WHAT IS THE PROBLEM BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA
By Hasan Kanbolat
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 8 2007
Should the border-gate with Armenia be opened?
The Armenian lobby was not satisfied with the remarks of US President
George W. Bush, who used the terms mass killings and forced deportation
instead of genocide in reference to the events of 1915 in his regular
April 24 statement.
The Armenian dossier is now on the agenda again, six months after
these remarks.
The draft resolution (No. 106) on the Armenian genocide, with
discussion initiated by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will be
reviewed and voted on the in the US House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs on Oct. 10. Committee Chairman Tom Lantos will make
a decision about whether it will be referred to the House floor. A
Democrat from California, Lantos, who is known for his opposition to
the resolution, does not have many options. The draft is expected to
be voted on one week later on the basis of simple majority. AK Party
deputy Egemen Baðýþ will stay in Washington during Oct. 7-11 in an
effort to prevent the adoption of the draft resolution.
The fact that the said draft was taken onto the agenda for review and
discussion does not necessarily mean it will be adopted. Turkey will
seek ways to slow down the process by which the draft is adopted. On
Sept. 25, eight former US secretaries of state (Madeline Albright,
James A. Baker III, Warren Christopher, Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander
Haig, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and George P. Shultz) sent a
letter to Pelosi in which they drew attention to the possibility
that American interests might be undermined if the resolution is
adopted. In March 2007, current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent similar letters to Pelosi.
What is the problem between Turkey and Armenia? Should the border gate
with Armenia be opened? We should seek answers for these questions.
The total length of the Turkish-Armenian border is 325 kilometers.
There are two currently closed gates through this line, the Alican
border gate and the Akyaka Railway border gate. The Alican gate is
situated in the Alican village of Iðdýr while the Akyaka gate is
located in Akyaka of Kars. Sixty-six kilometers away from Kars, this
gate is commonly known as the "East Gate," whereas the Armenians call
it "Ahuryan Gate." In addition to a railway, the gate also involves
a village road.
The European Union views the closed border gates as an obstacle before
Armenia’s integration with the union because of the strong emphasis
on this country within the context of wider Europe. Armenia, which
is currently seeking ways to increase pressure on Turkey, asserts
that the current state of affairs inflicts damages on the economic
situation in the country. The Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) estimates that the embargo imposed on Armenia by Turkey and
Azerbaijan costs the Armenian economy $570-720 million every year. If
the borders are opened Armenia’s exports will double and the gross
national product (GNP) will increase by 30-38 percent.
According to World Bank data, Armenian savings will reach $6.4-8.4
million in transportation, $45 million on energy consumption and
exports will increase by $268.9-342.4 million. The cumulative benefit
will be around $320-400 million. Armenians assert that the opening of
the border gates will be a diplomatic defeat for Azerbaijan and Armenia
will secure an important success in regards to the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue. Furthermore, Armenia will become an important transit point
in the transportation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Central Asian
countries. Thanks to the use of Black Sea ports, railroads and highways
of Turkey, free movement of goods will be secured and Armenia will
be integrated with the European economy.
Following the Azerbaijan-Armenia war that lasted through 1994,
40,000 people from Nagorno-Karabakh — occupied by Armenia — and
700,000 from the other seven provinces of Azerbaijan had to leave
their homes. Therefore, because of the invasion, 13 percent of the
Azeri people became migrants in their own territories. It was for this
reason that Turkey closed the border gates with Armenia in April 1993
and airspace in 1994. However, the issue on the border gates between
Turkey and Armenia is not limited to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
Armenia asserts that the 1920 Gumru and 1921 Kars treaties that
determined the border with Armenia are no longer in effect. In the
independence declaration adopted on Aug. 23, 1990, Armenia described
Turkey’s East Anatolian region as "West Armenia." Furthermore,
the state’s coat of arms described in Article 13 of the Armenian
constitution contains Mt. Ararat (Aðrý), which undisputedly belongs
to Turkey.
Despite the hostile attitude of Armenia, Turkey became the second
country after the US to recognize its independence on April 16, 1991.
Following the recognition, Turkey also granted humanitarian assistance
to this country, including food and electricity. It also allowed use
of its territory for transit purposes to carry humanitarian aid by
other countries. Turkey invited Armenia to act as a founding member
of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) on June 25, 1992, and
Armenia was allowed to appoint a permanent representative affiliated
with the organization in Ýstanbul. Armenian airlines are allowed to
hold flights between Yerevan-Ýstanbul and Yerevan-Trabzon. Turkey also
opened the H-50 air corridor for international airlines operating on
the Armenia line. There are regular bus services from the eastern Black
Sea through Georgia and Armenia, which uses the port in Trabzon for
export and import purposes. The restrictions on admission into Turkey
were removed through the visa regime introduced on Jan. 10, 2002 and
100,000 illegal Armenian workers have been allowed to stay in Turkey.
Armenian citizens are allowed to take part in international sports
and culture events held in Turkey. There are ongoing commercial
activities between Turkey and Armenia through Iran and Georgia and
about 20 companies founded by Turkish and Armenian businessmen are
currently in operation. According to unofficial data, bilateral trade
volume increased from $30 million in 1997 to $200 million in 2007.
In conclusion, Armenia’s integration with the West and democratization
depends on its regular relations with democratic Turkey. Armenia,
which has been illegally controlling Azeri territories under occupation
for a decade, rejects most decisions and peace offers by the United
Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). For this reason the state of war
with Azerbaijan still continues. In legal terms, Armenia is still an
aggressor country. There is no plausible explanation for the occupation
of the Azeri territories by making reference to the situation in
Nagorno-Karabakh, despite the cease-fire having been honored for
many years. This is why it should be admitted that it is time for
Armenia to give positive responses to Turkey’s moves. The prevalence
of democracy and reason in Armenia and the end of repression of the
Armenian people will be the beginning of the desired resolution.
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