Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

A RIDE TOWARDS
THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN RECONCILIATION

Subject: International Peace Studies

Professor: HEO Seunghoon
Group: 12
TRINH Ngoc Bao Tran – 11215384
TRAN Ha Duy Khoa – 11415134
Sabrina Arviana Mochdie – 11415033
Muhammad Bagus Adhiprakoso – 11415102
 Table of content

I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 2

II. Content…………………………………………………………………………………... 3

i. The background situation……………………………………………………

a) The history of Armenia and the Armenian in the 3

Ottoman Empire During World War I………………………

b) The case in 1915…………………………………………………….. 4

c) Turkey-Armenia relationship from 1991 up to now… 5

ii. The impact of individuals on the Turkish-Armenian 6

reconciliation………………………………………………………………………

a) George Clooney……………………………………………………… 6

b) David L. Phillips………………………………………………………. 11

c) Hillary Clinton………………………………………………………… 13

III. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………… 15

IV. References………………………………………………………………………………… 17

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INTRODUCTION

Reconciliation is a process of mending an existing relationship between 2 parties that has

broken due to different point of views, done by one of the parties willingly to do a conciliatory

action as a signal of peace. From the definitions above we can conclude that reconciliation always

involve 2 parties in which one of them causes extreme injury that worsen or break the mutual

relationship but because there exist the wants to reconcile, the mutual relationship is mended

where there will be 2 possible outcomes if it has been deemed successful which are first the

relationship will be the same as before it is broken or it will be more better than before as

reconciliation always result a new perspective that is obtained by reconciled parties. Moreover,

there were several cases in history showing that third parties have also been playing a crucial role in

promoting the process of reconciliation. David L. Phillips (2015) said that: “Reconciliation is a lot like

riding a bike: stop pedaling and you fall over”. The cover image of this paper was inspired by that

illustration. Moreover, as it can be seen that it is not a normal bicycle but a several seaters tandem,

by this image we want to emphasize on the necessity of well-balanced and harmonious

coordination of different bikers in order to be able to move forward. It is also the same concept for

reconciliation. Indeed, in order to achieve the reconciliation, the constantly well-balanced efforts by

various parties are really crucial. Therefore, this paper will analyze the impact of individuals on

reconciliation, especially between Turkey and Armenia.

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BODY

The background situation

The history of Armenia and the Armenian in the Ottoman Empire during World War I

To begin, Armenia has a long and complex history. The first ever nation of the Armenian

was established during the Stone age; however, the land of Armenia is not only full of resources but

also has strategic position in the Transcaucasia region, therefore the Armenian was soon conquered

by stronger surrounding Empire. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the land of Armenian was

divided between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. The Ottoman Empire took control

over the Western part of Armenia under the Treaty of Amasya signed with Persia in 1555.

At the time of dominated the western part of Armenia, the authorization of Ottoman

Empire faced with the Armenians movement to liberated themselves from the rule of the Turks, as a

consequence, based on the document from the Foreign Affair Ministry of the Republic of Armenia

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, 2011), “The government of Abdul Hamid II

decided to eliminate the issue and increased the persecution of the Armenian population of the

Empire, via inciting Muslim fundamentalism, spreading anti-Armenian propaganda, permanent

robberies and murders, lawless and willful acts of local authorities, forced Islamization of Armenians

and stricter censorship, as well as via irregular Kurdish tribes cavalry.”

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The case in 1915

During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire was an ally of the Germany and the

Austria-Hungary, therefore the Russian Empire who was the ally of France and British Empire was

the enemy of the Ottoman as tension rises and results the Armenian liberation movement, the

Ottoman Empire responded by starting the war between them and the Armenia Army.

As same as the other controversy events, the document of the two sides of the 1915 case is

quite strictly opposite with the other. On the side of Armenia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the

Republic of Armenia, 2011), “The genocide was started in February 1915 when the Ottoman War

Minister Enver Pasha ordered to exterminate the Armenian soldiers serving in the Turkish army. On

April 24 and subsequent days in Kostandnupolis (Istanbul) some 800 representatives of the

Armenian intellectuals such as writers, doctors, scholars, journalists and clerics, including Armenian

members of the Turkish Parliament, were arrested and deported far in Anatolia. Some of them died

on the way, the rest were executed immediately upon arrival at the place of exile.”. Moreover, the

Armenians were mass deported from their homes to special camps in the desert, where they were

slaughtered and half a million Armenians were killed as a consequence of starvation, diseases, and

epidemics.

On the other side, the Turkish Government also supplied many other documents which

take the effort to refuse to call the 1915 event is a genocide to Armenian. First of all, due to the data

from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (M.o.F.A.R.o.T., 2011), “Turkey does

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not deny the suffering of Armenians, including the loss of many innocent lives, during the First

World War. However, greater numbers of Turks died or were killed in the years leading to and during

the War. Without belittling the tragic consequences for any group, Turkey objects to the one-sided

presentation of this tragedy as a genocide by one group against another.”

In conclusion, the Turkey conclude the 1915 case as (M.o.F.A.R.o.T., 2011), “Loss of life,

regardless of numbers and regardless of possible guilt on the part of the victims, is tragic and must

be remembered. However, it is factually problematic, morally unsound and legally unfounded to call

this episode as ‘genocide’.

The relationship between these two countries from 1991 up to now

After 7 decades joint in the Soviet Union as a Republic Member under the name of

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian SSR), the collapse of USSR in 1991 changed Armenia

from a no statehood republic in USSR into an independent republic which was called the 3rd

republic by the Armenian. Right after the declaration of independence from the Armenian authority,

Turkey was the very first country who recognized the independence of Armenia on 16 December

1991. Due to the data from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (Republic of

Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2011), ”Turkey provided humanitarian assistance to this country

which was facing serious economic difficulties and actively supported Armenia’s integration with

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regional and Western organizations. In this regard, Turkey invited Armenia to join the Black Sea

Economic Cooperation (BSEC) as a founding member.”

However, the diplomacy relationship between two countries was postponed after the

occupation of Armenia on Kalbajar, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Turkish government

decided to close all land and air border with Armenia and just open the air border with Armenia 2

years later under the pressure of the international society. In 2009, a protocol which was brokered

by Russia, America and France was signed in Zurich which was an agreement to start a diplomatic

relation between Turkey and Armenia; however, there is no further notice regarding their relations.

The impacts of individuals on the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation

George Clooney

George Clooney, is widely known not only for his career in acting and filmmaking, but as an

avid activist. He is involved with Not on Our Watch Project, an organization aiming to prevent mass

atrocities, and has also advocated a resolution of the Darfur conflict—a nostalgic feat when one

knows of his past. Recently, George Clooney becomes a constant and ardent supporter of the

recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Attending the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and announcing the first-ever

laureate for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity are only a few among many evidences that

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show George Clooney as a passionate supporter of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as he

called the event with the true name of genocide.

In an interview whilst he was in Armenia shows that he boldly states his opinion, claiming

that, “it is ridiculous not to talk about [Armenian Genocide] in terms of genocide, because, of

course, it was”. George Clooney bravely voices out his thoughts on Turkey’s blatant and utter denial

of calling the Armenian tragedy as a genocide. Clooney strongly believes that in order to fight for

these wronged people, the truth must not be silenced. The root problem of the tension between

Turkey and Armenia is Turkey’s denial in referring to the events in Armenia 101 years ago as the

‘Armenian Genocide’. That is exactly the reason why George Clooney, like other celebrity activists,

makes use of his fame and fixes the constant spotlight towards bigger and more urgent matters than

his own personal life, one of them being the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Clooney claims

in an interview with Armenia TV News, that as a son of a newsman, he knows the vitality of words

and the importance of voicing them out, and the role of a public figure in aiding to shine light upon

these subjects. He was taught from a very young age that your voice counts. He believes if you have

voice and knowledge of the matter you can directly involved to that.

That is why I think that it is important to speak out. The only way to bring these wronged

people justice is to speak about them, let their stories be heard. George Clooney gives his power as

a public figure to recognize the massive killings in Armenia the term ‘genocide’ in which it is a

powerful term believe it or not, by his capacity as a public figure he asks the whole world even

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though they are ordinary people to promote humanitarian efforts in recognizing such atrocious

event with the term ‘genocide.’

Referring to the aforementioned Darfur conflict—George Clooney’s father, who was a

newsman at that time, covered a story about said conflict. However, the show was cancelled and

the story is still yet uncovered. Years later, when Clooney became famous, he finally helped his

father uncovering the truth behind the said conflict. A huge change begins from a ‘small’ step: by

calling the Armenian tragedy by its true name—genocide. To call this difficult task a ‘small’ one

(naming) is an irony in and of itself, because this is a deep rooted conflict that goes deeper beneath

the surface. By not letting these stories day, maybe one day we can safely call the Armenian tragedy

as ‘genocide’ without feeling like walking on landmines. Nevertheless, through perseverance,

Turkish-Armenian reconciliation is ahead of us.

David L. Phillips

David L. Phillips who is currently working as a Director of the program on Peace Building

and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights has made an intellectual

endeavor to promote the reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia. His recommended initiative

in the book Unsilencing the Past: Track Two diplomacy and Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation has

created some positive impact on the relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Firstly, in this book, he stresses that it is the track-two diplomacy that has built some

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significant bricks contributing to the process of reconciliation. According to Yapici (2013), track-two

diplomacy emphasizes the important role of non-state actors in with the effort to analyze the root

of the tensions and endeavor to come up with peaceful approaches resolving that tensions. In the

case of Turkey - Armenia, the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) is a clear

illustration of this diplomacy. Phillips had endeavored to the creation of this commission, which was

inspired by the idea of Track Two Program on Turkey and Caucasus conducted by the Clinton

(Mandaci, 2014). To be more specific, the TARC was established in 2001 with the main objective to

mediate the relations between Turkey and Armenia by stressing on the role of contact at both

governmental and non-governmental (Phillips, 2005). Using the TARC as an example of track-two

diplomacy, Phillips aimed to promote the bilateral cooperation through empathetic understanding

and the willingness to build up a friendly relation between Turkey and Armenia (Geukjian, 2005).

Indeed, he shows that TARC had succeeded in forming a structured dialogue and creating

opportunities for cooperation at civil society level; fostering a diplomatic contact between Turkish

and Armenian officials; making a beginning steps towards the issue of “G-word” by the effort with

the International Center for Transitional Justice and also forming a “treaty-based” method for

opening the border (Phillips, 2005). Undoubtedly, the aforementioned positive effects that TARC

had brought laid a firm foundation for the reconciliation process. Therefore, it is significantly

necessary to keep promoting the role of dialogue. Due to the current tensions existing between

these two countries, for example, the Turkey’s unrecognition of Armenian Genocide and the

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Nagorno - Karabakh conflict, any violent force by any parties may put fuel to the flame rather than

mediate the happening dispute. Therefore, in this case, dialogue and official discussion are believed

as a more affordable approach in order to facilitate the reconciliation process.

Secondly, it would be a shortcoming of this paper if it just mentioned the impact of TARC,

because Phillips had also come up with constructive new recommendation toward the

Turkey-Armenia reconciliation. It is crucial however not to overemphasize on the TARC’s impact on

the reconciliation since it had failed to achieve its objectives ultimately. However, this failure does

not necessarily mean that there is no hope for the reconciliation. Phillips was realistic enough to

recognize the failure of TARC, however, to him it is not an end because “reconciliation will be a

process, not an event” (Phillips, 2005, p. 154). Moreover, he asserted that “Track Two is not a

substitute for official diplomatic effort” (Phillips, 2005, p. 136). Therefore, he had suggested some

advanced recommendation reconcile the relations between these two countries. One of those is the

suggestion that both countries government should pay more focus on promoting the civil society

program on various aspects such as education, tourism, culture and so on. Although there are

other crucial recommendations, the initiatives taken at civil society level are the indispensable

beginning steps on the path towards the reconciliation. Indeed, despite the tensions among two

countries’ governments, generally at the moment through the establishment of the program called

“Support to the Armenia-Turkey normalization process”, the Turkish and Armenian citizens have

been able to create a joyful environment together through differential exchange activities. Various

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programs have been conducted, which attract both Turkish and Armenian young generation to

participate. This positive result is an element worth mentioning, which gradually contributes to the

process of reconciliation. The success of this program is a proof of the rightness of Phillips’s

initiatives. His suggested initiatives may not lead to a direct reconciliation but rather open another

door to enter a genuine reconciliation. Indeed, his endeavor to promote toward Turkey- Armenia

friendly relations is really precious and needs developing continuously.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has been long known for her support against the act of genocide especially the

unforgettable history of the Armenian genocide. The genocide extremely severed the mutual

relationship between Turkey and Armenia where they didn’t share the same point of views

regarding the event. Turkey’s point of view was that the massive killings has nothing to do with the

term ‘genocide’ while Armenia’s point of view was that the massive killings perfectly defines the

term ‘genocide.’ The result of the difference between Turkey’s and Armenia’s point of view urges

the international community to create a formal acceptance with the title of Armenian Genocide

Recognition. Countries that have expressly agreed to it clearly accept that the systematic killings, as

well as forced deportation done by the Ottoman Empire to Armenia, are constituted as genocide.

The Armenian Genocide Recognition had a purpose of urging Turkey as the successor of the

Ottoman Empire, to admit their misconducts where as a matter of fact recognition is not necessary

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as long as Turkey admits, the problem is solved (Phillips, 2015).

The problem is solved that is meant by Armenia contains same meaning and purpose with

the term reconciliation in which Armenia seeks to rebuild the long-lost mutual relationship between

them so that Turkey and Armenia can conduct government affairs, trading, travel, and other mutual

activities. As stated above that Hillary Clinton supports Armenia for their genocide recognition,

Wofford (2015) pointed out that she also looks forward to the reconciliation between Turkey and

Armenia in her office capacity as the secretary of the state as well as her personal capacity of a

political individual.

The reconciliation effort is seen to make its mark in 2009 that took place in Zurich,

Switzerland, where both Turkey and Armenia have both agreed to sign an agreement to establish a

diplomatic relation. Hillary Clinton actively helped both of these 2 countries in reaching their

consensus. Lee (2009) stated that she was seen actively contributing to the reconciliation process by

intervening as well as asking for Switzerland mediators to produce a resolution over the century

worth of antipathy between these two countries. Additionally, before the ceremony of signing the

agreement, Hillary Clinton was seen having a private brief conversation with the Armenian foreign

minister. She was also seen speaking with the Turkish foreign minister where the conversation is

believed to be the act of negotiation conducted by her to show her support towards the

reconciliation process. The negotiation didn’t seem to show any progress but on the other hand, the

reconciliation is deemed to be a success as both parties continues to the ceremony of signing the

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agreement. However, according to Tocci (2011), during the last minute of signing the agreement,

there was a little dispute regarding their concerns after the agreement had been signed by both

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers. Nonetheless, it was settled peacefully with the help of

Hillary Clinton mediating within the last minute of the signing process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation is on-going process which requires not

only the constantly reciprocal effort coming from the conflicting parties but also the constructive

voices from individual actors. George Clooney, David L. Phillips and Hillary Clinton are not the only

ones who promoting the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, but their endeavor toward this process

have been playing a crucial role in creating a space for discussion between these two countries. At

the moment, there is nothing necessary than an official dialogue between Turkey and Armenia

toward the goal of facilitating the process of reconciliation.

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