Diena, Latvia
Jan 14 2010
Chemistry, Physics of Relations
by Didzis Melkis
[translated from Latvian]
Relationships are a delicate thing, which is why people sometimes tend
to talk about the chemistry therein – the way in which one side deals
with the other, what the final result is, taking a bit from each one
and perhaps adding a third. Often enough, however, private
relationships – and certainly international relationships, as well –
relate to a different science. Physics is the issue – relations take
on a positive or negative meaning. In this case, the important thing
is how people look at a specific relationship, because one which some
people hold to be good may be seen by others as standing in opposition
to their interests.
>From the perspective of Latvia and Europe, a positive trend in recent
times has been the improved relationship between Turkey and Armenia,
all the more so because the latest initiative came from Armenia. Its
Constitutional Court ruled that protocols signed by working groups as
to the closer relationship between the two countries are in line with
Armenia’s basic law. From the distanced perspective of cool-headed
northerners, the fact alone does not appear to be anything special,
but among impassioned Armenians, it has created quite a bit of
emotion.
History of Relationship
The most recent tensions between Armenia and Turkey relate to the
closing of the border between the two countries and the interruption
in diplomatic relations between them which occurred in 1993. The
relations have not been restored to this very day. At that time,
Turkey supporter Azerbaijan, defending its right to the separatist
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is understandable that ever since
the latter half of the 1980s, this serious issue poured oil onto the
fire in Armenia, and ever since that time, being an Armenian has
increasingly meant being against Turkey. It was no accident that after
the court announced its ruling on Tuesday [12 January], protesters
outside the building greeted judges by screaming "You are not
Armenians!" It is precisely against the background of this negativism,
you see, that we get a completely clear sense of the positive value of
the closer relationship between the two nations. Armenia, at the level
of state, has decided to stop talking about evil, to demonstrate the
initiative, and to use the law to move forward towards cooperation and
perhaps even friendship.
The point here is not just the relationship between Turks and
Armenians. The important thing is that Turkey is an EU candidate
country and is involved in this whole process. Turks are not without
blame in what has been a critically bad relationship with Armenia, and
that is particularly true when it comes to Turkey’s refusal to admit
that its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, committed genocide against
Armenians in 1915. One-and-a-half Armenians were killed at that time,
and it is understandable that this scar is very fresh and painful in
the historical self-understanding of Armenians.
The founder of contemporary Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, did try in
the 1920s to draw a line under previous history. He established the
new country as one that was strictly secular, focused on progress, and
pro-Western. The deeper streams of the Turkish people’s ethos,
however, appear to be more durable than any rational political
decisions, and until quite recently, the genocide against the
Armenians was a taboo issue in Turkey. It was only recently, when the
EU opened its doors to the Turkish candidacy, that the issue finally
became a matter of public discussion, as did several other previously
taboo matters such as gender equality and the rights of the Kurdish
minority.
The current process of moving towards rapprochement between the two
countries relates only to the opening of the border and the
restoration of diplomatic relations, but it is clear that any
combination of the words "Armenia" and "Turkey" brings along the
unspoken emotional burden about the Armenian genocide. This is a
fundamental and essential question when it comes to Turkey’s
relationship with the EU and much of the rest of the world, and so any
reason, method or instance in which Turkey and Armenia have any
voluntary contacts must be seen as a positive and commendable thing.
That is even true with respect to the national soccer match which was
held in Armenia year before last in the presence of the Turkish
president. That was in and of itself so important a fact that it would
be quite improper to try to find out what the result of that match
was.
Comparable Historical Issues
The rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia allow us to increase the
good faith with which we look at other and similarly emotional
processes in international relations where the issue is national pain,
resolution, and peaceful co-existence. It can be said about Latvia and
our tortured history in the 20th century, as well as about Ukraine and
the terrors of famine which it faced in 1932 and 1933. Similarly to
the Nazi genocide against the Jews, these are things that cannot be
forgotten, but without knowing about and admitting to them and
ensuring a certain level of restitution, albeit delayed, gradual and
only moral, we cannot imagine the full moral life of any nation to
which these imperatives apply.
Ours is a civilization which has only recently been torn asunder by
dark passions, and healing has only just begun. If the bandage put on
a raw scar is painful, then very much more delicate are the various
traumas and offences that involve the historical memory of nearly any
nation in the world. If we look at the international level, we can
remember the recent visit of [US President] Barack Obama to Japan,
where he did not even think about a proposal that he visit a memorial
in Hiroshima. Japan itself is unsuccessfully trying to avoid the
specter of violence which is accusing it of offences in China during
World War II.
That is exactly why any ray of hope which sheds light if not on the
heart of the pain, then at least a bit of the territory which stands
alongside the shadowy zone must be emphasized. Good job, Armenian
justices!