KILLING A HOPE: WISTFUL VIEW AT ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER FROM YEREVAN
By Akbar Hasanov

Today
7279.html
Nov 6 2009
Azerbaijan

A cart ahead of a horse: What implications are awaiting Armenia unless
its borders with Turkey are opened?

One can live with hopes for a much better life for a certain
timeframe. But no one can live only with expectations for whole life
especially, when those hopes are less likely to come true. If to view
attentively the process of normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations it
is much similar to a case when a cart is drawn ahead of a horse.

Turkish-Armenian protocols signed in Zurich made soon after many
ordinary Armenian citizens hopeful for the soonest opening of
Turkey-Armenia border and swift rescue of Armenian economy. They
hoped Armenia to be saved of collapse. However, this optimistic mood
is leaving gradually even the most optimists in Armenia.

Now it seems that everyone in the country has realized a light is at
the end of the tunnel: opening of borders with Turkey to save the
collapsed Armenian economy can occur only after Armenia liberates
the occupied territory of Azerbaijan.

The Armenian leadership has not made it public, but only for the time
being. Meanwhile, Armenia’s economic indicators well mirror that the
country’s government will hardly be able to delay the confession.

People cannot be fed by promises for better future life. People should
see just a fragmentary demonstration, whilst the Armenian authorities
are very much tense for it.

Meantime, the Armenian parliament is discussing a draft budget which
differs from the current one for its modesty. Even the 2008 budget
was bigger than the 2010 budget. So, the Armenian residents will have
to tighten their belts again. Of course, some people will be willing
to tighten those belts around the neck of country’s leaders. One can
understand the Armenian citizens quite easily: 15 years have passed
since Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement, but so
far no country in the world has announced intention to recognize
independence of the puppet "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic".

Therefore, all these years could be described as years of not only
missed opportunities to build a normal life, but also empty hope that
Nagorno-Karabakh will be recognized by the international community
and also destitute which Armenian citizens have to face because of
their leadership.

Part of Armenian population has regained sight. Now they see clearly a
crucial decline in the number of population to 1.3 – 1.5 million from
3.6 million of people fixed in Armenia in a run up to the collapse
of the Soviet Union. Tired of promises by the Armenian authorities
pending for their implementation Armenians are voting by their feet
leaving the country forever.

Here is another statistic figures. Armenia has the greatest decline
in birth rates in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The number
of newborns in 2008 was two times less than in 1986. This once again
testifies that Armenian citizens’ confidence in the future has reduced
to a great extent.

But this is just top of the iceberg. Negative developments in
Armenia will reach their critical point after process of opening
the Turkish-Armenian border protracts, which will never open without
liberation of Armenian-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as even
the most zealous advocates of the current Armenian authorities admit.

Regular calls of Armenian authorities to their own citizens to wait
a little longer are doomed to a very nervous perception with hard
implications. Killing a hope is the most terrible killing. Even though
this hope is built on blood and grief of neighboring people, for the
sake of which the residents of a country yielded to persuasions of
the successive heads of state and over a dozen years were denied an
opportunity to build a normal happy life.