ARMENIAN TEAM RETURNS TO MOUNT ARARAT EMBLEM

Today’s Zaman
Dec 24 2008
Turkey

The Armenian national soccer team, which had replaced its emblem
featuring a silhouette of Turkey’s Mount Ararat, known in Turkey as
Mount Agrı, ahead of a match against Turkey in a World Cup qualifying
game in September, has recently started to use the old emblem again.

The previously new emblem of the Armenian national team, featuring
a tiger and a lion instead of the silhouette of Mount Ararat, was
introduced to the public at a September press conference in Yerevan,
with Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan saying
that the change of emblem was due to demands from football fan
associations. Hayrapetyan also said at the time that the previous
emblem was not popular among fans of the national team.

Armenian officials had dismissed a connection between the new emblem
and the upcoming match; however, the change was widely considered to
be a gesture of goodwill by the Armenian side ahead of the match on
Sept. 6. Turkish President Abdullah Gul broke his country’s foreign
policy taboo by visiting Armenia to watch the soccer game. The visit
paved the way for contact between Turkey and Armenia, which have had
no formal ties since 1993.

Since then, public criticism of the Armenian Football Federation’s
decision to change the previous emblem has surfaced in Turkey’s
estranged neighbor. The federation has decided to return to its
previous emblem, which features a stylized representation of Mount
Ararat.

One of the conditions Ankara expects Yerevan to fulfill to
normalize relations is formal recognition of the current border
with Turkey. Turkish decision-makers are concerned that the Armenian
administration has claims on Turkish territory, and the depiction of
Mount Ararat on the Armenian national team emblem has been interpreted
by some as a sign of Armenian irredentist desires.

Sarksyan thanks Turkish people for help during 1988 quake

It has emerged meanwhile that Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan sent
a message to his Turkish counterpart on the 20th anniversary of the
disastrous Spitak earthquake, expressing his gratitude for the Turkish
people’s help to Armenian people at the time.

Dec. 7 marked the 20th anniversary of the Spitak earthquake, which
flattened towns and villages across swathes of the then-Soviet
Socialist Republic of Armenia, killing 25,000 people and leaving tens
of thousands homeless.

The world turned its attention to the tragedy in his country soon
after the earthquake, Sarksyan noted in his message, adding that this
proved that "grief is not one-sided."

Sarksyan said that both he and the Armenian people have been grateful
to Turkish people and the government of the Turkish Republic for
their assistance in the aftermath of the Spitak earthquake.

"We are sure that human actions will always be remembered, will
increase clemency and will enlighten the world," he said.

–Boundary_(ID_xSMIB1WTnFGmRydkKER2fQ)–