I won't go to Turkey as a tourist
Interview with architect, member of the Yerevan Council of Elders Levon Igityan
"A1+": What do you think about the attempt to improve relations between Turkey and Armenia?
Levon Igityan: It doesn't depend on us. This is a huge game in the world and we haven't set the rules. All we have to do is play well. Armenians are talented, but we don't think. Mind and talent are different things. We say that the Turks are not talented as Parajanov, Saryan, Minas, Saroyan, but they wanted our lands and took them. They don't need people like Parajanov or Saroyan.
"A1+": As an intellectual, are you for or against the protocols on the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations?
L. I.: I accept the fact that we need to have open borders in the 21st century. We are not savages. If they are, let them keep it closed.
"A1+": So, you are not concerned about the protocols, particularly the concern that the genocide issue may become a topic of discussion for the commission of historians.
L. I.: I believe that this is a sign of vulgarity. What do they want to find out? Who gave them the right to speculate the genocide issue? How can I accept the fact that the US Congress discusses and says that there was genocide, but that the circumstances stand in the way for them to recognize it? What circumstances?
"A1+": But now the sides are going to sign a protocol according to which a commission will be created to discuss the wrinkles of the past and that may include the genocide issue. The opponents of the protocols take note that during that time, international recognition of the genocide will cease.
L. I.: The genocide issue can't become a topic of discussion. When Serzh Sargsyan lays the cards for the Turks, then it will be clear what they must find out. Armenian historians are not stupid to sit down and discuss the genocide issue. There are many wrinkles in the past, but no Armenian can deny the fact that there was genocide. As far as friendly ties are concerned, we are simply establishing relations. You can hate a person, but say hello. It is very difficult to become friends. Do the Turks deserve that friendship?
"A1+":What does Armenia get out of the normalization of relations?
L. I.: We must have a way of communicating with the world. Nobody has the right to keep the border closed.
"A1+": But we weren't the ones who closed the border.
L. I.: They were the ones who closed it and they must open it. We shouldn't have to read between-the-lines if Armenia opens the border because Armenians have always opened their doors. I would like to ask Obama and the major role-players in this game why Orhan Pamuk is not living in Turkey. Can you imagine what the world would think about Armenia if we closed our doors to a Nobel Peace Prize writer? If Turkey has a friendly atmosphere, why doesn't Pamuk live there?
"A1+": Don't you see any risks if the border is opened in that "incorrect, inhuman environment"?
L. I.: I see a danger with open and closed borders. Turkey will always be the same, regardless of open or closed borders. Do you think that the Turks will not think about eliminating Armenians if an Armenian embassy is opened in Turkey? Nothing will change at all. Different cultures have been living in Turkey for centuries and that is not even its culture. How can I become friends with a country like that? What have Turks done in the past century to deserve friendship? Let them, Obama or Condoleezza Rice do something. We need relations. They're living on our lands and have closed the border too. Talks are still ahead.
"A1+": But if we recognize Turkey's territorial integrity, the current borders according to the Treaty of Kars, doesn't that deprive us of saying that Kars, Van, Erzrum and the other cities are our "home"?
L. I.: God has created the world in such a way that different nations are situated in different parts. Some nations have committed barbaric acts to invade the home of others. If it were up to me, I would lay down the conditions. If you don't like me, leave my home. I have no doubt that that is going to happen and I will even have a chance to go and see my grandfather's house, just like I go to Tsakhkadzor in Armenia. I won't go to Turkey as a tourist.
Interview by Diana Markosyan
