Tweet
BRAVE START NEEDS TO BECOME A SOLID PROCESS
Gulf News
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/editorial_opi nion/world/10243548.html
Sept 8 2008
United Arab Emirates
The historic visit to Armenia by Turkish President Abdullah Gul is
a chance to start a new era between these two peoples who have had
a poisonous relationship based on decades of hatred, fuelled by
massacres and memories of persecution.
Before the First World War, historic Armenia was part of the
Tsarist empire, but hundreds of thousands of Armenians lived in the
neighbouring rival Ottoman Empire.
However, the cause of the present day hatred lies in the chaos in the
Ottoman Empire as it lost the First World War, when the Armenians say
that 1.5 million of them were massacred between 1915 and 1917 in an
orchestrated attempt at genocide; while the Turks say that 500,000
Armenians were killed (as well as many Turks) in civil war as parts
of the failing Ottoman Empire tried to succeed.
These accusations were frozen for decades as the Armenians lost their
independence to the Soviet Union in 1920, and the Turks tried to
cover up the killings. However, after Armenia's restored independence
in 1991, all the hidden fury came back to the fore. It was fuelled
by Turkish support for Azerbaijan (Azeris are Turkic in origin) in
the war over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh surrounded by
Azerbaijan, during which Turkey blockaded Armenia and only stopped
after peace was declared.
It is important that a new spirit is built between these two
historic neighbours. The Turkish President has taken a brave step in
starting the process, but his single visit has to turn into a solid
process. This will require the Turks to persevere and the Armenians
to respond, which will not be easy for either. There is much to
forgive on both sides. Strong leadership in Turkey and Armenia is
needed to overcome resistance from the more intransigent sections of
their populations.
Gulf News
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/editorial_opi nion/world/10243548.html
Sept 8 2008
United Arab Emirates
The historic visit to Armenia by Turkish President Abdullah Gul is
a chance to start a new era between these two peoples who have had
a poisonous relationship based on decades of hatred, fuelled by
massacres and memories of persecution.
Before the First World War, historic Armenia was part of the
Tsarist empire, but hundreds of thousands of Armenians lived in the
neighbouring rival Ottoman Empire.
However, the cause of the present day hatred lies in the chaos in the
Ottoman Empire as it lost the First World War, when the Armenians say
that 1.5 million of them were massacred between 1915 and 1917 in an
orchestrated attempt at genocide; while the Turks say that 500,000
Armenians were killed (as well as many Turks) in civil war as parts
of the failing Ottoman Empire tried to succeed.
These accusations were frozen for decades as the Armenians lost their
independence to the Soviet Union in 1920, and the Turks tried to
cover up the killings. However, after Armenia's restored independence
in 1991, all the hidden fury came back to the fore. It was fuelled
by Turkish support for Azerbaijan (Azeris are Turkic in origin) in
the war over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh surrounded by
Azerbaijan, during which Turkey blockaded Armenia and only stopped
after peace was declared.
It is important that a new spirit is built between these two
historic neighbours. The Turkish President has taken a brave step in
starting the process, but his single visit has to turn into a solid
process. This will require the Turks to persevere and the Armenians
to respond, which will not be easy for either. There is much to
forgive on both sides. Strong leadership in Turkey and Armenia is
needed to overcome resistance from the more intransigent sections of
their populations.