Baku raps Turkish-Armenian accord
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Turkey and Armenia`s signing of a historic
agreement to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their
borders on Saturday, in a bid to end decades of hostility, has
angered Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Ministry has issued a strongly worded statement on the
agreement signed in Zurich, Switzerland. It said maintaining
relations with other countries is a sovereign right of a given
state, however the Ankara-Yerevan normalization, prior to a pullout
of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, amounts to a direct contradiction with Azerbaijani
interests and tarnishes the spirit of fraternal relations between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, which are based upon deep historic roots.
``Having taken into account the importance of opening all borders
and communications in the region, Azerbaijan believes that the
unilateral opening of the Turkish-Armenian border brings into
question the architecture of regional peace and stability,`` the
ministry said.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to the occupation
of Azerbaijani territories and Armenian claims about the alleged
World War I-era genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Ankara has
repeatedly pledged that the border will not open until the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict has been
fairly resolved.
The Azerbaijani government referred to the numerous statements by
high-ranking Turkish officials, including those by Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, notably his remarks during the May 14, 2009
address in the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani parliament). Erdogan said
at that time: ``Turkey shut its border with Armenia after its
occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border may open after the
occupation is eliminated. So long as the demands of our Azerbaijani
brethren are not met, we will not back a single step away from this
stance. This is inter-related and cannot be considered
separately.`` A similar statement was made at an Iftar dinner held
for Turkish media representatives this past September. Ankara then
said the border opening was out of the question until the Garabagh
conflict has been settled.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war over the mountainous region of
Upper Garabagh in the early 1990s which claimed some 30,000 lives.
Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s territory since
then, despite UN resolutions on unconditional pullout of its armed
forces and condemnation by a number of other international
organizations. One million Azerbaijanis have been displaced as a
result of ethnic cleansing and Azerbaijan`s historical and cultural
heritage has been significantly damaged in the occupied land. The
ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but the OSCE-brokered peace
talks have been largely fruitless so far.
Angry protest
Akif Naghi, chairman of Azerbaijan`s hardline Garabagh Liberation
Organization (GLO), has described Turkish authorities` signing
reconciliation agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan`s long-time foe,
as ``a heavy blow`` and ``betrayal`` of the Azerbaijani cause.
Naghi directed pounding criticism at Turkish President Abdullah
Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu.
``Gul, Erdogan and Davutoglu had long been giving us empty
promises. They were talking about friendship and brotherhood, but
it has now turned out that this was a false stance aimed at
deceiving Azerbaijani society,`` Naghi maintained.
He believes the protocols` signing will have bitter ramifications
for the settlement of the Garabagh conflict.
``This is not the position of the Turkish people, but a group
within the authorities. And, unfortunately, the step taken
essentially implies the actual justification of the occupation
committed by Armenia against the Azerbaijani people.``
Naghi said the GLO was declaring the Turkish president, premier and
foreign minister as ``personas non grata.``
``From now on, visits by any of them to Azerbaijan will be met with
utter protests,`` Naghi said.
The GLO protested outside the Turkish embassy in Baku on Tuesday
over the signing of Turkey-Armenia protocols. The activists chanted
slogans ``Turkey, don`t sell Garabagh to the Armenians``, ``Shame
on the Turkish authorities`` and ``Garabagh or death!`` They also
burned the photos of the Turkish president, prime minister and
foreign minister in protest.
The police dispersed the protest, which lasted only ten minutes.
Several protesters, including the GLO chairman, were detained.
A group of Azerbaijani lawmakers left for Turkey on Tuesday to
voice protest at the reconciliation agreements. The
11-people-strong delegation is expected to meet with Prime Minister
Erdogan and other Turkish officials as well as opposition
representatives to convey Azerbaijani concerns.
During their visit, the Azerbaijani lawmakers will state that
ratification of the protocols in the Turkish Grand National
Assembly prior to a settlement of the Garabagh conflict will not
advance, but, on the contrary, adversely affect the peace
process.
The signed protocols on mending ties with Armenia will be put on
discussion at the Turkish parliament on October 21, government
spokesman Cemil Cicek said.
Murad Mercan, chairman of the Turkish parliamentary commission on
foreign policy, said adoption of the protocols in the legislature
prior to Garabagh settlement was out of the question. ``This is
beyond the will of the Grand National Assembly,`` he said.
According to him, parliamentary approval of the papers is possible
only after Azerbaijan and Armenia have signed a peace accord before
the eyes of the world community and the liberation of the
Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories has begun.
The embassy of Turkey in Baku issued a statement on Monday seeking
to appease the Azerbaijani public. It expressed disappointment with
the reports about opening of the Turkish-Armenian border circulated
by the Azerbaijani media following Saturday`s signing of the
protocols with Yerevan. ``We expect the fraternal Azerbaijani
people to confide in Turkey and not to trust false and deliberate
reports,`` the statement said.
Some Azerbaijani pundits see no grounds for concern over the
Turkish-Armenian agreements. ``The protocols` signing does not mean
the opening of the border yet,`` analyst Rasim Musabayov says.
According to Musabayov, even if the protocols are ratified by the
Turkish parliament, the situation will not drastically change.
``Turkey is a superpower. Even if the border opens, this does not
amount to its backing down from its attitude toward Armenia. The
border may open, but, further, anything that does not go down well
with Turkey might fail. By opening it, Turkey is trying to
neutralize the U.S. and other Western countries on the genocide
issue.``
Another analyst, Khaladdin Ibrahimli, doubts the Turkish Grand
National Assembly will ratify the protocols.
``Prior to taking this step, the parliament will consider whether
or not Armenia will relinquish its genocide claims and whether or
not it is ready to make concessions on the Garabagh conflict. And
Armenians` backing down from their genocide claims does not appear
convincing, as this is the main force uniting world
Armenians.``
Also, Ibrahimli believes that Turkey cannot set aside Azeri
interests and forge cooperation with Armenia.
``I am setting brotherhood aside. Azerbaijan is both flush with
hydrocarbon reserves and is a key transit state. How can Turkey
forget this factor?`` the pundit asked.
Gist of protocols
The text of the Turkish-Armenian protocol on forging diplomatic
ties has been disclosed. It says both countries recognize one
another`s existing borders and that agreement has been reached on
opening their shared border.
The protocol, made public by Turkey`s Foreign Ministry, envisions
establishing good neighborhood relations and expresses a
willingness to develop political, economic, cultural and other
relations in line with the interests of the Turkish and Armenian
nations.
Ankara and Yerevan also pledged to support equality in bilateral
and international relations, honor the sovereignty, territorial
integrity and inviolability of other states, and non-interference
with their affairs.
The two governments also agreed to facilitate creating the
environment of mutual confidence, promote peace and stability in
the volatile region, refrain from the use of force, work to resolve
outstanding problems peacefully, and protect human rights.
They also vowed not to pursue any policy failing to comply with the
spirit of good neighborliness.
The sides condemned all forms of terror, violence and
fundamentalism and said they would join efforts in countering
them.
The two countries also agreed to forge diplomatic ties and open
diplomatic offices as soon as the protocols, which comply with the
1961 Vienna accord, go into effect.
Critics further say the Turkish-Armenian agreement fails to take a
clear stance on the Garabagh problem.
``We are surprised that in the protocols initiated in Geneva, there
is no mention of Upper Garabagh, there is no mention of withdrawal
of Armenians from occupied territories,`` Onur Oymen, the deputy
head of Turkey`s main opposition Republican People`s Party, told
Reuters.
``That`s why there is no guarantee that Armenians will withdraw
from occupied lands in case Turkey normalize relations and open the
border.``
However, Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu has confirmed that the
signing of the agreement does not mean that Ankara has abandoned
Azerbaijan.
``We have always supported and stood by Azerbaijan and will never
hurt its interests. When we talk about peace in the region, we
refer to the liberation of Azerbaijani territories -- not only
Garabagh but other regions as well,`` TRT1 TV channel quoted
Davutoglu as saying.
Prime Minister Erdogan said his country was showing ``goodwill`` to
restore ties with Armenia. But he said Turkey was keen on seeing
Armenian troops withdrawn from Garabagh. ``We are trying to boost
our relations with Armenia in a way that will cause no hard
feelings for Azerbaijan,`` Erdogan told reporters.