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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Armenians Reject Trade, Commerce with Turkey
- Many adults in Armenia believe their border with Turkey should not be reopened unless there is an acknowledgement of the genocide, according to a poll by the Gallup Organization. 57 per cent of respondents reject resuming cross-border travel and commerce.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey are still tense due to historical factors. In 1915, the government of the Ottoman Empire—formed by members of the Turkish nationalist Committee of Union and Progress (ITC)—ordered hundreds of thousands of Armenians to relocate from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia.
The state-sponsored deportation campaign led to a high number of Armenian fatalities, estimated at anywhere from 200,000 to 1.8 million. While some scholars believe the campaign was a deliberate attempt to exterminate Armenians, Turkey has never formally accepted the use of the term "genocide" to describe the event.
Yesterday, Turkish deputy prime minister Egemen Bagish discussed the situation, saying, "(Turkish prime minister Recep Tayip) Erdogan took a step that no one has ever taken. He declared that the Turkish people are ready to stand face-to-face with their past and offered discussions with Armenia if it can do the same. Armenians rejected to stand-face-to-face with their past and said they will make Turkey accept what they want. So, there is nothing to say in this case."
The poll was conducted with the support of the Armenian Sociological Association, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the International Republican Institute.
Polling Data
Do you agree or disagree with reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border, that is, the unconditional resumption of cross-border travel and commerce, without Turkish recognition of the genocide?
Agree | 39% |
Disagree | 57% |
Source: Gallup Organization / Armenian Sociological Association / U.S. Agency for International Development / International Republican Institute
Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Armenian adults, conducted in early August 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.