Ani Dialogue civil society platform established to support Armenian-Turkish reconciliation

July 11, 2010 - 18:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The South Caucasus and Turkey offices of the Heinrich Böll Foundation have established an Ani Dialogue process in cooperation with the Caucasus Institute, Today's Zaman reported.

Ani Dialogue, a new civil society platform between civil society organizations from Armenia and Turkey, aims at connecting the civil society in both countries as well as supporting the dialogue process and shaping regional policymaking.

“The special relation between Turkey and Armenia is revealed in the city of Ani. It is on the one hand a symbol of the rivalry of the states but on the other hand an example of a prospering culture and economic exchange in the area,” the offices note.

“Turkish-Armenian relations, which have been very tense even prior to the independence of Armenia, have been until now characterized by high-level politics and a top-down approach. Key words like 'football diplomacy' come to mind when thinking about the states' efforts for rapprochement,” said Heinrich Böll Foundation South Caucasus Director Dr. Iris Kempe, based in Tbilisi.

“In October 2009 Turkey and Armenia signed bilateral protocols on the opening of borders and establishment of diplomatic ties but ratification of the protocols by the two countries' parliaments has stalled. And the top-down approach is not likely to yield major successes in the nearest future,” she said.

Pointing out that contacts at the civil society level began even prior to the official rapprochement and have continued since its suspension, she said that despite this, the role of civil society in this rapprochement process has been totally ignored by diplomatic attempts.

“Yet experience shows that civil society initiatives in various parts of the world, such as the Petersburg Dialogue or the Commission on the Black Sea, have been known to contribute strongly to regional cooperation and peace. Bearing this in mind, the Ani Dialogue project wants to stress exactly this important factor in the rapprochement process and support the bottom-up dialogue,” she added.

The organizers invite applicants to participate in a meeting on Oct. 13-17 in Yerevan where five working groups, on culture and heritage, education and research, environment, human rights and democratization, and media and journalism, will be established.

At the plenary sessions, topics such as regional issues, questions of democratic, economic and political transformation and visions for a common future in peace will be discussed. The visit will also involve field trips and visits to meet experts and institutions in Armenia.

A press statement from the organizers indicated that applicants should be involved in civil society organizations, interested in a dialogue between Armenia and Turkey and motivated to establish links with civil society organizations on the other side of the Armenia-Turkey border. The deadline for application is Aug. 25.

The organizers have ambitious goals including supporting the rapprochement of Armenia and Turkey, involving representatives of the civil society of both countries in this process, revealing possible fields of cooperation for civil society actors, activating cooperation of civil society organizations, reducing the isolation of civil society organizations of the South Caucasus region and contributing to the policy-making of both Armenia and Turkey.