ARMENIA: PEACE PLAN WITH TURKEY SPARKS FRESH PROTESTS
10/12/09
Eurasia Insight
ticles/eav101209a.shtml
Marianna Grigoryan
Putting aside decades of hostility, Armenia and Turkey signed a
framework agreement on October 10 that will pave the way for the
reopening of their borders and the reestablishment of diplomatic
ties. But while the Armenian government has promoted the deal as a
peacemaking tool, popular opposition to the agreement among ordinary
Armenians shows no sign of dying down.
The central streets of downtown Yerevan were blocked early on
the morning of October 11. Some residents took the barricades as
a sign that the government feared further demonstrations against
the protocols.
What are we celebrating when they donÎ"×~Pשt care a fig about the
peopleÎ"×~Pשs opinion?Î"×~PÂ¥ complained 60-year-old Yerevan cab
driver Hamazasp Manukian. Î"×~P£Did anybody ever listen to the people
before signing these protocols?
The day before the protocol signing ceremony, hundreds of anti-protocol
demonstrators marched to YerevanÎ"×~Pשs Tsitsernakaberd monument
to the victims of Ottoman TurkeyÎ"×~Pשs 1915 slaughter of ethnic
Armenians. At the rally, a leader of the nationalist Armenian
Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun warned that opponents
will force the government to step down, if need be, to stop the
protocolsÎ"×~Pש ratification.
Î"×~P£If they drive us to resort to that measure, we will do
it,Î"×~PÂ¥ declared Vahan Hovhannisian, a onetime presidential
candidate. Î"×~P£We want to change the system, the government, the
National Assembly and the president. If they donÎ"×~Pשt listen to
the peopleÎ"×~Pשs voice, we wonÎ"×~Pשt demand that someone just
resigns. We will go for a total change of power.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation dropped out of the government
coalition in May to protest President Serzh SargsyanÎ"×~Pשs attempted
reconciliation with Turkey.
But even less nationalist opposition members insist that giving
up now is not an option. The consequences of signing the protocols
Î"×~P£will be no less severe than the results of March 1 [2008 –
when ten people were killed in clashes between police and presidential
election protestors], which resulted in the authorities becoming weak
and totally vulnerable to outside pressure, Î"×~PÂ¥ predicted Stepan
Safarian, head of the Heritage PartyÎ"×~Pשs parliamentary faction.
In a bid to soothe public anger at the protocols, President Sargsyan
took to the airwaves on October 10 shortly before the Zurich signing
ceremony.
Saying that setting up ties with Turkey has Î"×~P£no
alternative,&#x CE;"×~PÂ¥ Sargsyan acknowledged in reference to the events
of 1915 that Î"×~P£[t]he genocide wound does not heal.Î"×~PÂ¥ But
time, he said, dictates that Armenia should move forward.
Î"×~P£The memory of these victims and our future generations require
a stable and strong statehood, a powerful and prosperous country,
a motherland comprising the dreams of all Armenians, Î"×~PÂ¥ Sargsyan
said.
consider the establishment of normal ties with all our neighbors,
including Turkey, an important step on this path.Î"×~PÂ¥
Many Armenians, however, view the future through the past. Î"×~P£How
can one believe the Turks and extend a hand to them? Î"×~PÂ¥ asked
70-year-old Yerevan pensioner Marta Petrosian. Î"×~P£How can one
forget what happened in the past?
Those feelings run particularly strong among ArmeniaÎ"×~Pשs
influenti al Diaspora, many of whom protested President SargsyanÎ"×~Pשs
visits to Los Angeles and Paris to discuss the protocols with ethnic
Armenian communities.
Î"×~P£I&#x CE;"×~Pשm choking with shame,Î"×~PÂ¥ commented Anush Mkrtchian,
a 31-year-old literature scholar from Los Angeles who joined the
protests. More time should have been taken for discussions, and,
potentially, a referendum on the question, she argued. Diaspora
Armenians now Î"×~P£everywhere accuse those living in Armenia of
treason,Î"×~PÂ¥ she claimed.
One French Diaspora member, however, calls the treason charges
Î"×~P£nonsense.
Î"×~P£I can understand people getting angry, but if you do not
live in your motherland you have no moral right to call a person a
traitor . . . Î"×~PÂ¥ commented Vardan Nersisian, who left Armenia
for France ten years ago. Î"×~P£Another question is whether the
authorities are pursuing the right policy or not. I hope they will
be reasonable enough.Î"×~PÂ¥
Some Yerevan political analysts caution that the controversy will
only increase as the protocols go to parliament for ratification.
Î"×~P£Arm enian-Turkish relations and the genocide issue
are sore points for our people,Î"×~PÂ¥ said Stepan Grigorian,
director of the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation. Î"×~P£Taking this into consideration, as well as the
problem of trusting the authorities and other issues, tensions might
increase.
Some observers, citing a statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan that reconciliation with Armenia pins on an Armenian
withdrawal from territories surrounding the disputed region of Nagorno
Karabakh, contend that Turkey itself may attempt to put pressure
on Armenia.
Î"×~P£If Turkey puts forward conditions and starts pressing Armenia,
an emergency situation may emerge in terms of [a bid to force a] change
of power,Î"×~PÂ¥ opined independent political analyst Yerevand Bozoian.
Ruling Republican Party spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov, a member of
parliament, discounts the notion. Every marathon must start with a
first step, he said.
Î"×~P£We must take this step,Î"×~PÂ¥ Sharmazanov said
of the governmentÎ"×~Pשs agreement to reconciliation with
Turkey. Î"×~P£Nobody should say theyÎ"×~Pשre better patriots than
we are.Î"×~PÂ¥
Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.