Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 12 2012
What happens if Syrian Armenians are settled in Nagorno-Karabakh?
by Mehmet Fatih ÖZTARSU*
12 August 2012 / ,
The growing violence in Syria is strongly affecting the ethnic and
religious elements in the country. This tension and upheaval raise
concerns and worries among the Armenians in the country as well; for
this reason, a portion of the Armenian population is seeking refuge in
Armenia.
The Armenian Ministry for the Diaspora has announced that there has
been a visible increase in the number of Syrian Armenians filing an
application for Armenian citizenship in 2012 and that so far, 4,000
applications for citizenship have been received. The current state of
affairs in the city of Aleppo, historically a center of Armenian
immigration, is one of the major concerns held by the Armenian
authorities right now. It should also be noted that some Armenian
groups have acted in favor of Bashar al-Assad’s regime so far. This is
a huge handicap because the initial signs of the problems that will be
exacerbated in the post-Assad era have become visible in the ongoing
clashes where the Armenian people are subjected to violence by the
opposition groups.
Currently, the Armenian government is taking proper measures to
facilitate the visa process for Syrian and Lebanese Armenians, to
create proper infrastructure of education for the Armenians coming
from foreign countries, to appoint teachers who would give lectures on
Western Armenian to the newcomers and to ensure that flights become
less expensive. Armenian authorities also note that the state is ready
to deal with the problems of Syrian Armenians, including the
acquisition of citizenship status and their settlement in the country.
Sergey Minasyan from the Caucasian Institute in Yerevan notes that the
post-Assad Syria will not serve Armenian interests, also adding that
Syrian Armenians could be settled in Nagorno-Karabakh. Arguing that
this would contribute to the economic development of the region,
Minasyan wanted to stress other points. There are reasons for ignoring
the problems that previously settled Armenians in the region
encountered, including social adaptation and unemployment this time.
First, it is extremely important to promote the flow of capital held
by Armenians through recognition of the Syrian Armenians as proper
citizens. In addition, there will emerge chances for the diaspora to
extend help to these people; therefore, this will promote and improve
the image of the diaspora. Funds have already been created for this
purpose. For this reason, settlement of Syrian Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh is a reasonable option for Yerevan.
Second, the new political concept developed to improve ties between
Armenia and the diaspora seeks to develop the relations and to
preserve unity between Armenia, the diaspora and Nagorno-Karabakh
despite all disagreements. To this end, the settlement of the Syrian
Armenians in the region seems to be a great opportunity for Yerevan to
achieve this goal. This has already been set at the Panarmenian
Congress, convened to secure unity and integrity. Bold steps have been
taken in recent years to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh with the world and
to promote development in the region. Bako Shakyan, the leader of the
so-called Nagorno-Karabakh administration, has met with
representatives of the Iranian Armenian Society in the US, the
Argentinean Armenian society members, the representatives of Dashnak
Party on the American continent and some Armenian businessmen in
Europe on political and economic matters concerning the region. The
talks were fruitful; extensive investments have been made in
Nagorno-Karabakh in such fields as mining and energy. Slovakia and the
Czech Republic started construction of a huge hydroelectric plant in
Nagorno-Karabakh. The opposition parties in Armenia including the
Dashnak Party, as well as ruling parties, are eager to ensure that
Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as an independent state and that
Azerbaijan is presented as an aggressor. To this end, the Armenian
authorities used as propaganda the blacklisting by Azerbaijan of
deputies and academics from various countries visiting
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Third, there is eagerness to change the demographic outlook of
Nagorno-Karabakh. In other words, by this change, Armenia seeks to
acquire a stronger position in the probable future peace talks. From
another perspective, however, this will be an attempt that will keep
the issue unresolved. Even though some actors do not recognize the
existence of two separate Armenian states and advocate the annexation
of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia — and there are some disagreements
between the politicians in Yerevan and in Karabakh — this matter
needs to be considered in the long run. If it becomes successful in
this, Yerevan will have secured strong solidarity between Armenians,
and in that case, it can gain a stronger position in the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Some experts hold that even though it seems
unlikely, Armenia’s interest in this issue alone should be considered
important.
ARABASLIK A new political move: Comparing Nagorno-Karabakh with Cyprus
The Armenian authorities who are leading the way in the Karabakh issue
note that they take Turkey as an example, arguing that economic
development is much more important than military power. Armenia, which
frequently stresses that it has liberated the Nagorno-Karabakh
territories, also argues that Turkey needs to worry about the Cyprus
issue rather than the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Shavars Kocharyan, the
deputy foreign minister of Armenia, who reacted to Turkey’s criticism
of the recently held elections in Karabakh also called on Turkey to
stop teaching a lesson to Armenia. In fact, this approach is not new
and will not be the last time because all Armenian politicians and
experts use the Cyprus card against Turkey when it comes to the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue. This is similar to the situation where Turkey
was silenced due to its approaches vis-à-vis the regional conflicts.
In international venues where Turkey was accused of committing
genocide against Armenians, Turkey attempted to raise the issue of
massacres in the Balkans. However, in each attempt, the Turkish
authorities had to stop because of strong accusations. Our politicians
and experts who experienced this frequently are displeased with this
situation. Therefore, Turkey, instead of reiterating its conventional
statements by which it declared it did not recognize the elections
that it did not officially recognize, should be able to take alternate
political, economic and cultural moves. This is possible through
closer attention to regional developments and reshaping foreign
policy. Otherwise, a Turkey that becomes hand-tied vis-à-vis diverse
issues will have to deal with the risk of inability to promote its
just causes in the eyes of the international community.
*Mehmet Fatih Öztarsu is a strategic outlook analyst based in Armenia.
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