Author: Andres-Papazian

A NEW TANGO IS STARTING IN TURKEY-US RELATIONS

Hurriyet

Dec 23 2010
Turkey

Relations between Turkey and the United States are currently being
fine-tuned. The dangerous course has been replaced with a calmer
process, a mutually new attempt and opportunity to put relations back
on track.

It becomes apparent that the White House gave the “Don’t batter
Turkey” message to those that have been very angry with Turkey. The
president’s statement in daily Hurriyet over the weekend (“Our
relations are strong, we may have some differences but these are of
minor importance”) seemed to be the first sign.

Then we need to add to that the sensibility of the administration in
respect to the Armenian bill taking place on the agenda of the House
of Representatives. The administration seems to be preparing to listen
to Ankara more broad-mindedly. As a matter of fact, we couldn’t help
but noticing that a delegation came to Istanbul last week only to
“change the course of Turkish American relations and attempting to
understand Turkey better.”

This visit, attended by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K.

Albright, retired ambassadors, nongovernmental organizations and
academics, aimed to see the course of Turkey and examine the reality
in place. All were people who valued relations with Turkey very much
and knew the region well and more importantly were close to the Obama
administration. You see, nobody felt the need to convince anyone or
tell about our own case.

They asked and Turkish participants lead by Ä°lter Turkmen shared
their views. Rest assured, that this meeting was very informative
in respect to differing views and analysis. Even those who used to
criticize Prime Minister Erdogan from time to time gave him credit.

I used to participate in such meetings many times but this one was
different in tone and atmosphere. In summary I could say the following:

– Relations between Turkey and the U.S. are not as they used to be
in the sense of little brother does as the big brother says. Some
Americans accept that Turkey is playing an important role in the region
but a substantial part of Washington could not adopt this reality.

– The United States letting go of or turning its back on the Turkey’s
ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is out of question. From
now on difference in opinion or serious disagreement will be present
but at the end of the day they’ll meet in the same place.

– Washington too does know that its general attitude needs to change.

It does not like Turkey’s approach in Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Sudan
and Syria relations but seems to understand that it has to get over it.

– It openly shows that the former “Strategic Partnership” has no
meaning anymore. Thus another slogan needs to be found.

– They accept that Turkey is looking for a new approach rather than
a shift in axis.

– They often repeat that there is no shift in axis but Ankara needs
to find a way to better explain itself.

– As much as the need for Turkey to change its approach in issues
like Iran and Israel, the United States needs to share its politics
regarding Turkey.

This meeting and statements thereafter will be very helpful with
respect to explaining Turkey’s approach in the region. But let’s not
forget that Turkey also needs to support this effort.

Ankara is expected to fine tune its attitude in order not to upset
Washington and stop beating Israel constantly.

We’ll miss the Armenian protocols much

We were about to incidentally receive a goal in our goalpost in
respect to the Armenian genocide bill as we were playing in overtime.

Pressure form the Obama administration, not enough votes in the
Congress and not sufficient support from the Israeli lobby saved us
from this goal.

Everybody took a deep breath. But don’t worry there will be another
bill in April. And if that one doesn’t pass there will be another one
the following year. This will continue until 2015 (the anniversary
of genocide allegations). If no vital steps are taken or any progress
made the Armenians will try and do their best to pass the draft.

The only way to stop this course was the protocols signed with
Yerevan. It was expected to take pressure off of our shoulders. But
Ankara could not keep these protocols alive. The ministry for foreign
affairs either was unable to explain itself to Azerbaijanis or the
Azerbaijanis didn’t care or take it serious. But when things got
serious and protocols were signed, they got upset. Turkey couldn’t
break Aliyev’s heart and succumbed to Baku.

In short, Ankara regrets it now. It is obvious that as long as these
protocols are not revived it won’t rid itself of the Armenian spiral.

So what are we supposed to do? Will we live through this torture
every year until 2015?

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY WELCOMES U.S. STANCE ON ARMENIAN RESOLUTION

People’s Daily Online
Dec 24 2010
China

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Thursday welcomed the U.S. stance by
executives who prevented the resolution on the Armenian allegations
regarding the incidents of 1915 from being included in the official
daily agenda of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Gul said at a press conference in Istanbul, “the U.S. administration,
mainly President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
did their best on the matter. We appreciate them.”

“Thus, they have prevented Turkish-U.S. relations from being captured
by a totally irrelative issue,” the Turkish president added.

Gul said, “it is very clear how much importance both we and President
Obama attach to Turkish-U.S. relations. We are in close cooperation
on important issues concerning the region and the world.”

Earlier in the day, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said
Turkey was pleased that a bill recognizing the Armenian genocide had
not been brought up in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The resolution “H. Res. 252” — labeling the 1915 incidents, which took
place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire, as genocide —
was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives by a vote of 23 against 22 last March.

The adoption of the resolution caused wide reaction in Turkey,
including recall of its ambassador to U.S., who returned to Washington
D.C. a month later.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN WEAPONS SALES UNDERMINE U.S.
ARASH HAKAKZADEH Sherman Oaks

Washington Times

Dec 23 2010

Successive U.S. administrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution
have viewed Iran as a dire and existential threat to America and its
allies in the Persian Gulf, the broader Middle East and Eurasia. They
have thus sought to limit Iran’s military capabilities ever since.

Curtailing arms supplies and military technology to Iran has formed
an important part of the U.S. agenda and foreign policy, particularly
in light of ongoing U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq. To its credit, the United States has successfully persuaded
most of its allies not to sell arms to the Iranian military or its
security apparatus.

To thwart U.S. efforts, Iran has cultivated close relationships
with foreign suppliers that are not necessarily allied with the
United States. Iran remains reliant on foreign suppliers, such as
China, Russia and North Korea to develop its military might. Sadly,
it appears that another nation with whom the U.S. has ties, Armenia,
can now take its place in the aforementioned list of states supplying
the Iranian military with arms.

It is troubling to learn about the recent WikiLeaks disclosure of
more than 250,000 diplomatic cables, all apparently from the State
Department, which will no doubt have major impact on the United States’
national security. It is as troubling to learn of Armenia’s transfer
of arms to Iran, which reportedly resulted in the death and injury of
American troops in Iraq. We now know where Armenia stands, what its
preferences are and where its loyalties lie. With a friend like this,
who needs enemies?

In December 2008, then-Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte
wrote a letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan expressing his
concerns about Armenia’s transfer of arms to Iran. In his letter, Mr.

Negroponte noted that by law, the transfer of weapons to Iran requires
the United States to consider whether there is a basis for sanctions
against Armenia. It is important to note that the bills of lading
associated with the arms transferred to Iran were signed by none
other than then-Defense Minister Serzh Sargysan.

The United States cannot have a trauma of this magnitude and somehow
overlook it. Let’s hope Mr. Negroponte’s message is followed up by
the Obama administration.

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY CALLS FOR DIALOGUE AS TIME RUNS OUT ON US BILL

Today’s Zaman
Dec 24 2010
Turkey

Photo: John Boehner, the soon-to-be speaker of the House of
Representatives, opposes the “genocide” resolution.

FM Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed the US Congress’ decision against debating
a resolution to declare the killing of Armenians in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire a genocide, saying it was now time to resolve
disputes with Armenia.

“We are pleased that there was no development potentially dealing
a blow to Turkish-US and Turkish-Armenian ties in the US Congress
yesterday,” Davutoglu told reporters on the sidelines of a regional
summit in Ä°stanbul. Saying that “common sense has prevailed once
again,” Davutoglu said Turkey was ready to face history and to work
for reconciliation with Armenians.

He added that efforts to pass resolutions on history at third-party
countries’ parliaments and to use such resolutions to “blackmail”
Turkey were unacceptable. “Such efforts lead to a completely
unnecessary waste of time and energy,” said Davutoglu, referring to
intense Turkish efforts since Friday, when the resolution issue first
came up, to convince the US lawmakers not to take up the measure. “It
is now time for dialogue and compromise. We must intensify efforts
to that effect in order to bring peace to our region,” he said.

Davutoglu noted that Turkey not only wanted the normalization of ties
with estranged neighbor Armenia but also the establishment of ties
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, who fought a war over Nagorno-Karabakh
in the early 1990s. Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 in show of solidarity with regional ally Azerbaijan.

In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their
relations. The protocols call for a joint commission, also including
international experts, to examine the “historical dimension” of the
two countries’ relations. Ankara has repeatedly said outside countries
should stay out of the dispute on genocide claims.

Supporters of the resolution on genocide claims made a push for
approval in the final days of the US Congress, despite opposition from
the Obama administration. The measure was opposed strongly by Turkey,
and the administration feared it would have damaged relations with
the NATO ally.

Instead, the House of Representatives ended its two-year term
Wednesday without taking up the matter. It is unlikely to be passed
after Republicans take control of the chamber in January because the
new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, opposes it.

Proponents of the resolution had been optimistic about passing it
because outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was a longtime
supporter who had advocated approval. One Armenian-American group on
Wednesday blamed Pelosi for not scheduling a vote. “Her decision to
not move this legislation forward during her four years as speaker
represents a failure of the congressional leadership on human rights,”
said Ken Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee
of America.

Turkey has said frequently that the resolution would drive a wedge
in its relations with the United States. In March, after the House
Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the proposed resolution, Turkey,
which sees the measure as a historical affront, withdrew its ambassador
from Washington. This week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent
US President Barack Obama a letter asking that he prevent a vote on
the measure. On Wednesday, Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington, Namık
Tan, thanked Obama in a statement for arguing against the measure. “As
decades-long friends and allies, Turkey and the US will continue to
work for global peace, prosperity and stability,” Tan said.

The issue is awkward for Obama, who pledged as a presidential candidate
to recognize the Armenian deaths as genocide. Armenians claim up to
1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic genocide campaign
during the World War I years. Turkey, on the other hand, denies that
the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated
and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

From: A. Papazian

ECO ISTANBUL SUMMIT SHOWCASES TURKEY’S GROWING OUTREACH TO A DIVERSE REGION

Today’s Zaman
Dec 24 2010
Turkey

Photo: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L), Afghan President
Hamid Karzai (2nd L), President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev (R) wait for other leaders for a group photo at the ECO
summit in Ä°stanbul on Thursday.

Turkey called for intensified contacts among countries in Eurasia as
it hosted a summit of 10 nations on Thursday, saying it will bring
prosperity and stability to the diverse region.

In addition to illustrating Turkey’s growing influence, the economic
summit — gathering leaders from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Central Asian states together in Ä°stanbul — also offered an
opportunity for Turkey to seek more support for its bid for the
creation of a new and modernized Silk Road. Ankara believes that
historical, economic and political relations, which were maintained
within the region historically thanks to the Silk Road, can be
revitalized via today’s railroads, highways and air links.

“Turkey, which is located exactly at the center of the Eurasian
continent, attaches much importance to the maintenance of peace,
security, stability and welfare all across this geography. Towards
this direction, we are trying to constitute regional dialogue and
cooperation mechanisms and implement comprehensive regional economic
cooperation projects in fields such as energy, communication and
transportation,” Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the visiting
leaders on Thursday, while delivering a speech at the opening of the
11th heads of state and government summit of the 10-member Economic
Cooperation Organization (ECO).

ECO was established by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in 1985 as an
intergovernmental regional organization aiming at promoting economic,
technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. In 1992,
it was expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan.

“I believe that supporting economic cooperation and development in
our region requires an institutionalized dialogue. Additionally,
I have the conviction that the way towards an effective and just
world system passes through dialogue and cooperation which will be
carried out in the regional field,” Gul said, while underlining the
vast natural sources of the participant countries.

Plagued by conflict but blessed with vast oil and gas reserves, the
Eurasian region has seen its geopolitical significance increase. Gul
said he hoped that the Ä°stanbul Declaration to be issued at the end
of the summit would bring a new dynamism to the organization.

Nevertheless, the summit has been expected to produce few concrete
results. Still, its significance lies in the attendance of the region’s
high-profile political leaders.

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Zalmai
Rassoul; Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov; Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign
Minister Ali Akbar Salehi; Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov;
Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbayeva; Pakistan’s President Asif Ali
Zardari and Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi; Tajikistan’s President
Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi were attendees
from the member states.

While the other two member states, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, were
represented by low-ranking officials, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,
Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade Lamia Assi and Aytug Plumer,
undersecretary from the Foreign Ministry of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (KKTC), and officials from Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon
also attended the summit as guests.

Earlier, in a preparatory meeting of foreign ministers, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey’s “Eurasian vision”
was one of close regional ties and cooperation. “Our objective is
to strengthen the links between Europe and Asia through energy and
transportation corridors and by creating new dynamics for cooperation,”
Davutoglu said.

Turkey, a rising Muslim democracy that has applied to join the European
Union, has cultivated its relationship with its eastern neighbors to
consolidate its position as a link between Europe on the one hand and
the Middle East and Central Asia on the other. The summit has served as
a showcase of Turkey’s growing diplomatic assertiveness and a foreign
policy it defines as being based on “zero problems with neighbors.”

In the past decade, Turkey has transformed itself from a financial
basket case on the periphery of Europe into one of the world’s
best-performing economies and now stakes a claim to a regional
leadership role.

Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert from the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace in Washington, said Turkey saw itself as a global
player and was using the ECO summits to demonstrate its influence.

“Most of these countries in ECO are mired in domestic problems and
Turkey’s interests are far more global. Turkey does not need ECO,
but Turkey does not loose an opportunity to show it’s central to
world politics,” Barkey told Reuters news agency.

Ankara, Baku, Tehran seek closer ties

A regional trilateral meeting was held on Thursday between Azerbaijan,
Iran and Turkey on the sidelines of the ECO summit, with the three
countries pledging closer cooperation in efforts to resolve regional
conflicts and combat terrorism and organized crime.

A joint statement released after the three countries’ foreign
ministers’ meeting underlined the need “to achieve peaceful resolution
of the unresolved conflicts in the region, based on the principle of
territorial integrity.”

A major territorial dispute in the region is Azerbaijan’s conflict with
Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave that Armenian separatists,
backed by Yerevan, seized from Baku in a war following the collapse of
the Soviet Union. “The ministers have agreed to hold regular trilateral
meetings,” the statement said, adding that the next meeting would be
in Iran.

Turkey is a traditional ally of Azerbaijan. Recently it has developed
close ties also with Iran, making active efforts to resolve tensions
over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Ankara has no diplomatic relations with Yerevan, whose position that
Armenians were the victim of genocide during the Ottoman Empire have
long made for tense relations between the two countries.

From: A. Papazian

MAINTAINING THE MEMORIES OF GENOCIDE

Los Angeles Times
,0,4147242.story
Dec 24 2010
CA

The late J. Michael Hagopian escaped the mass murder that claimed
the lives of as many as 1.5 million Armenians. Through his 12 films,
the atrocity will remain visible to all who are willing to see.

Most who suffer unspeakably at the hands of others look for ways to
forget, to resume a normal life as best they can. Some, however,
assume the duty of witness in the hope that truthful memory will
protect those who come after them. The passing of these heroic men
and women ought not to go unremarked upon.

J. Michael Hagopian, who died this month in Thousand Oaks, was one
such man. He was just 2 years old in 1915, when his parents hid him
in a well behind their home because they believed they were about to
be killed by Ottoman Turkish soldiers, who were massacring Armenians
across eastern Anatolia. The soldiers ultimately passed them by because
the boy’s father, a physician, had treated his Turkish neighbors. The
Hagopians immigrated to Fresno, escaping the mass murder that claimed
the lives of as many as 1.5 million of their fellow Armenians in the
20th century’s first genocide.

The toddler who’d sheltered in a well went on to earn advanced degrees
from UC Berkeley and Harvard and to become a distinguished teacher at
UCLA and Oregon State. His great contribution, though, was a series of
12 moving – indeed, heartbreaking – films documenting the attempted
genocide of his people. The most sweeping of these, “The Forgotten
Genocide,” was nominated for an Emmy in 1976. He appeared in one of
his own films, “Voices From the Lake,” recalling that his mother had
told him, “You can kill a people, but their voices will never die.”

The voices of the Armenians still are struggling to be heard in some
quarters. Contemporary Turkey, which has no political connection to the
Ottomans, continues to defy history and decency, and denies the mass
murder was the result of anything but wartime civil strife. It is a
claim refuted by every serious observer in that period. Raphael Lemkin,
the Polish lawyer of Jewish descent who coined the term “genocide”
in 1943, began his lifetime’s work on the subject by studying the
organized murder of the Armenians and that of Iraq’s Assyrians in 1933.

Thanks to an agreement Hagopian reached last spring with USC’s Shoah
Foundation, his vast archive of firsthand testimony by Armenian
genocide survivors and witnesses to the Ottoman atrocities will be
preserved and made available for study by scholars. Because of his
courage and the Shoah Foundation, the voices of the Armenians will
continue speaking to all who are willing to hear.

From: A. Papazian

NATO HAS NOT CHANGED POSITION ON KARABAKH AND SUPPORTS OSCE MG EFFORTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 18:53 AMT 14:53 GMT

Newly appointed NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for
the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said that NATO
has not changed its position on the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“NATO is not directly involved but we support the efforts of the
Minsk Group. In this context, I welcome the recent statement by the
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan at Astana, which restates the
commitment of the two sides to seek a final settlement and spells out
what the basis for such a final settlement will be,” Appathurai said
in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net

Referring to the Lisbon Summit Communique, Appathurai said that
NATO Heads of State and Government indeed referred to the protracted
regional conflicts in the South Caucasus and the Republic of Moldova
in their recent Summit Communique.

“Besides expressing support for the territorial integrity,
independence and sovereignty of the countries concerned, the
Heads of State and Government also stressed the need for peaceful
conflict resolution, respect of the current negotiation formats,
and constructive engagement. This is in line with what NATO Heads of
State and Government stated at their previous summit two years ago
in Strasbourg/Kehl,” said Appathurai.

The full text of James Appathurai’s interview with PanARMENIAN.Net
is available on Interviews division of Armenia and World section.

From: A. Papazian

NATO HOPES THAT ARMENIAN-TURKISH NORMALIZATION WILL BE REENERGIZED

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 18:57 AMT 14:57 GMT

Newly appointed NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for
the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said that NATO
hopes that the Armenian-Turkish normalization will be reenergized.

“We were pleased to see the signing of the bilateral protocols which
offered a very clear prospect for improved bilateral relations to the
benefit of the entire region. The stalling of the ratification process
has been a setback, but we continue to hope that the process can be
reenergized,” Appathurai said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net

Commenting on media reports suggesting that NATO dislikes Turkey’s
closer relations with the Arab world, Appathurai said: “Not only are
these rumors unfounded, their premise is wrong as well. NATO is itself
reaching out increasingly to various countries in the Arab world.

Strong relations between Turkey, a key NATO Ally, and its Arab
neighbors are an asset not only for Turkey, but also indirectly
for NATO.”

The full text of James Appathurai’s interview with PanARMENIAN.Net
is available on Interviews division of Armenia and World section.

From: A. Papazian

MEHMET ALI BIRAND: TURKEY WAS ABOUT TO RECEIVE A GOAL IN ITS GOALPOST IN RESPECT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 18:49 AMT 14:49 GMT

Turkey was about to incidentally receive a goal in its goalpost in
respect to the Armenian Genocide bill as it was playing in overtime,
Mehmet Ali Birand liberal Turkish journalist said in his article.

“Pressure form the Obama administration, not enough votes in the
Congress and not sufficient support from the Israeli lobby saved us
from this goal.

Everybody took a deep breath. But don’t worry there will be another
bill in April. And if that one doesn’t pass there will be another one
the following year. This will continue until 2015 (100th anniversary
of Armenian Genocide). If no vital steps are taken or any progress
made the Armenians will try and do their best to pass the draft.

The only way to stop this course was the protocols signed with
Yerevan. It was expected to take pressure off of our shoulders.But
Ankara could not keep these protocols alive. The ministry for foreign
affairs either was unable to explain itself to Azerbaijanis or the
Azerbaijanis didn’t care or take it serious. But when things got
serious and protocols were signed, they got upset. Turkey couldn’t
break Aliyev’s heart and succumbed to Baku,” Hurriyet Daily News
cites the author as saying.

“In short, Ankara regrets it now. It is obvious that as long as these
protocols are not revived it won’t rid itself of the Armenian spiral.

So what are we supposed to do? Will we live through this torture
every year until 2015?,” Birand questions.

From: A. Papazian

WHAT’S THE REASON BEHIND BAKU’S INCREASING MILITARY EXPENSES?

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 24, 2010 – 19:02 AMT 15:02 GMT

The representative of the Republican Party of Armenia, MP Artak
Zakaryan commented on the message addressed by the representative of
Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office Elnur Musayev to UN Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon.

In his address, Musayev announced the military service of Armenian
soldiers in Artsakh to be illegal.

“I believe, the increasing military expenditures of Azerbaijan,
non-compliance with the requirements of UN register on conventional
weapons as well as OSCE MG- emphasized principles of non-use of force
and people’s right for self-determination should be specifically
noted here,” the MP emphasized in a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

“Armenia is a guarantor of NKR independence, which was repeatedly
stated. By threatening Artsakh, Azerbaijan threatens Armenia as well,
so whatever steps we undertake are aimed solely at preservation of
regional peace and stability,” Zakaryan concluded.

From: A. Papazian