Wednesday,
Yerevan Signals Scrapping Of Turkish-Armenian Accords
. Emil Danielyan
U.S. - Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian speaks at the UN General
Assembly in New York, 19Sep2017.
President Serzh Sarkisian indicated late on Tuesday his intention to
formally annul the U.S.-brokered 2009 agreements to normalize
Armenia's relations with Turkey, citing Ankara's continuing refusal to
implement them unconditionally.
"Given the absence of any progress towards their implementation,
Armenia will declare the two protocols null and void," he declared in
a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. "We will enter the
spring of 2018 without those, as our experience has demonstrated,
futile protocols."
The protocols signed in Zurich in October 2009 committed Turkey and
Armenia to establishing diplomatic relations and opening their
border. Shortly after the high-profile signing ceremony, Ankara made
clear, however, that Turkey's parliament will ratify the deal only if
there is decisive progress towards a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan.
The Armenian government rejected this precondition, arguing that the
protocols make no reference to the conflict. The United States, the
European Union and Russia have also repeatedly called for their
unconditional implementation by both sides.
Switzerland -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (2ndR) and his
Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandiana (2nd L) shake hands as they
hold signed documents after a signing ceremony, Zurich, 10Oct2009
In his speech, Sarkisian denounced Ankara's "ludicrous preconditions."
"Turkey's leadership is mistaken if it thinks that it can perpetually
hold those documents hostage and ratify them only on what it sees as
the most opportune occasion," he said.
The Turkish government did not immediately react to the
announcement. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for more
international efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict when he
addressed the General Assembly earlier on Tuesday. Successive
governments in Ankara have kept that border with Armenia completely
closed since 1993 in a show of support for Azerbaijan.
Sarkisian already threatened in February 2010 to scrap the protocols
if they are not ratified by the Turks "in the shortest possible time."
But he avoided doing that, saying two months later that he does not
want to upset the U.S. and other world powers.
Sarkisian formally recalled the protocols from the Armenian parliament
ahead of official commemorations in April 2015 of the centenary of the
Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. He told Turkish journalists
afterwards that the move "does not presuppose any legal consequences
because I did not withdraw Armenia's signatures from the protocols."
Turkey -- President Abdullah Gul (R) speaks with his Armenian
counterpart Serzh Sarkisian during the World Cup 2010 qualifying
football match between Turkey and Armenia in Bursa, 14Oct2009
Sarkisian's Western-backed policy of rapprochement with Turkey proved
highly controversial within Armenia and especially its worldwide
Diaspora. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), an
influential pan-Armenian party, pulled out of his coalition government
in protest in 2009.
Dashnaktsutyun and some opposition groups in Armenia were particularly
angered by a clause in the protocols that called for the creation of a
Turkish-Armenian "subcomission" of historians that would examine the
1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenia. They said that the
very existence of such a body could call into question the genocide
acknowledged by most Western historians. Sarkisian and his allies
denied that.
Some critics also questioned economic benefits of an open border with
Turkey for Armenia.
Economists generally agree that cross-border commerce would be good
for the Armenian economy. Just how substantial and quick that impact
would be is a matter of contention.
A 2015 opinion poll by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC),
a U.S. non-governmental organization specializing in the South
Caucasus, found that only one in two Armenians support the opening of
the Turkish-Armenian border. According to the European Union-funded
poll, nearly half of respondents felt that it would damage Armenia's
national security. Also, 82 percent of those polled agreed with the
notion that Turkey "cannot be trusted."
More U.S. Lawmakers Visit Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh - U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone (R) and Tulsi
Gabbard meet officials in Stepanakert, 20Sep2017.
Two more members of the U.S. House of Representatives visited
Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday in a show of support for the
Armenian-populated territory's pursuit of international recognition.
Representatives Frank Pallone and Tulsi Gabbard met with government
officials and lawmakers in Stepanakert after touring the nearby
historical town of Shushi (Shusha).
Pallone, who is one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Armenian
Caucus, reaffirmed his pro-Armenian views on the Karabakh
conflict. "We believe that the people of Artsakh (Karabakh) must be
able to exercise their right to self-determination and have mechanisms
for ensuring their security," the Artsakhpress news agency quoted him
saying at the meeting.
"We are going to do our best within the Congress or within the
confines of the [OSCE] Minsk Group # to see if we can play some role
in creating some confidence-building measures and obviously pushing
along a process that would lead to a peaceful settlement," Pallone
told reporters afterwards.
"But all of that necessitates that Karabakh continue to be Armenian
and have its own self-determination. That, we will always insist on,"
added the New Jersey Democrat who has repeatedly visited Karabakh in
the past.
Both Pallone and Gabbard, a Democrat of Hawaii, praised the Karabakh
authorities' human rights and democracy records. Karabakh shares
"important values" with the United States, Gabbard said.
Nagorno-Karabakh - U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard speaks at a
meeting in Stepanakert, 20Sep2017.
The two lawmakers were accompanied by the chairmen of the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Armenian Assembly of
America, the two main Armenian lobby groups in the U.S. "As our
congressional friends saw today, Artsakh is a very American story: the
victory of a free people over foreign rule, the well-deserved and
hard-earned triumph of democracy over dictatorship," said the ANCA's
Raffi Hamparian.
Pallone and Gabbard were part of a six-member U.S. congressional
delegation that held talks with Armenian lawmakers and senior
government officials in Yerevan on Tuesday. Another member of the
delegation, David Valadao, travelled to Karabakh on Monday to inspect
U.S.-funded demining activities there.
Earlier this month, Valadao and other pro-Armenian lawmakers pushed
through House of Representatives legislation mandating continued
U.S. government funding for the humanitarianeffort. The U.S. Congress
has financed it since 2001 as part of direct economic assistance to
Karabakh allocated over strong Azerbaijani objections.
Armenian General Cleared Of Corruption Charges
. Hovannes Movsisian
Armenia -- Retired General Melsik Chilingarian speaks to RFE/RL in
Yerevan, 20Sep2017.
Armenian law-enforcement authorities have dropped corruption charges
against a high-ranking Defense Ministry official who was arrested last
year, it emerged on Wednesday.
General Melsik Chilingarian was taken into custody in May 2016 ten
days after being sacked as head of the ministry's Department on
Armaments which deals with storage, maintenance and repair of weapons
and ammunition supplied to the Armenian Armed Forces.
Also arrested was Colonel Armen Markarian, one of Chilingarian's
subordinates who was in charge of vehicles used by the army.Armenia's
Investigative Committee accused the two men of procurement fraud that
cost the state 145 million drams ($300,000) in losses.
A uniform-clad Chilingarian was spotted by an RFE/RL correspondent
while taking in part in the latest Armenia-Diaspora conference held in
Yerevan. He said that he was set free and cleared of any wrongdoing
about one month after his arrest. He said investigators found that
only Markarian was responsible for the alleged misuse of government
money.
The spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, Sona Truzian,
confirmed the information. She said that "large-scale investigative
actions" taken by the law-enforcement body found no evidence of
corrupt practices or other abuse of power by the general.
Despite being cleared of the corruption charges, Chilingarian was not
reinstated in his Defense Ministry post.He said he now only sits on
one of the ministry's advisory bodies.
Chilingarian's arrest followed the sackings of Deputy Defense Minister
Alik Mirzabekian, as well as General Arshak Karapetian, the Armenian
military intelligence chief, and General Komitas Muradian, the
commander of the Armenian army's communication units. They came more
than three weeks after the outbreak of heavy fighting around
Nagorno-Karabakh that nearly escalated into a full-scale
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
The four-day hostilities raised questions about the Armenian
military's apparent lack of prior knowledge of the assault. Critics
also suggested that Karabakh Armenian frontline troops did not have
sufficient modern weapons and other military equipment when they came
under attack.
Both Chilingarian and the Investigative Committee official insisted
that the criminal case against him was not connected with the April
2016 war.
Aliyev Laments Lack Of International Pressure On `Fascist' Armenia
U.S. -- Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev addresses the 72nd United
Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York, U.S.,
.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again strongly criticized the
international community on Wednesday for not helping Azerbaijan regain
control over Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-held districts surrounding
it.
In a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, he also lashed out
at Armenia, calling it a "corrupt" and "fascist" dictatorship and
branding his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian as a "war criminal."
Aliyev repeated Baku's regular claims that Armenia has been ignoring
the Karabakh-related resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in
1993-1994 and trying to maintain the status quo.
"The question is how can this corrupt, failed state ruled by a
despotic, medieval regime afford to violate international law for so
many years and ignore the resolutions of the UN Security Council and
statements of the leading countries of the world?" he said. "And the
answer is double standards.
"There is no international pressure on the aggressor, no international
sanctions imposed on the Armenian dictatorship. This policy must be
stopped."
"The international community must stop Armenian fascism and terror,"
he added.
Aliyev, who is facing growing internationalallegations of corruption
and criticism for harshly suppressing dissent in Azerbaijan, did not
name any world powers allegedly backing Yerevan. He reiterated instead
that "the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be completely
restored" as a result of a Karabakh settlement.
Sarkisian ruled out such an option when he addressed the UN assembly
on Tuesday. He stood by the official Armenian line that the Karabakh
Armenians' right to self-determination must be at the heart of any
peace accord.
Sarkisian said Karabakh cannot be placed back under Azerbaijani rule
not least because Aliyev's regime is a "symbol of medieval
backwardness." "Azerbaijan has no legal and moral grounds to lay claim
to Artsakh (Karabakh)," he went on. "Artsakh has never been part of an
independent Azerbaijan."
"Whatever variant of settlement we arrive at, the Republic of Artsakh
cannot have a lower status and enjoy less freedom than it does now,"
said the Armenian leader.
Peace proposals jointly made by the United States, Russia and France
over the past decade call for a phased resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute. It would start with a gradual liberation
of virtually all seven districts around Karabakh that were occupied by
Armenian forces in 1992-1994. In return, Karabakh's predominantly
ethnic Armenian population would be able to determine the territory's
internationally recognized status in a future referendum.
Aliyev and Sarkisian traded the verbal attacks ahead of a possible
meeting in New York of their foreign ministers. The U.S., Russian and
French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group hope that the meeting will
prepare the ground for an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit later this year.
Press Review
"Zhamanak" analyzes possible implications of Prime Minister Karen
Karapetian's latest remark that he would like to continue serving as
prime minister next year. "Karen Karapetian was never known for his
determination and straightforward answers," writes the paper. "If he
is now making clear his ambitions relating to 2018, one can presume
that either a political decision has been made or that Karen
Karapetian intends to seriously fight, with the help of
Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian, for power in 2018. We
are more inclined to believe in the former." It suggests that the
premier would have hardly made such a statement without having reason
to be optimistic about his political future.
"Haykakan Zhamanak" speculates, meanwhile, that President Serzh
Sarkisian "did everything" to sack Karapetian or force him to resign
before the Armenia-Diaspora conference that began on
Monday. "Sarkisian had serious reason to do so," writes the paper. "As
we all know, the Diaspora is not quite enthusiastic about Armenia's
current authorities and has reservations and grievances on many
issues. In this situation, with his European image Karen Karapetian
could become a real alternative for respected Diaspora figures."
The paper claims that Karapetian has also received "serious support"
from the West of late despite his strong connections with Russia's
government and business circles. It points to statements by Western
diplomats hailing his reform agenda. Karapetian could therefore pose a
"serious threat" to Sarkisian, concludes "Zhamanak."
"Zhoghovurd" blasts government plans to step up the teaching of the
Russian language in Armenian schools. A government document disclosed
by the media last week stresses the importance for Armenians to speak
"different foreign languages." The paper says that the government is
singling out only one of those languages. "This is an abnormal
phenomenon," it says, adding that the Armenian authorities are trying
to promote Russian under pressure from Moscow.
"Hraparak" is unimpressed with the latest Diaspora-Armenia conference,
saying that many of its participants are now less enthusiastic than
they were during the previous gatherings held in Yerevan. This is why,
the paper says, some Diaspora Armenians openly criticized the Armenian
authorities this time around.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
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