!68 hours: “What do you think about the fact that Turkey, along with
Azerbaijan, is doing everything it can to keep Armenia out of all the
projects being implemented in the Caucasus region?”
Rageb Duran: “I think that Turkey can not lead that form of politics for a long time.”
!68 hours: “Turkey is also trying to play a part in the Karabagh peace
settlement, of course, taking advantage of Azerbaijan’s interests.
Nagorno Karabagh is a de facto state and it is impossible not to take
this into consideration while solving this issue. What do you think
about this?”
Rageb Duran: “I would be sticking my nose in other people’s business if
I stated my opinion, because after all, I am neither Armenian nor
Azeri. In my opinion, the Karabagh peace settlement must be solved
through the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is an
issue between these two nations. My only wish is for my country to play
the role of a peacemaker. That’s all I want.”
168 hours: “Recently, the Russian side announced that Turkey is
participating in the destabilization of the Caucasus region and is
implementing that through its special methods. How do you look at that?”
Rageb Duran: “Terrorism is a great weapon for large countries. They are
always hidden behind those acts. The Russian side says that Turkey
supports the Chechnya movement. There is a large community of people of
Caucasus origin living in Turkey, about 8-10 million, and the
opposition of that community has revolted against Russia. These revolts
have been supported both on a political and military level. There have
been terrorist acts in Turkey and large countries are behind all this.
There is proof for this. In the end, I must say that all terrorist acts
start from the U.S.
“168
hours”: “One of the requirements of becoming a member of the European
Union is to establish good relations between other countries. It is
unacceptable to be closed within the framework of the European Union.
How is Turkey preparing to become a member of the European Union if it
still continues blockading Armenia?”
Rageb Duran: “In my opinion, the blockade is not only against European
principles, but also, it is something that imbalances the relations
between countries of the region. Unfortunately, this issue has a
history dating back to 1915. It is one of the dark pages of Turkey’s
history and it has not been solved until today. Turkey must do away
with the blockade not only because that is the demand of the U.S.,
Russia or any other country, but also Turkey must do that for its
society in order to keep playing a major role in the Caucasus region.
By coming to Armenia, we participated in the Istanbul-Yerevan direct
flight organized by the private Turkish companies. This is very
important because it means that the blockade is approaching the end.
“168 hours”: “Armenian politics is aimed towards improving relations
with Turkey without putting any prerequisites. However, Ankara is
presenting prerequisites to Armenia: forget the Armenian Genocide and
solve the Karabagh peace settlement in favor of Azerbaijan. Do you
consider this normal?”
Rageb Duran: “The reason for this is the ideology that exists in
Turkey. Today, Turkey is more concerned about the Kurds within the
framework of the European Union. As soon as these issues are solved,
improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations will be put on the agenda.
But I think that Turkey will stay true to its ideology for a long time.”
“168 hours”: “In that case, how do you picture Turkey’s admittance into the European Union?”
Rageb Duran: “Turkey has been going through a lot of changes during the
past couple of years. One of the major issues for the government is the
Kurds and the other one is Armenia. But fortunately for us, there were
some positive changes made in solving the Kurd issue that nobody
thought would happen a couple of years ago. The society and politics
full of questioning do not change just like that. If the Kurd issue got
solved, then I am certain that there will be solutions made to the
problems with Armenians in the near future.”
“168 hours”: “In order to become a member of the European Union, Turkey
must play the role of a peacemaker and stabilizer. However, Turkey is
on Azerbaijan’s side and agrees with the Azeri in solving the Karabagh
conflict through means of war. What is the meaning of this?”
Rabeg Duran: “The European Union has a great influence on Turkey. But
the role of peacemaker that Turkey has to play is not what the European
Union is asking Turkey to do. As far as I know, until now Turkey has
not had any impact on deepening the conflict between the Azeri and
Armenians. In general, I can not say that Turkey’s politics is going
along well in the Middle East and the Caucasus region. Turkey’s
politics is in the middle of Washington and Brussels. I agree that
Turkey’s position in the world and the politics being carried out
contradict one another.”
“168 hours”: “Many countries around the world recognize the
Armenian Genocide. Doesn’t Turkey plan on following the footsteps of
Germany and recognize the Armenian Genocide?”
Rageg Duran: “There is something extraordinary about Turkish history:
The Kemal red-tape rejected the Ottoman inheritance up to 1940. The
Kemal government did not reject, but rather, inherited the events of
1915. This is very contradicting in Turkish history. As for the present
day Turkish government, it is very worried about recognizing the
Armenian Genocide. You can call the events of 1915 genocide,
deportation, a tragedy, or whatever you want…”
“168 hours”: “It was most definitely a genocide.”
Rageb Duran: “Yes, but not everyone thinks that way. There are people
who consider that a deportation, but the worst thing is to hear some
say that the Armenians were the ones who annihilated the Turks. I do
not want to go deeper in analyzing these comments, but we have the
following issue at hand: the Turkish government is closely connected
with Turkey’s mass media and has put a ban on touching upon this issue.
In general, it is forbidden to contradict the state ideology. That is
the reason why the fact that there has been a genocide is out of the
framework. The Turkish writers, scientists who keep the genocide part
of the agenda are subjected to attacks and isolation. The Turks look at
this issue not by stating that there has been a genocide, but rather,
asking themselves whether or not there really has been a genocide.
Those who think differently are considered traitors. There can not be
any discussion about this- both on the non-historical and non-political
level. However, during the past years the ban on discussing the
Armenian issue has started to weaken, just like it did for the Kurds
issue. They look at this issue more differently. This is about national
identity and the Turks must deal with that. It’s about coming to terms
with identity and the past. All nations have had dark pages in their
past, but a people matures by coming face to face with that past.”
“168 hours”: “Will Turkey mature by entering the European Union?”
Rageb Duran: “The thing is that Turkey looks at this more calmly and that is being influenced by the European Union.”
“168 hours”: “How is the transaction of making a railway for the Kars-Gyumri coming along?”
Rageb Duran: “I have no details about that, but when I was in Kars
about three years ago, the businessmen were insisting on making another
transaction because it is much more profitable. I hope that next time I
can come to Armenia with the Kars railway.”