A 2009 look at the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation

A 2009 look at the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation

Saturday, January 2, 2010

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process started in September 2008 with ‘football diplomacy’ and gained new dimensions in 2009. The foreign ministers of the two countries signed historic protocols despite the increased public pressure from both of their countries. Although the borders have not been reopened due to the Azerbaijani factor, 2010 looks like it will bring many new developments.

September 2008, when the national football teams of Turkey and Armenia played a match in Yerevan, happened to be a historical milestone not only for the two countries but also for me personally. I was in the press box as an Armenian member of the Turkish press with the industry’s leading names right beside me. Moreover, I was in a stadium for the first time in my life. I sang the national anthems of both countries with tears in my eyes. I only wanted to cheer when the game started but I was afraid to be misunderstood. Suddenly, Fatih Çekirge, one of the master columnists of daily Hürriyet, held my hands and gave me strength. My voice was crackling; I supported the team of Armenia for the first time in my life even if I knew it was going to lose.

The “football diplomacy” started a historical process of convergence between Turkey and Armenia, after the tragic events of 1915 that have scarred both sides. The two countries declared in April that they agreed on a road map to open the borders and normalize relations. Naturally, all hell broke lose in Turkey and Armenia.

The Armenian public opinion claimed Turkey has profited from the protocols and the Serge Sarkisian’s administration compensated. Demonstrations and hunger strikes were held in the capital Yerevan and protests have emerged in countries where members the Armenian diaspora reside.

In Turkey, criticisms were voiced on how Azerbaijan was abandoned in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem it has with Armenia. Turkey closed its Armenian border in 1993 to show support for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has been putting pressure on Turkey every chance it has to not open the border before a solution can be reached.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to Baku and promised that the protocols would not be approved by the Turkish Parliament before a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. However, no such direct connection was made in the protocol drafts. Even though no progress has been made in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the two sides decided to sign the protocols before the return match in October.

The return match played in Bursa was under the shadow of tension raised by the Azerbaijan issue among the Turkish public. Extreme security measures were taken around the stadium. No tickets were sold in order to keep the normal supporters outside and they were handed out to select people just hours before the game. The accredited press were granted access at the last minute. I was in Bursa again for duty and I could not receive my accreditation papers. I found a high official from the Football Federation of Turkey and told him the importance of this match for me and that was how I managed to enter the stadium.

The effort to bring Azerbaijani flags to the stadium by some created a tense atmosphere before the game but things went smoothly when Bursaspor supporters released white doves into the sky just before the kick-off. The match in Bursa was less exciting for me compared to the one in Yerevan. I experienced the real excitement a few days prior to the match when the two foreign ministers signed the protocols.

Actually, the process experienced until the signing in October was as exciting as that day too. I was in Yerevan in September when the protesters were on hunger strike and I went to the central bureau of the Tashnak Party to interview them. The place was surrounded with meters-long banners and people were running around in hurry. The hunger strike lasted for a month across from the Foreign Ministry building. Petitions were signed in the streets against the protocols and the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was demanded. Despite all this, Nalbandian sat at the table in Switzerland next to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. I was following the events from Istanbul instead of Yerevan this time. I remember seeing Charles Aznavour, the world famous French artist of Armenian origin and Armenia’s ambassador to Sweden, live television and looking really stressed out. Also, an unexpected surprise was experienced on the day of the signing as the process became stuck due to disagreements on the protocol texts and only later the foreign ministers of the two countries appeared and the protocols were signed. I took a deep breath. I also understood that despite sharing the same lands for centuries, the re-emergence of the two peoples would not be as easy as expected.