LA TIMES – "THE TWO COUNTRIES MUST GET BEYOND THE 1915-1918 GENOCIDE BECAUSE IT’S IN BOTH OF THEIR INTERESTS"

2009/10/13 | 16:14

Politics

The following is an editorial that appeared in today’s edition of
the Los Angeles Times.

More than a million Armenians were massacred in the final years of
the Ottoman Empire, from 1915 to 1918. This bloody chapter of World
War I should be recognized as genocide and remembered, not only to
honor the victims but for its lessons to future generations.It should
not, however, prevent Turkey and Armenia from approving the historic
accords signed Saturday in Zurich to restore diplomatic ties and open
their shared border.

Nor should Armenia’s fraught relationship with neighboring Azerbaijan
– Turkey’s ally – derail a rapprochement. The Armenian and Turkish
parliaments must ratify the agreements hammered out with the help of
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton because reconciliation
is in the interests of both nations.

The slaughter is a painful issue for Armenians, particularly so for
the diaspora that has fought unsuccessfully for official Turkish and
U.S. recognition of the genocide. That is understandable, and they
should continue pressing Turkey for an accurate public accounting. Some
Armenians fear that the commission to be established under the accords
for an "impartial" examination of the massacre is simply a means
for Turkey to continue denying history. We also are concerned about
this part of the agreement, but we hope in the end it will offer an
opportunity for the two sides to face the issue together.

Turkey, meanwhile, should not condition ratification of the accord
to open its border on an Armenian withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh,
an enclave of Azerbaijan inhabited largely by ethnic Armenians and
occupied by Armenia since 1993. In fact, a thaw in bilateral relations
between Turkey and Armenia should make it easier to resolve the issue
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. If Armenia feels more secure, it is
likely to be more flexible.

As in all negotiations, both sides must give on important issues if
they are to alter the stasis. Armenia is economically strangled. Its
need for open borders and a lifeline to Western Europe was driven
home during the 2008 war in Georgia, when its main trade route was
blocked. The country is losing its best and brightest, who have no
real prospects at home. Turkey is seeking further integration with
Europe and incorporation into the European Union, and Armenia is one
of the issues standing in the way; the Turks must confront their past
to better their future.

Fortunately, leaders in Turkey and Armenia understand this and should
be applauded for the political risk they are taking at the bargaining
table – as well as in the soccer stadium. Last year, Turkish President
Abdullah Gul attended a World Cup qualifier between the two national
teams in Yerevan, Armenia, and now Armenian President Serge Sarkisian
says he plans to attend one on Wednesday in Turkey. Their sporting
spirit is sending the right message to nationalists in both countries.