SIGNATURE COLLECTING CAMPAIGN AGAINST OPENING OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDERS FINISHED
J.Babayeva

Trend News Agency
April 21 2009
Azerbaijan

A signature collecting campaign against possible opening of the
Turkish-Armenian borders finished on April 21.

"Number of people joining the campaign reached over 22,000 people. A
book comprising 600 pages together with the collected signatures will
be submitted to the Presidential Administration, Cabinet of Ministers,
Turkish Parliament and Ministry of Education," organizer of the
campaign and member of the World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC) Board
Asif Gurbanov told Trend News in a telephone conversation from Ankara.

The signature collecting campaign "Against opening
of Turkish-Armenian borders" started at Web site
on April 7.

Different representatives of the Turkish society think the borders
with Armenia will open. But the Turkish official governmental bodies
stated that the borders will not open until the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is solved.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 due to Armenia’s
claims of an alleged genocide, and the country’s occupation of 20
percent of Azerbaijani lands.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan on Sept. 6, 2008 upon
the invitation of his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisyan to watch
an Armenia-Turkey football match.

Efforts have been made to normalize ties between the two countries
ever since.

Gurbanov said the campaign is not held against Turkey. "The campaign
aimed to prevent opening borders and prove how it will damage Turkey
and Azerbaijan," Gurbanov said.