TURKEY AND ARMENIA FOCUS ON OCT. 14 MATCH IN BID TO MAKE PROGRESS ON REOPENING BORDER
Olivia Ward
Toronto Star
Sept 3 2009
Canada
After years of barred borders, and nearly a century of bitter
enmity, relations between Turkey and Armenia have a sporting chance
of resolution.
This week, the long-time foes announced plans for consultations
leading to the restoration of diplomatic ties – ahead of an Oct. 14
soccer match between the two national sides in Turkey that Armenian
President Serge Sarkisian said he would not attend unless progress
was made in reopening the border.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that if the deal is
ratified by both sides, the border could reopen by Jan. 1, 2010.
The news was hailed by Western leaders who have been urging the uneasy
neighbours to reconcile.
Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said it would benefit both countries
and "enhance security and development within their turbulent and
vital neighbourhood."
But Armenian and Turkish nationalists are critical of any deal they
believe gives way on crucial historic and territorial issues. And
neighbouring Azerbaijan, which is angry over Armenia’s control of its
mainly ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, has threatened
to move energy supplies away from Turkey if it signs the accord.
Previous plans have foundered on the issue, which prompted Turkey to
close the border in 1993, when Ankara sided with ally Azerbaijan as
ethnic Armenian separatists fought to break away.
Equally bitter is the dispute over the 1915 massacre of more than 1
million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, which Armenia has denounced as
genocide, but Turkey calls the result of a bloody civil war.
"This isn’t the first time soccer diplomacy has been tried," says
George Shirinian of the International Institute for Genocide and Human
Rights Studies. "A year ago the Turkish president came to Armenia
(for a World Cup match) and there were closed-door talks, but the
details were never released."
Last spring, Turkey and Armenia agreed in principle to normalize
relations, and Washington and the European Union applied pressure
to move forward. President Barack Obama held back from urging the
U.S. Congress to pass a resolution on the Armenian genocide to avoid
jeopardizing the accord.
The two countries will hold six weeks of talks to prepare for
ratification of the deal, which appears likely in spite of emotional
opposition.
"This is definitely a significant development," said Fadi Hakura,
a Turkish affairs expert at Chatham House, London. "Both leaders
have solid majorities and don’t have to rely on coalitions to pass
the deal."
But he warned, "if Nagorno Karabakh and the dispute over 1915 are
not settled it could poison relations and undermine progress over
the longer term. There are still significant obstacles to tackle,
and they have been sidelined but not solved."
The accord would launch a joint historical commission to investigate
the deaths of Armenians, which some Armenians decry as a backward
step for world recognition of the massacre as genocide.
The Armenian National Committee of Canada calls the deal
"unacceptable," saying "the concessions … seriously threaten the
interests, rights, safety and future of the Republic of Armenia and
the Armenian people in general."
But landlocked Armenia stands to make major economic gains from
reopening the border. It has paid large fees to send goods through
neighbouring Georgia, which was embroiled in a war with Russia last
year. Armenia, which is more politically stable than Georgia, could
also offer a more reliable route for oil and gas to Europe.
An accord with Armenia could also boost Turkey’s bid to join the
European Union.
"It’s a classic case where Turks and Armenians must confront
realpolitik, with moralpolitik lurking largely in the background,"
said Shirinian.
Turkey-Armenia: A troubled history Why relations have been marred by
hostility for nearly 100 years:
â~@¢ Turkey has kept its land border with Armenia closed since the
early 1990s in protest at Armenia’s backing for Nagorno-Karabakh,
a slice of territory belonging to ally Azerbaijan which is populated
by ethnic Armenians. Turkey also objects to Armenia’s claims on some
of its land.
â~@¢ In the late 19th century, the Armenian minority, numbering an
estimated 2 million, in the Ottoman Empire was encouraged by exiled
groups in the U.S., Geneva and in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi,
to assert their nationalism.
â~@¢ Repression by Ottomans, mainly Kurds, led to the massacre of some
30,000 Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1894-1896. Several thousand
more were killed in Constantinople in August 1896 after Armenian
militants seized the Ottoman Bank.
â~@¢ As the Ottomans fought Russian forces in eastern Anatolia during
World War 1, many Armenians formed partisan groups to assist the
invading Russians.
â~@¢ On April 24, 1915, Turkey arrested and killed hundreds of Armenian
intelligentsia. In May 1915, Ottoman commanders began mass deportation
of Armenians from eastern Turkey thinking they might assist Russian
invaders.
â~@¢ Thousands were marched toward Syria and Mesopotamia (now Iraq)
and Armenians say some 1.5 million died either in massacres or from
starvation or deprivation as they were marched through the desert.
â~@¢ Turkey has said large numbers of both Christian Armenians and
Muslim Turks were killed during the violent and chaotic break-up of
the Ottoman Empire. A law in Turkey makes it a criminal offence to
call the killings a genocide.
â~@¢ Armenia insists the killings should be declared a
genocide. President Serge Sarkisian, below, said in a speech to mark
Armenia’s annual Genocide Day that securing international condemnation
of the killings is a priority.