TURKISH AND ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT: HOPE OR HOAX?

New America Media
ticle.html?article_id=7a819723e832076f65932b480def 95e0
Oct 27 2009

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed an accord in Zurich
on Oct. 10 that reopens the border between the two countries, closed
since 1993, and creates a joint historical commission to determine what
actually happened in 1915. The deal needs parliamentary approval in
both countries, and Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan faces opposition
from the Armenian diaspora. Is the agreement between the two countries
a step forward or a capitulation? Here are two viewpoints from two
academics – one Turkish, one Armenian-American.

There is good reason why most Armenians, not just those in the
Diaspora, are up in arms about the Armenian-Turkish protocol says
Hayg Oshagan, professor of at Wayne State University, Detroit. Read
why he thinks The Turkey-Armenia Agreement Is a Farce.

But others differ. The frozen history between Armenia and Turkey has
begun to thaw with the signing of the protocols in Zurich on Oct. 10,
aiming at initiating diplomatic relations and opening up borders
says Dogu Ergil, in an editorial for Today’s Zaman, a bilingual
Turkish-English weekly. He thinks this accord is a brave step aimed
at Reducing Historical Baggage.