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EurasiaNet.org, NY
April 8 2013
Armenia-Turkey: Cancellation of Yerevan-Van Flight Aggravates Old Wounds
April 8, 2013 - 10:04am, by Marianna Grigoryan
The recent cancellation of the first Turkish-run flight from Yerevan
to Turkey underlines for many Armenians the persistent difficulty of
normalizing ties with their longtime foe. But where business interests
lie, hope seems hard to quash.
The planned 40-minute, twice-weekly flights to the city of Van in
southeastern Turkey, run by the private Turkish carrier Bora Jet, were
scheduled to begin on April 3, but were canceled on March 28. The
announcement followed outspoken criticism from Turkey's close ally,
Azerbaijan, that the flights would violate the two countries' 20-year
blockade of Armenia's western and eastern borders, the result of war
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory
Organized by two travel agencies in Yerevan and Van, the flights were
designed to encourage Armenian tourists to travel to a remote area of
modern-day Turkey that played a central role in Armenia's own early
history.
Representatives of the Armenian travel agency co-organizing the
flights, Narekvank, are now claiming that the flights may commence
after the April 24 anniversary of the World-War-I-era massacre of
ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. `We hope to have flights soon,'
Narekvank co-owner Armen Hovhannisian told EurasiaNet.org. `At least,
after April 24 will have passed.'
Van, a predominantly ethnic Kurdish city of a few hundred thousand
people, carries particular significance for both sides. It was a key
site of the 1915 massacres, recognized as genocide by Armenia and 20
other countries, and contains ruins of a former Armenian neighborhood
leveled during the slaughter. It is also within easy reach of the
restored 10th-century Holy Cross Cathedral, a onetime seat of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, and other Armenian cultural sites.
Given that background, Borja Jet's decision to cancel the flight -
officially attributed to insufficient passenger interest - hit many
Armenians as a slap in the face.
`At first, I didn't see any political reason for this and considered
the Yerevan-Van flight merely from a business angle, but the Turkish
government managed to politicize the question,' commented Turkish
studies expert Ruben Safrastian, director of the National Academy of
Sciences' Oriental Studies Institute. `This points to the fact that
Turkey is not interested in building relations with Armenia.'
Turkey itself has not addressed that argument. While the Yerevan and
Van travel agencies blame Turkey's civilian aviation agency, Hürriyet
Daily News reported that the agency had not contacted the Van regional
government about stopping the flights.
Less than half of the 68 seats on the plane, a mere 20, had been sold
as of March 28, according to the Yerevan travel agency, Narekvank.
(Booked passengers, it said, have received refunds). The Russian
carrier Aeroflot is now the sole option for flying to Istanbul
directly from Yerevan, but, with the additon of an onward trip to Van,
the price far exceeds the 82,400 drams ($197) offered by Borja Jet.
The Yerevan-Van flight may not be grounded for good. Narekvank's
website now features tours to Van by plane starting on May 1.
The anniversary of the 1915 massacres was expected to increase Turkish
government misgivings about the flights, as Ankara campaigns against
recognizing the event as genocide. On top of that, aside from any spat
with Azerbaijan, Ankara arguably also faces the need to avoid
high-profile controversy in Kurdish areas of the country following
last month's pledge by rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party leader Abdullah
Öcalan to withdraw fighters from Turkey.
Whether those factors will play a smaller role after April 24,
however, remains uncertain. Some Armenians say the scuttled flights
were no surprise at all; they are not likely to believe they will
resume.
`The Turks have been trying our patience for a long time,' commented
Turkey expert Ara Papian, head of the Modus Vivendi Center, a Yerevan
think-tank. `This time, they started a process and did things
half-way. ... They simply launched the process to prove to the world
that they're doing everything they can to improve relations with
Armenia.'
The recent failed attempt at reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey
comes most immediately to Armenians' minds as an example of this
alleged start-and-stop behavior. Neither country's parliament has
ratified the 2009 protocols drawn up as a first step toward the
eventual normalization of diplomatic ties, severed in 1993.
For disappointed Yerevan-Van passenger Hasmik Babujian, a 35-year-old
computer programmer whose family hails from the region, the real loss
is the opportunity `to see the land of our ancestors.'
`You never know what will happen next when politics interferes,' she
commented sadly.
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66793
April 8 2013
Armenia-Turkey: Cancellation of Yerevan-Van Flight Aggravates Old Wounds
April 8, 2013 - 10:04am, by Marianna Grigoryan
The recent cancellation of the first Turkish-run flight from Yerevan
to Turkey underlines for many Armenians the persistent difficulty of
normalizing ties with their longtime foe. But where business interests
lie, hope seems hard to quash.
The planned 40-minute, twice-weekly flights to the city of Van in
southeastern Turkey, run by the private Turkish carrier Bora Jet, were
scheduled to begin on April 3, but were canceled on March 28. The
announcement followed outspoken criticism from Turkey's close ally,
Azerbaijan, that the flights would violate the two countries' 20-year
blockade of Armenia's western and eastern borders, the result of war
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory
Organized by two travel agencies in Yerevan and Van, the flights were
designed to encourage Armenian tourists to travel to a remote area of
modern-day Turkey that played a central role in Armenia's own early
history.
Representatives of the Armenian travel agency co-organizing the
flights, Narekvank, are now claiming that the flights may commence
after the April 24 anniversary of the World-War-I-era massacre of
ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. `We hope to have flights soon,'
Narekvank co-owner Armen Hovhannisian told EurasiaNet.org. `At least,
after April 24 will have passed.'
Van, a predominantly ethnic Kurdish city of a few hundred thousand
people, carries particular significance for both sides. It was a key
site of the 1915 massacres, recognized as genocide by Armenia and 20
other countries, and contains ruins of a former Armenian neighborhood
leveled during the slaughter. It is also within easy reach of the
restored 10th-century Holy Cross Cathedral, a onetime seat of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, and other Armenian cultural sites.
Given that background, Borja Jet's decision to cancel the flight -
officially attributed to insufficient passenger interest - hit many
Armenians as a slap in the face.
`At first, I didn't see any political reason for this and considered
the Yerevan-Van flight merely from a business angle, but the Turkish
government managed to politicize the question,' commented Turkish
studies expert Ruben Safrastian, director of the National Academy of
Sciences' Oriental Studies Institute. `This points to the fact that
Turkey is not interested in building relations with Armenia.'
Turkey itself has not addressed that argument. While the Yerevan and
Van travel agencies blame Turkey's civilian aviation agency, Hürriyet
Daily News reported that the agency had not contacted the Van regional
government about stopping the flights.
Less than half of the 68 seats on the plane, a mere 20, had been sold
as of March 28, according to the Yerevan travel agency, Narekvank.
(Booked passengers, it said, have received refunds). The Russian
carrier Aeroflot is now the sole option for flying to Istanbul
directly from Yerevan, but, with the additon of an onward trip to Van,
the price far exceeds the 82,400 drams ($197) offered by Borja Jet.
The Yerevan-Van flight may not be grounded for good. Narekvank's
website now features tours to Van by plane starting on May 1.
The anniversary of the 1915 massacres was expected to increase Turkish
government misgivings about the flights, as Ankara campaigns against
recognizing the event as genocide. On top of that, aside from any spat
with Azerbaijan, Ankara arguably also faces the need to avoid
high-profile controversy in Kurdish areas of the country following
last month's pledge by rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party leader Abdullah
Öcalan to withdraw fighters from Turkey.
Whether those factors will play a smaller role after April 24,
however, remains uncertain. Some Armenians say the scuttled flights
were no surprise at all; they are not likely to believe they will
resume.
`The Turks have been trying our patience for a long time,' commented
Turkey expert Ara Papian, head of the Modus Vivendi Center, a Yerevan
think-tank. `This time, they started a process and did things
half-way. ... They simply launched the process to prove to the world
that they're doing everything they can to improve relations with
Armenia.'
The recent failed attempt at reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey
comes most immediately to Armenians' minds as an example of this
alleged start-and-stop behavior. Neither country's parliament has
ratified the 2009 protocols drawn up as a first step toward the
eventual normalization of diplomatic ties, severed in 1993.
For disappointed Yerevan-Van passenger Hasmik Babujian, a 35-year-old
computer programmer whose family hails from the region, the real loss
is the opportunity `to see the land of our ancestors.'
`You never know what will happen next when politics interferes,' she
commented sadly.
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66793