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POLL: YEREVAN VISIT APPLAUDED BY MAJORITY
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.d o?load=detay&link=152595&bolum=100
Sept 9 2008
Turkey
A brief visit by President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to attend a soccer
match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams was welcomed
by an overwhelming majority of Turkish society, as it was considered
a landmark step to thaw relations between the two countries, a new
opinion poll has found.
The Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic & Social Research Center
conducted a survey on Gul's visit to Yerevan to learn Turks' views
on the visit. According to the survey, 69.6 percent of those polled
found Gul's visit to Armenia successful, a figure suggesting that Turks
are hopeful the visit may be a turning point in the relations between
Turkey and Armenia. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan invited Gul to
watch a World Cup qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian
national teams in Yerevan. Gul's acceptance of the invitation raised
hopes for dialogue that could eventually restore relations between the
two estranged neighbors and help bury an almost century-old hostility.
Gul was the first Turkish president to set foot in Armenia since it
declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Though Turkey
was among the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence,
it closed its border with the country and severed formal ties
with Yerevan after Armenia occupied the Azerbaijani territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh. But the origins of the dispute between Turkey and
Armenia go further back in history.
Armenia claims the Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million Armenians in
eastern Anatolia during World War I as part of a systematic campaign
of genocide.
The major question of the survey was whether Gul's visit to Armenia
was successful or not. An overwhelming 69.6 percent of respondents said
the visit was successful, whereas 15 percent said it was unsuccessful
and 15.4 percent said they had no idea.
"Turkey and Armenia took a step to normalize relations after long years
of dispute. Though some political parties and politicians strongly
opposed Gul traveling to Yerevan, both the government and the president
did the best to thaw the ice between the two countries. Gul's visit
to Armenia was met with satisfaction by the Turkish nation. To me,
this visit may be a turning point in Turkish-Armenian relations,"
said Professor Ozer Sencar, one of the administrators of the poll.
Professor Eser KarakaÅ~_, a columnist for the Star daily, said the
visit was a huge step for the settlement of problems between the
two neighbors.
"This is a significant step of goodwill. It would be great if both
countries reinforced this step with similar ones in the future. It
may not solve all problems between Turkey and Armenia but may at
least help Turkey open its border with its neighbor," he stated.
Another question directed to respondents in the poll was on the tough
stance of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and
the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) toward Gul's visit to
Yerevan. When asked whether the CHP and the MHP were right to react
negatively to Gul's visit, 65.6 percent of those polled said the two
opposition parties were wrong to harshly criticize the visit. Only
24.9 percent of respondents said the two parties were right to do so
and 9.5 percent said they had no idea.
Officials from the CHP and the MHP were extremely critical of the visit
to Armenia by Gul. They said a visit to Yerevan would mean alienating
Azerbaijan, which is of vital importance to Turkey in many respects.
Sencar emphasized that the Turkish nation was troubled by the CHP and
MHP's harsh reaction against the visit. "Our people don't deem such
reactions as democratic behavior. A considerable majority of society
is aware that these two parties strive to create an atmosphere of
chaos in the country. However, society doesn't want to experience
any other crises," he stated.
KarakaÅ~_ agreed, adding that the dispute between Turkey and Armenia
stems from political disaccord and that the two nations are not
parties to this conflict.
"People of the two countries say at every opportunity that they
don't have any problems with each other. It is the states which have
problems," he noted.
Sencar also stated that the Turkish nation will give the best response
to the rash behavior of the CHP and the MHP at the ballot box. "Both
of the opposition parties displayed stances indicating that they
want to maintain the crisis between Turkey and Armenia. However,
people here want to have neighborly relations with Armenia. I think
both the CHP and the MHP will suffer from their tough stance against
the normalization of relations with Armenia," he remarked.
A previous survey by MetroPOLL had revealed that the opposition
parties in Turkey continue to suffer from declining popularity with
the public. It showed that the CHP and the MHP would remain below
the election threshold should general elections be held on the poll
date. Only 9.5 percent of respondents said they would vote for the CHP,
while 6.6 percent said they would favor the MHP.
Another topic of the new poll was future relations with Armenia. In
response to a question over what kind of policy Turkey should pursue in
relations with its neighbor, 62.8 percent of those polled said Turkey
should develop diplomatic and economic relations with Armenia, whereas
25.9 percent said it should maintain the existing policies. Another
11.3 percent said they had no idea.
"Our people are tired of disputes with Armenia, which are of no
benefit to Turkey. We have had an ongoing debate with Armenia for
80 years. People don't want events dating back to the Ottoman times
to affect their lives any longer. This is why they attach such great
importance to Gul's visit to Yerevan," concluded Sencar.
The telephone poll was conducted Sept. 7 among a random national
sampling of 1,019 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The
margin of error for the full poll is 2.5 percentage points, at a 95
percent confidence level.
--Boundary_(ID_MNAg1IffCYY0dP37iTASwQ)--
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.d o?load=detay&link=152595&bolum=100
Sept 9 2008
Turkey
A brief visit by President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to attend a soccer
match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams was welcomed
by an overwhelming majority of Turkish society, as it was considered
a landmark step to thaw relations between the two countries, a new
opinion poll has found.
The Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic & Social Research Center
conducted a survey on Gul's visit to Yerevan to learn Turks' views
on the visit. According to the survey, 69.6 percent of those polled
found Gul's visit to Armenia successful, a figure suggesting that Turks
are hopeful the visit may be a turning point in the relations between
Turkey and Armenia. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan invited Gul to
watch a World Cup qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian
national teams in Yerevan. Gul's acceptance of the invitation raised
hopes for dialogue that could eventually restore relations between the
two estranged neighbors and help bury an almost century-old hostility.
Gul was the first Turkish president to set foot in Armenia since it
declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Though Turkey
was among the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence,
it closed its border with the country and severed formal ties
with Yerevan after Armenia occupied the Azerbaijani territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh. But the origins of the dispute between Turkey and
Armenia go further back in history.
Armenia claims the Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million Armenians in
eastern Anatolia during World War I as part of a systematic campaign
of genocide.
The major question of the survey was whether Gul's visit to Armenia
was successful or not. An overwhelming 69.6 percent of respondents said
the visit was successful, whereas 15 percent said it was unsuccessful
and 15.4 percent said they had no idea.
"Turkey and Armenia took a step to normalize relations after long years
of dispute. Though some political parties and politicians strongly
opposed Gul traveling to Yerevan, both the government and the president
did the best to thaw the ice between the two countries. Gul's visit
to Armenia was met with satisfaction by the Turkish nation. To me,
this visit may be a turning point in Turkish-Armenian relations,"
said Professor Ozer Sencar, one of the administrators of the poll.
Professor Eser KarakaÅ~_, a columnist for the Star daily, said the
visit was a huge step for the settlement of problems between the
two neighbors.
"This is a significant step of goodwill. It would be great if both
countries reinforced this step with similar ones in the future. It
may not solve all problems between Turkey and Armenia but may at
least help Turkey open its border with its neighbor," he stated.
Another question directed to respondents in the poll was on the tough
stance of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and
the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) toward Gul's visit to
Yerevan. When asked whether the CHP and the MHP were right to react
negatively to Gul's visit, 65.6 percent of those polled said the two
opposition parties were wrong to harshly criticize the visit. Only
24.9 percent of respondents said the two parties were right to do so
and 9.5 percent said they had no idea.
Officials from the CHP and the MHP were extremely critical of the visit
to Armenia by Gul. They said a visit to Yerevan would mean alienating
Azerbaijan, which is of vital importance to Turkey in many respects.
Sencar emphasized that the Turkish nation was troubled by the CHP and
MHP's harsh reaction against the visit. "Our people don't deem such
reactions as democratic behavior. A considerable majority of society
is aware that these two parties strive to create an atmosphere of
chaos in the country. However, society doesn't want to experience
any other crises," he stated.
KarakaÅ~_ agreed, adding that the dispute between Turkey and Armenia
stems from political disaccord and that the two nations are not
parties to this conflict.
"People of the two countries say at every opportunity that they
don't have any problems with each other. It is the states which have
problems," he noted.
Sencar also stated that the Turkish nation will give the best response
to the rash behavior of the CHP and the MHP at the ballot box. "Both
of the opposition parties displayed stances indicating that they
want to maintain the crisis between Turkey and Armenia. However,
people here want to have neighborly relations with Armenia. I think
both the CHP and the MHP will suffer from their tough stance against
the normalization of relations with Armenia," he remarked.
A previous survey by MetroPOLL had revealed that the opposition
parties in Turkey continue to suffer from declining popularity with
the public. It showed that the CHP and the MHP would remain below
the election threshold should general elections be held on the poll
date. Only 9.5 percent of respondents said they would vote for the CHP,
while 6.6 percent said they would favor the MHP.
Another topic of the new poll was future relations with Armenia. In
response to a question over what kind of policy Turkey should pursue in
relations with its neighbor, 62.8 percent of those polled said Turkey
should develop diplomatic and economic relations with Armenia, whereas
25.9 percent said it should maintain the existing policies. Another
11.3 percent said they had no idea.
"Our people are tired of disputes with Armenia, which are of no
benefit to Turkey. We have had an ongoing debate with Armenia for
80 years. People don't want events dating back to the Ottoman times
to affect their lives any longer. This is why they attach such great
importance to Gul's visit to Yerevan," concluded Sencar.
The telephone poll was conducted Sept. 7 among a random national
sampling of 1,019 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The
margin of error for the full poll is 2.5 percentage points, at a 95
percent confidence level.
--Boundary_(ID_MNAg1IffCYY0dP37iTASwQ)--