The Current Discussion: Today is "Genocide Remembrance Day" in the Armenian community, a particularly strained time of year for Turkey and Armenia. What's a realistic first step forward toward reconciliation for each of these countries?
Gestures of acknowledgment of historical crimes and atrocities are critically important for an aggrieved people. They are an essential element in a series of steps that heal the trauma and allow individuals and countries to resume relatively normal lives. Especially for people subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide, acknowledgment of what happened to them is the critical first step towards restoring normal relations between the two concerned parties. Opening borders and normalizing trade and people-to-people exchanges are constructive steps that would allow people to get to know each other better and start to build new relationships based on respect and mutual benefits.
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