Armenians coming to Turkey may be a sign of normalization and accepting facts of life like swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Any citizen of a landlocked country would feel the same -- just like myself, living in Ankara and dreaming of the Mediterranean all year long. This longing is evident in the posters of Antalya’s attractive sun-drenched beaches hanging on the walls of buildings in Yerevan.While it is a dream destination for some, it is a provocation for others. Those posters are diluting the Armenian resolve to subdue the Turkish resistance to admitting what happened in the first quarter of the 20th century. It did not take too long for a youth group from the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutyun, to rally for the removal of those posters. They went to the Yerevan mayor’s office and demanded that the Antalya posters be brought down and not hung up again. The mayor’s office has not yet acted on the request. If the borders are opened soon, they will never be brought down.
The nationalists’ logic against traveling and vacationing in Turkey in general and in Antalya in particular is just like the Turkish leftists’ logic: Every penny that goes to the “enemy” will return to us as arms and aggression or exploitation. This must be the universal language of all nationalists and chauvinists. One poster that was put up against traveling to Turkey and Antalya read as follows: “Armenians who spend their vacation in Antalya are arming the Turkish army.” Being a university student in 1968, it is like déjà vu for me. It seems every generation lives through similar cycles of rebellion, realization and reconciliation. But for the time being, those who protest against Armenians visiting Antalya have taken up the mission of reminding people what they seem to have forgotten and to sober them up regarding their national obligations, like continuing to hate Turks.
Another slogan shared by the nationalists on both sides of the border says: “Turkey shouldn’t have won us over.” Turkish nationalists said the same thing when nearly three dozen militants belonging to the notorious terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), came from Iraq and surrendered to Turkish authorities. As promised, they were interrogated but due to a lack of criminal records they were released. They returned to their hometowns with joy and were greeted with public demonstrations. This was enough to forget why they came back: to surrender and end hostilities. The government was accused of giving the impression that the mighty Turkish army was defeated by the terrorists and all that nonsense.
Government employees are not officially warned against vacationing in Turkey but the psychology in official institutions is not that conducive. Furthermore, the Armenian Ministry of the Economy is encouraging competitive domestic tours to destinations like Lake Sevan, the mountain resort of Tsakhkadzor, the mineral water spa of Jermuk and the historical Nagorno-Karabakh region. Presently vacation packages to these sights start at about $700 while Antalya offers a week of good service, sea and sun for only $450.
Well, you may be a patriot, but there is nothing better than a good warm vacation after a whole year’s hard work, especially when your old foe is serving you with a friendly smile.
