ARFD bureau chief expects no progress in relations with Turkey

April 22, 2014 - 18:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director of the ARF Dashnktsutyun bureau's Hay Dat and political affairs office expects no progress in normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties on the threshold of the Genocide centenary, Panorama.am reported.

As Giro Manoyan told a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia must withdraw its signature from the rapprochement Protocols with Turkey, seeing as Ankara uses the document to create semblance of ongoing negotiations.

He further slammed Turkey’s role in the Armenian-populated Kessab attacks, characterizing Turkish society as a victim of Ankara authorities' denial policy. According to Manoyan, Armenian society should help the Turkish one to learn and come to terms with its own history. As he further noted, demands of the Genocide recognition and retribution should continue to be voiced.

In conclusion, he hailed the remarks of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French leader Francois Hollande calling Turkey to face its past. "Those would be undreamt-of statements 30 years ago," Manoyan said.

ему заявления посла США в Армении Дж. Хефферна вызвали опасения в АРФ «Дашнакцутюн»?

: Будет ли препятствовать вступление Армении в Таможенный союз признанию Геноцида армян? Ответил Киро Маноян

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.

The Armenian-Turkish Protocols

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Commenting on the CC ruling, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “it contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.” ”The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of these Protocols. We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian government,” the Ministry said.