PRESS MULLS AFTERMATH OF TURKEY-ARMENIA DEAL
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Monday, 12 October 2009
There was both praise and concern in the Swiss media on Monday over
the accord signed in Zurich at the weekend on normalising relations
between Turkey and Armenia.
The Swiss-brokered deal, which follows a century of hostility
between the two countries, was signed late on Saturday evening,
after last-minute problems delayed the ceremony.
Attending was Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and United
States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The delay came after
the Armenians objected to statements the Turks planned to read after
signing. No statements from either side were subsequently issued.
Under the agreement, Turkey and Armenia are to establish diplomatic
ties and reopen their shared border. It also calls for a panel to
investigate the contentious issue of the alleged genocide of up
to 1.5 million Armenians by Turks in the last days of the Ottoman
empire. Turkey has always denied the genocide charge.
Turkey’s neighbour Azerbaijan has already criticised the deal, saying
Turkey should not have normalised ties without resolving the issue of
the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan
but occupied by Armenia.
During the war there in 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia
out of solidarity with Azerbaijan. Turkey responded on Sunday by
saying that Armenia must withdraw from the enclave.
"Long and stony"
The route to Saturday’s agreement was "long and stony," said Calmy-Rey
in an interview published in the tabloid Blick on Monday. But she
described the deal as a milestone towards normalising relations and
said that she was happy that Swiss diplomacy had made a contribution.
Asked whether recent events – such as the arrest of director Roman
Polanski in Zurich and the failure to secure the release of hostages
in Libya – had shaken Switzerland’s reputation abroad, she responded
that Saturday’s deal was not about the Swiss image but about the
people in the region.
"B ternationally, but, on the contrary has a very good network,"
she said, listing the number of dignitaries that had attended the
Zurich ceremony, including the Russian and French foreign ministers
and the European Union’s Javier Solana.
As the accord came late on Saturday, many editorials only appeared
on Monday. For the Zurich-based NZZ newspaper, the deal was positive.
Triumphs
"The signing of the Turkish-Armenian protocol in Zurich is the most
important and visible success for Switzerland as a broker since the
Algerian accord in Evian of 1962," said an editorial, referring to
the pact between France and Algeria to end the Algerian war.
There were three triumphs for Switzerland: its tight relations with
the countries involved, the fact that it was accepted as a suitable
mediator and its solution, which allows the countries to move a step
forward to normalising relations, it added.
However the Fribourg-based La Liberté was less convinced that it
has been a win-win situation and likened the deal to a birth using
a forceps. The hesitation of the two sides had shown that there was
still much mistrust, it added.
It said that the Zurich deal was reminiscent of the failed Oslo
accords between the Israelis and the Palestinians which had shown
that a framework needed political will to follow it up.
But the writer pointed out that the Armenians and Turks had at least
been living side by side peacefully for some time. The Nagorno-Karabakh
issue was still a thorny issue, as was shown by the latest Azerbaijan
and Turkish statements. "A first cold shower for an agreement where
the ink has hardly dried," found the editorial.
A game of two nations
On Monday, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said he would make a
landmark trip to Turkey to attend a football match between the his
country and Turkey on Wednesday.
Football formed part of the German-speaking Tages-Anzeiger’s
commentary. Written before Sarksyan’s announcement was made, it said
that an appearance by the Armenian president would be the next step
in the histori ement between the two sides.
The genocide issue was at the heart of an emotional debate. At some
point, Turkey would have to face up to its past, it said, but added
that the Armenians should celebrate the tightening of relations even
if they had not yet received what they wanted from Turkey – namely
an recognition of the alleged genocide.
Will Wednesday’s game be one of two losers? wondered the
newspaper. "It’s in the hands of the politicians to make the game
one of two winners," it said.
swissinfo.ch and agencies