Killing a hope: wistful view at Armenian-Turkish border from Yerevan

By Akbar Hasanov
Day.Az writer

One can live with hopes for a much better life for a certain timeframe. But no one can live only with expectations for whole life especially, when those hopes are less likely to come true. If to view attentively the process of normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations it is much similar to a case when a cart is drawn ahead of a horse.

Turkish-Armenian protocols signed in Zurich made soon after many ordinary Armenian citizens hopeful for the soonest opening of Turkey-Armenia border and swift rescue of Armenian economy. They hoped Armenia to be saved of collapse. However, this optimistic mood is leaving gradually even the most optimists in Armenia.

Now it seems that everyone in the country has realized a light is at the end of the tunnel: opening of borders with Turkey to save the collapsed Armenian economy can occur only after Armenia liberates the occupied territory of Azerbaijan.

The Armenian leadership has not made it public, but only for the time being. Meanwhile, Armenia's economic indicators well mirror that the country’s government will hardly be able to delay the confession. People cannot be fed by promises for better future life. People should see just a fragmentary demonstration, whilst the Armenian authorities are very much tense for it.

Meantime, the Armenian parliament is discussing a draft budget which differs from the current one for its modesty. Even the 2008 budget was bigger than the 2010 budget. So, the Armenian residents will have to tighten their belts again. Of course, some people will be willing to tighten those belts around the neck of country’s leaders. One can understand the Armenian citizens quite easily: 15 years have passed since Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement, but so far no country in the world has announced intention to recognize independence of the puppet "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic".

Therefore, all these years could be described as years of not only missed opportunities to build a normal life, but also empty hope that Nagorno-Karabakh will be recognized by the international community and also destitute which Armenian citizens have to face because of their leadership.

Part of Armenian population has regained sight. Now they see clearly a crucial decline in the number of population to 1.3 - 1.5 million from 3.6 million of people fixed in Armenia in a run up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tired of promises by the Armenian authorities pending for their implementation Armenians are voting by their feet leaving the country forever.

Here is another statistic figures. Armenia has the greatest decline in birth rates in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The number of newborns in 2008 was two times less than in 1986. This once again testifies that Armenian citizens’ confidence in the future has reduced to a great extent.

But this is just top of the iceberg. Negative developments in Armenia will reach their critical point after process of opening the Turkish-Armenian border protracts, which will never open without liberation of Armenian-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as even the most zealous advocates of the current Armenian authorities admit.

Regular calls of Armenian authorities to their own citizens to wait a little longer are doomed to a very nervous perception with hard implications. Killing a hope is the most terrible killing. Even though this hope is built on blood and grief of neighboring people, for the sake of which the residents of a country yielded to persuasions of the successive heads of state and over a dozen years were denied an opportunity to build a normal happy life.