Armenians luke warm on ’road map’
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 24, 2009 00:00
YEREVAN - Reactions to the agreement between Turkey and Armenia for a road map to normalizing relations were largely muted on the streets of Yerevan, with only a radio station announcing it to the public.
Newspapers, maybe due to the late hour of the announcement, did not cover the issue, with only Yerevan-based Radio Liberty reporting it. Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review talked to people on the streets of Yerevan for their thoughts on the matter.
Siranuys Dvoyon, an academic from Yerevan State University, said he had not heard of the agreement but did not find what he heard informative. "What does the road map mean? It is meaningless. Both sides should play it open. Let’s not forget that Turkey unilaterally shut down its border at the worst of times for Armenia," he said.
He also found it strange for the announcement to come a day before the scheduled remembrance ceremony for those who died in 1915. "It is wrong to announce this agreement a day before April 24," he said. Mihitar Markaryan agreed, noting: "The fact that this announcement was made a day before we were getting ready to put our hearts out to remember those who died is meaningless. It hurts. The only way to normalize relations is for Turkey to recognize the genocide." Sergey Bedrosyan, checking the story at an Internet caf, said such agreements were meaningless if Turkey set any preconditions. "We also know that Turkey will never withdraw those preconditions. It is hard to believe the border between Turkey and Armenia will really be reopened. If they open now, they’ll shut it back up tomorrow," he said. Bedrosyan also said he wanted to ask what exactly a "road map" meant. Meanwhile, thousands of Armenians are marking today as "Genocide Remembrance Day."
Siranuys Dvoyon, an academic from Yerevan State University, said he had not heard of the agreement but did not find what he heard informative. "What does the road map mean? It is meaningless. Both sides should play it open. Let’s not forget that Turkey unilaterally shut down its border at the worst of times for Armenia," he said.
He also found it strange for the announcement to come a day before the scheduled remembrance ceremony for those who died in 1915. "It is wrong to announce this agreement a day before April 24," he said. Mihitar Markaryan agreed, noting: "The fact that this announcement was made a day before we were getting ready to put our hearts out to remember those who died is meaningless. It hurts. The only way to normalize relations is for Turkey to recognize the genocide." Sergey Bedrosyan, checking the story at an Internet caf, said such agreements were meaningless if Turkey set any preconditions. "We also know that Turkey will never withdraw those preconditions. It is hard to believe the border between Turkey and Armenia will really be reopened. If they open now, they’ll shut it back up tomorrow," he said. Bedrosyan also said he wanted to ask what exactly a "road map" meant. Meanwhile, thousands of Armenians are marking today as "Genocide Remembrance Day."