EDWARD BOGHOSSIAN/ARMENIAN REPORTER WAS IN TURKEY FOR INTERVIEW

ANKARA, Turkey – In an exclusive interview with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in the Prime Minister’s residential compound in the Cankaya district of the Turkish capital, questions by Armenian Reporter Senior Editor Edward K. Boghosian posed questions to the high official of the Turkish government and discussed Turkish-Armenian relations with him. The interview was arranged following a request made by the Senior Editor. The Turkish side responded in a positive manner, and the time of the interview was prearranged before this writer ever flew to Istanbul earlier last week. Sitting through the interview were Mr. Namik Tan, foreign ministry spokesman, and his assistant. The interview was rescheduled from 11 o’clock in the morning to 6:00 in the late afternoon of November 12, to allow the Foreign Minister to return from a trip to Cairo, Egypt where he had traveled with the Prime Minister to attend the funeral ceremonies for the late Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. At the beginning of the interview, this writer explained to the Foreign Minister that he was there in the capacity of independent journalist and did not represent the Armenian people.

Mr. Gul responded to the numerous questions, all related to improving relations between the Turkish and Armenian peoples. It was obvious from the Foreign Minister’s responses that the Turks are more interested in seeing the Genocide issue resolved once and for all, in order to begin a new era of friendly relations between the two neighboring countries. To the question as to how he visualizes the future, Mr. Gul stated that, from their side, he sees new developments toward that end. “We have conducted dialogues with the Armenian Foreign Ministry. We are conducting mutually satisfactory endeavors with the Armenian side, such as exchanges of a cultural nature. Recently the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra performed in Istanbul with Maestro H. Chekitchian, a former resident of Istanbul, conducting the orchestra. We also had the flute (duduk) maestro Djivan Gasparian perform in the country. The latest of such joint activities included an artistic performance in the ruins of Ani by musicians who had crossed the border to participate therein.” Mr. Gul also noted that, in recent years, 30,000 Armenians had moved to Turkey where they presently work and contribute to the improvement of relations between Armenia and Turkey. The Foreign Minister believes that such activities will create an atmosphere conducive to the amelioration of relations between the Armenians and Turks. “We should perhaps see the erection of a memorial dedicated to Armenian and Turkish victims of World War I, in which both Armenians and Turks perished.” To prove his point, Mr. Gul got up and went towards a closet to retrieve a book, which stated that, during the 1920-21 school year, a school he attended in Kayseri could not graduate any students since there was no graduating class left. Most of the members of the class were killed during that time. Mr. Gul also thought very highly about the activities of TARC, the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission, which ended recently. He commented that every effort made in the direction of reconciliation between our two peoples is helpful.

In response to a question about whether or not Turkey planned to reopen the Turkish-Armenian border, Mr. Gul asserted that the opening of the border was conditioned by certain factors, which will be resolved soon. However, he did not specify those reasons. The Foreign Minister indicated the Turkish side’s willingness to set up an independent commission to conduct historical research into what happened in World War I, indicating that the research should be carried out, not only in Ottoman-era Turkish files but also in major foreign countries. He asserted that if Turkey feared the contents of Ottoman-era files, they wouldn’t have opened these files for scrutiny by others. When asked if the independent commission came to a conclusion that favored the Armenians, would Turkey accept the results of these finding, Mr. Gul was evasive in his answer, suggesting that such a commission should continue its work. The conversation then focused on Turkey’s entry into the European Union, with the Foreign Minister stating that the European Union had already accepted the Turkish entry in the Union and that the timing was to have been decided in the near future. ”It is only a matter of time, Turkey will become a member of the European Community.” Mr. Gul denied that Turkey recently changed a clause in its penal code that foresees punishing all those who discuss the Armenian Genocide with ten years of imprisonment. “We have not changed any law,” explained the Foreign Minister. “The law that we have duplicates the laws of major countries which prescribe punishment for all those who cause a threat to the national security of the country.” This writer brought up the issue of preventing an American-Armenian from entry into Istanbul in order to travel to Yerevan with a group. Mr. Gul was not aware of this recent incident, in which Mr. Haig Nargizian, a resident of Flushing, NY, was sent back to the United States without receiving any explanation from customs officials. The Foreign Minister immediately gave instruction to his aide to look into this matter and report to him immediately “We have been letting into the country all those who have even defamed the country. Turkey has been a free country and the incident you brought up was perhaps the result of a misunderstanding.” The Turkish Foreign Minister also discussed recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He said that while a number of countries had recognized it, there were numerous others, which had not done so. The interview came to an end, with Mr. Boghosian thanking the Foreign Minister for the occasion of discussing Turkish-Armenian issues with him. [TAR Int’l Senior Editor Edward K. Boghosian’s interview with the top Turkish official in charge of Armenian relations will appear in next week’s issue–ed.]

An Unexpected Meeting with Ambassador Tezgor in the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara

ANKARA, Turkey – When Edward K. Boghosian, Senior Editor of The Armenian Reporter Int’l, was at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on November 12, waiting for last-minute instructions for a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, he was ushered into the offices of Mr. Ertan Tezgor, who accorded him a lengthy meeting. Mr. Tezgor, a towering figure, told EKB that, for the last two years, in his capacity as deputy chairman of South Caucasian Affairs of the Ministry, he has been in charge of Armenian-Turkish relations and, as such, has held a number of meetings with Mr. Garen Mirzoyan, who heads the Near East and Middle East Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. Mr. Tezgor told Mr. Boghosian that the meetings between the two men, which were held in Yerevan, Moscow and other locations, had resulted in greater mutual understanding leading towards agreement on the formula for a mutually acceptable solution of the Armenian issue.

Ambassador Tezgor, who is the newly appointed Turkish Ambassador to Tbilisi, Georgia, was preparing to leave for his new post. He believes that his new post will certainly be more beneficial to his talks with Mr. Mirzoyan, now that he will be only an hour away from his counterparts, and thus more frequent meetings may be held either in Tbilisi or Yerevan, In the ensuing hour-long conversation, Mr. Tezgor stressed the need to find a solution to the impasse between the Armenian and Turkish peoples and bring an end to the present situation once and for all. He also proposed that a study be conducted of all the archives, including the Ottoman-era archives, to determine the reality of the events of 1915 and come up with a mutually acceptable solution. When told that most European countries had formally accepted the Genocide, Mr. Tezgor responded that not all European countries had done so, and thus his desire to further investigate the issue of the genocide was in order. Ambassador Tezgor maintained that his people had suffered as much as Armenians and mentioned the suffering of his own mother in those days. He recalled how his mother grew up in Samatia, living among Armenians, and can still remember some ten Armenian songs, despite her being over 80 years of age. The conversation covered the activities of a number of organizations determined to bridge the gap between Turks and Armenians. He mentioned the efforts of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission and the activities of Turkish Armenian Business Development Council, which over the years has developed close commercial relations between the two countries. “Such relations should continue,” stressed Mr. Tezgor. The Turkish ambassador and Mr. Boghosian continued their conversation, with the Ambassador stressing the need for positive developments, such as the recent festival held in the ruins of Ani, the publication of a Armenian-Turkish magazine as a joint venture, and others. “We must overcome the barriers that separate us,” he emphasized. In the conversation, the Turkish Ambassador spoke very highly of his Armenian counterpart, but held some reservations toward Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. “Vartan is only an appointed official and thus is not in a position to act as an elected official,“ explained Mr. Tezgor. The meeting was interrupted when other aides indicated that time had arrived to depart for Cankaya for the scheduled meeting with Foreign Minister Gul.

How the Interview with the Turkish Foreign Minister Was Arranged

PARAMUS, NJ – When Edward K. Boghosian decided to travel to the Middle East, he fired a letter to Turkish Ambassador Mr. Logoglu in Washington, DC with a request to arrange an interview with His Excellency Abdullah Gul, the Turkish Foreign Minister. He sent a copy of the letter to his Turkish friend, Mr. Kaan Soyak, the co-chairman of Turkish Armenian Business Council, who lives in New York City and is known for maintaining good relations with the ruling class of the Turkish military in Turkey. Mr. Soyak promised to do everything possible to arrange the meeting. He had intervened previously to arrange an exclusive interview with another Turkish American, Mr. Ahmet Ertegun of Manhattan.

A week later, the Embassy in Washington phoned Mr. Boghosian to let him know that the request of an interview was approved. Mr. Boghosian was told to be in Ankara at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 12 for the meeting with the Foreign Minister. A contact person and telephone number was also provided. Since that date coincided with the funeral of Yasser Arafat, the Foreign Ministry contacted Mr. Soyak to inform him of the fact that the Turkish Foreign Minister had to travel to Cairo, Egypt to attend Mr. Arafat’s funeral but would be back by 2:30 to meet Mr. Boghosian. Foreign Minister Gul did return to Ankara but could not keep his appointment with Mr. Boghosian, who had flown to Ankara from Istanbul and was waiting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The interview was rescheduled, first for 4:00 p.m. and then 6:00 p.m. And, at the request of the Foreign Minister, it was set to take place at his official residence in the Cankaya section of the Turkish capital. At six o’clock, Mr. Boghosian was driven to the presidential compound in the same section of the city, where he met with Foreign Minister Gul. Mr. Boghosian was subsequently informed that only important guests were invited to the official residence of the Foreign Minister, meaning that he was being treated as an unusual guest, indicating a desire of the Turkish Foreign Ministry to see relations between Armenians and Turks improve.

© 2004 Armenian Reporter Int`l