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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 13 2012
'Past grievances no obstacle to better ties'
Gyumri, the second-largest city in northwestern Armenia with a
population of approximately 160,000 people, is strongly seeking the
reopening of the border with Turkey in order to resuscitate the local
economy. (PHOTO SUNDAY'S ZAMAN)
13 May 2012 / CELIL SAÄ?IR, YEREVAN / GYUMRI
Although Armenian politicians in their initial statements about the
possibility of normalization of this country's strained relations with
Turkey following the parliamentary elections last Sunday were not
upbeat, most people continue to expect to see an improvement in the
troubled relationship between the two countries, urging Turkey to open
its border with Armenia.
Sagis, a 57-year-old lottery ticket seller in Yerevan, who didn't want
to give his last name like many people here, says his great
grandfather came to Armenia from Turkey's MuÅ? province. He said,
`Neighbors should be friends.' Azniv, an 85-year-old retired teacher,
told us, `We don't need enemies, we need friendship.' According to
Arman, a 37-year-old businessman who is country director of Fedex in
Yerevan, Turkey and Armenia have no choice but to normalize their
relations because they are neighbors.
Most Armenians here say the symbolic step in that direction would be
for Turkey to open its border with Armenia, which it closed in 1993
following the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani soil, including
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Tigren, 33, the co-manager of a Pizza Hut in Yerevan, says: `The
border has to be opened. It will be good for us economically.'
The city that wants the border to be reopened most is Gyumri, the
second-largest city in Armenia with a population of 160,000. Gyumri's
rundown streets and the visible poverty level of the city are in high
contrast with the well-maintained streets of Yerevan.
Alexander Ter Minasiyon, a tourism agency operator in the city, says:
`In Gyumri we know the difficulty of living in a border town near a
closed border. To get to Kars, which is only 90 kilometers away, we
travel 497 kilometers via Georgia. We lose about 10,000 tourists every
year,' noting that the city of Kars on the Turkish border also wants
the border to be opened. He added that there is a Russian base on the
Armenian part of the border facing the Ani ruins [in Kars], and the
soldiers don't allow tourists to even look at the site across the
border.
`The financial cost of the border being closed is huge. I don't agree
with the politicians who say we can get along without Turkey. We are
losing a lot,' says Levon Barseghyan, who notes that Turkish products
cost 30 times what they should cost because they are delivered through
Georgia.
Vahan Khachatryan, a businessman who owns Gala TV, a network that
broadcasts in the Gyumri region, says he has been looking for a
Turkish partner for his soap manufacturing business, noting that the
border being closed is causing delays in communication and
transportation.
The irony lies in the Russian military units near the border that
Gyumri wants to see open. The Russians are protecting the population
from a `potential threat' from Turkey. There are also Russian troops
and a radar unit inside the town.
Border towns on the other side are also suffering from the situation.
`The illicit trade between Turkey and Armenia as of 2011 had reached a
volume of around $280 million, according to unofficial figures,' says
Noyan Soyak from the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council
(TABDC).
`It is possible to say that this figure can increase up to three
times in a very short period. Opening the border would ensure that
goods from the eastern and southeastern Anatolian regions arrive in
Yerevan in four to five hours, shortening the time greatly,' Soyak
adds. `We perceive the possibility of the trade volume between Turkey
and Armenia reaching $1 billion, including tourism revenue, in three
years if the border were open,' he said.
According to the TABDC, the most attractive sectors for Turkish
traders and investors are textiles, machinery and the food industry,
and, of course, there is great potential for untouched sectors such as
transportation, energy and information technologies.
But Vartan Oskanian, a former foreign minister and an important figure
in the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), which came in second place in
the elections, points to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as the main
obstacle to opening the border. He said: `So our focus should be on
Nagorno-Karabakh. If we can solve that problem, then Turkey will open
the border.'
Gyumrian artist Aleksey Manukyan says: `The Karabakh issue is costing
us dearly. We still have an eastern mentality; we can't act
pragmatically. People don't voice this openly, but such is the
situation.'
One person who can't wait to see the day the border is opened is
Karine Petrosyan, the chief of the Akhurian Train Station. She
remembers that the last train from Turkey arrived in Akhurian in April
of 1993. `I will retire 10 years from now. I want to see that train
again before I retire.' She says the village of Akhurik, after which
the station is named, has been affected negatively by the border
closing. Many young people left the village. There are also people who
say Turkey should first recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians at
the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 as genocide. One such person is
Eleonora, a 25-year-old bank clerk. `We can't possibly normalize our
relations before Turkey admits the genocide.' Armen Pahlevenyan, a
taxi driver in Gyumri, agrees. `Nothing can be described as normal
unless Turkey recognizes the genocide,' said Pahlevenyan, whose great
grandfather had to migrate to Gyumri from Kars.
Nana (19), a university student from Gyumri, says once Turkey
recognizes the genocide, the past will stop haunting both countries.
Others, yet, prefer to look to the future instead of setting the
genocide as a prerequisite for better relations. Smbat, a 55-year-old
Armenian who didn't want to give his second name, also has his roots
in Kars. His family was forced to come to Yerevan during the 1915
incidents. `Whatever happened is in the past. We should now open the
border. We want a better life for ourselves and for our children. We,
as Armenians, aren't after revenge. We want good neighborly relations.
And Turkey should also want this.' Milla Kazanian (21) of Yerevan also
agrees, saying: `The past is in the past. Now is the time to look
forward. The border should reopen, and our relations should go back to
normal.' Felix, an 18-year-old university student, said, `The past
shouldn't be an obstacle to the normalization of ties, but we would
like Turkey to recognize the genocide.' On the Turkish side, there is
concern that recognition would bring up the issue of reparations.
Galust Sahakyan, leader of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
parliamentary faction, meanwhile, indicated that Armenian leaders had
their own red lines that will take priority over any form of
reconciliation pact. He said at a meeting with a group of Turkish
journalists on Friday, `For us, the Karabakh problem and the genocide
issue are more important than a restart in relations with Turkey.'
`It is not enough to admit and then to apologize. Responsibilities
such as returning land and paying compensation should also be
fulfilled,' says Giro Manoyan, from the nationalist Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a socialist party that nevertheless is
known for its staunch Armenian nationalism. The votes for the party
fell from 12 percent in the 2007 elections to 5 percent in this year's
elections.
Gala TV owner Khachatryan says: `What's important is that Turkey opens
the border. When people can freely interact, they will say `we are
sorry.' The historical facts of the past should be accepted, and we
should all look forward.'
May 13 2012
'Past grievances no obstacle to better ties'
Gyumri, the second-largest city in northwestern Armenia with a
population of approximately 160,000 people, is strongly seeking the
reopening of the border with Turkey in order to resuscitate the local
economy. (PHOTO SUNDAY'S ZAMAN)
13 May 2012 / CELIL SAÄ?IR, YEREVAN / GYUMRI
Although Armenian politicians in their initial statements about the
possibility of normalization of this country's strained relations with
Turkey following the parliamentary elections last Sunday were not
upbeat, most people continue to expect to see an improvement in the
troubled relationship between the two countries, urging Turkey to open
its border with Armenia.
Sagis, a 57-year-old lottery ticket seller in Yerevan, who didn't want
to give his last name like many people here, says his great
grandfather came to Armenia from Turkey's MuÅ? province. He said,
`Neighbors should be friends.' Azniv, an 85-year-old retired teacher,
told us, `We don't need enemies, we need friendship.' According to
Arman, a 37-year-old businessman who is country director of Fedex in
Yerevan, Turkey and Armenia have no choice but to normalize their
relations because they are neighbors.
Most Armenians here say the symbolic step in that direction would be
for Turkey to open its border with Armenia, which it closed in 1993
following the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani soil, including
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Tigren, 33, the co-manager of a Pizza Hut in Yerevan, says: `The
border has to be opened. It will be good for us economically.'
The city that wants the border to be reopened most is Gyumri, the
second-largest city in Armenia with a population of 160,000. Gyumri's
rundown streets and the visible poverty level of the city are in high
contrast with the well-maintained streets of Yerevan.
Alexander Ter Minasiyon, a tourism agency operator in the city, says:
`In Gyumri we know the difficulty of living in a border town near a
closed border. To get to Kars, which is only 90 kilometers away, we
travel 497 kilometers via Georgia. We lose about 10,000 tourists every
year,' noting that the city of Kars on the Turkish border also wants
the border to be opened. He added that there is a Russian base on the
Armenian part of the border facing the Ani ruins [in Kars], and the
soldiers don't allow tourists to even look at the site across the
border.
`The financial cost of the border being closed is huge. I don't agree
with the politicians who say we can get along without Turkey. We are
losing a lot,' says Levon Barseghyan, who notes that Turkish products
cost 30 times what they should cost because they are delivered through
Georgia.
Vahan Khachatryan, a businessman who owns Gala TV, a network that
broadcasts in the Gyumri region, says he has been looking for a
Turkish partner for his soap manufacturing business, noting that the
border being closed is causing delays in communication and
transportation.
The irony lies in the Russian military units near the border that
Gyumri wants to see open. The Russians are protecting the population
from a `potential threat' from Turkey. There are also Russian troops
and a radar unit inside the town.
Border towns on the other side are also suffering from the situation.
`The illicit trade between Turkey and Armenia as of 2011 had reached a
volume of around $280 million, according to unofficial figures,' says
Noyan Soyak from the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council
(TABDC).
`It is possible to say that this figure can increase up to three
times in a very short period. Opening the border would ensure that
goods from the eastern and southeastern Anatolian regions arrive in
Yerevan in four to five hours, shortening the time greatly,' Soyak
adds. `We perceive the possibility of the trade volume between Turkey
and Armenia reaching $1 billion, including tourism revenue, in three
years if the border were open,' he said.
According to the TABDC, the most attractive sectors for Turkish
traders and investors are textiles, machinery and the food industry,
and, of course, there is great potential for untouched sectors such as
transportation, energy and information technologies.
But Vartan Oskanian, a former foreign minister and an important figure
in the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), which came in second place in
the elections, points to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as the main
obstacle to opening the border. He said: `So our focus should be on
Nagorno-Karabakh. If we can solve that problem, then Turkey will open
the border.'
Gyumrian artist Aleksey Manukyan says: `The Karabakh issue is costing
us dearly. We still have an eastern mentality; we can't act
pragmatically. People don't voice this openly, but such is the
situation.'
One person who can't wait to see the day the border is opened is
Karine Petrosyan, the chief of the Akhurian Train Station. She
remembers that the last train from Turkey arrived in Akhurian in April
of 1993. `I will retire 10 years from now. I want to see that train
again before I retire.' She says the village of Akhurik, after which
the station is named, has been affected negatively by the border
closing. Many young people left the village. There are also people who
say Turkey should first recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians at
the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 as genocide. One such person is
Eleonora, a 25-year-old bank clerk. `We can't possibly normalize our
relations before Turkey admits the genocide.' Armen Pahlevenyan, a
taxi driver in Gyumri, agrees. `Nothing can be described as normal
unless Turkey recognizes the genocide,' said Pahlevenyan, whose great
grandfather had to migrate to Gyumri from Kars.
Nana (19), a university student from Gyumri, says once Turkey
recognizes the genocide, the past will stop haunting both countries.
Others, yet, prefer to look to the future instead of setting the
genocide as a prerequisite for better relations. Smbat, a 55-year-old
Armenian who didn't want to give his second name, also has his roots
in Kars. His family was forced to come to Yerevan during the 1915
incidents. `Whatever happened is in the past. We should now open the
border. We want a better life for ourselves and for our children. We,
as Armenians, aren't after revenge. We want good neighborly relations.
And Turkey should also want this.' Milla Kazanian (21) of Yerevan also
agrees, saying: `The past is in the past. Now is the time to look
forward. The border should reopen, and our relations should go back to
normal.' Felix, an 18-year-old university student, said, `The past
shouldn't be an obstacle to the normalization of ties, but we would
like Turkey to recognize the genocide.' On the Turkish side, there is
concern that recognition would bring up the issue of reparations.
Galust Sahakyan, leader of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
parliamentary faction, meanwhile, indicated that Armenian leaders had
their own red lines that will take priority over any form of
reconciliation pact. He said at a meeting with a group of Turkish
journalists on Friday, `For us, the Karabakh problem and the genocide
issue are more important than a restart in relations with Turkey.'
`It is not enough to admit and then to apologize. Responsibilities
such as returning land and paying compensation should also be
fulfilled,' says Giro Manoyan, from the nationalist Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a socialist party that nevertheless is
known for its staunch Armenian nationalism. The votes for the party
fell from 12 percent in the 2007 elections to 5 percent in this year's
elections.
Gala TV owner Khachatryan says: `What's important is that Turkey opens
the border. When people can freely interact, they will say `we are
sorry.' The historical facts of the past should be accepted, and we
should all look forward.'