Al Jazeera, Qatar
Oct 11 2009
Turkey sets conditions for Armenia
Turkey’s prime minister has said that the opening of the country’s
border with Armenia will be linked to progress on the disputed region
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We want all the borders to be opened at the same time…," Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday at a meeting of officials from his
party.
"But as long as Armenia has not withdrawn from Azerbaijani territory
that it is occupying, Turkey cannot have a positive attitude on this
subject," he said, referring to the Nagorny-Karabakh region.
The remarks cast doubt on a landmark accord signed between Turkey and
Armenia on Saturday, that sought to normalise diplomatic ties and
re-open borders after a century of hostility.
A long-running dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh – an Armenian-majority
enclave which broke free from Turkish-backed Azerbaijan after a war –
has been a stumbling block towards reconciliation between the two
countries.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan.
Historic accord
Saturday’s accord, mediated by Switzerland, were signed in Zurich by
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, and Edward Nalbandian, his
Armenian counterpart.
Last-minute disagreements had delayed the ceremony for three hours.
The accord is the culmination of more than a year of Swiss-mediated talks.
The protocols signed between the two countries would still need
ratification by their respective parliaments.
That endorsement will have to come as nationalists on both sides
protest the accord, particularly an Armenian diaspora which is
demanding that Turkey acknowledge the killings of 1.5 million
Armenians during World War I as genocide.
Turkey has disputed the claims of genocide, with support from the US
and UK, saying that the real death toll is lower.
Many Turks see the fighting as a civil war caused by the collapse of
the Ottoman Empire during which an unverifiable number of Turks also
died – although both sides agree that more Armenians than Turks were
killed.
Ratification
Both governments have majorities in parliament but are expected to
hold back on immediately ratifying the protocols due to the
opposition.
"Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught, reporting from Karakoyunlu on Turkey’s
border with Armenia, said: "These protocols are powerful, but they
have no legally enforceable status.
"They are reliant on the goodwill and moral authority of the parties
who are the participants in it.
"What happens next is ratification … they’ve got to sell this to
their people and the politicians.
"If they push it though and they ratify it in parliament, we see two
things: immediately, the establishment of diplomatic relations; then
within two months the opening of borders."
For now, however, the question of reconciliation remains contentious
at the very least.
As many as 10,000 people marched from Yerevan, the Armenian capital,
to a hilltop memorial to World War I-era massacres on Friday to
condemn the accords, some carrying placards reading "No Concessions to
the Turks".
The move is expected to help Ankara in its bid to join the EU, while
Armenia may benefit from closer ties to the West and greater economic
openness with Turkey.