Armenians of Sweden demand reconsideration of Armenia-Turkey Protocols

PanARMENIAN.Net - In the light of the published protocols between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey, regarding the normalization of diplomatic relations, the Union of Armenian Associations of Sweden, is highly critical of the steps taken by the Government of Armenia, especially due to its total lack of communication with the Armenian Diaspora in this regard, the Union said in an open letter to Letter to the President of Armenia, Speaker of the Armenian Parliament and Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Armenia.



"Let it be clear that we do recognize the authority of the Armenian Government and the rights invested with it as the official representative of the Armenian nation, inside and outside Armenia. However, the Government of Armenia seems to have totally neglected the role and the situation of the Diaspora, the direct result of and the heirs to the 1915 Genocide in Turkey.



We looked forward to the meeting in Paris on October 2, 2009, hoping it would be a dialogue. But, the meeting was rather a monologue, repeating the same assertions regarding the protocol and its contents which we have been hearing for the last weeks. It was said that "Armenia is ready to normalize its ties with Turkey without preconditions". The Union of Armenian Associations welcomes and supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, but firmly refuses to accept that the protocol does not include preconditions. It is redundant to repeat the issues in detail, since they are clearly known by the general public, and a short recapitulation will suffice. While the creation of a commission to re-evaluate "historical differences and problems" and recognizing common borders only can refer to the Armenian Genocide and its legacy, the text stating "non intervention in internal affairs of other states," does clearly refer to the issue of Artsakh. While refuting to acknowledge the semantics of these formulations, the Government of Armenia has failed in total to present a viable explanation for why such sentences are included at all. These concealed preconditions are not the basis of a sincere rapprochement which this protocol is said to represent.



By entirely ignoring the views of the majority of the Armenian nation, i.e. the Diaspora, the Government of Armenia is de facto losing its eligibility as representative for the entire Armenian nation, an obvious unwise step. The Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, strongly recommends the Government and the Parliament of Armenia to reconsider the contents of the drafted protocol, which if ratified, will not only seriously damage Armenian interests, crippling it morally and politically on the international area, it will most definitely strike a serious blow to the relations between the current Armenian Administration and its most strategic foreign partner and resource, the Diaspora.



Nonetheless, let it be reminded once more that the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden is in favor of the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, but only on the basis of a sincere dialogue, without any preconditions, obvious or concealed, attempting to downplay the reality of the Armenian Genocide, its legacy, or subsiding the Armenian support of Artsakh's right for self-determination," the letter says.