Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

[Vako]

1. Open the borders unconditionally
2. Opening the borders is conditioned by acceptance of the Genocide
3. Undecided

please vote above or by replying to this post.

[ace]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

why would we set pre-conditions? We dont yield power on this issue - they can survive without open borders. We cant.

But we will

[Vako]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

a friend's opinion:
"EU's neighbourhood policy states that Turkey in order to join the EU has to open up its borders unconditionally, Turkey is insisting on three points for opening its border:

1- Withdrawal of Armenians from Nagornao Karabakh
2- Removing international recognition of Genocide from Armenia's constitution
3- Declaration in the constitution that there are no land claims by Armenia in Western Armenia

The Armenian Government's position is the same as EU's.

What the poll is saying is that the Armenian public is linking the opening of the border with Turkey's recognition of the Genocide.

In my opinion this is a message to the EU.

Why should the EU listen? It should listen because there are elections in 2007 and the next Government's platform may be more in line with the results of the poll.

As a bottom-line however, Armenia's sovereign views do not matter. Only EU's own interests matter.

There is another point. Turkey in its arguments is insisting that the pressure on the recognition of the Genocide is coming from the Diaspora and that Armenia proper is held hostage to it and thus as a result is suffering economically. By linking the border opening to the Genocide, Turkey is wishing to isolate Armenia from its Diaspora. The results of the poll in Armenia show that there is a pressure from the Armenian public and that it is not only a Diaspora pressure. A poll within the Diaspora may even indicate there is less pressure from the Diaspora than internally from within Armenia. But then you may argue that people's views in the Diaspora do not set the agendas for the Diaspora parties.

The last point I have is that even as the above do not matter, the feelings generated by the poll within the Diaspora and the resulting discussions may help rally the forces of democracy in the Diaspora. We must start somewhere even if we are late in the game."

[ace]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

No, Turkey knows that regardless of what it does, the Armenian Genocide and land claims will be upheld by our now very powerful diaspora . Its trying to weaken the Armenian state as much as it can.

Lets open the borders, help the economy grow, and let the diaspora do their job. And the EU has those preconditions set because it knows Turkey wont accept them - thus, the EU will have an excuse as to why it wont let Turkey into the EU. (Cause obviously they hate Turkey).

[ARK]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

There should be a fourth option; there are people like me who don’t like the borders to be opened. This border is an artificial one. We, Armenians, will open THE border ourselves.

[ace]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

Btw, if you've been to Armenia, you'll notice that the border is undoubtebly open.

[Vako]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

I agree that we need a 4th option (Keep the borders closed)
However at this stage we cannot edit the poll. If the moderators will help us do that change, it would be much appreciated.

Any other suggestions welcomed.

[Kamo]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

what a joke, the borders should be opened without any conditions whatsoever.

Having the borders does not help anyone.

By opening the borders we can increase the growth of the economy even more so, thus increasing the living standards of Armenians.

Also, we should encourage turkey to get into the EU, the quicker they do that, the quicker Armenia will get in the EU, and make the most of the aid they will get, such as Ireland got in the 90's, making it the fastest growing economy in Europe at the time, and is still going through a boom when Europe has been at a standstill for 5 years.

LEts think about the lives of Armenians, not the silly dreams of the diaspora armenians.

[Vako]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

Kamo, I get your point and agree to most of it.
Actually the border is mostly open already, there are flights from Yerevan to Istanbul all the time, also lots of imports from Turkey to Armenia, but am not sure if Turkey is accepting any business from us, or if we have anything that we can export to them...
I agree that the borders should be opened unconditionally and it will boost Armenia's economy. I hope it will.

[ArmenianKid]

Re: Gallup Poll: Open Border With Turkey and Armenia

open the border! They don't have much to lose with the borders closed. We do.