TURKEY, ARMENIA MEND TIES THROUGH FOOTBALL
The Associated Press
September 5, 2008
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey and Armenia are hoping a little "football
diplomacy" will help them overcome decades of bad blood rooted in
claims of Ottoman-era genocide.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul travels to Armenia on Saturday to
attend a football match between the two historic foes — becoming
the first Turkish leader to set foot in Armenia since the ex-Soviet
nation declared independence in 1991.
Although Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenia’s
independence, the two neighbors have no diplomatic relations and
their shared border has been closed since 1993.
The animosity has its origins in Armenia’s insistence that the deaths
of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians around the time of World
War I be recognized as genocide. Turkey says the killings occurred
at a time of civil conflict and that the casualty figures are inflated.
More recently, ties have been frozen over Turkey’s opposition to
Armenia’s occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan,
a close Turkish ally.
Little progress is expected on the genocide issue or on
Nagorno-Karabakh when Gul meets Armenian President Serge Sarkisian
on the sidelines of the 2010 World Cup qualifier — in which Turkey
is heavily favored.
But the visit is heralded as sign of a thaw.
"This visit will contribute — even if slightly — to an improvement
in the lack of confidence between the two countries," wrote Semih
Idiz, a foreign affairs commentator for Milliyet newspaper. "Taking
up tougher issues will only be possible after this."
Armenia is the last of Turkey’s neighbors with whom Ankara has failed
to mend ties since the end of the Cold War. Turkey has gradually
improved relations with traditional rivals such as Greece, Bulgaria
and Syria.
Improved ties with Armenia are likely to help lift strains on Turkey’s
relations with other countries that have or plan to formally recognize
the massacres as genocide.
Turkey canceled military contracts with France last year after the
country announced plans to make denying the genocide a crime. In
October, a measure that would have declared the Armenian deaths as
genocide in the U.S.
Congress was stopped after President George W. Bush’s administration
warned relations with strategic ally Turkey would be damaged.
Better ties with Armenia would also help bolster the regional
peacemaker role Turkey has been carving for itself.
Armenia’s president invited Gul to the football match in July. But
Gul delayed a response until the last minute, apparently mindful of
the widespread opposition to his visit.
Turkey’s two major opposition parties have objected saying the visit
does not serve Turkey’s national interests. Gul justified his decision
saying the visit would "contribute to the creation of a climate of
friendship in the region."
No hordes of fans from this football-crazy country are expected to
travel, and even politicians who usually watch Turkey play abroad,
will not make the journey. The match is hotly anticipated in Armenia,
with TV stations urging fans to attend.
Turks still harbor animosity toward Armenia over the killing of
dozens of Turkish diplomats by an Armenian terrorist group, ASALA,
in the 1970s and 1980s, in vengeance for the World War I-era Armenian
massacres.
In Armenia, a nationalist party was planning demonstrations against
Gul’s visit.
Turkey coach Fatih Terim warned this week that the political tensions
could distract the team.
"We are going to a football match, not to war," he said. "We cannot
bear the weight of history on our shoulders, that would slow us down
… It will mess up our play."
Gul was a foreign minister in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
government before being elected president last year, and has favored
improved ties with Armenia. The current foreign minister, Ali Babacan,
has confirmed that there have been informal contacts between the two
countries "from time to time."
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Muslim ally of Ankara, in order to pressure
Yerevan into ending the conflict.
The move has hurt the economy of tiny, landlocked Armenia which has
called on Turkey to reopen the border post.
Armenia’s bitter ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey have resulted in
the tiny country being excluded from strategic energy pipelines that
connect Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia. Armenia has also been kept
out of a railway project that will link the three.
Armenians, supported by numerous scholars, claim an organized genocide
was carried out in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire and are
pushing for the killings to be recognized as among history’s worst
atrocities.
Turkey contends the 1.5 million death toll is wildly inflated. It
also says the Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest
during the chaos that surrounded the empire’s collapse.
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey and Armenia are hoping a little "football
diplomacy" will help them overcome decades of bad blood rooted in
claims of Ottoman-era genocide.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul travels to Armenia on Saturday to
attend a football match between the two historic foes — becoming
the first Turkish leader to set foot in Armenia since the ex-Soviet
nation declared independence in 1991.
Although Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenia’s
independence, the two neighbors have no diplomatic relations and
their shared border has been closed since 1993.
The animosity has its origins in Armenia’s insistence that the deaths
of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians around the time of World
War I be20recognized as genocide. Turkey says the killings occurred
at a time of civil conflict and that the casualty figures are inflated.
More recently, ties have been frozen over Turkey’s opposition to
Armenia’s occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan,
a close Turkish ally.
Today in Europe Cheney backs membership in NATO for GeorgiaSpanish
tourism feels pinch of economic downturnTaliban bring the war home
to France Little progress is expected on the genocide issue or on
Nagorno-Karabakh when Gul meets Armenian President Serge Sarkisian
on the sidelines of the 2010 World Cup qualifier — in which Turkey
is heavily favored.
But the visit is heralded as sign of a thaw.
"This visit will contribute — even if slightly — to an improvement
in the lack of confidence between the two countries," wrote Semih
Idiz, a foreign affairs commentator for Milliyet newspaper. "Taking
up tougher issues will only be possible after this."
Armenia is the last of Turkey’s neighbors with whom Ankara has failed
to mend ties since the end of the Cold War. Turkey has gradually
improved relations with traditional rivals such as Greece, Bulgaria
and Syria.
Improved ties with Armenia are likely to help lift strains on Turkey’s
relations with other countries that have or plan to formally recognize
the massacres as genocide.
Turkey canceled military contracts with France last year after the
country announced p lans to make denying the genocide a crime. In
October, a measure that would have declared the Armenian deaths as
genocide in the U.S. Congress was stopped after President George
W. Bush’s administration warned relations with strategic ally Turkey
would be damaged.
Better ties with Armenia would also help bolster the regional
peacemaker role Turkey has been carving for itself.
Armenia’s president invited Gul to the football match in July. But
Gul delayed a response until the last minute, apparently mindful of
the widespread opposition to his visit.
Turkey’s two major opposition parties have objected saying the visit
does not serve Turkey’s national interests. Gul justified his decision
saying the visit would "contribute to the creation of a climate of
friendship in the region."
No hordes of fans from this football-crazy country are expected to
travel, and even politicians who usually watch Turkey play abroad,
will not make the journey. The match is hotly anticipated in Armenia,
with TV stations urging fans to attend.
Turks still harbor animosity toward Armenia over the killing of
dozens of Turkish diplomats by an Armenian terrorist group, ASALA,
in the 1970s and 1980s, in vengeance for the World War I-era Armenian
massacres.
In Armenia, a nationalist party was planning demonstrations against
Gul’s visit.
Turkey coach Fatih Terim warned this week that the political tensions
could distract the team.
=0 A"We are going to a football match, not to war," he said. "We
cannot bear the weight of history on our shoulders, that would slow
us down … It will mess up our play."
Gul was a foreign minister in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
government before being elected president last year, and has favored
improved ties with Armenia. The current foreign minister, Ali Babacan,
has confirmed that there have been informal contacts between the two
countries "from time to time."
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Muslim ally of Ankara, in order to pressure
Yerevan into ending the conflict.
The move has hurt the economy of tiny, landlocked Armenia which has
called on Turkey to reopen the border post.
Armenia’s bitter ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey have resulted in
the tiny country being excluded from strategic energy pipelines that
connect Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia. Armenia has also been kept
out of a railway project that will link the three.
Armenians, supported by numerous scholars, claim an organized genocide
was carried out in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire and are
pushing for the killings to be recognized as among history’s worst
atrocities.
Turkey contends the 1.5 million death toll is wildly inflated. It
also says the Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest
during the chaos that surrounded the empire’s collapse.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
