could
prove difficult, however, because denial of the Armenian "genocide"
is a crime according to Swiss law.

The decision to outlaw denying the Armenian "genocide" carries the
signature of Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who
held a different ministerial post in 1998 when the denial amendment was
passed. Calmy-Rey, however, has played a key role in Turkish-Armenian
normalization talks, including the decision to create a commission
to discuss "historical issues."

Meanwhile, a final verdict is expected Feb. 9 on an appeal from
three Turks found guilty of denying Armenian genocide claims. Turkish
politician Dogu Perincek was the first Turkish citizen to be found
guilty by the Swiss court. He is also among the suspects in the trial
of an alleged gang called Ergenekon that is suspected of seeking to
topple the government by staging a coup.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress