ARMENIANS REJECT ESTABLISHING TIES WITH TURKEY

Angus Reid Global Monitor
/armenians_reject_establishing_ties_with_turkey
No v 2 2009
Canada

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Armenia think their
country should not establish ties with neighbouring Turkey, according
to a poll by the Armenian Sociological Association. 52 per cent of
respondents oppose relations with Turkey, while 39 per cent support
them.

The recent history of Turkey’s neighbour is deeply marked by the deaths
of thousands of Armenians in 1915 following an order by the government
of the Ottoman Empire–formed by members of the Turkish nationalist
Committee of Union and Progress (ITC)–urging thousands of Armenians
to relocate from the Caucasus to the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia.

The state-sponsored deportation campaign led to a high number of
fatalities, estimated at anywhere from 200,000 to 1.8 million. While
some scholars believe the campaign was a deliberate attempt to
exterminate Armenians, Turkey has never formally accepted the use of
the term "genocide" to describe the event. Relations between the two
countries remain tense to this day because of it.

Currently, many adults in Armenia believe their border with Turkey
should not be reopened unless there is an official acknowledgement
of the genocide.

On Oct. 10, Armenian foreign minister Edouard Nalbandian and his
Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, signed an agreement in Zurich,
Switzerland, calling for the normalization of Turkish-Armenian
relations.

The legislatures of both countries have to ratify the pact–which
includes opening the border and establishing diplomatic
relations–before it can be implemented. The agreement also calls
for setting up an independent commission of historians to examine
the genocide issue.

Just before the signing ceremony on Oct. 10, Armenian president
Serge Sarkisian declared: "Any relations with Turkey cannot call into
question that genocide was committed against the Armenian people. This
should be recognized and condemned by humankind."

Polling Data

Do you support or oppose a deal to establish ties with Turkey?

Support 39%

Oppose 52%

Source: Armenian Sociological Association Methodology: Interviews
with 1,000 Armenian adults, conducted from Sept. 21 to Sept. 25,
2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.