Word: armenian
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Peaceable Neighbors Thank you for drawing attention to the talks between Turkey and Armenia "that could reopen their border" [Sept. 21]. I wish them well. As an Anglo-Armenian I look forward to a just settlement for the atrocities committed around 1915. Similarly I would welcome accession of both Armenia and Turkey to the E.U. - subject to certain conditions. One of which must be an end to "almost a century of animosity between the two countries." My only quibble is your comment that "Armenians say 1.5 million were killed in a genocide" and that "the massacre of hundreds of thousands...
...ancient as Herodotus' Histories, the 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 divides the villages of Halikisla, on the Turkish side, and Bagaran, on the Armenian. Once united, 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...
...pipelines, has become a priority for both Russia and the U.S. But history is a potent saboteur in this part of the world and talks have collapsed before under its weight. In 1915, the Ottoman Turkish army, fighting against Russia to maintain its territories, sent the region's Armenian population on a "death march" toward Syria. Armenians say 1.5 million were killed in a genocide. Turkey rejects that term, maintaining that the expulsion was a wartime measure necessary to quash Armenian nationalists who sided with the Russians...
...Armenian hard-liners criticize their government for not making Turkey's recognition of the 1915 genocide a precondition for diplomatic talks. Instead, the new plan calls for the establishment of a commission to study historical records and promote dialogue. "It isn't just history from a book, it is [about] our grandmothers," says Alexander Iskandaryan, head of the Caucasus Institute. "It is part of our historical memory, and the reason why an Armenian diaspora exists ... But, that doesn't mean the border should be closed. The problems between two peoples will disappear as we continue to discuss." (Read "Can Soccer...
...Kars, which lies on the border, there is little of the bitter nationalism that racks the capital. Locals recall a once lively trade in livestock from Armenia and textiles from Turkey. Work on renovating the cross-border rail lines is due to begin soon. Restoration of Armenian monuments at the ancient site of Ani is underway. "Once trade, human interaction and dialogue begin, finding common ground on more complicated issues will become easier," says Aybars Gorgulu of the Istanbul think tank TESEV. It will take time for Turkey and Armenia to overcome decades of mutual distrust. But the announcement...