Opening Borders - articles from Turkey‏

TURKEY MAY HIT WALL IN ARMENIAN DIALOGUE
Today's Zaman
April 30 2009
Turkey

Is Turkey slamming the brakes on Armenian rapprochement? Yes and no,
depending on whom you ask in the Turkish capital, and most of the time,
the response is understandably not straightforward as the decades-long
issue has too many dimensions.

"If parallel diplomacy -- moving on negotiations on both border opening
and resolving the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh territories
at the same time -- is deemed to not be working, we should ease
off the gas and start contemplating hitting the brakes," says Murat
Mercan, chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission and
a high-ranking member of the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AK Party). Mercan told Today's Zaman that Turkey may be forced to
revise its standing against the backdrop of mounting public pressure.

Opposition party leaders on Tuesday blamed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan for giving in to pressure brought to bear by the US and the
European Union. In a speech delivered to the Republican People's
Party (CHP) parliamentary group, CHP leader Deniz Baykal apologized
to Azerbaijanis on behalf of Erdogan. "The AK Party is here today,
but it may not be here tomorrow. However, Turkey will always be on
the side of Azerbaijanis."

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli joined Baykal
in criticizing the government for making an agreement with Armenia
without first securing a deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Columnist Hasan Kanbolat, an expert on Caucasian politics,
disagrees. He explained to Today's Zaman that the opening with Armenia
has reached a point where backpedaling is no longer possible. "I
think stability and security in the Caucasian region has become a
transatlantic issue and both the US and the EU want the problems
resolved," he said. Kanbolat believes the ongoing diplomatic process
will stay on course despite the public backlash, which he thinks
could have been handled much better.

After Russia's invasion of Georgia last year, the West has learned
its lesson and will try to nudge both Armenia and Georgia to accept
the protective custody of NATO and even of the EU, Kanbolat argued,
noting that Turkey has little room to maneuver under the present
circumstances. "Even that maneuverability will be limited to
conjecture," he stressed.

Commenting on his recent fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan, Yılmaz
AteÅ~_, deputy chairman of the CHP, told Today's Zaman that he found
Azerbaijan fuming over the prospect of Turkey opening its border with
Armenia. "They are very frustrated with the Turkish government because
they claim Ankara has kept Baku in the dark on the content of secret
talks being held since 2004 through a Swiss intermediary," AteÅ~_
noted, saying Azerbaijani officials felt they had been betrayed by
a friend.

Ankara has long claimed that Azerbaijani officials are well
informed about the talks and have been kept abreast of the latest
happenings. Both President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan
have repeatedly made assurances that Turkey would never agree to
any settlement with Armenia without resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem; however, this does not seem to be working well to alleviate
the concerns of Azerbaijani officials. At a meeting with European
Commission President José Manuel Barroso on Tuesday, Azerbaijani
President Ä°lham Aliyev warned Turkey, "We have the right to
re-establish our policy in accordance with the regional realities,
and we shall exercise our right."

Explaining what went south in Azerbaijani-Turkish relations, AteÅ~_
pointed to the Russian factor. "Moscow handed the details of secret
talks between Turkey and Armenia over to Azerbaijan. The details were
turned over to the Russians by Armenia," he noted. "We constantly
heard from Azerbaijani members of parliament who said, 'Turks should
have let us in these secret talks and not gone behind our backs',"
AteÅ~_ said, recalling his tour of Baku.

Now that relations between Turkey and Armenia are showing signs of
stress, many politicians in Ankara seem to have put their wet fingers
up in the air to feel the direction of the political winds as they
scramble to readjust their positions according to changing perceptions.

Hürriyet, Turkey
May 2 2009
Clinton to meet Azeri, Armenian counterparts in Washington

ISTANBUL - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet her
Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in Washington next week as part
of diplomatic efforts aimed at solving long-standing disputes in the
southern Caucasus, according to reports on Saturday. (UPDATED)

Clinton will meet Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian on
Monday and Azeri top diplomat Elmar Mammadyarov on Tuesday,
broadcaster CNNTurk reported.

The talks are expected to focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and
the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan.

Turkey and Armenia, under Switzerland's mediation, agreed last month
on a "road map" deal for talks that could lead to the normalizing of
ties and the opening of their border.

Ankara cut diplomatic links with Yerevan and closed the border in a
show of support to Azerbaijan in 1993 after 20 percent of its
territory was invaded by Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
region.

Clinton has hailed the announcement of the road map as a historic step
toward normal relations between Turkey and Armenia.

She will meet Mammadyarov and Nalbandian to lay the groundwork for the
meeting between Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's
President Serzh Sargsyan on May 7 in Prague, U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza,
the State Department's point man in the Caucasus, told CNNTurk.

As part of the diplomacy traffic among Washington, Ankara, Baku and
Yerevan, U.S. President Barack Obama, who has extended his support to
the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan, telephoned last
month Aliyev.

Clinton and U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden had also phone talks with
high-level Armenian officials.

Hürriyet, Turkey
May 2 2009
Top Azeri envoy on way to Ankara

ISTANBUL -Azerbaijani President Ä°lham Aliyev wants to send an
envoy to Turkey to improve relations that have been strained by
ongoing reconciliation talks between the Turkish government and Baku's
arch-foe Armenia.

Well-informed sources have told the Hürriyet Daily News &
Economic Review that President Aliyev, though upset by developments in
Turkish-Armenian relations, has signaled that he is seeking to
reinvigorate Azerbaijan's relations with Ankara and is hoping to have
a greater say in any further progress made toward opening the border
between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey and Armenia said late last month they agreed on a road map to
normalize relations, which in turn upset Azerbaijan, with whom Turkey
has fraternal ties.

The polemic over whether Turkey informed Azerbaijan on the content of
talks with Armenia was carried to diplomatic platforms during Aliyev's
visit to Brussels. At a NATO council meeting where the
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process was discussed, Turkish
Ambassador Tacan Ä°ldem said Turkey informed Azerbaijan of the
talks with Armenia. Aliyev's reply was like a splash of cold water:
"Informing is one thing, consulting is another."

The incident is significant because the two country's representatives
never enter into a polemic in front of third parties and to the
contrary they rather cooperate closely on international
platforms. "One nation, two states," is the motto often used to
describe the warm relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Although Aliyev has not been shy so far in showing his reaction, he
also started signaling he wants to put relations back on track. "Now
that the 24th of April is over, let's start our consultations," is the
gist of the message Aliyev has sent to Ankara. April 24 is the day
Armenians commemorate the events of 1915 each year. Aliyev is planning
to send a high-level envoy to Turkey to discuss the "road map" and on
how to proceed from now on, according to a Turkish official who asked
to remain anonymous.

Azerbaijan wants a strong link between a solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the normalization process, which includes
establishing diplomatic relations as well as opening borders. Turkey
closed its border with Armenia in 1993 when Armenian troops moved to
occupy seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan believes Armenians should first withdraw from five of the
seven territories before Turkey goes ahead with opening the
border. The faith of the two remaining regions, the Lachin corridor
and Kelbecer, is also important for Baku. Partial withdrawal from the
Lachin corridor as well as joint use of the corridor by Turkey and
Azerbaijan should also be preconditions, according to Azerbaijan.

Armenia does not want to withdraw from the regions before there is an
agreement on the overall principles of the problem. Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders are set to meet May 7 in Prague.

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 29 2009
Turkey to reject Armenian "allegations" - Turkish minister


Ankara, 29 April: Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey
would reject the immaterial (Armenian) allegations, noting that the
analysis of the shared history of Turkey and Armenia could only be
made with unbiased and impartial scientific evidence.

Babacan, who addressed the General Assembly of the Turkish parliament
[on] Wednesday [29 April], said, "Regardless of origin of these
allegations, we will continue to stand by the historic truth."

Babacan said US President Barrack Obama's statement on the occasion of
the Armenian Remembrance Day on 24 April was a result of domestic
political concerns, noting that certain expressions and comments
regarding the events of 1915 was unacceptable for Turkey.

"One of the shortcomings of Obama's statement was that it ignored the
fact that hundreds of thousands Turks lost their lives during the
events of 1915," said Babacan.

"If the motive behind Obama's statement was to state a prejudgement on
the joint history committee foreseen to be formed by Turkey and
Armenia, Turkish Foreign Ministry have announced on 25 April that
Turkey would not accept this and explained it in detail to the US
ambassador, who was invited to our ministry," said Babacan.

Babacan said he also expressed Turkey's discomfort to the US secretary
of state, Hillary Clinton, over the phone and made it clear that the
joint commission foreseen to be formed between the two countries could
only depend on undisputed evidence and documents.

Reactions to Obama's Armenian remembrance day statement

Obama's statement on 24 April, "Armenian Remembrance Day", stirred
wide reaction and drew severe criticism from Turkey's top officials
and politicians on the grounds that it was biased.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul was the first to criticize Obama. He
told reporters the following day that not only Armenians but hundreds
of thousands of Turks and Muslims had lost their lives during the
events of 1915, adding that pain and suffering of all people who lost
their lives in 1915 should be remembered.

Gul said statesmen and politicians could not pass judgement on events
in the history, adding that it was time to look to the future and give
a chance to diplomatic efforts for solution of issues between Turkey
and Armenia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Gul was followed by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who argued that
Obama's statement was related with a pledge he made to Armenian
lobbies during his election campaign.

"Such a sensitive issue requiring expertise, which should in fact be
left to historians, is continuously being used as a tool for politics
and exploited by lobbies every year, and this prevents normalization
of relations between people and countries," Erdogan was quoted as
saying.

Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan also criticized Obama's statement and
said such statement on events of 1915, seriously harmed the process
for normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkish Foreign Ministry regarded Obama's statement unacceptable in a
press release issued Sunday, noting that history could be construed
and evaluated only based on undisputed evidence and documents.

Also the US ambassador in Ankara, James Jeffrey, was summoned to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday and Turkey's reaction and
views were communicated to him.

Hürriyet, Turkey
May 2 2009
Another problem from hell

The other night I took a taxi from Istanbul's crowded Taksim Square.
On the way home, I started to chat with the young driver, asking him
about business in this time of economic crisis.

"It is very bad, bro," he said, explaining that customers are trying
to spend less and less. Then I asked him the typical Turkish question:
"Memleket nere," or, "which city are you from?" "I am from Van," he
replied, but then anxiously added: "Yet make no mistake: I am no
Kurd."

Apparently that was a statement with some baggage. And that was
something he eagerly wanted to share, especially after learning about
my job. "Hey, if you have a little time," he hence asked, "let me
explain to you what the Kurds are."

Fears about 'the Kurd'
"Sure," I said, and sat down in the back seat for an extra 15 minutes
to listen to the man's story. He told me that as an ethnic Turk, he
was deeply frustrated by his Kurdish neighbors who were allegedly very
chauvinist, exclusivist and intimidating.

"In my hometown, a Kurd will never buy from a Turkish shop," he said,
"whereas we don't make any distinction." He then drew a totally
negative stereotype: "Kurds are lazy, dirty, rude and nothing good
comes out of them." The worst thing, for him, was their eagerness to
reproduce: "You want to make two kids and send them to good schools,
bro, right? Well, the Kurd makes 10 kids so that half of them will be
terrorists and the other half will be thieves."

I was already stunned by all this, but he had more to say. "They are
multiplying like rabbits," he argued, "and if the state doesn't stop
them, they will take over the whole east, killing and expelling us
Turks."

"Stop them?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

He answered: "Their leaders should be taken down. We should start with
those DTP [Democratic Society Party] members. They are all PKK, and
they should killed one by one. Only then the Kurd will learn a lesson
and start to behave."

Then the conversation moved on to another topic, which took us from
current affairs to a dark past. "Perhaps we should do what my
grandfathers did to the Armenians," he coldly said, and the rest went
on like this:

- The Armenians? What do you mean? Are you talking about 1915?

- I think so.

- So, what happened then?

- Oh, one night my grandfathers took the knives out and raided all
Armenian homes, killing them one by one.

- But why?

- Well, it is bad, I know. But the Armenians started it. Before the
great killing, they raided nearby Turkish villages, and they tortured
and slaughtered every Muslim they found. They had special knives to
rip pregnant women's bellies.

They would smash the unborn babies to rocks. If my grandfathers did
not go out and kill them, they would do the same to us, too. That is
the rule, bro: If you don't kill them first, they will kill you all.

Before leaving the taxi, I tried to tell the hardnosed young man a few
things that could help. "It is haram [religiously forbidden] to kill
the innocent," I reminded him, which he tended to agree with. Then I
said maybe the Armenian militants of 1915 and the Kurdish terrorists
of today were driven by fears like his. Maybe every group suspects the
others' evil intentions and act accordingly. Maybe the problems could
be solved if they learned to talk to each other.

Even this simple idea was a bit puzzling for my driver, so I just said
good night and left. But there were many other good questions to
ask. Was he ever provided with ample information so that he could
appropriately contextualize the observations he was making in his
hometown? Did anyone ever inform him about the possible causes of
poverty in the Southeast, or about the worldwide correlation between
poverty and higher birth rates? Did he ever learn about Kurdish
communities' sentiments on Turks and why they felt the need to
withdraw? Did he ever get such information from his government or his
media?

Driven by fear
I bet the answers would be all negative. And this underlines the core
problem: Ethnic tension, and ultimately conflict, arises from the lack
of objective knowledge about the other, which leads to paranoia about
the other. People hardly do evil for that they enjoy evil. They rather
do evil for that they fear evil.

That is something we should keep in mind while dealing with not only
the contemporary issues such as the Kurdish question, but also
historical ones such as the Armenian "Meds Yeghern" (Great Catastrophe).

In her book, "A Problem from Hell," Samantha Power, whom President
Obama appointed to a senior position, describes the latter well. Yet
to get the full picture, one also needs to read other works such as,
"Death and Exile: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ottoman Muslims, 1821-1922"
by historian Justin McCarthy. That will show you that the massacres of
Armenians were motivated by fear rather than anything else.

They were, in other words, driven by my driver's maddening idea: If
you don't kill them first, they will kill you all.

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