Home / Opinion / Editorial

A shared commitment, deep and unshakable

Published: Friday April 24, 2009

As we write these lines on April 24, practically the whole population of Armenia is once again heading for the monument at Tzitzernakaberd to remember the people and patrimony destroyed and lost in the Armenian Genocide 94 years ago. Throughout the world, Armenians are holding vigils and protests, concerts and book readings, and saying prayers at home or in church.

It has been an extraordinary April.

On the sixth, addressing Turkey's Grand National Assembly, President Barack Obama recalled the treatment of Native Americans and Blacks by the United States and urged Turkey to address the "terrible events of 1915" in a way that is "honest, open, and constructive."

It was a historic moment: the president of the United States, right there in Turkey's parliament, was giving a powerful message to the people of Turkey, inviting them to come to terms with the terrible legacy of the annihilation of the Armenian people.

The president demonstrated leadership in making that statement. But he too should have addressed the terrible events of 1915 in a way that was "honest, open, and constructive."

Evil's greatest co-conspirator

He knows that. Speaking on April 23 at the Holocaust Days of Remembrance ceremony, he asked, "How do we ensure that ‘never again' isn't an empty slogan, or merely an aspiration, but also a call to action? I believe we start by doing what we are doing today - by bearing witness, by fighting the silence that is evil's greatest co-conspirator."

Back in Istanbul, the president also urged Turkey to normalize relations with Armenia. That means, above all, establishing diplomatic relations and opening the border crossings. He also invited Turkey to play a "constructive role" in the Karabakh peace process.

The president went on to make an argument that did not demonstrate the level of leadership we have come to expect from him. He noted that Turkey and Armenia were talking to each other about normalization of relations. The talks could bear fruit very soon, he said, and he did not want to torpedo them by using the word genocide.

In other words, he acquiesced in "the silence that is evil's greatest co-conspirator."

It was, of course, true, that the recognition of the Genocide by President Obama would have angered those in Turkey who are opponents of normalizing relations with Armenia. And it is possible that the normalization process could have been delayed as a consequence.

Unsound linkages

It is unsound policy, however, to link something nonnegotiable - in this instance, the recognition of historical truth - with something negotiable, like opening a border or exchanging ambassadors. Negotiations can be dragged out. A border ultimately opened can be closed again; ambassadors can be recalled. And thus, under this unsound policy, silence about the Genocide can be enforced indefinitely.

The unsoundness of the president's approach was immediately apparent. Abdullah Gül, the president of Turkey, did not even pretend to be acting in good faith.

In the very press conference where Mr. Obama spoke of Armenia-Turkey talks that could bear fruit very soon, Mr. Gül noted that a breakthrough in Armenian-Turkish talks was not imminent. He proclaimed in particular that "issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan" must first be resolved.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that point on April 19. He said a decision to open the border with Armenia "will depend on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue being solved." To reiterate Turkey's 16-year-old condition for opening the border is to indicate that talks between Armenia and Turkey have seen little progress.

The joint statement issued by Turkey and Armenia on April 22 confirmed that Turkey continues to hold up normalization of relations. While the tone of the statement is upbeat, the substance is that normalization has been held up, and what we have instead is an "on-going process" requiring a "road map."

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on April 20, Armenia's President Serge Sargsian said, "Both we and the Turkish side in the negotiations supported the idea that we are negotiating without any preconditions."

In welcoming the joint statement, the U.S. State Department likewise said, "Normalization should take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe."

Turkey's bad faith

The Turkish side is showing its bad faith by insisting on its long held preconditions, however. The statements of Mr. Gül and Mr. Erdogan aside, the simple fact remains that if Turkey joined Armenia in having no preconditions, it would have opened the border already.

As we look ahead to the coming months, two points are worth emphasizing:

First, the United States government must act on its belief that "normalization should take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe." While Armenia pursues recognition of the Armenian Genocide, it sets no preconditions for normal relations. As Turkey has refused U.S. appeals to normalize relations with Armenia since independence, a "reasonable" timeframe should be measured in months and not additional years.

President Sargsian announced a deadline this week: October 14. That's the date of the Armenia-Turkey soccer match in Kayseri. He said he would not go unless the border was open. That's more than long enough.