Armenia Prepares for Historic Football Match (Updated)

Whether you agree with the politics behind the event or not, tonight’s football match between Armenia and Turkey is a historic one. Indeed, the visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gul is unprecedented and has taken many local observers by surprise. Without diplomatic relations or an open border, many hope that the visit will mark a breakthrough in relations between the two countries and eventually see many outstanding issues resolved. RFE/RL reports that the international community is certainly excited.

The United States and the European Union have welcomed Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s decision to pay a historic visit to Armenia and expressed hope that it will foster the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

“I warmly welcome President Gul’s decision to attend the World Cup qualifying match between Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan on Saturday,” the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement on Friday.

“The crisis in Georgia has underlined the importance of good neighborly relations in the region, including Turkish-Armenian relations,” Rehn said. “I hope that President Gul’s important first step will be soon followed by others that lead to a full normalization of relations between these two countries, which would enhance stability in the region and prepare the ground for strengthened regional cooperation.”

The EU’s French presidency issued a similar statement on Thursday, expressing “joy” at Gul’s acceptance of President Serzh Sarkisian’s invitation to visit Yerevan for the football game. “This visit constitutes a strong and encouraging gesture for relations between Armenia and Turkey,” it said.

The U.S. also praised the “football diplomacy” that has brightened prospects for the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations, a key U.S. foreign policy goal in the region. “We welcome President Gul’s decision to travel to Yerevan,” Mark Toner, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department’s European bureau, told the “Turkish Daily News” on Thursday.

“We commend both presidents for their courage to take steps to strengthen peace and prosperity throughout the region,” Toner said. “We hope this historic meeting will help build momentum toward the full normalization of Turkey-Armenia

EurasiaNet reports that the Armenian and Turkish presidents will watch the match from behind bullet-proof glass and there will be heavy security for the visit. However, while the precautions are necessary, there is little sign of any anger about the visit except from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D). Even the opposition have applauded the move.

[…] the opposition movement led by ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian postponed for a week a rally that had been planned for September 5 in Yerevan. “We should establish normal, good-neighborly relations with Turkey without preconditions,” Ter-Petrosian said at a recent press conference. “When I said this [earlier], they would say what treachery it is. And now, they keep repeating it night and day,” he said in reference to government officials. Not all Armenian politicians feel the same, however. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), a traditional nationalist party, has vowed to mount protests against Gul’s visit. Similar demonstrations have been threatened in Turkey, too.

Centrist Turkish media outlets have been generally supportive of Gul’s pending visit. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan — a close Turkish ally, as well as a bitter enemy of Armenia — has given its official blessing to the trip. On September 4, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijani leaders “welcome this initiative positively,” the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.

A September 3 statement from Gul’s office noted that the Turkish president had accepted Sarkisian’s invitation to “create a new climate of friendship in the region” and to “lift the obstacles preventing the coming together of two peoples who share a common history.”

However, AFP reports that few regional analysts expect relations between the two countries to be resolved overnight.

“Gul’s visit is a bold move, but one should not expect much from it,” said Cengiz Aktar, an international affairs expert at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University. “First of all, there is no a real desire in Turkey to make peace with Armenia and the atmosphere is not suitable for ground-breaking moves.”

[…]

“Fundamentally, the Turkish population is deeply nationalist and one of the founding stones of the Turkish nationalistic streak is animosity to Armenians,” Aktar said.

The same might be true for Armenia’s own nationalist party, the ARF-D. Although part of the coalition government, plans to stage protest rallies against Gul’s arrival have been called “schizophrenic” by one opposition politician. Others simply question the continued participation of the ARF-D in Sargsyan’s cabinet.

“It is noteworthy that Gul is arriving in Armenia at the invitation of Serzh Sarkisian and that Dashnaktsutyun, a member of Armenia’s governing coalition, is preparing to stage protests against Gul’s visit,” writes “Hayk.” “So it means Dashnaktsutyun has differences with the other government wing. And the issue on which those differences have emerged is crucial to Dashnaktsutyun. But despite that, they remain in the governing coalition.”

Discussion in the blogosphere about the historic sporting event is increasing and there will be a roundup of some of the commentary for Global Voices Online tomorrow. Until then, it’s worth pointing readers in the direction of a few posts already up. Unzipped, for example, posts a photograph of an advertisement for the match in downtown Yerevan and says that French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour will be attending, while West of Igdir offers its timeline of events leading up to the game.

No matter what, it seems this historic and extremely improbable visit will be going through after all. With confirmations from just about everyone but President Gul himself, with Turkish special forces apparently already on the ground in Yerevan preparing for his protection, there is little reason to think otherwise. […] One is left to marvel at the way events have unfolded since last year- Armenia having been grouped in the previous qualifiers with Azerbaijan leading to two canceled games between them after a dispute over venues. It was promised that Armenia wouldn’t be grouped as such again, only to have it “randomly” picked to face Turkey instead in this group of World Cup qualifiers! From here things snowballed bringing us to today, where football as the hope to begin diplomatic and economic relations between two long-time enemies, and which can hopefully start to repair the human and emotional gulf which lies between these two peoples as well.

Blogian highlights the significance of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist and editor who was murdered in Istanbul last year. The blog says that one Turkish columnist has already called the football match a tribute to his memory. Armenia: Higher Education & Science, however, notes that reconciliation requires direct contact between Armenians and Turks — something which will not happen at the game.

[…] today’s match will unfortunately fail to deliver as Turkey’s authorities have refused to let their football fans cross the border into Armenia. The Armenian president will meet his Turkish counterpart but Armenian football fans and Yerevan residents in general won’t have the opportunity to meet Turkish supporters.

As of Wednesday, however, only 12,000 from 53,000 tickets for the match had been sold and yesterday there were unconfirmed reports of some being distributed free of charge from government buildings. Whatever the turnout, the match is a historic one and despite concerns from nationalists in both countries, most seem either neutral or supportive of what has now been termed “football diplomacy.”

Update: Turkish President Abdullah Gul left Zvartnots airport at 5pm local time. Protests along the route very, very small and not very energetic either. As Unzipped says, most people in Yerevan seem neutral or positive towards the match and Gul’s visit. Lets hope the day passes without any incidents.

Particularly, Dashnaks (via Yerkir newspaper) call all supporters to gather today at Zvartnots airport and surrounding areas at 5pm local time to ‘greet’ Turkey’s president upon arrival.

Dashnaks also drive around central Yerevan streets today urging people via loudspeakers to join their protest actions. Few seem enthusiastic to do so.

Photos: Zvartnots, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008