Lifeline for Kars just across the border
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Serdar Alyamaç
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 20, 2009 00:00
KARS - If trade is life, one could easily say the province of Kars in the northeast of the country is slowly losing its will to survive. While Turkey shut its border with Armenia as reparations to that country, the declining living standards, bankrupt economy and migration has left the people of Kars thinking they are the ones being punished.
Since the closure of the border with Armenia in 1993, an act of solidarity with Azerbaijan, the city’s economic development was arrested just when it was so close to taking off. The collapse of the Soviet Union had opened many opportunities for the city that borders both Armenia and Georgia, that it believed it was destined to be the gateway to the Caucasus and to Central Asia beyond.
Whomever one talks to in the city, an overwhelming desire to see the border with Armenia reopened is often followed with a cautious, "but." Once the hospitable people of this city start opening up though, the "but" becomes less intense.
Locals want the border to be opened but their desire for the promised economic advantages are tempered by the possibility of them being accused of being "Armenian lackeys" because of the perception towards Armenians and nationalist pressure that has built up over the years.
Kars Kafkas University Department of Economics president, Professor Mehmet Dikkaya, said ethnic divisions also played a part in the way people addressed the issue. "There are four main ethnic groups in the province. There are Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Karapalpaks and Turks," he said, Karapalpaks being a Turkic group with close ethnic links to the Kazakhs of Central Asia.
"We can say that Azerbaijanis and Karakalpaks are against any border opening while Kurds and Turks welcome the move," Dikkaya said.
He said the province was in dire straits in terms of its economic situation. "Kars has no trade potential. Of the 80,000 who live in the city, half have green cards," he said. Green cards provide free healthcare for the poor.
The only sector that keeps more or less creeping along is the traditional sector of animal husbandry, he said, with the industry based on dairy products.
"Its organized industrial zone is dormant. If the border is opened, Kars will become a center on a trade route and its production sector will pick up. The province shares 325 kilometers of border with Armenia and has two border gates. Average annual loss of trade in $700 million since 1993. If the border opens, Turkish exports will increase by $400 million. If only 20 percent of this passes through Kars, this region will be a paradise," said Dikkaya. He said Turkish goods were widely consumed in Armenia. "According to a recent study of ours, Armenia purchases $100 million worth of Turkish goods a year and all of it go via Georgia and Iran. We have also learned that there is no disapproval of Turkish goods there," he said.
Petition
The former mayor of the city, Naif Alibeyoğlu, who lost in the March 29 local elections after switching allegiances from the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said he had collected a petition for the opening of the border during his term in office. "I collected 50,000 signatures in a city with a population of 80,000. The economic life of Kars has been suspended since 1993. As a municipality, we can’t even collect taxes from the locals."
He said opening the border was the first step after which all bilateral problems between Armenia and Turkey would be resolved with subsequent steps. The prejudice Armenians feel toward Turks dies once they visit Kars, he said. "They told us they thought we were monsters. My granfather’s grandfather was killed by Armenians. There is no reason to keep bitter memories alive. Dialogue solves everything. Let’s open the border and start trading.
The real trade embargo is on Kars, not Armenia, says Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Ali Güvensoy, noting that airplanes from Armenia frequently land in Istanbul, Antalya and other regions.
"Turkish goods reach Armenia via Iran and Georgia and are sold more expensively. If there is an embargo, it is on Kars," he said. In explaining the industrial decline of the province, Güvensoy said the foundations of 44 factories were laid but only 23 were completed. "Nowadays, only 18 of them are operational and all 18 are focused on dairy products. There are a meat plant and a cement factory but after they were privatized, many workers were laid off. They will soon privatize the sugar factory," he said.
The region’s economy is now centered on public servants, said Güvensoy, and added that most locals had begun to pack up and leave in order to make a living elsewhere.
Still, he said, peace had to be established before the border was opened, adding, "We want access to Armenia but we need to make sacrifices and Armenia needs to withdraw from Nagorna-Karabakh."
Güvensoy gave the neighboring province of Iğdır and its border gate Nahchivan as an example to what trade could accomplish. "Trade there is booming. If the border is opened, ours will too."
Zeki Yağcı, a jewelry salesman for the last decade, wants the border to be opened. "Opening the border will attract investment and create opportunities for local businessmen. There is no commerce to speak of in our city. Iğdır used to be a district of Kars. Now it is a separate province and ahead of us. Why? Because there is cross-border trade there," he said.
Businessman Özfer Koçal said the local economy thrived when the border with Armenia was open before 1993. "Closed borders help no one. If there is an embargo on Armenia, it should encompass everyone. There are flights to Yerevan from everywhere. There is trade from Trabzon and Hopa. This embargo is a way of punishing Kars," he said. Koçal also admitted that a certain environment was needed before the border could be opened. "Nagorno-Karabakh, genocide claims and demand for land. If Armenia forgoes these, the doors should be opened," he said.
Shoe-shiner Hasan Perinçek sees the economic collapse first hand everyday, he said. "We definitely want the border to open. Here, the state is nowhere to be seen. Animal husbandry is the only way people earn a living. Let Armenia and Azerbaijan settle their own differences. The city is constantly shrinking because of all the economic hardship. The city will soon be empty. There are ’for sale’ signs everywhere. It seems like the city itself is for sale," he said.
Calls for caution
Shopkeeper Seyhan Karadeniz also wants the border to open. "There is no economy here. Winters are long and living is hard. If the border is opened, business will boom," he said. The fact that Armenians could go to Istanbul by plane while they couldn’t cross the border to Kars was a shame.
However, he also said the border could not be opened before the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was resolved.
Ahmet Sarar, who has been involved in textiles for the past 40 years, said the city was bankrupt but also noted that the historical animosity between Turks and Armenians could prove uncomfortable if the border was opened. "I have my doubts. If the border is opened, the rich there will purchase land here and their demands will increase. If the Armenians over here behaved, those across the border won’t," he said.
The head of Kars’ Association for Supporting Contemporary Living, or ÇYDD, Vedat Akçaöz, who is also a journalist, said during his visit to Armenia he had realized that the prejudices there could be ended easily.
"There, the elderly welcomed me and my associates as ’Kardaş’ [brother]. Unfortunately, the young are very prejudicial. A dialogue needs to be established as soon as possible," he said.
"There is serious trade between Trabzon and Armenia. What kind of embargo is this? And furthermore, what is important for us is the regional Turkic republics beyond Armenia. We don’t want to be the end of a one-way street. We want to be the gateway to the east," he said.
The opening of the border was just one part of a complicated matter, noted Akçaöz, adding that the public needed to be ready for what took place.
"If an Armenian comes here and something untoward happened, everything could get even worse. There is that kind of potential here which should not be ignored. We cannot ignore Azerbaijan, the Nagorno-Bkarabakh issue and Armenia’s demands. If the border is opened before these problems are resolved, there will be chaos," he said.
Whomever one talks to in the city, an overwhelming desire to see the border with Armenia reopened is often followed with a cautious, "but." Once the hospitable people of this city start opening up though, the "but" becomes less intense.
Locals want the border to be opened but their desire for the promised economic advantages are tempered by the possibility of them being accused of being "Armenian lackeys" because of the perception towards Armenians and nationalist pressure that has built up over the years.
Kars Kafkas University Department of Economics president, Professor Mehmet Dikkaya, said ethnic divisions also played a part in the way people addressed the issue. "There are four main ethnic groups in the province. There are Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Karapalpaks and Turks," he said, Karapalpaks being a Turkic group with close ethnic links to the Kazakhs of Central Asia.
"We can say that Azerbaijanis and Karakalpaks are against any border opening while Kurds and Turks welcome the move," Dikkaya said.
He said the province was in dire straits in terms of its economic situation. "Kars has no trade potential. Of the 80,000 who live in the city, half have green cards," he said. Green cards provide free healthcare for the poor.
The only sector that keeps more or less creeping along is the traditional sector of animal husbandry, he said, with the industry based on dairy products.
"Its organized industrial zone is dormant. If the border is opened, Kars will become a center on a trade route and its production sector will pick up. The province shares 325 kilometers of border with Armenia and has two border gates. Average annual loss of trade in $700 million since 1993. If the border opens, Turkish exports will increase by $400 million. If only 20 percent of this passes through Kars, this region will be a paradise," said Dikkaya. He said Turkish goods were widely consumed in Armenia. "According to a recent study of ours, Armenia purchases $100 million worth of Turkish goods a year and all of it go via Georgia and Iran. We have also learned that there is no disapproval of Turkish goods there," he said.
Petition
The former mayor of the city, Naif Alibeyoğlu, who lost in the March 29 local elections after switching allegiances from the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said he had collected a petition for the opening of the border during his term in office. "I collected 50,000 signatures in a city with a population of 80,000. The economic life of Kars has been suspended since 1993. As a municipality, we can’t even collect taxes from the locals."
He said opening the border was the first step after which all bilateral problems between Armenia and Turkey would be resolved with subsequent steps. The prejudice Armenians feel toward Turks dies once they visit Kars, he said. "They told us they thought we were monsters. My granfather’s grandfather was killed by Armenians. There is no reason to keep bitter memories alive. Dialogue solves everything. Let’s open the border and start trading.
The real trade embargo is on Kars, not Armenia, says Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Ali Güvensoy, noting that airplanes from Armenia frequently land in Istanbul, Antalya and other regions.
"Turkish goods reach Armenia via Iran and Georgia and are sold more expensively. If there is an embargo, it is on Kars," he said. In explaining the industrial decline of the province, Güvensoy said the foundations of 44 factories were laid but only 23 were completed. "Nowadays, only 18 of them are operational and all 18 are focused on dairy products. There are a meat plant and a cement factory but after they were privatized, many workers were laid off. They will soon privatize the sugar factory," he said.
The region’s economy is now centered on public servants, said Güvensoy, and added that most locals had begun to pack up and leave in order to make a living elsewhere.
Still, he said, peace had to be established before the border was opened, adding, "We want access to Armenia but we need to make sacrifices and Armenia needs to withdraw from Nagorna-Karabakh."
Güvensoy gave the neighboring province of Iğdır and its border gate Nahchivan as an example to what trade could accomplish. "Trade there is booming. If the border is opened, ours will too."
Zeki Yağcı, a jewelry salesman for the last decade, wants the border to be opened. "Opening the border will attract investment and create opportunities for local businessmen. There is no commerce to speak of in our city. Iğdır used to be a district of Kars. Now it is a separate province and ahead of us. Why? Because there is cross-border trade there," he said.
Businessman Özfer Koçal said the local economy thrived when the border with Armenia was open before 1993. "Closed borders help no one. If there is an embargo on Armenia, it should encompass everyone. There are flights to Yerevan from everywhere. There is trade from Trabzon and Hopa. This embargo is a way of punishing Kars," he said. Koçal also admitted that a certain environment was needed before the border could be opened. "Nagorno-Karabakh, genocide claims and demand for land. If Armenia forgoes these, the doors should be opened," he said.
Shoe-shiner Hasan Perinçek sees the economic collapse first hand everyday, he said. "We definitely want the border to open. Here, the state is nowhere to be seen. Animal husbandry is the only way people earn a living. Let Armenia and Azerbaijan settle their own differences. The city is constantly shrinking because of all the economic hardship. The city will soon be empty. There are ’for sale’ signs everywhere. It seems like the city itself is for sale," he said.
Calls for caution
Shopkeeper Seyhan Karadeniz also wants the border to open. "There is no economy here. Winters are long and living is hard. If the border is opened, business will boom," he said. The fact that Armenians could go to Istanbul by plane while they couldn’t cross the border to Kars was a shame.
However, he also said the border could not be opened before the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was resolved.
Ahmet Sarar, who has been involved in textiles for the past 40 years, said the city was bankrupt but also noted that the historical animosity between Turks and Armenians could prove uncomfortable if the border was opened. "I have my doubts. If the border is opened, the rich there will purchase land here and their demands will increase. If the Armenians over here behaved, those across the border won’t," he said.
The head of Kars’ Association for Supporting Contemporary Living, or ÇYDD, Vedat Akçaöz, who is also a journalist, said during his visit to Armenia he had realized that the prejudices there could be ended easily.
"There, the elderly welcomed me and my associates as ’Kardaş’ [brother]. Unfortunately, the young are very prejudicial. A dialogue needs to be established as soon as possible," he said.
"There is serious trade between Trabzon and Armenia. What kind of embargo is this? And furthermore, what is important for us is the regional Turkic republics beyond Armenia. We don’t want to be the end of a one-way street. We want to be the gateway to the east," he said.
The opening of the border was just one part of a complicated matter, noted Akçaöz, adding that the public needed to be ready for what took place.
"If an Armenian comes here and something untoward happened, everything could get even worse. There is that kind of potential here which should not be ignored. We cannot ignore Azerbaijan, the Nagorno-Bkarabakh issue and Armenia’s demands. If the border is opened before these problems are resolved, there will be chaos," he said.