Commentary
Armenia Lost the Soccer Match, but Gained International Prestige
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
I witnessed history in the making last week when the Turkish President, at
the invitation of the Armenian President, paid his first ever visit to Armenia
to watch the soccer match between the national teams of their respective
countries - a qualifying game for the 2010 World Cup finals.
Before the match, some Armenians had been predicting with great nationalistic
fervor an outright victory for Armenia, while others were certain that the
game would end in a draw, in keeping with the atmosphere of political
reconciliation. Armenians frowned upon this writer when he suggested that the powerful
Turkish team would most probably win and that the practice of state mandated
outcomes for soccer games had ceased with the demise of the Soviet Union. As I
had anticipated, the Armenian team lost 2-0 in a lackluster game against the
more powerful, but overly cautious Turkish team.
When the Turkish President's jet arrived at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport last
Saturday, he was greeted with proper state protocol and hundreds of
protesters. Later on, as he arrived at the Presidential Palace for a meeting with the
Armenian President, there were more protests, not against him or his visit,but
the Turkish state's denial of the Armenian Genocide. There were lengthy
debates in both the Turkish and the Armenian press about the appropriateness of such
protests.
I believe it would have been highly surprising if the head of the Turkish
state that continues to deny the Armenian Genocide had visited Armenia without a
single Armenian reminding him that there is an on-going injustice and
unresolved issues between the two countries. In the absence of such protests, the
Turkish President would have drawn the wrong conclusion that Armenians in Armenia
had no problems with Turkey and that the Genocide issue is only raised by the
Diaspora, particularly since it was reported that the Genocide was not
discussed at all between the two presidents. To draw Pres. Gul's attention to this
important issue, ARF members unfurled a giant unsanctioned banner during the
soccer match that called for: "Recognition and Reparations."
Many Armenians were unhappy that the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA)
had just decided to remove the sketch of Mount Ararat from the FFA logo on the
Armenian soccer players' uniforms. They viewed this removal as an undesirable
attempt to appease Turkey. Some members of the Armenian Parliament were so
irate that they pledged to raise their objection in Parliament and possiblytake
legal action against the FFA.
Nevertheless, the soccer match provided a unique opportunity for Pres.
Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to meet with their Turkish co
unterparts in Yerevan to discuss the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict, possible diplomatic
relations between the two countries, the blockade of Armenia by Turkey, and
the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform - a new Turkish initiative.The
two foreign ministers, after huddling long past midnight, decided to continue
their discussions later this month while attending the United Nations General
Assembly in New York City. Meanwhile, Pres. Gul invited his Armenian
counterpart to come to Istanbul on Oct. 14, 2009 to watch with him the return match
between the two national soccer teams.
It is not known how much progress was registered in last Saturday's
discussions. Both sides made optimistic statements at the conclusion of their
meetings. Several observations could be made, however, regarding recent developments
in the region:
-- Both Armenia and Turkey have come under intense diplomatic pressure from
the United States, Europe and Russia to resolve their long-standing problems
which would enable these foreign powers to secure their energy supplies from the
Caspian Sea region and engage in the transfer of goods by rail across now
closed borders.
-- The Georgian-Ossetian-Russian conflict has raised Armenia's geopolitical
significance in the region at the expense of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
-- Turkish officials no longer seem to be setting the resolution of the
Artsakh conflict as a pre-condition to establishing relations with Armenia.
-- Since Pres. Gul was strongly urged by his domestic opponents, hardliners
within his own administration as well as Azerbaijani officials not to go to
Armenia, imagine how much more pressure he would have to endure should he decide
to establish diplomatic relations with Yerevan and open the closed border with
Armenia in the near future!
Finally, one concrete attempt at historical reconciliation between a very
special Turk and a very special Armenian already succeeded. Milliyet's journalist
Hasan Cemal, the grandson of one of the three masterminds of the Armenian
Genocide, Jemal Pasha, had a very touching meeting earlier this week in Yerevan
with the grandson of his grandfather's Armenian assassin in Tbilisi in 1922. A
few days ago, Hasan Cemal visited the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan and placed
a wreath in memory of the Armenian victims!
Agence France Presse
September 7, 2008 Sunday 1:35 AM GMT
Turkey, Armenia vow to end traditional enmity after Gul's visit
by Nicolas Cheviron
YEREVAN, Sept 7 2008
Armenia and Turkey pledged to overcome decades of enmity over the
massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces after Turkish President
Abdullah Gul's pathbreaking visit to Yerevan for a football match.
Gul, the first Turkish president to visit Armenia, Saturday held talks
with counterpart Serzh Sarkisian after which the two agreed there was
the "political will" to improve ties frozen for decades over the
1915-1917 massacres by Turkish troops.
The visit was hailed by French and EU President Nicolas Sarkozy as
"courageous and historic."
"I believe that my visit was fruitful and that it promises hope for
the future," Gul said after returning to Ankara, adding that he had a
constructive and sincere" meeting with Sarkisian.
He said he had won Yerevan's support for a new regional grouping in
the Caucasus following last month's conflict between Georgia and
Russia.
"I was happy to see that we were unanimous with the Armenian side on
the need for mutual dialogue to remove barriers to improving bilateral
ties.
"I underlined that there is no problem that dialogue cannot solve ..."
But in a sign of the uphill task ahead, Gul's arrival at Yerevan's
Hrazdan stadium was greeted by loud boos and hisses by Armenian fans.
Amid tight security, Gul took his seat behind a special bullet-proof
area. The far stronger Turkish side ended up winning the match 2-0.
Sarkisian declared there was a "political will to decide the questions
between our countries, so that these problems are not passed on to the
next generation."
He also said he had been asked by Gul to attend a return football
fixture in Turkey on October 14, but did not say whether or not he had
accepted.
The two countries -- which have no diplomatic relations -- have waged
a diplomatic battle over Yerevan's efforts to have the 1915-1917
massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians recognised as genocide.
Several hundred angry protestors lined the route of Gul's motorcade,
holding aloft the Armenian flag and nationalist emblems.
At the start of the match about 80 young protesters gathered at a
monument to victims of the killings in central Yerevan, laying flowers
and lighting torches.
"We want to draw (Gul's) attention to this monument, so he knows it is
not standing empty and that people have gathered here to show that the
young generation remembers everything," said organiser Airapet
Babaian.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people were killed between
1915 and 1917 in orchestrated massacres during World War I as the
Ottoman Empire fell apart -- a claim supported by several other
countries.
Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000-500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with invading Russian troops.
Turkey's footballers were supported by only about 200 forlorn
followers in a seating area that could have held 10 times more and was
ringed by Armenian police.
Some fans were prepared to embrace the conciliatory message the
Turkish and Armenian leaders were trying to put across.
"I'm not interested in football at all," said Ahmet Turkana, a Turkish
activist from a pro-democracy group called Young Civilians over for
the game, saying the game evoked nationalist passions.
"But today it's different. Football is here to unite, not to divide."
Sevak Sahakian, a Yerevan hotel worker, said: "Everyone knows about it
and people are happy because they hope better ties with Turkey will
improve daily life. But people aren't enthusiastic because they don't
trust the Turks."
Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia since the
former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991.
TURKISH, ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS AGREE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS
Hurriyet
Sept 8 2008
Turkey
The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers have agreed to normalize
bilateral relations during a late-night meeting held in the Armenian
capital, Yerevan, after the Turkish president's landmark visit,
Hurriyet daily wrote on Monday.
Armenia's Eduard Nalbandian and Turkey's Ali Babacan have agreed
on several issues; including the opening of closed borders, the
establishment of diplomatic relations and entering a normalization
process, in Saturday night's meeting, Hurriyet reported.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to Yerevan after
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan invited him to watch a 2010 World
Cup qualifying match between the two countries' national teams. A
Turkish delegation, including Babacan, accompanied Gul during his
historical visit.
Turkey is among the first countries that recognized Armenia when it
declared its independency in the early 1990s. However there is no
diplomatic relations between two countries, as Armenia presses the
international community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims
instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations,
and its invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory despite
U.N. Security Council resolutions on the issue.
The Turkish and Armenian delegations, headed by the two foreign
ministers, held talks regarding Turkey's proposal for a new regional
forum in the Caucasus, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other regional
issues, Hurriyet wrote.
Babacan told Nalbandian that Turkey supported the Minsk process for
the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and added that his
country favored the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all
countries in the region, according to the report in Hurriyet.
Both foreign ministers were careful to avoid contentious issues,
such as the so-called Armenian genocide, the report added.
Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million
of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey
rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least
as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
In 2005, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took a first step
towards resolving the issue by proposing that a joint commission of
historians launch an investigation and publish their conclusions,
but the proposal was rejected by Yerevan.
Armenia also announced Sunday that the foreign ministers of both
countries will meet formally on the sidelines of the U.N. General
Assembly in New York later this month.
ARMENIA AND TURKEY PROBE NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS
Marianna Grigoryan
EurasiaNet
Sept 8 2008
NY
Turkey handily won its September 6 World Cup qualifying match against
Armenia. But for many the 2-0 final score was not as important as
the game's diplomatic outcome. The match appears to have catalyzed
an effort to normalize bilateral relations.
In a diplomatic first in the troubled history of Armenian-Turkish
relations, a Turkish head of state appeared in Yerevan. President
Abdullah Gul spent approximately six hours on Armenian soil on
September 6, much of it in the company of his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sargsyan. The two watched the qualifying match from behind
bullet-proof glass. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
>From Sargsyan's point of view, the game was a success, even if the
result was disappointing for Armenian football fans. Sargsyan said
Gul had extended an invitation to make a reciprocal visit to Turkey,
a gesture that the Armenian president termed "a good start."
Gul sounded an even more optimistic note upon his return to
Ankara. "Everything will move forward and normalize if this
climate continues," the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted Gul as
saying. "I believe my visit has destroyed a psychological barrier in
the Caucasus."
The Turkish daily Hurriyet reported September 8 that Turkish Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan and his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian
during a follow-up meeting agreed on steps that could pave the
way for the normalization of bilateral ties. The two foreign
ministers reportedly discussed the opening of Turkey's closed
border with Armenia, along with the establishment of full diplomatic
relations. The two sides also attempted to find common ground on a
political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Gul's office
revealed that he will go to Azerbaijan on September 10 to discuss
the changing diplomatic situation with Azerbaijani leaders.
The apparent diplomatic goodwill of Armenian and Turkish leaders
was not so evident on the streets of Yerevan, or inside Hrazdan
Stadium. After arriving in Armenia, Gul traveled around the capital in
an armored vehicle. Eight Turkish snipers reportedly worked jointly
with an Armenian detail to provide additional security, and 5,000
police stood guard at the stadium during the match.
Protesters from the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation
staked out the route from the airport to the presidential palace. Boos
and chants of "Recognition" - a reference to the demand that Ankara
recognize Ottoman Turkey's 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians as
genocide - met President Gul upon his arrival at President Sargsyan's
residence.
Police trying to clear out the mostly 20-something protestors had to
contend with reminders from that past. "When we backed off [before],
that's how Western Armenia [modern-day eastern Turkey] became theirs,"
declared senior Armenian Revolutionary Federation member and former
presidential candidate Vahan Hovhannisian when police moved in to
remove the demonstrators from one downtown street.
Despite the prevalence of street banners evoking the events of 1915,
not all Yerevan residents welcomed the protest and its message.
"Now is the time for solving everything in a more civilized manner,"
said Lusine Gevorgian, a 37-year-old hairdresser. "If the Turkish
president accepted the invitation, we should receive him as a guest. It
is another thing that we all wanted our team to win."
But Armenia's past was ever-present, with one sports commentator
using it to try to explain the national team's on-the-field loss to
Turkey. "Our soccer players did not play well and I think that first
of all it was because of the great responsibility [placed on them],"
commentator Slava Sarkisian [no relation to President Sargsyan]
said on Armenian Public Television during the game. "They carried
the brunt of a hundred-year history on their shoulders."
Jan Poulson, the Armenian national team head coach, attributed the
loss to the more mundane issue of skill. "I don't think that politics
and history played a role here," Poulson told EurasiaNet. "We played
against a very strong opponent and did everything we could. We should
have been a little more realistic." According to the latest FIFA
(FÃ~C©dÃ~C©ration Internationale de Football Association) ratings,
Turkey is ranked 10th in the world; Armenia holds 98th place.
Despite the loss, some analysts see long-term gains for Armenia.
"Gul's visit to Armenia by itself is a very positive step for the
normal development of future relations between the two countries,"
commented independent political analyst Richard Giragosian. "The
first step has been taken. The next step should be the opening of the
Armenia-Turkey border and establishment of diplomatic ties. The issue
of genocide recognition will be the most difficult issue above all."
But Ruben Safrastian, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies
at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, cautions that it is
still too early to make predictions. "An important achievement is
that negotiations will continue," Safrastian said. "The Turkish side
appears to be trying to change its attitude towards Armenia and [its
reaction] is also conditioned on geopolitical changes happening in
the region. By this step, Turkey is trying to solidify its role in
the South Caucasus."
The need for Ankara to settle its relations with Armenia before the
European Union can accept Turkey's bid for membership likely also
played a role in Gul's decision to travel to Armenia, Safrastian
added. In a September 5 statement, the European Union termed the visit
an "important first step" toward "a full normalization of relations
between these two countries."
One Yerevan spectator could only echo that evaluation: "It would
have been good if our team had won, or at least scored one goal, but
one must accept that there are no losers in this match," commented
57-year-old Armen Mkrtchian. "Peace has won."
Editor's Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow.com
weekly in Yerevan.
VISIT OF TURKISH PRESIDENT TO ARMENIA ENDS PEACEFULLY
Grace Annan
World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
September 8, 2008
The visit of the Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Armenia ended on a
good note (see Turkey - Armenia: 4 September 2008: ). Although no major
deals were struck, Gul and his counterpart, Armenian President Serge
Sarkissian, agreed to hold another meeting at the fringes of the UN
General Assembly meeting in late September. Gul stated that the visit
had given hope for the future, according to Agence-France-Presse (AFP),
while Turkish media stressed that his visit had not been overshadowed
by protests in Armenia.
Significance:Gul's visit is nothing short of a minor sensation;
the two countries did not have official diplomatic relations
until very recently, and have remained at odds over a number of
political issues. This was only a first visit and should be treated
carefully. The two countries are still not on good terms with
each other; indeed, winning over the nationalists in both Turkey
and Armenia will be a long and difficult road, testing the strength
and perseverance of both administrations. At this stage, Gul's visit
should be treated as nothing more than a tentative attempt to improve
ties with no guarantees for the future.
GUL'S YEREVAN VISIT APPLAUDED BY MAJORITY IN TURKEY
armradio.am
09.09.2008 12:49
A brief visit by President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to attend a soccer
match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams was welcomed
by an overwhelming majority of Turkish society, as it was considered
a landmark step to thaw relations between the two countries, a new
opinion poll has found, Today's Zaman reported.
The Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic & Social Research Center conducted
a survey on Gul's visit to Yerevan to learn Turks' views on the visit.
According to the survey, 69.6 percent of those polled found Gul's
visit to Armenia successful, a figure suggesting that Turks are
hopeful the visit may be a turning point in the relations between
Turkey and Armenia. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan invited Gul to
watch a World Cup qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian
national teams in Yerevan. Gul's acceptance of the invitation raised
hopes for dialogue that could eventually restore relations between the
two estranged neighbors and help bury an almost century-old hostility.
The major question of the survey was whether Gul's visit to Armenia
was successful or not. An overwhelming 69.6 percent of respondents said
the visit was successful, whereas 15 percent said it was unsuccessful
and 15.4 percent said they had no idea.
"Turkey and Armenia took a step to normalize relations after long years
of dispute. Though some political parties and politicians strongly
opposed Gul traveling to Yerevan, both the government and the president
did the best to thaw the ice between the two countries. Gul's visit
to Armenia was met with satisfaction by the Turkish nation. To me,
this visit may be a turning point in Turkish-Armenian relations,"
said Professor Ozer Sencar, one of the administrators of the poll.
Professor Eser KarakaÅ~_, a columnist for the Star daily, said the
visit was a huge step for the settlement of problems between the
two neighbors.
"This is a significant step of goodwill. It would be great if both
countries reinforced this step with similar ones in the future. It
may not solve all problems between Turkey and Armenia but may at
least help Turkey open its border with its neighbor," he stated.
Another question directed to respondents in the poll was on the tough
stance of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and
the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) toward Gul's visit to
Yerevan. When asked whether the CHP and the MHP were right to react
negatively to Gul's visit, 65.6 percent of those polled said the two
opposition parties were wrong to harshly criticize the visit. Only
24.9 percent of respondents said the two parties were right to do so
and 9.5 percent said they had no idea.
Another topic20of the new poll was future relations with Armenia. In
response to a question over what kind of policy Turkey should pursue in
relations with its neighbor, 62.8 percent of those polled said Turkey
should develop diplomatic and economic relations with Armenia, whereas
25.9 percent said it should maintain the existing policies. Another
11.3 percent said they had no idea.
AZERBAIJANI POPULATION NEGATIVELY ASSESSING TURKISH PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO YEREVAN
Today.Az
Sept 9 2008
Azerbaijan
Most citizens of Azerbaijan negatively assess the visit of Turkish
President A.Gul to Yerevan on September 6 and consider that it will
have a negative impact on the Karabakh conflict resolution.
According to the report of the Ray monitoring center, which held a
public poll regarding Gul's visit to Yerevan, the reaction of the
respondents turned out to be extremely negative.
Answering the question "What is your opinion about this visit?", only
9% respondents chose such alternatives as "positive" or "neutral (3%
found it hard to answer), said Interfax-Azerbaijan.
The remaining 88% of population assessed this visit negatively.
Most respondents, explaining this decision, said that they assess the
said visit as an unfriendly step towards Azerbaijan and betrayal of
national interests of Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The poll showed that the population mostly expects nothing good
for Azerbaijan from rapprochement of Ankara and Yerevan. Thus 92%
of respondents negatively assessed the current actions of Turkey,
which starts to restore cooperation with Armenia, in fact, rejecting
preliminary conditions - Yerevan's disavowal of the campaign on
recognition of "genocide of Armenians", rejection of the territorial
claims to Turkey and liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani lands.
Most respondents (90%) consider that the visit to Yerevan will
not promote the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict and 93% of
respondents spoke against possible opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border, closed since occupation of Karabakh and adjacent regions of
Azerbaijan by Armenia.
Most respondents (92%) consider that Gul's visit to Yerevan shows
changes in Turkey's position in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh and
these changes seem to be negative for Azerbaijan.
The public poll was held on September 5-7. Over 1,800 people at
the age of 18 and older were interviewed by the place of residence,
with inaccuracy of no more than 3%.
YEREVAN AFTER GUL: HALF WAY THERE: OPEN BORDERS WITH ARMENIA BY 14 OCTOBER
Radikal
Sept 8 2008
Turkey
He began by saying, "Yesterday was a very important and historic day
for us." At some point in his speech he said: "Half the journey is
taking the first step. The presidents have come half way. Having
reached the half-way point they instructed their ministers to
accomplish the rest of the journey."
Armenian's Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbantyan invited us to lunch. In
the Foreign Ministry, one of the splendid buildings surrounding
Republic Square in Yerevan, we sat in his office and talked about
Abdullah Gul's "historic visit" and we lunched together. Sitting
at the table and translating for us was Arsen Avakyan, who had
translated for Gul and Sarkisyan during their meeting. By us I mean
myself, Hasan Cemal, Ali Bayramoglu and Mustafa Karaalioglu. Also at
this desk-cum-dining-table sat Ministry Spokesman Tigran Balayan
and Armenia's representative for the KEIB [Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Union] in Istanbul. In order to emphasize just how
seriously Turkish-Armenian relations were normalizing Nalbantyan
said time and time again that both presidents had "the will" to do
this and that this "will" would with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's
resolve speed itself along. Another two stopping points on this "road"
are "the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and
Armenia" and "the opening of borders." Neither of these points can
exist without the other.
We witnessed just how seriously this business was being treated. After
our soccer team beat the Armenian team 2-0 we went up to the highest
part of the spectators' box. We joined a small party held in the
back in honour of Abdullah Gul and the Turkish delegation. Suddenly
before us appeared Armenia's President Serj Sarkisyan and our President
Abdullah Gul. Abdullah Gul introduced each one of us in turn. Sarksiyan
launched into the subject right away. The final score was not
important for him. The event was a means of "rapprochement." His
mood was one of a relived childhood. He said he would be coming to
Turkey on 14 October, not neglecting to add laughingly, "But not for a
grudge match." Nalbantyan told us at yesterday's lunch that the visit
would be on the date on which another Turkish-Armenian soccer match
would be played, and would be just as "historic." Both countries'
foreign ministers have immediately started work on what needs to
be done between "Historic Saturday" in Yerevan and 14 October in
order to "complete the other half of the journey." After the party
Gul and Sarkisyan left the Hrazdan stadium for Gul's trip back to
Turkey. Sarkisyan's senior adviser, who was at these high level talks,
was left to take us back to our hotel. He gave us a lift in his car. On
the way he said that "both presidents had agreed to the principles
and that both ministers would begin working to bring those principles
to life and to provide logistics." We arrived at the hotel and set up
"our HQ" in the cafe in front. We chatted about the historic day and
the soccer match. At 0215 [local] Ali Babacan and his entourage left
the Foreign Ministry building directly opposite us. Nalbantyan told
us yesterday what happened that evening after the match: "After the
match Babacan and I spoke for two-and-a-half hours. We are going to
meet up again in New York in two weeks' time. After that there will
be no more pauses. To date there have been too many halts and at each
one we have waited a long time. That is not going to be the case from
now on. In the days ahead we are going to talk about concrete stuff
now. Armenia has the intention and the desire for this. We saw that
same intention on the part of Turkey. There are no countries in the
world that have closed borders while having diplomatic relations." You
can find in Nalbantyan's words an indicator of the rapprochement
created between Turkey and Armenia. We also spoke about the Turkish
initiative: Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform. Armenia
accepts this 100 per cent and considers it important. Although nobody
wants to make any promises or take responsibility it would not come as
a surprise, looking at the mood in Yerevan, to hear that diplomatic
relations between Turkey and Armenia have been resumed and that the
borders have been opened before 14 October. However, in the spirit of
"once bitten twice shy" we still have reservations: we shall believe
it when we see it.
Having arrived in Yerevan before Abdullah Gul and stayed after he
returned we were in a position to measure the outcome of this "soccer
diplomacy" and the climate both before and after this "historic"
visit. We can say that the silent protests along Gul's trip from
the airport to the city, the Dashnak placards that were opened and
immediately closed again during the soccer match plus the whistles that
were heard when our national anthem was played are too insignificant
to overshadow the "spring climate" that has been created between
Turkey and Armenia as fall sets in. One Dashnak official wanting to
stress that they were not opposed to Abdullah Gul's visit said not to
take the protests too seriously adding in a semi-jokingly fashion,
"Had we not done that much we may just as well have dissolved our
Dashnak Party." Like I said before, this "first" visit by Abdullah
Gul needs to create concrete results that really can be considered
"historic." This means establishing diplomatic relations between
Turkey and Armenia and opening the borders. Edvard Nalbantyan told
us yesterday, "We are half way there." The rest of the journey has
already begun as of yesterday and in a mood of optimism.
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