Turkey needs moral support of Armenian community of Istanbul

Amendments to the Constitution provide for election of the president by popular vote, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seriously thinking of that only.

Turkey has truly decided to improve its image in the eyes of Europe and the world in general. Despite the fact that nationalists call for the Erdogan government to abandon plans of joining the EU and direct its eyes to the East, Ankara continues the policy of “appeasement” of minorities.

PanARMENIAN.Net – In particular this applies to the Armenian community of Istanbul, which on the eve of parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 12, can provide essential support for the Justice and Development Party (AKP). This will be more of a moral support, as the votes of the community are too small in quantity to change the election results. The developments in the Arab world, where tribal relations seem to be dying out, have multiplied the problems of Ankara. It is one thing to advance Neo-Ottomanism, and another to restrain the Arabs and bring them back into the New Ottoman Empire. For Prime Minister Erdogan this is an almost impracticable problem, especially because he has to get ready for the elections. The main enemy – the Republican People’s Party (CDH), led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, can seriously oust the AKP. This, in its turn, will put an end to the one-party parliament. However, most likely, Erdogan will prove lucky this time and will win the elections through bribery and flirtation with various political forces. Amendments to the Constitution provide for election of the president by popular vote, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seriously thinking of that only. However, Turks who believe in the AKP do not really want to see Erdogan at the post of the president, mainly because of his impulsive nature. Apparently, the Turkish premier wants to be no caliph. What he really desires is to become a second Ataturk, and to achieve his goal Erdogan is ready for almost anything, with a few exceptions: the spirit of Ataturk, unrivalled in Turkey, pressures and will long be pressuring Erdogan as well as all other Turkish politicians.

But let us revert to the Armenian question, which has been haunting the Ottomans for several centuries. Present-day Turkey took the path of sultans, who used to appoint Grand Vizier from the Christian population, including Armenians (islamized, naturally). The latest example is nomination of ethnic Armenian Daron Acemoglu as the new Turkish Ambassador to France. Acemoglu is currently Professor of Applied Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also leads a team of specialists that were twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for economic research.

The other day Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a conference in Brussels that Turkey does not divide countries into friends and enemies. “We have friends and potential friends. Armenia is a potential friend to Turkey,” Davutoglu said.On March 3, the State Council of Turkey adopted a decision allowing Turkish citizen of Armenian descent Leo Suren Halepli to work in the Turkish government. Presently Halepli works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. There is no doubt that the new officials will battle for the interests of Ankara better than the Turks themselves. One can say for sure that the current assignment and the coming ones will prove excellent PR-campaign on the way to Europe.

via Turkey needs moral support of Armenian community of Istanbul – PanARMENIAN.Net.