ZAMANONLINE
ERHAN BASYURT
06.09.2005 Thursday – ISTANBUL 05:20
Kocharian Conceals Occupation with So-Called Genocide
I don’t know why, opening the Armenian border gate has become a “blind love”
in Turkey. Lastly, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has fell
in this “blind love”. While no conditions have been changed on the Armenian
side, Ankara has carried on building diplomatic relations and opening the
border gate to the issue.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian; however, showed once again that they do
not seek dialogue or a solution at the Summit of the Council of Europe in
Warsaw.
Kocharian repeated to the top-level representatives of 46 European countries
that “recognition of 1915 events as genocide is our main policy.” While it
was highly expected that Prime Minister Erdogan and Kocharian would come
together at that summit, Kocharian’s statements had a cold effect on the
Turkish side.
Kocharian has become Armenian President thanks to the effective “Karabagh
Clan” when he was one of the Armenian rebel leaders carrying out an armed
conflict in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabagh region. Kocharian’s biggest
supporter is the Dashnak Party, which has destroyed the democratic structure
in the country. What brought Kocharian up to power is not the Armenian
people’s support but financial and political support provided by the
Armenian Diaspora, who seek the dream of “Greater Armenia”. If Kocharian
gives up his so-called genocide allegations, he will lose the Armenian
Diaspora’s support that has been constructed on “Turcophobic Animosity”.
Under these circumstances, it would be naive to expect Kocharian to give up
his so-called genocide allegations and to withdraw from 20 percent of
Azerbaijani territory.
Certainly, this is not the only reason for Kocharian’s insistence on a
so-called genocide. If it is noticed, campaigns of so-called genocide have
accelerated after 1990. The end of the Cold War has facilitated the
international pressure over Turkey and this has played a crucial role in it.
The main reason; however, is that the so-called genocide barking conceals
Armenian’s occupation and massacre in Azerbaijan. Adapting the role of the
oppressed and the aggrieved, Armenians, who constantly carry the so-called
genocide allegations on the agenda at European and US parliaments, conceal
the Karabagh massacres and the occupation of Azerbaijan in this way. They
describe the immigration of 413,000 Armenians from the Ottoman territories
as “genocide”; however, show their exile of 800,000 Azerbaijanis from their
homelands and committing ethnic cleansing, primarily in Hocali, as just.
Kocharian’s speech at the Council of Europe is very thought provoking from
this point of view as well. The Council of Europe’s Assembly of
Parliamentarians has accepted Armenia as a country occupying Azerbaijani
territory on January 25th 2005, that is to say four months ago. It also
accepted a comprehensive report envisioning a peaceful withdrawal from it.
Kocharian, who is the architect of the occupation that blocked four
different resolutions by the United Nations (UN) and solutions projects by
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE), now plays
the role of the “oppressed” by carrying the so-called genocide allegations
on agenda at the Council of Europe. He, therefore, keeps the international
community and the Council of Europe from undertaking an active role in the
solution of the problem.
Turkey should speak with Kocharian in the language that he understands at
this stage. That is to say, it should push Armenia into corner at
international platforms and take initiatives to allow it to end the
occupation and to establish peaceful relations with its neighbors. The
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) might easily carry the Karabagh
problem to the agenda. Turkey should use all its opportunities in the
Council of Europe, the OSCE, the UN and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). It is naturally not possible that these policies can be
successful only with Turkey’s efforts. Turkey and Azerbaijan should set up a
very close dialogue and co-operation mechanism at this stage. They should
direct their lobby opportunities to the same point. Armenia should be put
under international pressure by gaining the support of friendly countries as
well.
If these are achieved, not only the so-called genocide allegations will
occupy the agenda as such, but also Armenia will seek ways to approach
Turkey as a solution to get rid of international pressure. Turkey-Armenia
relations will mostly benefit Armenia, so the “blind love” of opening the
border gates and establishing bridges should be theirs.