STAR- Columnist Semih Idiz comments on the relations between Turkey and Armenia and the impossibility of improving relations between both countries. A summary of his column is as follows:
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian in New York may have led to expectations in Armenia. Furthermore, the statements by Armenian Foreign Minister Oskanian following the meeting may have fanned these expectations. Oskanian said that there was a climate on both sides which would allow for the discussion of problems through direct negotiations. However, his warning that expectations should not be exaggerated depicts the mood of the meeting more realistically. At the moment, I don't believe that in Yerevan the mood for discussing the problems through direct talks is prevalent. On the contrary, with the active contribution of the Dashnak Party, Erevan has killed some initiatives which could have been productive. This brings to mind the question, where did Oskanian got the impression that there was a mood suitable for direct talks? Even if there is such a mood in Turkey, it is certain that the Armenians are not ready for it yet. For the Armenian government who believes that it gained significant ground in its campaign against Turkey in 2000, and it did everything it could to dampen this conciliatory mood and continues to do so. If we take a glance at the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission's studies, we see that even the formation of such a commission exploded like a bomb in Armenia. Dashnaks began to label as traitors those Armenians who attended this commission and began to threaten them through Foreign Minister Oskanian. The Yerevan government requested that the Armenian members of the commission withdraw. The cooperation of the government and the Dashnak Party yielded their desired result, and this commission collapsed. The reason for the unwillingness of Yerevan to take part in such independent commissions is not hard to guess. Armenia, working arm-in-arm with the Armenian diaspora, believes that it is scoring victories against Turkey and thus could not tolerate such an independent and important initiative which would snatch the reins from its hands, especially at a time when the 'Second Armenia-Armenian Diaspora Conference' was expected to meet soon on this 27-28 May. The aim of this conference was described as assessing the successes achieved in the year 2000 for the Armenian national cause and determine new strategies directed towards the future for new successes. However, the Sept.11 terrorist attacks were a disaster both for the diaspora Armenians and Armenia it self as, Turkey once more became Washington's favorite ally and the Armenian issue was thrust into a corner by US politicians. Notwithstanding this fact, Armenia has expressed its intentions to resume its old course where it left off through using influential politicians. Both Oskanian and Armenian Ambassador to Washington Kirakosian reiterated in the past few weeks that the recognition of the Armenian genocide was the focal point of Armenian foreign policy. In other words, Sept. 11 didn't dissuade the Armenian government from pursuing its stubborn single-track policy. Against such a backdrop, we must wonder how exactly Yerevan is ready for the dialogue that Oskanian mentioned. The mood in Yerevan seems more suitable for a monologue than a dialogue, namely a monologue consisting of a laundry list of things they want from Turkey and expect to Turkey to comply with. In short, if the Armenians don't free themselves from the strengthening Dashnak mentality, Oskanian's hopes for a dialogue with Turkey will remain only a dream. The contacts between Armenians and Turks should be continued, despite all intimidation on the part of the Dashnaks and the obsessive policies of the Armenian government.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION