TURKEY-ARMENIA PEACE TALKS: A THAW IN A CENTURY-OLD FEUD?
Ruzan Khachatryan
"Radiolur"
04.09.2009 15:55
The Times Magazine published an article today titled "Turkey-Armenia
Peace Talks: A Thaw in a Century-Old Feud?" by Pelin Turgut.
"As ancient as Herodotus’ Histories, the fast-flowing waters of the
Aras River today trace the Turkish-Armenian border, a messy 20th
century creation of broken bridges and shuttered rail tracks. In the
shadow of snow-topped Mount Ararat, the river splits and narrows until
it divides the verdant villages of Halikisla, on the Turkish side,
and Bagaran, in Armenia. Once one, the villages are now separated by
a stretch of water little wider than a double bed. Residents never
meet, except to cast for trout under the watchful gaze of military
guards or to return an errant cow.
Turkey and Armenia have been bitter enemies for almost a century,
their tensions stemming from the massacre of hundreds of thousands
of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish army,"
the author writes.
"Turkey has always denied that the killings constitute genocide. The
two countries briefly shared an open border when an independent Armenia
emerged from post-Soviet Russia in 1991, but two years later Turkey
sealed the border in solidarity with Azerbaijan in its conflict with
Armenia over the contested enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Now one of
Europe’s last closed frontiers may finally be reopening again,"the
author continues.
The Times reminds that on September 1, Turkey and Armenia announced
a Swiss-mediated six-week negotiation period aimed at normalizing
diplomatic relations. "The goal is for both parliaments to ratify
a deal by Oct. 14 — when the two countries are scheduled to play a
World Cup soccer qualifier. The border could then reopen by the end
of the year."
"There is much at stake. Securing the Caucasus region, veined with
oil and gas pipelines, has become a priority for both Russia and the
U.S. The Obama Administration has signaled that helping to rebuild
Turkish-Armenian ties is a foreign-policy priority. But history is a
potent saboteur in this part of the world, and talks have collapsed
before under its weight. Already hard-liners in both countries are
furiously denouncing the new peace plan," Pelin Turgut writes.
The Times has talked to a number of experts on the issue. "Both Turkey
and Armenia have taken a brave and statesmanlike step," says Hugh Pope,
analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "Both
will win if it succeeds."
Ali Guvensoy, head of the Chamber of Commerce of Kars in eastern
Turkey, estimates the regional economy could grow by 20% if the border
reopens, a much-needed boon for the impoverished area. "The past is
in the past. We need to look to the future," he says. "There is no
r oom for fear."
"Once trade, human interaction and dialogue begin, finding common
ground on more complicated issues will become easier," says Aybars
Gorgulu, analyst at the Istanbul think tank TESEV.
The author of the article concludes that it will take time,
perhaps years, for Turkey and Armenia to overcome decades of mutual
distrust. But with the announcement of new peace talks, a long-overdue
healing process may have finally begun.