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09/28/2004
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1) The New Turkish Penal Code to Criminalize Recognition of Armenian Genocide
2) Armenian Caucus Puts Spot Light on Azeri Rhetoric
3) French Foreign Minister Adds Weight to Turkey Referendum Recall
4) No Deals Announced after Fresh Turkish-Armenian Talks
5) Novelist Paulo Coelho to Visit Armenia
1) The New Turkish Penal Code to Criminalize Recognition of Armenian Genocide
European Armenian Federation calls on European Commission to end silence
BRUSSELS–Following recent attempts to criminalize adultery in the country,
the Turkish government bowed to European Union demands last Sunday and passed
the country’s penal code, without the law on adultery; it did, however, manage
to place several articles in its provisional penal code that threaten freedom
of speech. For example, Article 306 of the new Code would punish up to 15
years
individual Turkish citizens or groups “Acting against the fundamental national
interests for directly or indirectly receiving benefits from foreign
persons or
institutions.” According to the Explanatory Note of this article, written by
the Parliamentary Committee of Justice, a citizen who demands the
withdrawal of
Turkish soldiers from Cyprus or declares that the Armenian genocide actually
took place during the First World War, can be pursued by virtue of this
article.
In its condemnation of the article, the European Armenian Federation writes,
“This provision threatens authors with jail sentences over statements that are
construed by government officials to undermine Turkish “national interests.”
Examples of so-called offensive statements listed in the provisional law
include, “The Turkish Army must withdraw from Cyprus,” and “Armenians
endured a
genocide during the Ottoman era.” Some parliamentarians introduced an
amendment, which would mandate sanctions against authors and individuals, if
determined that their statements are motivated by “material interests.”
The provision gives no legal justification for the law, the Federation
explained, which remains fundamentally incompatible with the European
values of
free expression.
The European Commission scarcely reacted when the Turkish Ministry of
Education brought genocide denial into the classroom, by institutionalizing it
in the curriculum. A coalition of European NGOs expressed its concern about
the
denialist curriculum and called for the suspension of EC grants to the Turkish
educational system. The European Parliament also expressed its concern in the
Oostlander report on the Turkish application for EU membership.
“Today, far from repenting for the Genocide, Turkey now wants to include
denial of this crime in its penal code. Clearly, the indifference of the
European Commission is partially responsible for the hardening of the Turkish
position on this issue,” said the Chairperson of the European Armenian
Federation Hilda Tchoboian. “Prime Minister Erdogan’s about-face on the
adultery issue will simply be a media ploy if Europe does not demand that
Ankara grant full freedom of speech to its citizens. We call on political
parties, governments, and human rights organizations to urge the European
Commission to call for justice for the Armenian Genocide. It is unthinkable
that the Commission would not consider Turkey’s denialist position a key
obstacle to the initiation of preliminary talks,” added Tchoboian.
“Whether they are in favor of a European Turkey, or whether they are against
its accession, the Union’s democrats cannot tolerate these attacks on the
freedom of press and thought that have free reign in Turkey. It is time for
the
European Union to call on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide,”
concluded
Federation’s chairperson.
2) Armenian Caucus Puts Spot Light on Azeri Rhetoric
— Co-Chairmen Urge 141 Members of Caucus to Voice their Concerns in a letter
to President Bush
WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–Congressmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone
(D-NJ) this week called on their colleagues in the Armenian Caucus to ask
President Bush to publicly condemn Azerbaijan’s war rhetoric and other
increasingly bellicose remarks against the Republic of Armenia and Mountainous
Karabagh.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated this week, the Caucus Co-chairs
documented a series of violent threats on the part of senior Azerbaijan
leaders. Citing the dangers of remaining silent in the face of such angry
rhetoric, they urged their House colleagues to “join us in signing the
attached
letter to the President urging him and the Administration to condemn these
remarks and call upon the government of Azerbaijan to desist in making any
further threats against Armenia and Karabagh.” The letter to President Bush
stresses that, “efforts to reinforce stability and reduce the risk of conflict
are in the best interests of the United States and the region.”
3) French Foreign Minister Adds Weight to Turkey Referendum Recall
PARIS (EUobserver.com)–French foreign minister Michel Barnier has added his
weight to calls for a referendum on Turkey’s entry into the EU.
Speaking on September 27, Barnier said, “When it comes to such an important
decision, in my personal opinion, it should be put… to a referendum when the
time comes.”
This follows similar calls from French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy–seen
as a challenger to Jacques Chirac for the presidency–who told LCI television
on Sunday that Turkey will not join the European Union for at least 15 years
and could only do so once France had held a referendum on the issue.
Barnier recalled a precedent, saying, “we did it for the UK,” regarding a
referendum on the entry of the UK, Ireland, and Denmark in 1972, where France
voted to allow these three countries to join the bloc by a two-thirds
majority.
But polls show that similar support is not forthcoming for Turkey’s
admission.
A survey in Le Figaro showed that just over 36% French people are in favor of
Turkey joining the EU but over 56% are against.
Despite this, 63% say they would be prepared to accept Turkey as a member if
it makes the necessary efforts.
UP TO YOU
The Commission has declared that the organization of a referendum on Ankara’s
EU membership is a matter for member states.
Commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said, “If a member state wants to
organize a referendum, on whatever subject, this is up to its own discretion.
We have no comment on it.”
The Brussels executive will release its report–widely expected to be
positive–on October 6. Member States will then decide definitively in
December
whether to open negotiations.
4) No Deals Announced after Fresh Turkish-Armenian Talks
YEREVAN (RFE-RL)–The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey announced no
further progress towards the normalization of relations between the two
neighboring states following fresh talks in New York late on Monday.
A brief statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Vartan Oskanian and
his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, “explored bilateral issues as well as
regional concerns” during the meeting held on the sidelines of the ongoing
session of the UN General Assembly. There was no word on whether any
agreements
were reached by them.
Oskanian’s spokesman, Hamlet Gasparian, said that the two men again discussed
a possible reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border which Ankara has kept
closed since 1993 out of solidarity with Azerbaijan. “The issue of opening
borders is always discussed at meetings with Gul,” he said.
Gasparian did not give any details of that discussion, referring all
inquiries
to Oskanian. He also confirmed that the unresolved Mountainous Karabagh
conflict was on the agenda of the talks.
It was the fourth meeting between the two foreign ministers since June 2003.
Oskanian declared after the previous talks held in Istanbul in June that
Turkey
is “sincere” in its desire to normalize ties with Armenia.
The Karabagh conflict has until now been the key obstacle to improved
Turkish-Armenian relations, with successive Turkish governments refusing to
reopen the border before its resolution. One of Oskanian’s deputies, Ruben
Shugarian, said earlier this month that Karabagh is no longer the main Turkish
precondition for the lifting of Armenia’s blockade.
While in New York, Oskanian also met with US Undersecretary of State Mark
Grossman and Steven Mann, Washington’s top Karabagh negotiator. The meetings
followed the launch of what appears to be a new Karabagh peace initiative by
the US, Russian, and French mediators.
5) Novelist Paulo Coelho to Visit Armenia
YEREVAN–At the invitation of the Hamazkayin cultural organization,
influential
novelist Paulo Coelho will visit Armenia on October 4. Coelho will be
accompanied by Brazilian journalist Ruth De Aquino and Aztag Daily Newspaper
editor Khatchig Mouradian.
During his visit, the world-renowned novelist will lecture at the Yerevan
State University, meet with Armenian writers and artists, and participate in
the October 6 Hamazkayin-organized ceremony, which will mark the
publication of
the first Armenian-language translation of “The Alchemist.”
In an October 2003 interview with Coelho, Aztag’s Mouradian asked the author
if he loses “faith in mankind when you come face to face with the facts of
such
atrocities [as the Jewish Holocaust and Armenian genocide]?” to which he
responded: “Three days before receiving this interview, I was talking to my
driver in Paris, who happens to be Armenian, that I wish to go and visit his
country. I am fully aware of the genocide, of the Armenian diaspora, and I
want
to know–and to share–the situation of Armenia now. He is sending me what he
considers to be the best books on Armenia, and as soon as I finish, I will
probably go with him to his town. As for the faith on humankind, I am part of
it, and if I lose faith in myself, I am not worth living. Therefore,
instead of
blaming an abstraction, I should accept my responsibility, and fight to change
what can be changed.”
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