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A COMPELLING REASON TO OPEN ARMENIA BORDER
Hurriyet Daily News
April 5 2010
Turkey
If ever there was a powerful argument for the normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia, it is not to be found in
arguments over history, debates on the Treaty of Sevres, linkage to
issues in third countries or the implications for the price of energy
imports. Certainly, these must be tackled in the fullness of time. But
the most powerful argument is the case of 21-year-old Arthur Manukyan.
As readers of the Hurriyet Daily News are aware, we have strongly
supported the initiative between the governments of Turkey and Armenia
to begin a "normalization" process that includes opening of the land
border and re-establishment of diplomatic relations. We see this as
a step in a sure-to-be-long process. But it should not be prey to
nationalist machinations from either side, the politics of U.S. ethnic
lobbies or the designs of diaspora lobbies - Turkey's or Armenia's.
The ratification of negotiated protocols by the two countries'
parliaments are imperative for reasons far closer to home, reasons
such as that of Manukyan.
For Manukyan suffers from a deadly disease know as "Moyamoya syndrome,"
a rare disease that restricts the blood flow to the brain, leading to
seizures, stroke and death if untreated. The treatment, essentially a
set of miniature bypasses administered through a series of surgeries
that take up to a year, is often successful. And the treatment is
not available in Armenia.
It is available in Turkey. Manukyan is now receiving treatment at the
Yedikule Surp Pırgıc Foundation Hospital, a facility established
by Turkey's Armenian community. Doctors there are working with their
colleagues at Istanbul University's CerrahpaÅ~_a Medical Facility to
save young Manukyan's life.
"If we were in Armenia, my son would have already died," the patient's
mother, Hasmig Manukyan told us in the report we published yesterday.
But techically, Manukyan is in Turkey illegally. We are certain that
no one will seek to deport him, despite the recent controversy of
recent threats to expel undocumented workers. But he should not be
in this legal twilight zone.
Today it is Manukyan. Tomorrow, it may be someone in Turkey's medically
under-served province of Kars who needs medical treatment of a kind
only available in Yerevan, less than two hours away by car.
Good fences may make good neighbors, but closed borders do not. And
Manukyan's case powerfully illustrates why this is so.
Immediately, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should act upon
a request made by Turkey's Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan to facilitate
whatever legal steps are necessary to clarify and assure Manukyan's
status to be legally treated for the duration of his therapy. This
should be followed as soon as possible by completion of the faltering
process to open the borders between our two countries.
Hurriyet Daily News
April 5 2010
Turkey
If ever there was a powerful argument for the normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia, it is not to be found in
arguments over history, debates on the Treaty of Sevres, linkage to
issues in third countries or the implications for the price of energy
imports. Certainly, these must be tackled in the fullness of time. But
the most powerful argument is the case of 21-year-old Arthur Manukyan.
As readers of the Hurriyet Daily News are aware, we have strongly
supported the initiative between the governments of Turkey and Armenia
to begin a "normalization" process that includes opening of the land
border and re-establishment of diplomatic relations. We see this as
a step in a sure-to-be-long process. But it should not be prey to
nationalist machinations from either side, the politics of U.S. ethnic
lobbies or the designs of diaspora lobbies - Turkey's or Armenia's.
The ratification of negotiated protocols by the two countries'
parliaments are imperative for reasons far closer to home, reasons
such as that of Manukyan.
For Manukyan suffers from a deadly disease know as "Moyamoya syndrome,"
a rare disease that restricts the blood flow to the brain, leading to
seizures, stroke and death if untreated. The treatment, essentially a
set of miniature bypasses administered through a series of surgeries
that take up to a year, is often successful. And the treatment is
not available in Armenia.
It is available in Turkey. Manukyan is now receiving treatment at the
Yedikule Surp Pırgıc Foundation Hospital, a facility established
by Turkey's Armenian community. Doctors there are working with their
colleagues at Istanbul University's CerrahpaÅ~_a Medical Facility to
save young Manukyan's life.
"If we were in Armenia, my son would have already died," the patient's
mother, Hasmig Manukyan told us in the report we published yesterday.
But techically, Manukyan is in Turkey illegally. We are certain that
no one will seek to deport him, despite the recent controversy of
recent threats to expel undocumented workers. But he should not be
in this legal twilight zone.
Today it is Manukyan. Tomorrow, it may be someone in Turkey's medically
under-served province of Kars who needs medical treatment of a kind
only available in Yerevan, less than two hours away by car.
Good fences may make good neighbors, but closed borders do not. And
Manukyan's case powerfully illustrates why this is so.
Immediately, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should act upon
a request made by Turkey's Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan to facilitate
whatever legal steps are necessary to clarify and assure Manukyan's
status to be legally treated for the duration of his therapy. This
should be followed as soon as possible by completion of the faltering
process to open the borders between our two countries.