Turkey and Armenia: A time to heal

Nothing inflames the present like the past. When Pope Francis said on April 12th that the “first genocide” of the 20th century was of the Armenians in 1915, Turkey angrily recalled its ambassador to the Vatican. Far from being resolved, the argument over exactly what to call the death of as many as 1m-1.5m Armenian citizens of the Ottoman empire still spreads hatred. This fight does nothing for Turks and Armenians—nor for the century-old memory of the victims, says an article by The Economist.

By treating the dispute as a matter of vital national interest, the Turkish government is falling into a nationalistic trap. Instead it should admit past sins. Like other European powers, including Britain, Germany and Russia, it has plenty to acknowledge. Turkey has in the past mistreated, deported or killed not only Armenians but also Assyrians, Greeks and Kurds, the article says.

After a bout of “football diplomacy” in 2008-09 Turkey and Armenia signed protocols that would have allowed their border to be reopened. But the protocols were never ratified, not because of the genocide row, but because the Turks insisted as a condition on the resolution of the frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Yet the best chance of solving Nagorno-Karabakh would be better relations—and an open border—between Turkey and Armenia, the article notes.

For ordinary Armenians, the most promising idea for marking the 100th anniversary of the terrible events of 1915 would be to regain direct access to their sacred mountain of Ararat and to their ancient capital of Ani, both of which are now blocked off in Turkey. For Turkey, too, the best memorial would be improved relations with Armenia, the article concludes.