Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 8 2008
A match without a loser
by ALÄ°NE Ã-ZÄ°NÄ°AN*
When we set off for Yerevan on a scheduled midnight Armavia flight
this Thursday, we saw something we had not seen since long ago on a
flight between Ä°stanbul and Yerevan. Instead of men and women
carrying several bags, probably goods to be sold in Armenia, as is
customary on these biweekly scheduled fights, there were a number of
journalists from the Turkish press.
The next largest group comprised Armenians from Turkey and the
diaspora heading for Yerevan to support Armenia in the Armenia-Turkey
soccer match of the 2010 World Cup qualifier. At 6 a.m. we witnessed
another unusual sight. While diaspora Armenians coming from such
countries as the US and France had to wait in long lines for their
visas to be processed, Turkish citizens passed through passport
control very easily — no doubt making some diaspora Armenians
jealous. On Friday morning, the air in Yerevan had changed somewhat
compared to the usual atmosphere. Almost all of those who were at the
terrace cafe of Marriotte Hotel, located in the Republic Square, were
well-known journalists, businessmen or football fans from the
diaspora. They discussed where this rapprochement between Turkey and
Armenia would head. Contrary to the tense atmosphere of past
conferences, meetings and officials visits in which Turkish-Armenian
issues were discussed, everyone was smiling this time around, perhaps
due to heightened hopes.
The streets were considerably at ease and one could hear Turkish
murmurs from every corner. Seeing many familiar faces, I forgot, for a
while, where I was. It seemed that Yerevan was glad to host so many
Turkish tourists. Some Turkish journalists were unable to find a seat
on Armavia’s flights and had to first fly to Vienna and then on to
Yerevan.
Tight security measures
When the Turkish team’s plane arrived in, considerably tight security
measures were in place at the airport. Turkish journalists in Yerevan
jumped in taxis they could find and pursued the bus carrying the
Turkish national team. As one of the passengers of about 10 such
taxis, I must admit that this chase was very entertaining. We
convinced the taxi drivers to engage in a chase seen only in action
films right on the streets of Yerevan. Quickly understanding their
responsibility, the taxi drivers joined the police escort surrounding
the bus.
As we made perhaps our 20th traffic violation on Abovyan Street, one
of the most important streets in the city center, a group of five
tourists, conspicuously Western (i.e., diaspora Armenians) considering
their cries in the face of our violations, shouted, `What you are
doing is against the law.’ Since we had not time to tell these `modern
and learned’ diaspora Armenians, who always attempt to teach Armenia
something, that we were on duty, we did not take them seriously. Yet,
it was quite symbolic and meaningful that the diaspora was protesting
— though unconsciously — traffic violations made collectively by
Turks and Armenians.
Those who came to Armenian from Turkey for the first time were really
surprised and did not refrain from voicing it. Everyone I spoke with
told me that they imagined a different Yerevan and that they would
have come earlier had they known that the people here were so
hospitable and the environment so comfortable. Turks who had been to
several Armenian cities, on the other hand, boasted about their
experience and teased their colleagues, saying, `You finally realized
it, but it is still a work in progress.’
Following from Yerevan as much as I could, several Turkish TV stations
asked Armenians in Ä°stanbul which team they would support. This
question as well as any answer to it is problematic. Which team will
an Armenian who is a Turkish citizen support in the Armenia-Turkey
match? The answer is quite simple: Whichever team he wishes to
support. However, this question seems to be designed to question
whether the loyal community (milleti-i sadıka) is still loyal
or whether they will betray Turkey as they have in the past.
`Of course we support Turkey,’ these Armenians said, as if to prove
that they are good Turkish citizens. And some went further to claim,
`Of course, we will score at least five goals at least’ — apparently
to further weld their loyalty. It is hard to tell whether this test of
loyal citizenship measured in terms of supporting a team is sincere or
hypocritical for both the interviewer and the interviewee.
Two Turkish businessmen who were invited by the Armenian government
and who were to watch the match from the VIP section noted that they
initially had worries because this was their first visit to Armenia
and that when they told their intention to their families, everyone
reacted with fear. They added that upon seeing Armenia, they were
completely relaxed and now plan to build a big shopping center in
Armenia with their Armenian partners in the future.
`One needs to see this with his own eyes. We are two neighboring
countries but we have wrong perceptions of each other. We will tell
everyone this when we go back,’ they said. When I spoke with Turkish
authorities, my first question was whether they were satisfied with
the security measures. They expressed their satisfaction saying, `Even
matters we did not think of were taken care of.’ I spoke with Giro
Manoyan, the secretary-general of the Dashnak Party, about protests to
Turkish President Abdullah Gül’s visit. He said their protests
would be considerably peaceful, that they would not allow flag
burnings or hysteria, but that they just wanted to stress their
party’s views on Turkey’s policy toward Armenians.
He added that if they had wanted to protest Gül’s arrival, they
would have first protested against Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan,
who invited him. He further asserted that the match was a dream come
true and that every Armenian should feel proud for Armenia’s becoming
an independent country and its having a national team that can compete
with the Turkish national team.
Gül’s visit to Armenia will also implicitly affect diaspora
Armenians, particularly those in Turkey. I think that if this
rapprochement continues, the lobbying activities of Armenians in the
US for the presidential elections will lose impetus. Things are much
more complicated for Turkey’s Armenians. The fact that 20 years after
Armenia’s declaration of independence, the Turkish president attached
importance to the match with Armenia and accepted the invitation to
watch the match came as a surprise for them. Gül’s taking
Armenia seriously has led to Turkey’s Armenians’ taking Armenia
seriously as well. In this respect, Gül unknowingly built a
bridge between Turkey’s Armenians and Armenia.
Opposition critical of leaders
The leaders of opposition parties in both countries did nothing but
criticize the respective governments for the last two days. Some
people from the Armenian opposition harshly criticized the Armenian
Football Federation’s removing the image of Mount Ararat in order to
not hurt Turks while Turkish opposition manufactured false and
far-reaching fantasies, claiming that a former member of the Armenian
Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) would sit in the VIP
section.
I believe that this historic match in Yerevan was not only a sports
contest; the ball passed by Sarksyan was received by Gül. This
step is not related only to Turkey’s Armenian policy, but also to the
Caucasus policy and Turkish-Armenian rapprochement — perhaps their
cooperation is considerably reasonable in the chaotic Caucasus. There
may be those who are uneasy about such rapprochement, but this city is
very happy today. After so many year, players played their match and
the presidents watched them, sitting side by side. Fans freely waved
their flags. The winners are the presidents, both courageous enough to
meet, and the Turkish and Armenian peoples, who can establish better
relations in the future.
There is no need to mention the losers. Those who attempt to exploit
the nationalist sentiments of both sides with their pessimistic and
hostile behavior and prevent the two nations from coming closer, you
watched the match in vain and you lost.
*Aline Ã-zinian is the press coordinator of the Turkish-Armenian
Business Promotion Council.
08 September 2008, Monday