Western U.S. edition - Armenian Reporter

Number 134October 17, 2009the armenianreporterProtocols to end the Turkish blockade are signedas Turkey links implementation to KarabakhArmenia, U.S. objectto Karabakh linkageby Vincent LimaYEREVAN – The foreign ministersof Armenia and Turkey on October10 signed a historic accord thatpromises to end the 16-year Turkishblockade of Armenia, even asAnkara insisted that implementationwas unlikely without major Armenianconcessions to Azerbaijan.Armenia has ruled out such concessionsas a precondition for proceedingwith the agreement.Under the terms of the accord,which consists of two protocolsand a timetable, the border wouldbe opened two months after ratificationby the parliaments of thetwo countries.The agreement was the outcomeof “soccer diplomacy” initiated byPresident Serge Sargsyan of Armenia,who seized the opportunityof a Turkey-Armenia World Cupqualifying match in September2008 to invite his Turkish counterpart,Abdullah Gül, to Armenia.Taking up Mr. Gül’s return invitation,Mr. Sargsyan on October 14went to Turkey to watch the returnmatch and press for prompt ratificationof the protocols. (See storyon this page.)Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandianof Armenia and AhmetDavutoglu of Turkey signed theprotocols in Zurich. Secretary ofFrom June 14 through August 8,32 college students of Armeniandescent from 11 countries participatedin the eight-week New YorkSummer Intern Program (NYSIP).The 2009 Program was comprisedCommunityState Hillary Clinton and her Russian,French, EU, and Swiss counterpartswere on hand to witness thesigning. But they were called uponto engage in a frantic diplomaticintervention as last-minute objectionsthreatened to derail the signing.The ceremony took place threehours after the scheduled time.The diplomats have declined toA woman crusades against breast cancerSusan Kulungian smiles coyly whenpeople call her “the mad hatter.”One day, she comes dressed as apirate with a patch over her eye andConcert to showcase 12 young performing artistsCelebrating the music of Armenianand classical composers, theupcoming AGBU Performing Artistsin Concert program will beCommunityCommunityCommunityForeign Ministers Edward Nalbandian of Armenia, left, and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey sign protocols on the normalizationof relations as European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, FrenchForeign Minister Bernard Kouchner, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,back row from left, look on, at the University of Zurich, Oct. 10, Photo: Tigran Tadevosyan/Photolure.the next day, a chef with an armfulof groceries. Tom Vartabedian tellsthe story.See story on page 9mpresented at New York’s Weill RecitalHall at Carnegie Hall on Saturday,October 24.See story on page 8mNew York summer intern program wraps upof students from Argentina, Armenia,Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy,Lebanon, the Netherlands, Syria,Russia, and the United States.See story on page 4mAt an annual symposium, Armenian schoolteachers discuss ties between language and faithAt the annual Symposium for ArmenianTeachers at the DiocesanCenter in New York last month, educatorsheard presentations froma scholar of Armenian studies anda veteran teacher on the ties betweenthe Armenian language andfaith, and focused on ways theycould help students identify theseconnections in the classroom.See story on page 6mdescribe the issues that arose, butit appears that the Turkish sideplanned to make a post-signingdeclaration that would link implementationof the protocols to“progress” in the resolution of theKarabakh conflict, and the Armenianside had objected.Mrs. Clinton told reporters laterthat Armenia and Turkey each hadby Armenian Reporter staffYEREVAN – Armenia’s PresidentSerge Sargsyan traveled to Bursa,Turkey, on October 14 at the invitationof Turkey’s President AbdullahGül to watch the World Cup qualifyingreturn soccer match betweentheir two national teams, just fourdays after their foreign ministers inZurich signed protocols on the normalizationof relations.The return visit came 13 monthsafter Mr. Gül’s trip to Armenia, onMr. Sargsyan’s invitation, for thefirst soccer match. Mr. Sargsyanhad undertaken to go to Turkeyonly if the border had been openedor was about to open.Accompanying Mr. Sargsyan onhis visit to Turkey were Deputy ForeignMinisters Arman Kirakossianand Shavarsh Kocharian;other officials, several well-knownbusinesspeople from Armenia, anddozens of journalists.President Sargsyan and his delegationwere met at the airport inBursa, a former Ottoman imperialcapital, by Turkey’s Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoglu, the governor ofBursa, and other Turkish officials.From the airport, the Armenianpresident went to the Holiday InnHotel to meet with the members ofArmenia’s national soccer team andwish them luck before their gameagainst the Turkish team later onobjections to the other’s preparedstatement to be delivered after thesigning. In the end, no statementswere made at the ceremony.“There was an agreement that theprotocols should speak for themselves,”Mrs. Clinton said in a pressbriefing soon after the signing.“They have been carefully, painstakinglynegotiated over manythat evening. He was then taken,along with his delegation, to theAlmira Hotel, where he was greetedby Mr. Gül.The two presidents had a privatemeeting and were later joined bytheir delegations and staff.Mr. Sargsyan stressed thatthe Republic of Armenia is adamantabout moving forward withArmenia-Turkey relations withoutany preconditions.“We are not writing history. Weare making history,” Mr. Gül said,according to Reuters. “Remembertwo years ago and just thinkhow far we have come since then....What is important is to bring peacemonths. . . . People are free to saywhatever else they want, but let theprotocols be the statement.”Under the protocols, the sidesagree to establish diplomatic relations,open the border, and “implementa dialogue on the historicaldimension with the aim to restoremutual confidence between the twonations, including an impartial scientificexamination of the historicalrecords and archives to defineexisting problems and formulaterecommendations.” For this dialogue,an intergovernmental commissionwith a sub-commission “onthe historical dimension” is to beestablished. The proposed sub-commissionis controversial because itcould give credence to the Turkishcontention that the jury is still outon whether the events of 1915–17 or1915–23 constituted genocide.The parties also confirm “themutual recognition of the existingborder between the two countriesas defined by the relevant treatiesof international law.”Signing statementIn a televised address just a fewhours before the signing ceremony,President Serge Sargsyan hadpresented Yerevan’s official interpretationof the protocols in whatamounted to a signing statement.(See full text on page 3.)After arguing that there is “noalternative to the establishment ofthe relations with Turkey withoutany precondition,” the presidentContinued on page mPresident Sargsyan goes to Turkeyfor Armenia-Turkey soccer matchPresident Abdullah Gül welcomes his Armenian counterpart Serge Sargsyan toTurkey. Photo: Melik Baghdasaryan/Photolure.and stability to the whole region.”Following the meetings, a dinnerand reception was held in honor ofPresident Sargsyan at the AlmiraHotel, after which the two presidentsand their delegations went toBursa’s Ataturk Stadium to watchthe soccer match. Turkey’s nationalsoccer team beat Armenia 2-0. Bothnational soccer teams have alreadybeen knocked out of the World Cupqualifying competition.The Armenian delegation departedBursa as soon as the gameended.No official statements have beenissued by either side after theirmeeting in Bursa.f