SOCCER DIPLOMACY
Transitions Online
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Sept 5 2008
Czech Republic
An unprecedented mingling of sport and diplomacy could make victors
of both Turkey and Armenia.
When Turkey and Armenia compete this weekend in a qualifying match
for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, there is far more at stake than what
happens on the pitch in Yerevan. An equally anticipated meeting,
between Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan, will be taking place on the sidelines.
Gul accepted his Armenian counterpart’s invitation to attend the match,
a rare moment of diplomacy in an otherwise bitter relationship. Both
events are unprecedented – the meeting of the two national teams
and the official face time between leaders whose nations have no
formal relations.
For the visiting Turks, it will be hard to miss the symbols of the
gulf between these neighbor nations. In a throwback to the Cold War,
Russian forces still help monitor Armenia’s side of the border with
Turkey. It’s also hard to miss Yerevan’s dramatic, hilltop stele
to the Armenian victims of Ottoman rule, a genocide memorial that
towers over the valley where the Hrazdan soccer stadium sits. Then
there’s Mount Ararat, a few kilometres from central Yerevan. Located
just across the border, Ararat is an icon in what Armenians see as
Turkish-occupied western territory.
But these are only symbols of far deeper problems. Armenia rightfully
has stood its ground in demanding that Turkey’s modern leaders
apologize for historic injustices – namely, the death marches and
forced starvation of more than 1 million Armenians in the final years
of a paranoid Ottoman Empire.
For its part, Turkey remains at odds with Armenia over what happened
as the Soviet Union began to implode. When its neighbor backed
Christian Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan’s autonomous region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing hundreds of thousands of Muslim Azeris to
flee their homes, Turkey imposed a crippling embargo on Armenia. The
sanctions remain, 15 years later.
Predictably, Sargsyan and Gul are being lambasted by resolute
nationalists in their countries for this weekend’s rare moment of
sportsmanlike diplomacy.
But Sargsyan, the former defense minister and one of the leaders of
the Karabakh separatist movement, knows too well the terrific cost
to his nation of being constantly on the defensive and boxed in by
adversaries to the east and west. And Gul, a former foreign minister,
has been a steady force in guiding his country toward European Union
membership while having to keep hard-core nationalists – many of whom
are senior military officers – at bay. Under Gul and Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has also played a commendable role in
seeking a peaceful end to the crisis in Georgia.
FIRST, THE APOLOGY
But a little soccer diplomacy will be much easier to carry off than
what must come next. First, Turkey must apologize to Armenia and
other victims of Ottoman aggression. It has far more to gain than
lose. Armenia is a small nation that desperately needs a western trade
route, which it now has only through the wreckage of Georgia. Turkey’s
eastern Anatolia, a dusty region where poverty and neglect nurture
the Kurdish separatist movement, would benefit from the economic
opportunity offered by direct trade with Armenia.
A Turkish apology would have another payoff – it would help reassure
the French and other Europeans who are sympathetic to Armenia and
still harbor concerns about having Turkey in the EU. Gul has worked
diligently to show that 21st-century Turkey has distanced itself from
its strong-arm past. "The values embraced by the EU such as democracy,
rule of law, human rights, social rights, free market economy, and
cultural diversity are in full harmony with the fundamental philosophy
of our republic and the main principles of our constitution," he said
in a speech marking Europe Day in May.
It will not be easy to convince Turkey’s dangerous nationalist fringe
to reckon with the country’s past. But Sargsyan’s task may be more
complex. Ending the frozen conflict with Azerbaijan and overcoming
the determined Karabakh nationalists will take nothing less than a
miracle. Convincing the country’s large diaspora, which provides both
political and economic support to Karabakh, will be a hard slog. Yet
Sargsyan’s job will be easier if Turkey first gives him the currency
he needs to face those who are determined not to compromise.
Athletes tend to make far better diplomats than presidents and
ambassadors. At the Beijing Olympics last month, Georgian and Russian
athletes shook hands while their brothers were staring at one another
through gun sights. In 1971, the visit of the U.S. table tennis team
to China helped end 22 years of diplomatic isolation. Asked about the
upcoming match in Yerevan, Turkish coach Fatih Terim told the Turkish
Daily News that he was focusing on the match, not on politics. "We
cannot carry the weight of history on our shoulders," he said.
Presidents aren’t so lucky. But whatever happens on the pitch in
Yerevan, the real victory may come on the sidelines. Sargsyan made
a smart tactical move in inviting the Turk, and Gul’s acceptance was
a shrewd diplomatic response. It’s now up to both men to lighten the
load of history.
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