In a recent column, I reported that Turkey’s Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had indicated an interest in meeting with “Diasporan
leaders” to discuss Armenian demands emanating from the Genocide of 1915. In
response, I suggested that before Armenians consider meeting Davutoglu, he must
prove his sincerity by making eight preliminary concessions, one of which is
providing the Republic of Armenia special commercial access to the Turkish port
of Trabzon.
Last week, the Turkish website Gunebakis and other media
outlets reported the positive reaction of Muzaffer Ermish, General Manager of
the Trabzon Port: “In a recent article, Harut Sassounian, editor-in-chief of
the California Courier newspaper, pointed out that Turkish authorities were
actively pursuing the start of a dialog with the Armenian Diaspora, and further
contended that they were engaged in a series of meetings ahead of 2015, the
100th Anniversary of the Deportation. Sassounian, who advised the Diaspora not
to make conflicting demands from Turkish authorities, listed the demands that a
united Armenian delegation could make, including the demand that ‘Armenia be
given special commercial access to the Port of Trabzon.’” Gunebakis confirmed
that “Trabzon has given a green light to that request.”
However, the General Manager observed: “should the
Turkish government provide us with the necessary permission, we are ready.
Armenia can easily import and export through this location. The $7.5 billion
trade volume of Armenia would be an amazing event for Trabzon.” The Gunebakis
article, headlined “Armenia’s Eyes are on the Port of Trabzon,” indicated that
most of Armenia’s imports and exports currently pass through the Georgian Port
of Poti.
Port manager Ermish indicated the benefits of using
Trabzon instead of Poti. He pointed out that the distance from Trabzon to
Yerevan is 430 kilometers (270 miles). “While the Port of Poti provides the
advantage of a railroad link, there is a significant delay in shipments. On the
other hand, there is a convenient highway between Trabzon and Yerevan, which is
available at all hours of the day. From the Port of Trabzon to Alican
[Armenia’s Margara border crossing point] is 400 kilometers, and from there to
Yerevan the distance is only 30 kilometers…. Any vehicle that departs from our
location will be in Armenia within 6-7 hours, which is an unbelievable
advantage for that country,” Ermish stated.
The General Manager stressed that “Trabzon’s Port
capacity is capable of accommodating new projects,” and that “we have increased
the capacity of the Port from 3.9 to 10 million tons. We are only utilizing 25%
of the Port’s capacity. We are prepared for any commercial opportunity that
might present itself regarding Armenia.”
One can draw several conclusions from Port Manager
Ermish’s swift and positive reaction:
– This deal is in the mutual interest of both Armenia and
Turkey. Trabzon would utilize its port capacity more fully, while Armenia would
save on cargo handling fees, pay lower freight rates, and gain an alternate
land access to the outside world.
– The General Manager would not have made a public
announcement on the sensitive topic of cooperation with Armenia, unless he had
advance clearance from Ankara. It is possible that the Turkish government is
using Ermish’s positive statements as a trial balloon to gauge the degree of
support or opposition to such a move. While there has been no negative reaction
from anti-Armenian nationalist circles in Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenian
merchants have welcomed the Turkish gesture.
– Since the Trabzon Port’s Manager has announced that
Armenian cargo can directly cross the currently closed Armenian-Turkish border
rather than being rerouted through Georgia, even a limited opening of the
border for cargo shipments would eliminate the need for the highly
controversial Armenian-Turkish Protocols, once and for all.
Finally, a truly sincere gesture of reconciliation by Turkey
would be acknowledging that Trabzon was a major center of extermination during
the Armenian Genocide. A monument should be erected in Trabzon Port in memory
of thousands of Armenian women and children who were placed in boats and
cruelly dumped to drown in the Black Sea.
It should be clear that neither giving Armenia special
access to the Trabzon Port nor the erection of a monument could be considered
restitution for the Genocide. These are simply steps Turkish officials must
take to prove their good faith before Armenians can sit with them at the
negotiating table.
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