July 27, 2009 - 20:41 AMT
Turkey and Armenia involved in belated mutual acquaintance and communication
Despite all the psychological barriers and current political developments, which are not always encouraging, Turkey and Armenia are engaged in a belated process of mutual acquaintance and communication which, hopefully, will lead to reconciliation, Turgut Tuncel, Professor at Istanbul University Bilgi told a PanARMENIAN.net reporter.

"To reach accomplishment, both sides have to pay great attention to the sensitivities of the other side. One of the psychological barriers for Armenians is the feeling of being ignored, being disregarded by Turks or Turkish State," Tuncel said.

In his view, in this respect it must be recognized that Armenians did inhabited and inhabit Anatolia, the hostile and insulting rhetoric prevalent in school textbooks, popular media should be terminated, and the Armenian cultural heritage in Anatolia should be respected.
"Accordingly, recognizing the Armenian remnants in Anatolia as Armenian vestiges and renovating them as cultural heritages of Anatolia are of major importance. By this way, Turkey, not only can show Armenians that she respects Armenian people, but also provide the younger Turkish generations with a truthful historical consciousness," he said.