Angus Reid Global Scan, Canada
Polls & Research
Armenians Reject Trade, Commerce with Turkey
September 21, 2006
– Many adults in Armenia believe their border with
Turkey should not be reopened unless there is an acknowledgement of
the genocide, according to a poll by the Gallup Organization. 57 per
cent of respondents reject resuming cross-border travel and commerce.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey are still tense due to historical
factors. In 1915, the government of the Ottoman Empire-formed by
members of the Turkish nationalist Committee of Union and Progress
(ITC)-ordered hundreds of thousands of Armenians to relocate from
the Caucasus to Mesopotamia.
The state-sponsored deportation campaign led to a high number of
Armenian fatalities, estimated at anywhere from 200,000 to 1.8
million. While some scholars believe the campaign was a deliberate
attempt to exterminate Armenians, Turkey has never formally accepted
the use of the term "genocide" to describe the event.
Yesterday, Turkish deputy prime minister Egemen Bagish discussed
the situation, saying, "(Turkish prime minister Recep Tayip) Erdogan
took a step that no one has ever taken. He declared that the Turkish
people are ready to stand face-to-face with their past and offered
discussions with Armenia if it can do the same. Armenians rejected
to stand-face-to-face with their past and said they will make Turkey
accept what they want. So, there is nothing to say in this case."
The poll was conducted with the support of the Armenian Sociological
Association, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the
International Republican Institute.
Polling Data
Do you agree or disagree with reopening of the Turkish-Armenian
border, that is, the unconditional resumption of cross-border travel
and commerce, without Turkish recognition of the genocide?
Agree
39%
Disagree
57%
Source: Gallup Organization / Armenian Sociological Association /
U.S. Agency for International Development / International Republican
Institute Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Armenian adults, conducted
in early August 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.