Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan
It is a fascinating time to be in Baku.
Obama's recent trip to Turkey last month has placed the prospect of a thaw between Yerevan and Ankara on the front page of U.S. papers. It has also caused public outrage here in Baku. There was even a (small) protest in front of the Turkish Embassy.
The Turkey-Armenia border was shut in 1993 when Azerbaijan and Armenia went to war over Nagorno-Karabagh. And it has remained closed ever since. Turkey is one of Azerbaijan's closest allies and the prospect that it may seek rapprochement with Armenia has left many people here feeling completely and utterly betrayed.
Azerbaijanis are fond of saying that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one people with two states. So the idea that their brothers would turn their backs on Baku's interests has produced alot of soul searching.
This week I was speaking with two young women about the thaw and they simply could not wrap their heads around the idea that Turkey may indeed go ahead with opening the border. "They simply won't do it," one woman declared. "Armenians cannot be trusted." She proceeded to go into gruesome details about how Armenians had sewed shut the eyes of Azeri POWs and attacked pregnant women, ripping their unborn children from the womb. (Something I've found to be a typical fare every time the subject comes up.)
I don't know how Azerbaijan and Armenia will ever find a resolution to the conflict. Perhaps as part of a broader deal with Turkey some movement will be made. But it doesn't seem to me there is any willingness on the part of the Azerbaijani people to compromise. Armenia took their land and until it is returned the world should shun Yerevan.
Curious, I asked one of the women I was speaking with this week, "when was the last time you saw something positive about Armenia or Armenian people on television or in a newspaper?" She looked kind of surprised at the question but answered, "never."
Obama's recent trip to Turkey last month has placed the prospect of a thaw between Yerevan and Ankara on the front page of U.S. papers. It has also caused public outrage here in Baku. There was even a (small) protest in front of the Turkish Embassy.
The Turkey-Armenia border was shut in 1993 when Azerbaijan and Armenia went to war over Nagorno-Karabagh. And it has remained closed ever since. Turkey is one of Azerbaijan's closest allies and the prospect that it may seek rapprochement with Armenia has left many people here feeling completely and utterly betrayed.
Azerbaijanis are fond of saying that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one people with two states. So the idea that their brothers would turn their backs on Baku's interests has produced alot of soul searching.
This week I was speaking with two young women about the thaw and they simply could not wrap their heads around the idea that Turkey may indeed go ahead with opening the border. "They simply won't do it," one woman declared. "Armenians cannot be trusted." She proceeded to go into gruesome details about how Armenians had sewed shut the eyes of Azeri POWs and attacked pregnant women, ripping their unborn children from the womb. (Something I've found to be a typical fare every time the subject comes up.)
I don't know how Azerbaijan and Armenia will ever find a resolution to the conflict. Perhaps as part of a broader deal with Turkey some movement will be made. But it doesn't seem to me there is any willingness on the part of the Azerbaijani people to compromise. Armenia took their land and until it is returned the world should shun Yerevan.
Curious, I asked one of the women I was speaking with this week, "when was the last time you saw something positive about Armenia or Armenian people on television or in a newspaper?" She looked kind of surprised at the question but answered, "never."
posted by Jessica @ 10:06 AM
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