In Bursa, the talk of the town for newly arrived Armenian journalists is not Wednesday evening's football match between the Armenian and Turkish national teams. Instead, they discuss the countries” recent strides in diplomatic relations and how the progress can be sustained
Football was forgotten Wednesday among the Armenian journalists who arrived in Bursa to watch the Turkey-Armenia match. Instead, talk focused on last weekend's historic signing of protocols to normalize the countries” relations, ending decades of enmity.
Speaking to the H“rriyet Daily News & Economic Review before the match between the two national teams, neither of which will go to the World Cup finals, Bedros Ghazaryan said Turkey and Armenia are passing through a difficult test.
“Yes, the road to be covered is very long, but if we can manage to turn a new page, it would be a great accomplishment for our peoples,” Ghazaryan said.
Although the protocols to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia were signed, Turkey emphasizes that the border will not be opened unless the Nagorno-Karabakh problem is solved. The Armenian government, on the other hand, states that relations should be built without preconditions.
Ghazaryan said a process is required to solve the problem. “A chance for consensus between the two peoples is available for the first time in 94 years; we should not miss that. If Turkey continues to offer Karabakh as a precondition, the process will be stuck.”
One of the most important articles of the protocols is the recognition by both sides of the countries“borders. “The borders have been drawn already; it is meaningless to discuss this and make claims,” Ghazaryan said. “We are living in the 21st century; we should be looking forward, not backward. Yes, our homeland is not ours anymore. We have to get used to accepting that.”
There are more than 12 million Armenians who originated from Anatolia living in various countries. Ghazaryan pointed to the demonstrations held by Armenians of the diaspora in recent weeks to protest the Sarkisian administration and the protocols.
“Armenia is an independent republic; therefore its decisions should be respected,” Ghazaryan said, adding that he is following the Turkish press closely.
“News on Armenia and the diaspora entering a process of division are being published in the Turkish press. Such a thing cannot happen; this is just a Turkish fantasy,” he said. “The Armenians of the diaspora are a part of our body. The children of the genocide survivors that have been spread throughout the world. Our only request of them is to support this process, not block it.”
“Our country needs open borders”
Levon Barseghyan, director for Journalists Club Asparez from Armenia's second biggest city, Gyumri, was more critical about the diaspora. “We thank you for your support to Armenia, but our country needs open borders and democracy in order to be integrated in the world,” he said.
Although the dialogue process between Turkey and Armenia seems to have accelerated under the Sarkisian administration, one of the major and most important actors of this process is Levon Der Bedrosyan, the first president of the country. One of Sarkisian's biggest opponents in the 2008 elections was Der Bedrosyan, who was running for a second term. Barseghyan said the Sarkisian administration came into power through deceit and without the support of the people. Although he supports the process, he said he does not support Sarkisian.
“Sarkisian may be successful in his politics, but we will not consider his success as our own because we did not elect him,” he said.
Barseghyan said the process is in Armenia's interests but that the protocols favor Turkey. “The protocols are in favor of Turkey because it wants to get rid of its responsibility by founding a commission of historians [to investigate the events of 1915],” he said. “This protocol is a new move for Turkey walking toward the EU.”
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