Author, journalist, and blogger Steve LeVine has just punched a new article about the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia … yet according to his Facebook feed, he is not being allowed to link to his own blog, as several FB users have issued complaints over the offensive nature of the column. Very strange stuff – not unlike our experience on this blog when YouTube pulled down videos we had posted on prison abuse because of all the sudden complaints (see the Wall Street Journal write up on the incident). For those intrigued by this kind of story, check out Evgeny Morozov’s excellent blog NetEffect on Foreign Policy.
Meanwhile, here is a bit from LeVine’s totally harmless article on the pact proposed by the Armenian president … though clearly after the trials of Orhan Pamuk we understand that many hardliners in Turkey do not see any historical relativism in these types of issues.
Yet, if the pact proceeds and the countries’ parliaments go on to ratify it — not a certainty by any means — one is led to wonder what else is possible in the region. Could Georgia and Abkhazia lower their voices? Could Georgia and Russia lower theirs? For that matter, could Russia concede that Georgia are Ukraine are independent countries?
All right, I’ve gone a bit too far. But you get the thrust — the political courage displayed by Armenian President Serge Sarkisian is notable; I myself witnessed the 1998 coup that brought down then-Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian when he himself was close to a peace deal with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.