"Armenian hostages" pour into Turkey

Once Mark Twain was asked at a meeting with his readers: “How are popular books written?” “Oh, it's easy!” the writer replied. “It's enough to have a pen and paper, and without any effort, you just grind out everything that comes to mind. The question is what comes to your mind!”

A brief monitoring of Armenian media shows that they are facing the same problem. Several Armenian media outlets have enthusiastically sought expert comments as of late.

A matter of debate is the Turkish prime minister’s repeated statements about the possible deportation of illegal Armenian immigrants. Experts have voiced a number of conclusions.

Perhaps, the most interesting comment is the thesis that Turkish authorities are trying to use the illegal immigrants who fled to Turkey in search of work as hostages. Have you ever seen any “hostages” who leave their homeland country in large numbers and do everything they can to remain "hostages" in a country where they are treated better? I have never come across such a phenomenon.

Furthermore, it seems to me that the presenter of the popular science TV program “Obvious and Incredible” Professor Kapitsa would also be surprised by this new breed of Armenian "hostages.” What is unique about them is that they are constantly increasing in number. More and more Armenian citizens, ignoring the statements by Armenian media criticizing Erdogan's statements, are pouring into Turkey, adding to the number of "hostages."

The closed Turkish-Armenian border is no obstacle for these "Armenian hostages." And one can just imagine what would happen if the border was open. It is possible that the number of "Armenian hostages” in Turkey would exceed the number of citizens in Armenia.

One wonders why the Armenian leadership sought the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border after Armenian media described emigrants heading for Turkey in search of an income as “hostages?” Common sense tells us that the Armenian government will increase number of its citizens rushing to Turkey as "hostages" in the event of the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border.

It's easier for Armenian media and Armenian “experts” to argue with this logic and common sense than to admit that the vast majority of Armenian citizens have barely been making ends meet and are entirely dependent on remittances from relatives who are "hostages" in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, France, the United States. And it will be harder and harder for Armenian citizens to make ends meet. After all, as of January 2010, the decline in private transfers was 25 percent.

In other words, if this trend keeps on dominating in 2010, Armenia will receive less funding than in 2009. Obviously, this year will be more severe for Armenian citizens than last year. On top of all of this, consumer gas prices in Armenia amounted to 132 drams per cubic meter from April 1 against the previous 96 drams, and the rate became $243.13 per 1,000 cubic meters for those consuming over 10,000 cubic meters per month instead of the previous $215.

It is clear that the rise in gas prices will lead to an increase in prices on everything in Armenia. This will even further complicate the lives of  ordinary Armenian citizens, turning them into potential "hostages" in any country of the world, including Turkey, where they worry about their daily income much less than they do in Armenia.


/Day.Az/