Armenian Genocide News

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
July 10, 2008
'Genocide' Question Still Haunts Armenia-Turkey Relations
by Emil Danielyan, Ruzanna Khachatrian


Signaling a major policy shift, President Serzh Sarkisian has
confirmed he is ready to accept, in principle, Turkey's proposal to
form a commission of Armenian and Turkish historians that would
examine the 1915-18 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Sarkisian on June 26 made clear through a spokesman, however, that
such a commission should be created only after Turkey agrees
unconditionally to establish diplomatic relations and open its border
with Armenia. But on June 30, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation--Dashnaktsutiun (HHD), one of four parties represented in
the coalition government, joined other opposition parties in
criticizing Sarkisian's support for the Turkish proposal.

The proposal for a joint commission was formally made by Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a 2005 letter to then-Armenian
President Robert Kocharian. Erdogan suggested that the proposed
commission determine whether the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire constituted genocide and said his government would accept any
conclusion it reached.

In a written reply, Kocharian effectively rejected the idea and came
up with a counterproposal to set up a Turkish-Armenian
intergovernmental commission that would deal with this and other
issues of mutual concern. Other Armenian officials, backed by local
and diaspora scholars, dismissed Erdogan's move as a Turkish ploy
designed to scuttle international recognition of the Armenian
"genocide." They also said that by agreeing to the proposed study, the
Armenian side would signal a willingness to consider doubts regarding
the genocide question.

"We are not against the creation of such a commission, but only if the
border between our countries is opened," Sarkisian declared during a
visit to Moscow last week. His press secretary, Samvel Farmanian,
reaffirmed this in a statement issued on June 26. "We are not against
any study of even obvious facts and widely accepted realities,"
Farmanian said. "Agreeing to a study does not mean casting doubt on
the veracity of facts. However, the creation of such a commission
would be logical only after the establishment of diplomatic relations
and the opening of the border between our countries. Otherwise, it
could become a tool for dragging out and exploiting existing
problems."

Armenia's leading opposition groups, including the Popular Movement
headed former President Levon Ter-Petrossian, were quick to condemn
Sarkisian's comments, saying that by accepting Ankara's proposal in
principle, he called into question the very fact of what many
historians regard as the first genocide of the 20th century. Farmanian
rejected that argument. "It is strange that the genocide issue is
being exploited by individuals who had done everything in the past to
condemn that tragic page of our history to oblivion," he said in a
jibe at the more conciliatory line that Ter-Petrossian adopted
vis-a-vis Turkey.

The opposition concerns have since been echoed by the HHD, which has
for decades been known for its hard line on Armenia's relations with
Turkey. The party's official position is that Turkey must not only
admit to the genocide, but also compensate the descendants of victims
and cede large swathes of its formerly Armenian-populated territory to
Armenia. Successive Armenian governments have stressed, however, that
Armenia has no formal territorial claims on Turkey. "Genocide
recognition by Turkey will not lead to legal consequences for
territorial claims," Kocharian stated in a 2001 interview with a
Turkish TV station.

"We have received the necessary explanation and clarification from the
president," Giro Manoyan, a spokesman for the HHD's governing bureau,
told RFE/RL. "Also, the president's spokesman and the foreign minister
have publicly clarified that the president's consent pertains to
another kind of commission." In Manoyan's words, Sarkisian believes
the would-be commission should not determine whether or not a genocide
occurred in 1915-18 and should instead research "various details of
the genocide." "In any case, our approach is that there was no need to
make such statements and create this confusion in the first place," he
said.

Manoyan also expressed his party's unease about Sarkisian's stated
intention to invite Turkish President Abdullah Gul to the first-ever
game between the national soccer teams of Armenia and Turkey, which
will be played in Yerevan in early September. "I think that if the
president of Turkey visits Yerevan, at least one part of our society
will express its attitude," he said.

On July 1, the daily "Taregir" offered an alternative explanation for
Sarkisian's affirmation of support for the establishment of a
Turkish-Armenian commission of historians. "As is known, Moscow has
always been jealous about the [prospect of a] normalization of
relations between Yerevan and Ankara," says the paper. "The Kremlin
has always managed to torpedo all initiatives aimed reopening the
Turkish-Armenian border, fearing the loss of its influence in Armenia.

However, there have been suggestions lately that Russian capital,
which is increasingly establishing itself in Armenia, is keen to use
our country as a launch pad for occupying the vast Turkish
market. That is, Moscow is not against an open border, provided that
border is under its control. So maybe Sarkisian's proposal should be
viewed in that context."

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ANCC CALLS TO PUT AN END TO TURKISH LIES AND MISINFORMATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.07.2008 17:12 GMT+04:00

Turkish politicians and some Turkish media outlets are once again
trying to mislead the international community with false news stories
and by distorting facts on the Armenian Genocide, says a statement
issued by the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC).

Hurriyet, a leading Turkish daily, published (July 2) a news story
under the "Turkish Thesis Regarding 1915 Events Adopted by OSCE"
headline, which quoted Alaattin Buyukkaya, head of the Turkish group
at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Parliamentary Assembly in Astana, Kazakhstan. According, to Buyukkaya,
the OSCE adopted the "motion submitted by the Turkish delegation. He
also said: "The motion underlines that past events like genocide
should be recognized only after historians carried out a detailed
research in all kinds of archives." The news item tried to link the
so-called motion to the Turkish government proposal "to the Armenian
government" for "the establishment of a joint historical commission
composed of historians and other experts from both sides to study
together the events of 1915 and to open the archives of Turkey and
Armenia, as well as the archives of all relevant third-party countries
and share their findings publicly."

"The Hurriyet "news" couldn't be farther from the truth. The OSCE did
not adopt any motion on the Armenian Genocide during its meeting. In
its final declaration, under Chapter Three (page 8), the OSCE adopted
a series of measures and recommendations regarding the "collapse
of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics and
particularly the profound psychological effects of these changes." In
Article 61 the organization clearly parallels the above events to
the "psychological and societal" effects to the "end of the Second
World War."

"In contrast to the Turkish claims, Article 60 of OSCE communique
stressed the importance of "reconciliation" of each nation with its
"past in an open and public process," meaning Turkey should come to
terms with its crimes against humanity (the mass killing of Armenians,
Greeks, Jews, Assyrians, Pontians, Arabs, and Kurds)."

"In a further blow to Turkish government's "historians commission"
proposal "to study the Armenian Genocide," the OSCE (page 45, article
12) said the organization "strongly encourages all parliaments to
adopt acts regarding recognition of the [Ukrainian Famine] Holodomor,"
thus coming to the conclusion that history should not be left only
to historians, and that parliaments should adopt resolutions/acts
recognizing such crimes against humanity," the statement says.

"Once again the Turkish government is stretching the truth and is
distributing false news in its desperate and futile denial policy
of the Armenian Genocide," stated Aris Babikian, ANCC executive
director. He called on the international community and media to put an
end to the Turkish government's misrepresentations, lies, and PR spin."

The ANCC leader said: "If the Turkish government has the chutzpah
to twist current events and the deliberations of international
organizations, it is no wonder that it would be engaged in the denial
of the Armenian Genocide which took place 92 years ago."

Babikian called on the Turkish government to heed the OSCE advice
and come to terms with its dark chapter of history and recognize the
Armenian Genocide. He said: "Turkey should put an end to this deceit
and charade which it has been involved in for the past 92 years.

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Dashnaks Warn Sarkisian Over Armenian Genocide Study
By Emil Danielyan

In a clear warning to President Serzh Sarkisian, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) on Tuesday reaffirmed its
strong opposition to the idea of Turkish and Armenian historians jointly
determining whether the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
constituted a genocide.

The idea was floated by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a
2005 letter to then President Robert Kocharian. Kocharian rejected it,
saying that this and other issues of mutual concern should be tackled by
the two governments, rather than a Turkish-Armenian commission of
historians.

Sarkisian said late last month that Yerevan will not oppose the creation
of such a commission if Turkey unconditionally establishes diplomatic
relations and opens its land border with Armenia. Armenia's leading
opposition groups were quick to condemn the apparent policy change,
saying that by accepting Ankara's proposal in principle Sarkisian called
into question the very fact of what many historians regard as the first
genocide of the 20th century.

The opposition concerns were echoed by Dashnaktsutyun, which is
represented in Sarkisian's coalition government and is known for its
hard line on Armenia's relations with Turkey. The party demanded and
received an explanation from the presidential administration. According
to a top party spokesman, Sarkisian has clarified that he believes the
would-be commission should not determine whether or not a genocide
occurred in 1915-1918 and should instead research `various details of
the genocide.'

Despite these assurances, the issue was on the agenda of the first
session of Dashnaktsutyun's recently elected governing Bureau held from
July 3-8. `The Bureau is adamant that the fact of the Armenian genocide
is not a subject of discussion, and no high-ranking official
representing Armenia may have a different approach,' it said in a
statement. `Universal recognition of the genocide is vital for the
existence, security and future of our people and statehood.'

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