The Times: Armenia has no claims on land in eastern Turkey once formed
western Armenia
05.03.2010 21:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `The political battle in the United States over
recognition of the Armenian genocide boils down to a simple
calculation: is the cost in spoilt relations with Turkey outweighed by
respect for the memory of 1.5 million victims?’ The Times observer
Tony Halpin wrote in the article `Pragmatism, politics and the
festering wound of Armenian ‘genocide”.
President Obama promised during his election campaign to recognise the
massacres of 1915-23 as genocide at the annual commemoration on April
24, saying: `I believe that the Armenian Genocide is not an
allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a
widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical
evidence . . . As President, I will recognise the Armenian Genocide.’
`As Nato’s only Muslim member, with an important US air base at
Incirlik and involvement in key American defence projects such as the
troubled F35 fighter jet, Turkey has numerous cards to play.
But while it continually threatens Nato allies with repercussions,
relations with Russia, which has always recognised the Armenian
genocide, have never been warmer. Pragmatism in cosying up to its
principal gas supplier apparently trumps the tub-thumping employed in
the US, ` the article wrote.
The British Government has been similarly spineless on the Armenian
question, despite ample contemporary evidence, as a recent study, by
Geoffrey Robertson, of Foreign and Commonwealth Office evasiveness
showed. It refuses even to allow the Armenian genocide to be mentioned
on National Holocaust Memorial Day for fear of upsetting Turkey.
The irony is that modern Turkey is not being blamed for the past.
Armenia has recognised its current borders and has repeatedly stated
that it has no claims on land in eastern Turkey that once formed
western Armenia.
Reparations will be an issue for the reconciliation process. But for
the dwindling number of survivors and millions of descendants in
Armenia’s global diaspora, Turkish recognition of their suffering and
an apology would be the most valuable reparation of all,’ Tony Halpin
wrote.