Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 25 2009

Turkey-Armenia protocols signed ` but what about trust?

Friday, December 25, 2009
Ä°rem KÃ-KER
YEREVAN, Armenia – Hürriyet Daily News

Of the worst places to lose your passport, Armenia would no doubt top
the list for Turks. The reason is simple: There are no diplomatic ties
between Turkey and Armenia and, thus, no diplomatic mission.

Turks would also need to build good stamina to endure the late
night/early morning flight schedules, along with the artificial jet
lag due to the two-hour time difference between Turkey and Armenia ` a
country we could enter on foot, at least in theory.

On the other hand, it is one of the best destinations. Beyond the
closed borders and controversial issues that still cloud relations,
there lies a vast realm of shared history, art and culture.

Putting aside the extended hours of bargaining on carefully worded
diplomatic documents, a Turkish person might as well feel at home
walking down the streets of Yerevan.

The most constant reminder of these commonalities is unquestionably
the cuisine. Just a glance at the menu in any restaurant and you’ll
soon realize there is no need for translation.

There is "mantı," "baklava," "Adana kebab" and "Urfa kebab," all
cooked by millions of grandmothers and grandfathers from Anatolia. You
can even have your "Armenian coffee," which is identical to the good
old "Turkish coffee."

(HH) The shadow of `Ararat’

As every nation who once lived or still lives on Anatolian land,
Armenians also claim that all these meals are genuinely Armenian.

It is not only the food but also the language: The number of common
words is enough that one could try to write a short story using only
them.

It is not hard to find people in Yerevan who can speak Turkish. The
older generation either lived in Turkey or spoke Turkish as a common
language with their elders at home. It is also widely spoken or
learned by the younger generation since Yerevan State University
offers Turkish language courses.

The Armenian capital, Yerevan, is located under the shadow of Mount
AÄ?rı, Turkey’s highest mountain, or Ararat, as Armenians call it. On a
clear day in Yerevan, one can easily see the majesty of Ararat, which
is holy for Armenians and can be seen in the names of the restaurants
and the best brand of cognac, the country’s national drink.

Despite the commonalities between Armenians and Turks, sometimes even
the presence of a common language may not be enough to chase away the
sorrows and pains of the early 20th century. There is a sour taste
because those events scarred the memories of people on both sides of
the border. There is also a gulf between the perspectives, perceptions
and interpretation of the events by the two people, thereby
maintaining the deep division.

Turkey has long been under fire for not confronting its past, yet even
the faintest suggestion of opening up the 1915 events for discussion
is a big taboo and arouses anger among Armenians.

>From the most hawkish nationalists to the most dovish moderates, every
Armenian rules out being part of the debate on defining and labeling
the painful incidents of 1915. For them it is `genocide’ or, as they
call it, the `great calamity,’ ruling out any questioning.

Perceptions differ

Even during a friendly conversation, if you dare say the `Armenian
thesis,’ you receive an angry reaction: `There is no such thing as
arguments,’ an Armenian who lived in Turkey said. `The genocide is a
reality. Go outside: You won’t be able to see a single person on the
streets whose ancestors were not subject to the genocide.’

Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that
300,000 Armenians, along with at least as many Turks, died in civil
strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by Russia, for
an independent state in eastern Anatolia.

This divide also jeopardizes a key component of the protocols aimed at
normalizing the relations between the two countries signed in October.
According to the protocols, a sub-commission is expected to be
established to discuss `the historic dimension to implement a dialogue
with the aim of restoring mutual confidence between the two nations.’

Turkish experts believe this is an important achievement for Ankara as
it has long pressed for the establishment of a commission that will
investigate what really happened in 1915. But this article echoes in a
completely different fashion in Yerevan.

Armenian officials say it is premature to talk about the issues that
will be discussed by the sub-commission. Diplomatic sources and
analysts say the issue of whether the 1915 incidents were genocide
will not even be discussed since the commission will operate under the
a priori notion that the genocide exists.

Historians also back the idea but said they would definitely avoid the
commission if they were to receive an offer to participate.

After spending four days in Yerevan attending a meeting organized by
the Yerevan-based Eurasia Partnership Foundation and Istanbul Kültür
University’s Global Political Trends Center, one realizes it requires
more than protocols and commissions to restore confidence and trust
between two nations that have much in common.

The most realistic assessment of the recent situation of bilateral
relations and meetings was made by an Armenian-American analyst:

`The protocols are just the beginning of the normalization process,
not reconciliation. The latter will take longer.’

He is right that the reconciliation will take longer, maybe a
generation or two¦ on both sides of the last closed border of Europe.