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  • President of Republic of Turkey Should go to Erivan with a Message from the Turkish People to the Armenian People.

    President of Republic of Turkey Should go to Erivan with a Message from the Turkish People to the Armenian People.

    Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaskaninin Ermenistan’a yaptigi seyahatten once, asagidaki yaziyi yine bir cok kurum ve sahsa gonderdim (isimle ilgili bir toplanti aninda hazirlamaya baslayip bir otel odasinda tamamladigim acele bir yazi), hatta gurup uyelerinin bazilarina dagitmadan once yorum icin dagittim ama tek yanit veren olmadi. Halbuki boyle bir yazi, Cumhurbaskani tarafindan olmasa bile, dernekler tarafindan gazetelere ilan olarak verilebilinirdi.. Futbol maci cok buyuk bir firsatti ve lehimize propaganda olarak kullanilabilinirdi ama maalesef bunu kavrayan pek kimse olmadi ve cogunluk (%85 diye yazdi gazeteler) seyahate karsi cikdi.. Only in Turkey…

     

    Yuksel Oktay

    Eski FTAA Baskani, 1973

     

     

    President of Republic of Turkey Should go to Erivan with a Message from the Turkish People to the Armenian People.

     

    The President of the Republic of Turkey should go to Erivan as invited by the President of Armenia but with a message from the Turkish people that should be pubished in Turkish and Armenian newspapers and perhaps in the American, European and the World media as well.

     

    The invitation to attend the first match of the World Cup was first made in an article by the President of Armenia published in the Wall Street Journal on 9 July 2008. Armenians have used this method of communication with Turkey before, as manifected in a letter that was published in the Times of London back in1919, as will be referenced below. The official letter of invitation was delivered to the Turkish Embassy in Tiblis, Georgia, since there is no diplomatic relations between the two countries.

     

    First, the presence of the Turkish President at the Stadium will be comforting to the Turkish national soccer team. The whole world will watch the game that will hopefully pave the way to Turkish team’s winning the World Cup that they missed in 2002 when they were the third best. No one should expect otherwise since the population of Turkey is over 70 million and Armenia 3 million. Almost every Turkish Armenian interviewed on TV comfortably stated that Turkish team would win, many sith 2-1 score. Turkey will be playing the finals in 2010 in South Africa as Istanbul celebrates its selection as the Culture Capital of Europe the same year.

     

    Second, hundreds of thousands of articles and books have been written on the Turkish-Armenian relations and the April 24 1915 issue to date which has not brought a solution to the issue, to some for obvious reasons. People are busy wiriting, reading, protesting one another in thousands of web sites, endlessly, without achieving the ultimate goal. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, the Armenians and the world have to come to their senses and solve this issue by  listening to the Turkish side through the United Nations. The President of the Republic of Turkey could issue a letter to the to the Armenians in the Republic of Armenia and Armenians around the World, perhaps mentioning some of the facts suggested below:

     

    The President of the Republic of Turkey can state that he is happy to be in Erivan on September 6 at the invitation of the President of Armenia to watch the soccer game between the two national teams, bringing them the greetings and the love of Turkish people from all over the world, Turkey and Anatolia that some of them also call as their ancestral home. The Turkish people have no hatred against the Armenian people which is falsely and purposely advocated in the western media and many Armenians in the diaspora. This visit may eventuallyl pave the way to normalizing relations between the two states which can only happen if the following situation are corrected

     

    1.  Armenian state and the diaspora should cease their efforts on the recognition of the alleged Armenian Genocide which is being carried out through distorted facts, fabrications and untruthful presentations. The events that led to the tradegy of 1915 where both sides suffered, were started by Armenian separatists and terrorists which as early as 1887 and continued through the First World War and the Turkish War of Independence. This is documented in a letter to the Times of London (January 27, 1919) by Boghos Nubar who was the representative of the Armenian committee at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, revealing for the record that the Armenians were “belligerents in a war”, not victims of a genocide:

     

     “…ever since the beginning of the(First World) war, the Armenians fought by the side of the Allies on all fronts. … the Armenians have been belligerents de facto, since they indignantly refused to side with Turkey….Our volunteers fought in the French “Legion Etrangere” …. In the Legion d’Orient, they numbered over 5,000, and made up more than half the French contingent in Syria and Palestine…In the Caucasus, without mentioning the 150,000 Armenians in the Russian armies, about 50,000 Armenian volunteers under Andranik, Nazarbekoff, and others not only fought for four years for the cause of the Entente…At the moment when the fate of Armenia is being decided at the (Paris) Peace Conference, it is my duty, as the head of the National Delegation which has no tribute from which its voice can resound, to state once again, in the columns of The Times, the important part played by the Armenians in this frightful war. ”

     

    2.  Armenian state should declare to the world that she has no territorial claims from the Turkish Republic and that they will amend their constitution removing the reference to Eastern Anatolia as ‘’Western Armenia.’’ Armenians should also give up their demands of compensation.

     

    3. Armenian state should sign the declaration on the recognition of the existing borders that was requested by Turkey following the recognition of the Republic of Armenia established in 1991.

     

    4.  Armenia has been illegally occupying Nagorno-Karabakh since 1993, despite a United Nations Resoltion that demands their withdrawal, which they should abide.

     

    Let the best team win but above all, the friendship between the peoples flourish again fully which was the desire of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk also,  who stated back on 7 March1920 :

     

    ‘’Civilisation and the humanity should once more be enlightened regarding the alleged Armenian massacres and the purpose of the propaganda created to mislead the world. These are the results of resentment and anger from detestable and vicious accusations.’’

     

    The President of the Republic of Turkey has an opportunity to tell his counterpart that Turks are ready and willing to solve to issue and that the Armenians should face the facts.

     

    Yuksel Oktay

    3 December 2008

    Ankara

  • Amerikan Senatorleri NASIL SATIN ALINIR : Buying Policies of Armenian American nationalists

    Amerikan Senatorleri NASIL SATIN ALINIR : Buying Policies of Armenian American nationalists

    PoliGazette takes a closer look into the financial records of US Senator Menendez (D NJ). His vote can and has been bought.

    One of the main things Americans frequently complain about is the influence of special interest groups over politicians and, thus, over how the United States is ran. Too many laws, these Americans say, are designed not with the best interest of the American people in mind, but with the interest of said groups in mind. This is, Americans rightfully complain, now how the US government was meant to function.

    In recent months and years some Democratic politicians have constantly functioned as mouthpieces for one of those special interest groups; Armenian American nationalists. For some, for most Americans, unknown reason, these Democratic Senators and Representatives bring the events of 1915 which they call the Armenian Genocide up whenever they can. This obsession with something that happened almost 100 years ago resulted in an international controversy when one of the first acts of the Democratically controlled US Congress after the elections of 2006 was to adopt a resolution that labels said events officially as ‘genocide.’

    Turkey denies that what happened constitutes genocide and argues, instead, that historians, not politicians, should cast judgment on this affair. In response to the resolution Turkey threatened to withdraw its support for the War in Iraq and, more importantly, would no longer allow the US to use Turkey (to move troops, material, etc.) in order to fight and thus win in that Middle Eastern country.

    Americans wondered what happened to their government; why was the war put at risk? Why were American lives put at risk? Why this sudden obsession with something that has no relation whatsoever with America?

    PoliGazette has the answers to those questions. As usual it is about one thing only: money.

    One of the most fervent supporters of the Armenian cause in the United States is Senator Robert Menendez. He is one of the Senators who blocked George W. Bush’s nomination for ambassador to Armenia; when Bush wanted to send that person, Menendez blocked the nomination because the nominee refused to call what happened to the Armenian as ‘genocide.’ Later Bush nominated another diplomat, and once again Menendez objected, etc. In the end, though, Marie Yovanovitch was finally confirmed.

    And once again Americans wondered what the hell just happened. Why was Menendez so passionate about this subject? Why is history politicized?

    As said, it is about one thing, and one thing only; money. PoliGazette’s Kemal (who did most of the work) and me, Michael, took a closer look at the financial records of Senator Menendez and found that he has been paid and bought by Armenian activists. All in all, this Senator received some $136,000 from Armenian action committees and individuals; quite a gigantic sum.

    Below follows the complete record of Armenian donations to Senator Menendez. I’ll summarize the findings here, for details, scroll down to the records.

    One of the first things one notices about the Armenians who donated to Senator Menendez is that many of the Armenian donaters do not live in New Jersey. This means that he is not representing them, since American Senators represent a specific part of the population who are able to vote him or her in and out of office. In other words, a sizable part of Menendez’s donaters are not his constituents.

    Since he does not represent them nor their regional interests, common sense dictates that he works for them in other areas. This is, obviously, the Armenian Genocide issue. Menendez has become one of the most vocal US Senators on this subject.

    Another interesting aspect of Menendez’s financial records is that he receives a lot of money from Armenian organizations, or PACS. These PACS are special interest groups, who often only deal with one subject. The Armenian PACS that donate to Menendez are the Armenian American PAC and the Armenian Americans Legislative Issues Committee. Together these PACS have donated $25,746 to Menendez.

    Menendez’s own financial records taken from the Federal Election Commission’s website show that this one, individual Senator alone has received $136,481 from Armenian organizations and individuals, many of whom not constituents of this Democratic Senator for New Jersey. This amount, a significant amount, has caused Menendez to focus a lot of time and attention to the Armenian ‘Genocide’ issue and has, directly, resulted in international controversies and worsening relations with America’s allies.

    Here follow the details. Names of individuals are published because those records are available and open to the public already at other places.

    DETAYLI LISTE ICIN / FULL INFORMATION OF AMERICAN SENATOR BUYING DETAILS  OF ARMENIANS ARE BELOW

    AND SOME COMMENTS FROM THE NEWSPAPER ARE POSTED BELOW

  • ANCA OUTLINES CONCERNS ABOUT GUL VISIT TO ARMENIA

    ANCA OUTLINES CONCERNS ABOUT GUL VISIT TO ARMENIA

    TURKISH FORUMDAN ONSOZ VE YORUM

    Bu uzun yaziyi okumak istemeyenler icin ozetliyelim:

    Ermenistan Gul’e futbol seyretmesi icin comertce bedava bilet verecek.

    Bu alicenaplik ve bedava bilete karsilik Turkiye’den istenen ise SADECE, Gul’den sozde soykirim anitini ziyaret ve sozde soykirimi tanimak, sinirlari acmak, ve Azerbeycan’i desteklemekten vazgecmek.

    Sakin ola bu firsati (!) kacirmayalim, bu kucucuk fedakarligi da yapalim azizim.

    Toprak taleplerini karsilamak da artik bir sonraki futbol macina kalsin 🙂

     

    Dr.Timur Sumer [mailto:timursumer@yahoo.com]

    , TURKISH FORUM DANISMA KURULU

     

     

     

    Below text is from ANCA web site; as expected…

     

    “…To that end, Hachikian outlined some immediate and

    long-term steps President Gul could take to demonstrate his sincerity in

    accepting President Sarkisyan’s invitation, including showing the

    “willingness to walk the mile from Armenia’s national soccer stadium to the

    “Dzidzernagapert” Armenian Genocide Memorial, a tradition long honored by foreign

    dignitaries visiting Yerevan.” In the days and weeks following President

    Gul’s departure froM Armenia, Hachikian urged: ” Hakan

     

    rest of letter:

    Armenian National Committee of America
    1711 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
    Tel. (202) 775-1918 * Fax. (202) 775-5648 * Email.anca@anca.org

    PRESS RELEASE

    For Immediate Release ~ 2008-09-04
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian ~ Tel: (202) 775-1918

     

    ANCA OUTLINES CONCERNS ABOUT GUL VISIT TO ARMENIA

     
    “For this initiative to succeed, Turkey’s leaders need to view this as a true opportunity for enduring peace, not simply as a photo opportunity to help alleviate the growing international pressure it is under to recognize the Armenian Genocide.” – ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian

    WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), today, expressed hopes and reservations regarding Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul’s impending visit to Armenia, at the invitation by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisyan, to watch the September 6th Turkey vs. Armenia soccer match in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.

    “We are, as you can imagine, watching this matter with vigilance, mindful of the risks that Armenia is taking for peace, hopeful that Yerevan’s diplomatic initiative will bear fruit, yet cautious regarding the realistic prospects for progress given Ankara’s longstanding and deeply troubling track record of antagonism toward Armenia,” explained ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a September 4th letter to House and Senate Members.

    Recognizing that this visit cannot, by itself, substitute for real progress in improved Armenia-Turkey relations, Hachikian remained hopeful “that Armenia’s pro-active diplomacy, if matched with real movement by Turkey, can serve as a first, cautious step toward a true reconciliation based on truth and justice.”

    To that end, Hachikian outlined some immediate and long-term steps President Gul could take to demonstrate his sincerity in accepting President Sarkisyan’s invitation, including showing the “willingness to walk the mile from Armenia’s national soccer stadium to the “Dzidzernagapert” Armenian Genocide Memorial, a tradition long honored by foreign dignitaries visiting Yerevan.” In the days and weeks following President Gul’s departure from Armenia, Hachikian urged:

    “* Lifting domestic restrictions on the study, discussion, and recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and abandoning opposition to international recognition and commemoration of this crime against humanity – including by the White House and the U.S. Congress.

    * Lifting its blockade of Armenia, allowing free Armenian access to its traditional transportation routes, ending its opposition to the incorporation of Armenia in regional and international initiatives impacting the Southern Caucasus, and removing restrictions on Armenian stewardship of cultural and religious heritage sites within Turkey.

    * Publicly and in practice adopting a truly neutral position as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group charged with mediating a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, ending military support for Azerbaijan’s armed forces, and openly calling on all parties to reject any non-peaceful resolution to this conflict.

    * Lifting all restrictions on the collective rights of the Armenian community in Turkey.

    * Accepting Armenia’s offer to negotiate the establishment of normal diplomatic relations without any preconditions, and agreeing to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues in a peaceful, non-violent manner.”

    The complete text of the ANCA letter to Congress is provided below.

    #####

    TEXT OF ANCA CHAIRMAN KEN HACHIKIAN’S LETTER TO SENATE AND HOUSE MEMBERS REGARDING TURKISH PRESIDENT ABDULLAH GUL’ IMPENDING VISIT TO ARMENIA

    Dear Senator/Representative _________________:

    In light of the announcement this week by Turkish President Abdullah Gul that he will accept Armenian President Serj Sarkisyan’s invitation to watch the September 6th Armenia-Turkey World Cup qualifying match in Yerevan, we wanted to share with you the Armenian American community’s perspective on this new and potentially significant development, and to reaffirm our community’s fundamental commitment to universal recognition and a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

    We are, as you can imagine, watching this matter with vigilance, mindful of the risks that Armenia is taking for peace, hopeful that Yerevan’s diplomatic initiative will bear fruit, yet cautious regarding the realistic prospects for progress given Ankara’s longstanding and deeply troubling track record of antagonism toward Armenia.

    As you know, since Armenia’s independence in 1991, successive Armenian governments and the worldwide Armenian Diaspora have – despite the unresolved legacy of the Armenian Genocide and Ankara’s ongoing and deeply painful denial of this crime – consistently sought sincere and sustainable progress toward improved Armenia-Turkey relations. President Sarkisyan’s invitation represents only the most recent such outreach on Armenia’s part, although by no means the only one. Both of his predecessors visited Turkey in their official capacities as president, although, sadly, neither of their visits resulted in any moderation of Turkey’s policies toward Armenia.

    Armenia’s invitation represents a pro-active gesture by Armenia – a small country populated in large part by the descendents of Armenian Genocide survivors – to reach out to a large and heavily armed neighbor that, as heir to the Ottoman Empire, denies this horrific crime, blockades Armenia, and pursues a broad array of anti-Armenian policies – both at home and abroad. President Gul has accepted the Armenian President’s invitation even as his government has made it clear that they do not plan any changes in these policies, which, it is worthwhile noting, include:

    * Turkey’s continued denial of the Armenian Genocide, continued threats against other nations that consider recognizing this crime against humanity, and continued allocations of tens of millions of dollars annually for lobbyists, academic mercenaries, and outright fabricators to attempt to rewrite this profoundly important chapter in world history.

    * Turkey’s continued efforts to silence any recognition of the Armenian Genocide within its own borders through Article 301 and other provisions of its criminal code (e.g. Nobel Prize-winner Orhan Pamuk), continued intimidation and unofficial acts of violence (e.g. Hrant Dink), and the perpetuation of a deeply flawed educational system that indoctrinates successive new generations of Turkish students to believe that the Armenian Genocide is a lie and that all Armenians are inherently enemies of Turkey.

    * Turkey’s continued attempts to economically weaken and isolate Armenia through its illegal 14-year blockade; its attempts to exclude Armenia from regional and international initiatives that provide economic benefit to the Southern Caucasus; its continued attacks on Armenia within the United Nations, the OSCE, and other international venues; and, its ongoing military, economic, and political support for Azerbaijan over the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.

    * Turkey’s continued mistreatment of its remaining Armenian population as second-class citizens, continued enforcement of unfair and burdensome restrictions on the Armenian Church, and the continuation of policies intended to drive out the remaining Christian minorities within its borders.

    We are, given this record and Turkey’s past efforts to manipulate public opinion, profoundly concerned that President Gul’s visit will be used by Ankara to advance its short-term “public relations” interest in creating the image of movement, at the expense of the broader and far more meaningful interest of the United States and the international community in actual progress toward a durable improvement in Armenia-Turkey ties. For this initiative to succeed, Turkey’s leaders need to view this as a true opportunity for enduring peace, not simply as a photo opportunity to help alleviate the growing international pressure it is under to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

    Recognizing that this visit cannot, by itself, substitute for real progress in improved Armenia-Turkey relations, we do, however, remain hopeful that Armenia’s pro-active diplomacy, if matched with real movement by Turkey, can serve as a first, cautious step toward a true reconciliation based on truth and justice. At the same time, we remain deeply concerned that if, as may very well be the case, Turkey treats this visit as a superficial undertaking – yet still garners undeserved credit internationally for an essentially empty gesture – we may in fact witness a tragic setback to the worthwhile cause of a real and enduring peace between Armenia and Turkey.

    In this spirit, we respectfully ask that you look beyond Ankara’s rhetoric concerning this visit, and focus instead on the substance of the Turkish government’s real-world policies toward Armenia. The best – and most immediate – test of President Gul’s sincerity will be his willingness to walk the mile from Armenia’s national soccer stadium to the “Dzidzernagapert” Armenian Genocide Memorial, a tradition long honored by foreign dignitaries visiting Yerevan. In the days and weeks following his departure, we urge you to track Turkey’s movement toward:

    * Lifting domestic restrictions on the study, discussion, and recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and abandoning opposition to international recognition and commemoration of this crime against humanity including by the White House and the U.S. Congress.

    * Lifting its blockade of Armenia, allowing free Armenian access to its traditional transportation routes, ending its opposition to the incorporation of Armenia in regional and international initiatives impacting the Southern Caucasus, and removing restrictions on Armenian stewardship of cultural and religious heritage sites within Turkey.

    * Publicly and in practice adopting a truly neutral position as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group charged with mediating a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, ending military support for Azerbaijan’s armed forces, and openly calling on all parties to reject any non-peaceful resolution to this conflict.

    * Lifting all restrictions on the collective rights of the Armenian community in Turkey.

    * Accepting Armenia’s offer to negotiate the establishment of normal diplomatic relations without any preconditions, and agreeing to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues in a peaceful, non-violent manner.

    Progress in each of these vitally important areas – not the level of skill of Turkey’s public relations firms in spinning this visit – will represent the true benchmarks of progress toward improved Armenia-Turkey relations.

    Thank you for your consideration of the points we have raised in this letter. We would, of course, welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this matter in greater detail.

    Sincerely,

    Kenneth V. Hachikian
    Chairman
  • ARF-DASHNAKTSUTYUN WILL NOT MEET GULL WITH EGGS

    ARF-DASHNAKTSUTYUN WILL NOT MEET GULL WITH EGGS

    A1PLUS // Online News

    ARF-DASHNAKTSUTYUN WILL NOT MEET GULL WITH EGGS

    [07:16 pm] 05 September, 2008 [ ]

     

    “If it’s permitted to make a rally against the President, it means it’s also permitted to make a rally against President’s guest as long as those rallies are within civilized manners,” Kiro Manoyan, Head of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun office of Hay Dat and Political Affairs announced today.The events related to Turkey’s President Abdullah Gull’s visit are inevitable. 

    He mentioned that it’s not every day we evidence Gull’s arrival in Armenia and we can’t miss our chance to introduce our views to him. “His visit doesn’t make any changes. We will raise the existing issues between Armenia-Turkey relations with the help of our political activities and do hope they will be solved. Turkey’s President should be aware that we don’t take his visit as a big “favor”. I think we will be understood right both by Armenian people, and by Presidents of Armenia and Turkey .

     

    Mr. Manoyan also mentioned that Turkey had encountered problems with Armenia starting from the very first day of Armenia’s Independence. In political outlook of Turkey, there has been no Armenia since 1920. They have never imagined that there can be an independent Armenia next to them. After Armenia had got independence, they started thinking the only independent Armenia they can stand is poor, miserable and dependent on Turkey. The easiest way for them is not to have any relations with Armenia. We believe in starting frank discussions of issues between the two countries without applying military force and without pre-conditions.

     

    Mr. Manoyan doesn’t consider the recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide by Turkey a prerequisite put by the Armenian side and he grounds, “We don’t put conditions, but how can we start relations with a country, which committed a sin against humanity by realizing the 1915 Genocide and now doesn’t accept it?” How will Gull’s visit be reflected on Armenian-Turkish relations and Nagorno-Karabakh issue? Replying to this question, Kiro Manoyan pointed out, “Turkish incentive derives from the outlook that the policy which they started in 1993, that is Armenia blockade, and setting pre-conditions, hasn’t been justified.” I’m not doubtful that we should yield to Turkey. If Turkey stops talking to Armenia in a manner of ultimate conditions, there can be changes in relations. Otherwise, I don’t see any sense in his visit. It will not result in any consequences.

     

    Finally Mr. Manoyan, reminded us that when our Patriarch visited Turkey, there were rallies, even eggs were thrown at him. However he assured us that the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun will not meet Gull with eggs.

  • Soccer diplomacy lifts hopes of Turkey-Armenia thaw

    Soccer diplomacy lifts hopes of Turkey-Armenia thaw

    By Hasmik Mkrtchyan and Paul de Bendern

    YEREVAN/ANKARA, Sept 5 (Reuters) – A soccer match in Yerevan’s Hrazdan stadium on Saturday could herald a fresh start in relations between Armenians and Turks that have been marred by hostility for nearly 100 years.

    President Abdullah Gul will become the first Turkish leader ever to set foot in neighbouring Armenia when, at the invitation of his Armenian counterpart, he flies to Yerevan to watch his national side play Armenia in a World Cup qualifying match.

    The visit has huge symbolic importance for two countries which have no diplomatic ties and whose relationship is haunted by the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey during World War One.

    If they can move beyond the symbolism to re-establish normal relations, that could have huge significance for Turkey’s role as a regional power, for energy flows from the Caspian Sea and for Western influence in a South Caucasus region where Russia flexed its muscles last month by sending troops into Georgia.

    “Football diplomacy will become a new term in the international community’s lexicon,” if after Saturday’s match there is a real improvement in relations, former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian told Reuters.

    Football Feed Article | Football | guardian.co.uk.

  • ANCA: Gul should attend Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

    ANCA: Gul should attend Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

    ANCA: Gul should attend Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan
    05.09.2008 14:34 GMT+04:00    

    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), expressed hopes and reservations regarding Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul’s impending visit to Armenia, at the invitation by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, to watch the September 6th Turkey vs. Armenia soccer match in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, ANCA told PanARMENIAN.Net.

    “We are, as you can imagine, watching this matter with vigilance, mindful of the risks that Armenia is taking for peace, hopeful that Yerevan’s diplomatic initiative will bear fruit, yet cautious regarding the realistic prospects for progress given Ankara’s long-standing and deeply troubling track record of antagonism toward Armenia,” explained ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a September 4th letter to House and Senate Members.

    Asserting that this visit cannot, by itself, substitute for real progress in improved Armenia-Turkey relations, Hachikian remained hopeful “that Armenia’s pro-active diplomacy, if matched with real movement by Turkey, can serve as a first, cautious step toward a true reconciliation based on truth and justice.”

    To that end, Hachikian outlined some immediate and long-term steps President Gul could take to demonstrate his sincerity in accepting President Sargsyan’s invitation, including showing the “willingness to walk the mile from Armenia’s national soccer stadium to the Tsitsernakaberd, Armenian Genocide Memorial, a tradition long honored by foreign dignitaries visiting Yerevan.”

    In the days and weeks following President Gul’s departure from Armenia, Hachikian urged:

    * Lifting domestic restrictions on the study, discussion, and recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and abandoning opposition to international recognition and commemoration of this crime against humanity – including by the White House and the U.S. Congress.

    * Lifting its blockade of Armenia, allowing free Armenian access to its traditional transportation routes, ending its opposition to the incorporation of Armenia in regional and international initiatives impacting the Southern Caucasus, and removing restrictions on Armenian stewardship of cultural and religious heritage sites within Turkey.

    * Publicly and in practice adopting a truly neutral position as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group charged with mediating a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ending military support for Azerbaijan’s armed forces, and openly calling on all parties to reject any non-peaceful resolution to this conflict.

    * Lifting all restrictions on the collective rights of the Armenian community in Turkey.

    * Accepting Armenia’s offer to negotiate the establishment of normal diplomatic relations without any preconditions, and agreeing to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues in a peaceful, non-violent manner.”