MEDIA ASK: WHAT NEXT FOR GENOCIDE VOTE?
BBC NEWS
urope/8551926.stm
2010/03/05 15:41:06 GMT
Armenian and Turkish media express a sense of deja vu over the vote
by a US congressional panel which described the killing of Armenians
during World War I as genocide.
But while Armenian expectations appear low, Turkish commentators speak
of a movie re-run and feel that the "genocide problem" will continue
to haunt the country unless something positive is done about Turkey’s
relations with Armenia.
Armenian newspaper and TV reports present the vote as the result of a
"war" between competing lobbies, but some point out that the resolution
had previously received committee support without making the next,
critical step of being approved by the full House of Representatives.
Nothing new
"It is generally believed that the resolution approved yesterday
will have the fate of the previous ones. With the approval of this
document Washington merely makes an attempt to pressure Turkey into
ratifying the Armenian-Turkish protocols (on normalising relations),"
says Haykakan Zhamanak , a major Armenian daily.
The Armenian daily Aravot – in a piece headlined "Turks urged to
reconcile with history" – says: "The resolution was introduced in
the foreign relations committee of the House of Representatives three
times over the past 10 years and was approved – like yesterday."
In days leading up to the vote the media gave wide publicity to
campaigns by the Armenian lobby in the US.
And in a report on the successful outcome of the vote, the daily paper
Azg says: "Three Armenians who witnessed the Genocide, two women and
a 105-year-old man, were present in the House of Representatives
yesterday – to see and to feel how the US approaches the tragedy
they experienced."
Reaction in the Turkish press was mixed, with one commentator
suggesting Turkey should address the moral question behind the vote.
Others believed the irksome "genocide" issue could be eased by
diplomatic means.
Movie re-run
Ismet Berkan, writing in Turkey’s Radical , said Turkey was in
the habit of threatening anyone who alleged genocide against the
Armenians. "But whether we like it or not," he said, "the subject
of the resolution is a moral one – we should provide a moral answer
to it. But no, we continue to withhold that answer. And we do this
knowing that this policy has not brought us anything."
Mehmet Ali Birand, said in Turkey’s Posta that the vote was a
"rerun of the genocide movie" which "will constantly keep running at
theatres". He predicted that pressure on Turkey would mount, and that
it would therefore be best "if we are realistic and try to implement
the protocol with Armenia".
Another commentator, Ferai Tinc, writing in Turkey’s Hurriyet,
concurred that the problem should be solved within the framework of
pursuing good relations with Armenia, adding that the issue would
escalate and damage Turkey’s diplomatic ties. "And it will not end
even when the US approves the [genocide] claims because the issue
will be carried to the UN and other international platforms."
BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television,
press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more
than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several
bureaux abroad.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
