Month: February 2015

ARMENIA BACKPEDALS ON NORMALIZATION OF TIES WITH TURKEY

Kuwait News Agency
Feb 17 2015

17/02/2015 | 12:37 AM | World News
ANKARA, Feb 16 (KUNA) — Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan decided
Monday to withdraw the two protocols on normalization of relations
with Turkey from the parliament.

Over the last six years the two documents remained as mere ink on
paper after they were signed in 2009 due to “lack of political will”
on the Turkish side, he said in a letter to Parliament Speaker Galust
Sahakyan.

He accused the Turkish officials of planting obstacles and raising
additional preconditions for the establishment of diplomatic ties
after a century-long tense relations, according to an Anadolu Agency
report. While reaffirming readiness to settle the relations, the
Armenian leader said “we were also ready for failure.” On April 22,
2010, the Armenian president ordered freezing the ratification of
the two US-backed protocols amid traded accusations on the 100th
anniversary of the deadly events which began in 1915.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA-TURKEY PEACE ACCORDS WITHDRAWN

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Feb 17 2015

Reuters

YEREVAN: Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said Monday he withdrew
from parliament landmark peace accords with Turkey, setting further
back U.S.-backed efforts to bury a century of hostility between
the neighbors.

The two countries signed accords in October 2009 to establish
diplomatic relations and open their land border, trying to overcome the
legacy of the World War I mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The process had been deadlocked by nationalists on both sides,
and Ankara and Yerevan have accused the other of trying to rewrite
the texts and setting new conditions. Many Armenians want Turkey to
recognize the 1915 mass killings as genocide and pay reparations,
proposals Ankara balks at.

Neither parliament has approved the deal, which would bring huge
economic gains for poor, landlocked Armenia, burnish Turkey’s
credentials as an EU candidate and boost its clout in the strategic
South Caucasus.

“We were ready for a fully fledged settlement in our relations
with Turkey by ratifying these protocols, but we were also ready
for failure,” Sarksyan said in a letter that had been sent to the
parliament, his press service said.

He blamed Turkey for “absence of the political will” in finding a
solution. “We have nothing to hide and it should be clear for the
international community whose fault it was that the last closed
European border was not open,” he said.

Armenia, a country of 3.2 million, is approaching the 100th-anniversary
of the killings, when tens of thousands lay flowers at a hilltop
monument in the capital April 24th.

U.S. President Barack Obama will issue a statement to mark the
massacres’ anniversary, a defining element of Armenian national
identity and thorn in the side of Turkey.

Turkey accepts many Armenians died in partisan fighting beginning
in 1915 but denies that up to 1.5 million were killed and that it
amounted to genocide – a term used by some Western historians and
foreign parliaments.

ARMENIA WITHDRAWS KEY PEACE ACCORDS WITH TURKEY

EurActiv, EU
Feb 17 2015

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on Monday (16 February) he
withdrew from parliament landmark peace accords with Turkey, setting
further back U.S.-backed efforts to bury a century of hostility
between the neighbours.

The two countries signed accords in October 2009 to establish
diplomatic relations and open their land border, trying to overcome the
legacy of the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The process had been deadlocked by nationalists on both sides,
and Ankara and Yerevan have accused the other of trying to rewrite
the texts and setting new conditions. Many Armenians want Turkey to
recognise the 1915 mass killings as genocide and pay reparations,
proposals Ankara balks at.

Neither parliament has approved the deal, which would bring huge
economic gains for poor, landlocked Armenia, burnish Turkey’s
credentials as an EU candidate and boost its clout in the strategic
South Caucasus.

“We were ready for a fully-fledged settlement in our relations
with Turkey by ratifying these protocols, but we were also ready
for failure,” Sargsyan said in a letter that had been sent to the
parliament, his press service said.

He blamed Turkey for “absence of the political will” in finding
solution.

“We have nothing to hide and it should be clear for the international
community whose fault it was that the last closed European border
was not open,” he said.

Armenia, a country of 3.2 million, is approaching the 100th-anniversary
of the killings, when tens of thousands lay flowers at a hilltop
monument in the capital on April 24th.

U.S. President Barack Obama will issue a statement to mark the
anniversary of the massacres, a defining element of Armenian national
identity and thorn in the side of Turkey.

Muslim Turkey accepts many Christian Armenians died in partisan
fighting beginning in 1915 but denies that up to 1.5 million were
killed and that it amounted to genocide — a term used by some Western
historians and foreign parliaments.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH INSTITUTE FOR PROGRESS ASKS ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO RECONSIDER 2009 AGREEMENT

Virtual Press Office
Feb 17 2015

Turkish American Group Expresses Disappointment at Armenia Thwarting
Efforts to Restore Diplomatic Ties

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Following reports
that Armenian president Serge Sarkisian is refusing to ratify a 2009
Agreement brokered by the United States, the Turkish Institute for
Progress is calling on him to reconsider the decision that will cause
further roadblocks to much needed diplomatic ties in the region.

Members of the Turkish Institute for Progress suggest that by
participating in a formal dialogue and exploring more partnership
with Turkey, Armenia can reclaim its national sovereignty and prevent
alienating itself from the global community.

“This Agreement is an important part of the process,” stated Derya
Berk, President of the Turkish Institute for Progress. “It demonstrates
a spirit of cooperation that the region needs to heal old wounds and
look to the future for mutually beneficial partnerships. We welcome an
opportunity to work together with the Armenian community to explore
ways to work in the spirit of cooperation and for the greater good
of Turks and Armenians across the globe.”

“We hope President Sarkisian will reconsider his position on this
matter and that the Armenian community globally will join us in
advocating for solutions moving forward,” Berk continued. “Simply
refusing these continued overtures, especially those advocated and
negotiated by the United States, will cause division where progress
toward healing is well underway.”

The Turkish Institute for Progress was formed recently to demonstrate
areas of international cooperation with Turkey and establish additional
avenues to achieve global progress on economic, social, and security
issues, including: breaking down barriers to trade, addressing regional
energy dependence, and deterring the continued spread of radicalism.

For more information please visit:

To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:

SOURCE Turkish Institute for Progress

Also at

TURKEY SLAMS ARMENIA FOR HALTING DEAL TO IMPROVE TIES

Zee News, India
Feb 17 2015

Last Updated: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 – 01:35

Istanbul: Turkey lashed out Tuesday at Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian for his decision to withdraw from parliament a landmark
deal aimed at repairing relations between the two nations.

“We don`t think this is the right approach by Armenia, it is an
erroneous and baseless step,” said Turkish foreign ministry spokesman
Tanju Bilgic in Ankara, quoted by Turkish media.

Sarkisian said on Monday he was recalling the protocols both countries
signed in 2009 from parliament due to the “absence of political will”
on the Turkish side.

The deal was brokered under US, French and Russian supervision in
Zurich but the accords have since languished without ratification in
both nations` parliaments.

Sarkisian`s decision appears to have for now buried the deal,
which would have led to the opening up of the border between the
two neighbours.

Relations between Turkey and Armenia remain blocked as Ankara refuses
to cede to Yerevan`s demands that it acknowledge the mass killing of
Armenians by Ottoman forces in World War I was a genocide.

Sarkisian`s decision to recall the accords comes at a particularly
critical moment, as Armenians prepare to mark the 100th anniversary
of the start of the massacres on April 24.

Armenians have angrily accused Turkey of trying to overshadow
the ceremonies planned in Yerevan by advancing its advancing its
commemorations of the 1915 Ottoman resistance against the Allied
landing in Gallipoli to the same day.

Bilgic in turn accused Armenia of using the anniversary year as a
pretext for renewing accusations against Turkey over the killings.

Yerevan says around 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered in a
deliberate campaign against them.

Turkey disputes that figure. Last year, President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, then premier, offered condolences for the mass killings for
the first time.

But hopes that the gesture would lead to a breakthrough in relations
between the two countries have so far come to nothing.

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY: ARMENIA INSINCERE ABOUT NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 17 2015

17 February 2015 – 2:26pm

“Armenia has never demonstrated sincerity about normalizing relations
with Turkey,” the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports today with
reference to a source in the country’s foreign ministry, commenting
on Sargsyan’s withdrawal from the Armenian-Turkish protocols on
normalization of relations with Turkey.

“This decision is a result of internal discussions in the Armenian
structures. However, we believe that this is a wrong and a failed
step,” 1news.az cited him.

The source noted that despite the fact that the protocols remain
on the agenda of the Armenian parliament, the Armenian side has not
taken further steps.

Yesterday Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan decided to withdraw the
Armenian-Turkish protocols on diplomatic relations with Turkey.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed in 1993,
when the Armenian-Turkish border was closed on Ankara’s initiative.

From: A. Papazian

GRANDAD KILLED IN A ‘GENOCIDE’ MASSACRE

The Sun (England)
February 16, 2015 Monday
Ireland Edition

by MICHAEL McHUGH

AN Irish man who believes his grandfather was killed and buried in an
Armenian mass grave has called on the British and Irish governments
to recognise the deaths as genocide.

Paul Manook said his grandfather was lined up alongside other men in
a village in eastern Turkey by Ottoman Turkish soldiers a century ago.

He was never seen again.

Turkey has apologised for the killings but denies Armenian claims
that up to 1.5 million people died in an act of genocide during the
First World War when troops targeted the Christian minority.

Mr Manook, 64, from Millisle in Co Down, said: “I have a strong
feeling they must have killed them and buried them in mass graves.”

The dispute between the two sides centres on the definition of
genocide.

RUSSIA ‘ARMING ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN’ AS HOSTILITIES INCREASE

Newsweek Magazine
Feb 17 2015

By Felicity Capon 2/17/15 at 2:04 PM

Nagorno-Karabakh is the subject of a two-decade long conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili (ARMENIA)

A resurgence of fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops over
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh has led to analysts warning
of escalating hostilities and even an “accidental war” between the
two countries. They also indicated that Russia could use the conflict
as a way to consolidate power in the region.

Two Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers and one Armenian civilian have
been killed this month alone, and it is thought that at least a dozen
have been killed in the conflict since the start of the new year.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked mountainous region, and is the
subject of a two-decade long conflict between Azerbaijan, in whose
territory the region lies, and its predominantly Armenian community.

Officially, active hostilities ended in 1994 when a ceasefire was
reached, but skirmishes along the border have been a common feature of
the conflict since then. However, experts are now warning that this
year’s developments have been much worse than usual with increased
casualties, both civilian and military, sustained on both sides. Some
reports estimate ceasefire violations stand at around 5,000 for
January–the highest monthly figure since the truce.

Richard Giragosian, the director of the Regional Studies Center
(RSC), an independent thinktank in Armenia, told Newsweek that he is
“increasingly concerned of a war by accident, based on small skirmishes
spiralling out of control” and says that both sides could be “rushing
headlong into a dangerous situation.” He argues that the number of
casualties is very unusual given the topography and the terrain,
with fighting usually confined to the summer. He also expects a much
bigger surge in fighting over the coming months.

Giragosian describes how opposing forces on the frontline have come
much closer to each other in terms of physical proximity than at any
time since the truce, and that the battle space has also expanded, with
Azerbaijan attacking Armenia proper, and not just the Nagorno-Karabakh
border.

Both sides have been much more willing to use arms in the last few
months, and as frustrations about the stalling peace process have
increased, an arms race has escalated, mainly instigated by Azerbaijan,
according to Giragosian. Armenia and Azerbaijan are among the 10
countries with the highest levels of militarisation in the world,
a 2014 study found.

Russia is the main supplier of arms to both sides and, with the ongoing
crisis between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military
as well as Russia’s reportedly aggressive occupational policy against
Georgia, experts are concerned that Putin is considering a bolder
and much riskier move to consolidate power in the region.

Giragosian explains that “The one wildcard in this situation is
Russia. For Russia, the status quo is best: no peace, no war. But
Putin may be tempted by a risky move to provoke fighting to deploy
peacekeepers in order to ensure leverage. Events in Ukraine prove
that Moscow lacks a rational actor.”

At the same time, rumours have been circulating in the Azerbaijani
press that the U.S. is funding the Nagorno-Karabakh regime, fuelled
by a powerful Armenian-American lobby. Newsweek cannot substantiate
these claims but Giragosian says that American funding was provided
in the past and has been suspended for the past two fiscal years
because of an inability to oversee the expenditure.

John Macleod, of the London-based Institute for War and Peace
Reporting, says: “Things are particularly bad and there have been
more incidents at the moment. There is always the danger that one
country will overstep the mark and it will spread like wildfire and
there will be war before you know it.”

“We don’t exactly know what Russia’s interests or the implications of
its involvement are. But the Russians are an increasingly pro active
regional player and harbour territorial interests for sure.” Macleod
believes it is “feasible” that Russia would send “peacekeeping” troops
to the region under the pretence of bolstering its sphere of influence.

Civilians are also increasingly getting caught up in the violence,
with the Armenian press reporting several casualties, including the
case of a young man who last year wandered into Azerbaijani territory
before reportedly committing suicide in Azerbaijani custody. Last
November, Azerbaijan shot down an attack Armenian helicopter as it
flew along the ceasefire line, killing three Armenians on board.

The timing of the conflict is also key as this year marks the 100th
anniversary of the genocide of Armenians in Turkey, which could
aggravate the already tense situation.

AUTHOR EXPLAINS HOW ECHOES OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONTAIN LESSONS FOR TODAY

WNPR News
Feb 17 2015

Tue, Feb 17, 2015
By Harriet Jones

A century ago, in April 1915, an event began that’s come to be known as
the Armenian Genocide. One scholar believes that massacre should remind
us of the long-term implications of events playing out in our own time.

It’s thought that up to 1.5 million people may have been massacred
or expelled from their homes in the Ottoman Empire during the worst
atrocity of World War I. For almost a century, Turkey has denied the
enormity of the event, but that may be changing.

Thomas de Waal works for the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace. Recently, he returned to Turkey with a group American Armenians
— descendants of those who fled the genocide in the early 20th
century.

“We were actually greeted incredibly warmly,” de Waal told WNPR. “In
a couple of places, Armenian churches had been reopened, people came
out and shared stories about their Armenian grandparents. So on the
ground in Turkey, that memory is coming back and those people to
people contacts are happening.”

His experiences are recounted in a new book, Great Catastrophe —
that’s the term many Armenians use for those months in 1915.

De Waal spoke recently at Connecticut College, and he said it is
language that illustrates how divisive those events remain. The
subtitle of his book is Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide.

The term genocide — the attempt to eradicate an entire people — was
first coined in the 1940s, and de Waal said that while at a scholarly
level, it is correct to call what happened to the Armenians genocide,
the use of the word has unfortunate consequences.

“It’s become a barrier to the solution of the problem,” de Waal said.

“Which is for Armenians and Turks to communicate more, and understand
each other’s history. And you’ve got this big, dark ‘genocide’ word
standing between them.”

The descendants of the Armenian diaspora continue to seek closure, and
that search has shaped U.S. politics. The Armenian lobby is powerful
in Congress, but still finds itself at odds with America’s political
alliance with Turkey.

De Waal said the fact that this is still relevant today should alert
us to the lingering effects of events in our own time. “It only
takes a few weeks or months to commit an atrocity. But the effects
can cascade across the generations, and trauma can be transmitted
from generation to generation.”

It also, he said, illustrates the importance of good history — an
understanding of events that tells a human story and not a morality
play.

‘ICE IS MELTING’: SARKISIAN, TSARUKYAN MEET

By Weekly Staff on February 17, 2015

YEREVAN (A.W.)–On Feb. 17, a meeting took place between Armenian
President Serge Sarkisian and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) leader
Gagik Tsarukyan. Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun
(ARF-D) Member of Parliament Aghvan Vardanyan told CivilNet that
the ARF-D has done everything in its power to find a solution to the
recent escalation in tensions between the two parties, in order to
ensure that the country is not faced with major consequences.

Vardanyan refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting and told
reporters that each side will release its own statement soon.

Armen Rustamyan

Following the meeting, ARF Bureau member Armen Rustamyan told 168.am.,
“We have continuously said that the edges need to be smoothed out,
that we are on the side of improving relations, and that we have
exerted our humble efforts in that regard. We are pleased that the
meeting has finally taken place, that communication is advancing,
and that the ice is melting,”

The meeting comes in the wake of rising tensions between the ruling
regime and the PAP. Sarkisian criticized Tsarukyan at a Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) Council meeting on Feb. 12. After a session
of the Executive Council of the PAP the following day, Tsarukyan
responded to Sarkisian’s criticisms and called on the citizens of
Armenia to “prepare for struggle.”

Several members of PAP were arrested last night. Officers raided
the home of Parliament member (MP) Rustam Gasparyan and conducted a
thorough search, according to reports.

President Sarkisian and Gagik Tsarukyan (Photo: Slaq.am)

According to PAP MP Elinar Vartanyan, the Arabkir, Maralik, and
Shengavit district office directors of the party have also been
arrested, as has Artur Mamoyan, the Nor Nork district PAP office
director, on suspicion of carrying an unlicensed firearm.

ARF-D Bureau member and head of the party’s political faction,
Armen Rustamyan voiced his belief that the recent political tensions
have entered a new and dangerous stage and can have irreversible
repercussions for the country. “We could lose everything,” said
Rustamyan, in a recent interview, citing that the battle between the
PAP and the RPA confirm the ARF-D’s grave concerns about the political
landscape of the country.

Rustamyan had also confirmed that the ARF-D has been working hard
to bring together the two sides and broker an agreement. “Although I
will not give details about our efforts, I can say that we have been
using our contacts and hope to succeed,” Rustamyan told Yerkir.am.

The ARF-D is steadfast in its belief that constitutional reforms are
needed in the country. However, political conflicts and snap elections
will not solve the issue, according to Rustamyan. He believes the
only way conditions will change is if all sides come to the table
and discuss the issue of constitutional and electoral reform. “We
should make our demands clear to the regime. If there is unity in our
demands, then the authorities will not have any reason to deny us,”
said Rustamyan.

On Jan. 15, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and member of the
RPA announced that his party is ready to discuss the ARF-D’s proposals
for constitutional reforms. “I have examined the proposals, and I must
say that the ARF-D did serious work. There are proposals that I agree
with, and there are proposals that can become a topic for discussion.

There might be proposals that the RPA won’t agree with, but the fact
remains that the [they] are written by professionals…in which the
interests of the state are placed above the interests of political
parties,” Sharmazanov explained.

According to Sharmazanov, the proposed constitutional reforms are
very important and worthy of consideration. “In this sense, I think
the Dashnaktsutyun’s proposals are worth discussing. Of course,
there are issues on which the RPA has its own views, but they are
issues that can be discussed. I’m certain that we can solve all those
issues through discussions,” he added.

Rustamyan explained that the ARF-D is not getting ready to join a
coalition with the RPA after President Sarkisian’s withdrawal of the
Turkey-Armenia protocols from Parliament. According to Rustamyan, the
recalling of the protocols was just one of seven demands the ARF-D has
presented to the government. “If there are real steps taken towards
the realization of those seven points, then we [the ARF-D] is ready
to co-operate with anyone ready to work with us, said Rustamyan. He
also urged members of all parties to join the ARF-D when they sit at
the bargaining table with authorities.