PUBLIC DIPLOMACY WITH YEREVAN PICKS UP SPEED

Today’s Zaman
March 15 2010
Turkey

Collaboration between Armenian and Turkish civil society organizations
has helped to ease the recent tension in Turkish-Armenian relations
as various civil society organizations from Turkey continue meeting
with their counterparts in Yerevan.

The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) is working on
reconstructing a historic Silk Road bridge along the Turkish-Armenian
border, while the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council
(TABDC) is calling on Turkish investors to start up businesses in
Armenia through a series of conferences on the issue.

The Caucasus Strategic Research Center (KAFKASSAM) and Fatih University
are organizing cultural activities to bring the two nations closer
together.

An improvement in relations with Armenia started when President
Abdullah Gul visited the country to watch a soccer match between
Turkey and Armenia in 2008. This was followed by two protocols signed
by the two countries last year to improve relations between them.

However, while the Armenian Constitutional Court upheld the legality
of the two protocols in January, it underlined that they could not
contradict Yerevan’s official position that the alleged Armenian
genocide must be internationally recognized. The US House Committee
on Foreign Affairs also passed a resolution recognizing the 1915
mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans as genocide,
which further damaged the process. Experts believe these developments
have been caused by Turkey’s limited success in terms of public
diplomacy and explaining its own position internationally. However,
civil society organizations have continued to visit Armenia.

TEPAV’s Burcu Gultekin, who is responsible for the Caucasus region,
says the organization has been working on reconstructing the bridge
over the Arpacay River, which was part of the Silk Road. The Arpacay
River marks part of the border between Turkey and Armenia. She said
TEPAV is very happy about President Gul’s support for the project. The
ancient bridge, built under the auspices Armenia’s Bagratid Dynasty,
will, at least symbolically, cover the political distance between
the two countries, TEPAV hopes.

Gultekin added that the foundation is also working on two new projects
that are likely to contribute to the region economically as well as
having symbolic value. "The Turkish-Armenian border might not have
been opened yet, but the walls are already coming down," she said,
noting that a tourism cluster project for Turkey’s eastern Anatolian
region and Armenia is also in the works and is supported by the
Armenian diaspora.

TABDC Co-Chairman Kaan Soyak says it is time for peace in the
Caucasus. He says the TABDC tries to answer Turkish companies’
questions about starting to do business in Armenia and has held various
seminars on this topic. The TABDC has also started an international
business forum called "The Bridge." Soyak said they have been talking
to their Armenian counterparts about the business opportunities that
may emerge when the Southern Caucasus railroad and another railroad
connecting Turkey’s border town of Kars and Armenia’s Gymru start
functioning. Soyak also said they have been discussing possible
investments in Armenia with World Bank representatives.

"The people of Armenia want to see good relations established with
Turkey with no preconditions," according to KAFKASSAM President Hasan
Oktay, whose organization is offering vocational training courses to
young people in Armenia. Another of KAFKASSAM’s projects involves
Turkish and Armenian artists expressing their vision of Ä°stanbul
through art. Oktay said KAFKASSAM frequently conducts polls in Armenia
to find out the Armenians’ perception of Turkey as well as engaging
in networking activities to bring the two nations together.

Fatih University’s Cafer Ulu says bilateral projects between the
two countries should be increased in number. Ulu recently met with
female Armenian deputies in Yerevan as part of a project titled
"Contributions of Turkish and Armenian Women to Turkish-Armenian
Relations." Ulu said he attached great importance to communication
between individuals who are considered opinion leaders on both sides.

Ulu said that however insignificant they might seem, such projects
can be very influential, especially at times when the two countries’
relations are in crisis.