[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 132 (Thursday, September 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TURKEY-ARMENIA NORMALIZATION
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HON. HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, JR.
of georgia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor today to
hail the efforts underway to heal past wounds between the Republics of
Turkey and Armenia.
For several years, the two countries have quietly been meeting, with
the assistance of Switzerland, to come to an agreement to normalize
diplomatic relations and open the borders between Armenia and Turkey. I
am quite pleased that these negotiations have been fruitful. I also
encourage the two countries to continue to work together to finish the
process quickly since it will not only benefit the citizens of these
two countries, but the region and the world as well.
I would like to put into the Record an article by Hugh Pope from the
International Crisis Group who calls this recent action by Turkey and
Armenia as taking, ``. . . a brave and statesmanlike step.
Like the International Crisis Group, I too am optimistic that these
efforts will lead to greater stabilization of the region and am proud
to stand here today and congratulate the governments of Armenia and
Turkey on their efforts to date and offer our friendship and help as
they move on to the next steps in the process.
The EU-Turkey-Cyprus Triangle: ``Turkey and Armenia Vow to Heal Past
Wounds'', by Hugh Pope
1 September 2009
It's been a long time coming, but Turkey and Armenia's vow
on 31 August to establish diplomatic relations, open their
long-closed border and begin to talk seriously about the past
is excellent news. As laid out in our 14 April report Turkey
and Armenia: Opening Minds, Opening Borders, normalization
between Turkey and Armenia will benefit not just the
bilateral relationship. If successful, it could win back for
Turkey and its AKP government much of their recently faded
prestige as domestic reformers, as regional peace-makers and
as a country seriously intending to push forward with its
accession process to the European Union.
The brief joint announcement from Ankara, Yerevan and the
Swiss mediators in Bern said that two protocols had been
initialed on the establishment of diplomatic relations and
the development of bilateral relations. The two sides
committed to seeing the protocols through to parliamentary
ratifications within six weeks--that is, two days before a 14
October World Cup qualifier match between Armenia and Turkey
due to be played in the western Turkish provincial city of
Bursa. Turkey hopes that Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian
will accept its invitation to attend, just as Turkish
President Abdullah Gill initiated the current process by
attending the first round match in Yerevan in September 2008.
Texts of the two protocols circulating in Turkey and
Armenia set out a fully rounded and reasonable plan. In a
``Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations'' the
two sides promised to establish diplomatic relations on the
first day of the first month after ratification; to exchange
diplomatic missions; to reopen the border within two months
of ratification; and to mutually recognize the existing
border. In a ``Protocol on Development of Relations''--to go
into effect simultaneously with the diplomatic opening--the
two sides promised to promote cooperation in all areas from
energy infrastructure to tourism; to set up a mechanism of
regular foreign ministry consultations, including a main
intergovernmental commission and seven sub-commissions; to
act jointly to preserve the cultural heritage of both sides;
and to establish consular cooperation. The protocols are
accompanied by a detailed timetable, in which all steps and
commissions would be fully implemented and in motion within
four months.
On the vexed question of how to describe the Ottoman-era
massacres of Armenians in the First World War--widely known
as the Armenian genocide, a label rejected by Turkey--the
``Protocol on Development of Relations'' agreed to
``implement a dialogue on the historical dimension with the
aim to restore mutual confidence between the two nations,
including an impartial scientific examination of the
historical records and archives to define existing problems
and formulate recommendations.'' The timetable adds that this
dialogue will be conducted under the aegis of the main
intergovernmental commission in a ``sub-commission on the
historical dimension . . . in which Armenian, Turkish as well
as Swiss and other international experts shall take part.''
In short, Turkey and Armenia have taken a brave and
statesmanlike step. Both will win if it succeeds. Armenia
will overcome the sense that it is surrounded and under
siege, will open a new commercial and psychological gateway
westward to Europe, will be able to look better after the interests of
the many tens of thousands of Armenians working in Turkey, will be able
to market its electricity surplus and have easier access to the many
Armenian cultural and religious sites in eastern Turkey. For Turkey,
the gains are just as significant: the ability to show European and
Western partners that it is working toward closure with Armenians on
the contested matter of the First World War massacres; to add a new
plank in its efforts to bring stability, prosperity and cooperation
through relations with all three of its Caucasus neighbours; and,
finally, to achieve the satisfaction of full and public Armenian
recognition of its borders.
The 31 August step towards normalisation was originally
expected in April, but Turkey backed away from the deal. All
that could be announced on 22 April 2009 was a vague road
map. This hesitation was apparently due to pressure from
Azerbaijan--a major supplier of cheap gas to Turkey, and with
which Turkey shares close linguistic ties--and continued
nationalist opposition to compromise with Armenia inside the
Turkish political system. This coincided with a period in
Turkey in which reforms towards EU accession had virtually
halted; in which Prime Minister Erdogan appeared disengaged
with EU ambitions and to be pursuing alternatives in Russia
and the Middle East; and in which Turkey appeared to be
taking sides in Middle Eastern issues, with notably harsh
criticism of Israel. Turkey also appeared to side fully with
Azerbaijan against Armenia, and it remains unclear what will
happen to Erdogan's 14 May promise to the Azerbaijani
National Assembly that there would be no opening of the
Armenia-Turkey border until there is an Armenian withdrawal
from occupied Azerbaijani territory.
The news that normalisation with Armenia is back on track,
therefore, is a signal that Turkey may be changing direction
again. In the past few months, Turkey and the AKP leadership
have also begun to push hard for progress on two other
difficult dossiers, coming to terms with the Kurdistan
Regional Government in Iraq and firmly setting out a
framework of reconciliation with its own substantial Kurdish
community. Progress towards Turkey-Armenia normalisation has
also been helped by the unusual way that the US and Russia
appear to have been working separately toward a similar
compromise outcome, and pushing more actively for progress
toward a settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno Karabakh.
The fact that Turkey is now leaning back towards a
reconciliation with Armenia will do much to clear doubts
about the country's posture and the priorities of Prime
Minister Erdogan. It will also do proper credit to the polls
that showed 70 per cent of the Turkish population supported
President Gu's gesture of visiting Armenia for last
September's first round football match, and the great strides
Turkey's intellectual and political elites have taken in the
past decade to dismiss the old-fashioned narrative of
nationalist denial towards the catastrophic Armenian
massacres of 1915. Normalisation with Armenia will also give
real substance to new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's
stated goals of ``zero problems'' and ``peace in the
neighbourhood''.
However, while reconciliation with Armenia will rightly
attract great positive attention in Europe, the next test
will not be long in coming. Turkey has to find a way to
expedite a solution to the long-running Cyprus solution in
the next several months, or see its EU accession process
effectively grind to a halt.
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