ERDOGAN’S WORDS UNMASK REAL TURKISH DEMOCRACY: ARFD

news.am
March 19 2010
Armenia

In a private conversation with ARF Dashnaktsutyun faction leader
Vahan Hovhannisyan, a U.S. high ranking official confessed that in
his opinion compared to Armenia, Turkey is more democratic, ARFD
leader said at the RA National Assembly briefing.

"I must say it is our fault: with our fabricated election results,
corruption and bribery we give the foreigners such impression, and
we should make the relevant inferences. We have to change everything
in our country, carry out the necessary reforms urging incumbent or
future authorities (most probably other authorities) to observe state
interests," Hovhannisyan maintained. However, ARFD leader stressed
that statements voiced by Turkish leadership and Erdogan’s recent
threats about deportation of Armenians will remove the scales from
international community eyes on the bare of Turkish democracy.

"Now I would like to refer to enthusiastic statements by Armenian
authorities on Genocide recognition by the U.S. House Committee on
Foreign Affairs as well as Swedish and Catalonian Parliaments.

Representatives of pro-governmental parties try to put it in as
an achievement of Armenian leadership policy and initiative on
Armenia-Turkey rapprochement in particular. As a representative of
political force directly involved in Armenian Genocide recognition
lobbying abroad, I can declare that after the Armenia-Turkey
reconciliation process launch, Genocide recognition by international
parliaments became more complicated," Hovhannisyan added.

He also noted that debates in the U.S. House Committee prove this,
as almost all Congressmen emphasized that Genocide Resolution’s
adoption is unadvisable while Armenia-Turkey dialogue is underway.

"Incidentally, Congressman from Solomon Islands whose vote was casting
concurs with this. What it costed us to have that vote in known to
us only," MP stated.

Speaking of the U.S. stance on Protocols’ ratification, Hovhannisyan
said that it makes no difference for Washington who will ratify them
first. "However, I do insist that it is high time for Armenia to
recall the signature from the Protocols," he concluded.