Turkey will have to ratify Protocols

February 15, 2010 - 18:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net -
Gagik Minasyan, a member of the Republican Party of Armenia, said that RA President Serzh Sargsyan presented three aspects of Armenia’s foreign policy in his address in Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

“These are the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Nagorno Karabakh talks and international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Armenia has registered progress in all three aspects,” Mr. Minasyan said during a joint news conference with ANC member Karapet Rubinyan.

“The President made it clear that Karabakh conflict resolution should base on three principles of the international law: the right of nations to self-determination, territorial integrity and non-use of force,” Mr. Minasyan said.

As to the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, he said Turkey will have to ratify them. “Ratification failure will entail a new wave of recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” he said.

For his part, Karapet Rubinyan remarked that the Armenian President said nothing new as regard the Karabakh conflict settlement. He also emphasized that if Ankara doesn’t ratify the Protocols, the relations between Armenia and Turkey will worsen. “It will set a precedent that the Armenian authorities agreed to form of a joint commission of historians on the Genocide issue,” he said.

Mr. Minasyan, however, objected the opinion, saying that Armenian Genocide can't be a topic of discussion and Armenia will be consistent for its international recognition.

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.

Armenian National Congress

Before elections of 19 February 2008 around the presidential candidate, Levon Ter-Petrossian, the first Armenian President, an alliance of more than 20 political parties and initiatives formed the all-national movement. On May 2, 2008 at the 2nd Congress of all-national movement Levon Ter-Petrossian put forward the idea of establishing the Armenian National Congress. On August 1, 2008 during a rally the Armenian National Congress was formally established.\r\n\r\nAmong the basic requirements of ANC are the release of political prisoners, restoration of the constitutional rights of citizens and the holding of early elections.

The Republican Party of Armenia

The Republican Party of Armenia is a national conservative political party in Armenia. It was the first political party in independent Armenia to be founded (2 April 1990) and registered (14 May 1991). It is the largest party of the centre-right in Armenia, and claims to have 140,000 members. The party controls most government bodies in Armenia.

At the 2003 parliamentary elections on May 25, the party received 23.5% of the popular vote, winning 31 out of 131 seats. At the last parliamentary elections on May 12, 2007, the party received 33.91% of the popular vote, winning 64 out of 131 seats. The former prime minister, Andranik Markaryan, was the leader of the party. Current President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, is the chairman of HHK board.

The Republican Party's national conservative ideology is based on tsegakron, an early 20th century Armenian nationalist ideology (roughly translated as "nation-religion"). It was formulated by Garegin Njdeh and holds that the Armenian national identity and state should carry religious significance for all ethnic Armenians.