Sunday, October 11, 2009

Armenia and Turkey

It is amazing that, nearly one hundred years later, Turkey still cannot acknowledge the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians as genocide.


Pitfalls lie ahead as Armenia, Turkey sign peace deal

Zerin Elci and Jeff Mason, Reuters
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009

ZURICH -- Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark peace accord on Saturday to restore ties and open their joint border after a century of hostility stemming from the First World War mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces.

But in an indication of the many pitfalls that lie ahead of its implementation, the ceremony was delayed for more than three hours after it hit a snag over last-minute disagreements with statements, forcing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to engage in intense discussions with the two sides.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian signed the Swiss-mediated deal in Zurich at a ceremony attended by Ms. Clinton, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

The Turkish and Armenian parliaments must now approve the deal in the face of opposition from nationalists on both sides and a Armenian diaspora which insists Turkey acknowledge the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians as genocide.
James Morton
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4 comments:

Stephen Downes said...

The conflict between Armenia and its neighbours extends mack centuries, not just a century (you can even read about it in Gibbon).

Forging a lasting peace is a fundamental and indispensable first step. Yes, there needs to be a redress and acknowledgement of history. Let another generation manage that. Let the accomplishment of this generation be the laying down of arms.

James C Morton said...

Good point

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