POLITICIANS SHOULD NOT SPECULATE WITH HISTORICAL ISSUES
Akper Hasanov
news.az
May 4 2010
Azerbaijan
Sergey Taran News.Az interviews Ukrainian political scientist Sergey
Taran.
The Kiev city Rada asks the Supreme Rada of Ukraine "to consider
possible recognition of mass murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
in 1915-1992 as genocide". Do you consider that the Supreme Rada of
Ukraine can recognize fictional "Armenian genocide"?
It’s a little bit difficult to give an exact forecast on this issue.
It is only possible to indicate the factors that can influence
the adoption of a final decision. This is a destiny of the issue
of Ukrainians genocide in 1933. Here, there are no analogies with
the 1915 events in the Ottoman empire but there is Russia’s position
which considers that there was no genocide of Ukrainians but there was
holodomor that touched upon a number of other nations of former USSR.
On the whole, I think the deputies of the Kiev city Rada that ask the
Supreme Rada of Ukraine to consider the 1915 events in the Ottoman
empire mostly even do not know what happened in the Ottoman empire
95 years ago. I say this because there are grounds to suppose that
the decision in Supreme Rada will be taken considering political
conjuncture, rather than the historical reality.
On the whole, is Armenia right to ignore numerous proposals of the
Turkish side to open all existing archives and empower the assessment
of events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire to historians, rather than
politicians?
The new world history has already witnessed the fact of recognition
of the genocide of the Jewish people that promoted the creation of
Israel as a state. This precedent has become an example for a number
of people including Armenians. On the whole, it is incorrect to say
that the issue of any event must be clarified only by politicians. It
is also wrong to attribute this issue only to historians. There must be
a serious discussion to start with the opinion of historians regarding
it. In addition, it is terrible and undesirable when politicians start
to speculate with historical issues. The agenda of the political day
must be filled with other issues, mostly economic ones.
You have earlier mentioned the importance of the current political
conjuncture in Ukraine. What can you say about it?
The position of incumbent President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich is
irrational. As the president of Ukraine, he must take into account
the opinions, wishes and sentiments of the whole country, not just
its part which voted for him during the recent elections. This policy
will not influence Yanukovich’s presidency on the first stages but
in the future it will affect it by all means. Let’s recall that
previous Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko lost the recent
elections because his policy was supported only by the western part
of the country’s population. Therefore, it is possible to say that
Yanukovich repeats Yushchenko’s mistake staking only on the eastern
part of Ukraine. At the same time, it is also necessary to admit that
following Russia’s direction in foreign policy, Ukraine does not lose
ties with Europe. In particular, Yanukovich has rejected Ukraine’s
membership in the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan,
continuing to orient on Russia’s position regarding the unsettled
territorial conflicts in the former USSR.
Considering the aforementioned, which will be Ukraine’s policy on
Azerbaijan under Yanukovich?
I think Viktor Yanukovich will continue the line of cordial, friendly,
mutually profitable relations that was supported by the previous
presidents of our country. Azerbaijan has always been a loyal,
reliable and sincere ally of Ukraine. Probably, for some period of
time Ukraine’s foreign policy will be pro-Russian, but it possible
to state that in the nearest future our country will hold the same
policy on the Caucasus that it has conducted in the past 20 years.