Independent: Armenia emerging from troubled times
15.11.2009 17:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Independent has published an article titled
"Armenia’s latest struggle – the battle for tourists."

"This country is emerging from troubled times. The ceasefire is
holding with Azerbaijan and the border with Turkey is due to reopen.
Now it’s welcoming new visitors," Mark Leftly writes in his article,
which goes on:

"Armenia and its easterly neighbor, Azerbaijan, are technically still
at war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Most importantly, Armenia’s
old enemy to the west, Turkey, supported Azerbaijan and closed its
330km (205 mile) long border with the land-locked country. Finally, in
October, some real progress was made on economic and diplomatic
co-operation between the countries, with the signing of protocols that
will soon open up a common border.

A result of cultural and religious tension, the genocide is generally
said to have started in 1915 in the wake of divided Armenian loyalties
in the First World War. The museum’s fluent English-speaking guide
shows me exhibits related to Armenians who had won Olympic medals for
the Ottomans in 1912, and then a gruesome photograph of their
countrymen being hanged by that empire in Aleppo four years later.
There are proclamations condemning genocide from international
leaders, including a recent letter from California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger.

Turkey denies Armenia’s version of events, and it is this that divides
Yerevan today. Unless Turkey acknowledges the genocide, many Armenians
do not want to sign any agreement with their old enemy. Interestingly,
the museum’s guide does not take this view. "It is natural for
neighbors to have good relations in a global world," it says."