Diplomats wary of 'genocide' arbitration
Monday, November 20, 2006
Turkish Daily News
By BARÇIN YİNANÇ
ISTANBUL
Even those who sympathize with the idea warn against risks and say any step in that direction must be taken with utmost caution
A proposed new strategy tabled for discussion by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül to counter Armenian genocide claims finding sanction in the French and other parliaments around the world, a plan that envisions turning the issue over to international arbitration, has met a cautious reception from Turkey's diplomatic missions abroad.
Turkey's government, faced with growing international pressure to recognize the allegations, has intensified its quest for a new strategy and fresh thinking on the intractable issue that has long tied up Turkey's relations with Armenia and a potent political tool for those seeking to obstruct Turkey's entry to the European Union. Following a tentative vote in France's lower house of parliament last month to make “genocide denial” a crime, the Foreign Ministry has consulted with the key Turkish diplomatic missions in Europe and in the United States about measures to be taken to counter the world-wide Armenian campaign. Diplomatic missions abroad have been also asked to comment particularly on a possible move to seek international arbitration to settle debate over events in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians claim 1.5 million Armenians were killed in Anatolia as part of a systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire. Turkey, however, categorically denies the charges, saying both the death toll is inflated and that Armenians died in a revolt against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian army then invading eastern Anatolia, a conflict which killed Turkish civilians as well.
But assessments conveyed to Ankara from the diplomatic missions in Europe and the United States reveal that senior Turkish diplomats are cautious towards the idea. Even those who sympathize with the idea warn against risks and say any step in that direction must be taken with utmost caution.
Diplomats have made their own recommendations on what the best steps should be. A majority of them insist that Turkey should pursue its proposal to Armenia to set up a joint commission of scholars to examine history. To date, Yerevan has rejected that proposal.
They also say Turkey should develop separate strategies for each country and reiterate old recommendations that academic publications on the issue should be increased. Other recommendations included winning over the Western public opinion through shooting a movie on the issue and establishing contact with the powerful Armenian diaspora.
Ankara is expected to finalize its new strategy after assessing recommendations from the diplomatic missions.
Signaling a shift in Turkey's policy on Armenian claims of genocide, Gül said last week that Turkey was contemplating international arbitration on the issue.
Gül said retired diplomats and Turkish and reliable foreign law experts were carrying out meticulous studies on the issue.
The government's quest for a new strategy is motivated by concerns that the issue will create more serious problems for Turkey in a short and medium term if no step is taken to counter the Armenian efforts.
In the United States, the House of Representatives is widely expected to pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian claims of genocide in the coming months after the Democrats won a majority in the U.S. Congress in Nov. 7 elections.
Nancy Pelosi, who is to become the speaker of the House of Representatives soon, is from the state of California with a large and politically powerful Armenian community. In her campaign this year, she pledged to push for the resolution, which was shelved in the past under pressure from the administration, should Democrats win control of Congress.
Armenians are expected to step up their campaign in the run up to 2015, the 100th anniversary of the World War I era events which Armenians claim amounted to genocide.
Lack of progress in Turkey's proposal to Armenia to set up a joint commission of historians to look into the events of World War I played a role in pushing Turkey to consider unilateral steps for a solution.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Turkish Daily News
By BARÇIN YİNANÇ
ISTANBUL
Even those who sympathize with the idea warn against risks and say any step in that direction must be taken with utmost caution
A proposed new strategy tabled for discussion by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül to counter Armenian genocide claims finding sanction in the French and other parliaments around the world, a plan that envisions turning the issue over to international arbitration, has met a cautious reception from Turkey's diplomatic missions abroad.
Turkey's government, faced with growing international pressure to recognize the allegations, has intensified its quest for a new strategy and fresh thinking on the intractable issue that has long tied up Turkey's relations with Armenia and a potent political tool for those seeking to obstruct Turkey's entry to the European Union. Following a tentative vote in France's lower house of parliament last month to make “genocide denial” a crime, the Foreign Ministry has consulted with the key Turkish diplomatic missions in Europe and in the United States about measures to be taken to counter the world-wide Armenian campaign. Diplomatic missions abroad have been also asked to comment particularly on a possible move to seek international arbitration to settle debate over events in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians claim 1.5 million Armenians were killed in Anatolia as part of a systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire. Turkey, however, categorically denies the charges, saying both the death toll is inflated and that Armenians died in a revolt against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian army then invading eastern Anatolia, a conflict which killed Turkish civilians as well.
But assessments conveyed to Ankara from the diplomatic missions in Europe and the United States reveal that senior Turkish diplomats are cautious towards the idea. Even those who sympathize with the idea warn against risks and say any step in that direction must be taken with utmost caution.
Diplomats have made their own recommendations on what the best steps should be. A majority of them insist that Turkey should pursue its proposal to Armenia to set up a joint commission of scholars to examine history. To date, Yerevan has rejected that proposal.
They also say Turkey should develop separate strategies for each country and reiterate old recommendations that academic publications on the issue should be increased. Other recommendations included winning over the Western public opinion through shooting a movie on the issue and establishing contact with the powerful Armenian diaspora.
Ankara is expected to finalize its new strategy after assessing recommendations from the diplomatic missions.
Signaling a shift in Turkey's policy on Armenian claims of genocide, Gül said last week that Turkey was contemplating international arbitration on the issue.
Gül said retired diplomats and Turkish and reliable foreign law experts were carrying out meticulous studies on the issue.
The government's quest for a new strategy is motivated by concerns that the issue will create more serious problems for Turkey in a short and medium term if no step is taken to counter the Armenian efforts.
In the United States, the House of Representatives is widely expected to pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian claims of genocide in the coming months after the Democrats won a majority in the U.S. Congress in Nov. 7 elections.
Nancy Pelosi, who is to become the speaker of the House of Representatives soon, is from the state of California with a large and politically powerful Armenian community. In her campaign this year, she pledged to push for the resolution, which was shelved in the past under pressure from the administration, should Democrats win control of Congress.
Armenians are expected to step up their campaign in the run up to 2015, the 100th anniversary of the World War I era events which Armenians claim amounted to genocide.
Lack of progress in Turkey's proposal to Armenia to set up a joint commission of historians to look into the events of World War I played a role in pushing Turkey to consider unilateral steps for a solution.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 7:40 PM
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