EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B – 1000 BRUSSELS
Tel. +32 (0)2 732 70 26
Tel. /Fax. +32 (0)2 732 70 27
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Talline Tachdjian
Tel. +32 (0)2 732 70 26
October 18th, 2004
FIRST EUROPEAN ARMENIAN CONVENTION ATTRACTS HUNDREDS
— FEATURES LEADING EUROPEAN UNION EXPERTS
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (18 October 2004) – In a landmark event that brought over
two hundred and fifty Armenian advocacy leaders from more than fifteen
European nations, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy
(EAFJD) today held the opening day of the first ever Convention of European
Armenians in the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.
The Convention, which is taking place at a critical time for the more than
two million Armenians living in the European Union, provided a forum for
scholarly discussion, rigorous debate, and consensus-building on the role of
Armenian culture and identify within the Europe, the implications of
Turkey’s candidacy for the European Union, and the expansion of the EU’s
“neighbourhood” to include the countries of the Caucasus. Today’s program,
which included the first two of the Convention’s sessions, featured
presentations by senior European policy-makers, intellectuals, and community
leaders. Each presentation, which was simultaneously translated in the
French, English, and Armenian, was followed by a question and answer
session. The day’s events ended with a reception in the European Parliament
building.
WELCOMING REMARKS
The Convention opened with remarks from Francis Wurtz, (MEP -European United
Left), the Chairman of the European Parliament host committee for this
program. His remarks were followed by Ruben Shugarian, the Deputy Foreign
Minister of the Republic of Armenia, whose responsibilities include Armenian
diplomacy toward Europe and the Western Hemisphere. A welcoming speech was
made by EAFJD Chairperson Hilda Tchoboian, who followed her remarks by
inviting Toros Sagherian, the Chairman of the Forum of Armenian Associations
of Europe, to offer his thoughts to those in attendance. Messages of
support were read from the H.H. Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians,
H.H. Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House Cilicia, and His Beatitude Nerses
Bedros, XIXth Patriach of Armenians Catholics.
ARMENIAN CULTURE ET IDENTY IN EUROPE
The first session covered the issue of “Armenian Culture and Identity in
Europe,” a topic of pressing concern to community leaders committed to
seeing the Armenian contribution to Europe fully recognized and appreciated.
The four member panel was chaired by Alexis Govciyan, the Chairman of
“Europe de la Memoire.” The discussion started with a presentation, titled
“The European Linguistic Policy: Commission’s Planning 2004-2006,” by
Jacques Delmoly, the Head of the Language Policy Unit in the European
Commission’s Directorate General. He stressed the importance the Commission
places on promoting a favourable climate for the learning of languages based
on a policy of linguistic diversity in an environment of integration. He
spent considerable time, both in his presentation and during questions and
answers, explaining the role of the Armenian language – which he cited as an
official European minority language – within this system of language
education.
Delmoly’s official perspective on Armenian language education was followed
by Haroutioun Kurkjian, an Athens-based author of Armenian language text
books. After reviewing the context in which the Armenian community has
evolved within Europe, Kurkjian, in his presentation on “The Armenian
Culture and the European Union,” stressed the need for the European Union to
create a favourable environment for multiculturalism, one that is conducive
for the development of Armenian language and culture. He noted his
dissatisfaction with the failure of schools and the media to sufficiently
propagate the Armenian language, and called for the European Armenian
community to undertake the gradual “cultural rearming” of the Armenian
diaspora.
The third speaker on the first panel was Prof. Mihran Dabag, the Director of
the Institute of Diasporas and Genocide at Bochum University in Germany.
His comments, titled “The Armenian Experience in the Context of European
Policies of Remembrance,” examined European attitudes and policies dealing
with the Armenian Genocide and other aspects of Armenian history within the
context of traditional and modern European models of remembrance. He noted
that Europe’s remembrance has not normally been understood as including the
Armenian Genocide, despite the fact that this crime falls well within the
European experience on a number of fronts. The Armenian Genocide should be
recognized as part of European history, he argued, not simply as an element
of the Turkish-Armenian relationship. Prof. Dabag cited the new Turkish
Penal Code, which criminalizes discussion of the Armenian Genocide, as a
prime example of Turkey’s refusal to come to terms with this matter.
Europe, he said, needs to provide a political answer to the political issue
of Turkey’s genocide of the Armenian nation. Moving beyond the Genocide
issue, he stressed that the Armenian community must make concerted efforts
to create a framework that will ensure that Armenian literature is accepted
by Europeans as part of their own tradition.
The final speaker in the first panel was Jules Mardirossian, Chairman of the
Armenian Studies, Information and Documentation Center in France. The
comments by this long-time intellectual and community leader, were on the
theme of “New Identities, Political Challenges and the Issue of Transfer of
Culture.” In his presentation, Mardirossian explored the transformation of
individual and collective identity and values of Armenians in Europe.
Starting with a theoretical discussion of the nature of identity, he then
described the reality of the post-modern, traditional, and transitional
models of Armenian community identity today. Mardirossian ended his
sweeping review of the identity challenges and opportunities facing the
Armenians of Europe with the insight that culture without politics cannot
survive, while politics without culture is sterile.
Questions for the first panel included requests for additional insights into
how to secure EU funding for Armenian language education, the potential loss
of the Melkonian School as a center of Diasporan education, and the broader
neglect of identity building outside of Armenia. A spirited exchange on
these issues lasted an hour, and was only adjourned to make time for the
group to break for lunch.
EU-ARMENIA RELATIONS
The second session, chaired by EAFJD Executive Director Laurent Leylekian,
moved the focus of discussion from Armenian identity within the Europe to
the EU’s relations with Armenia. This topic began with insights from
Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin, MEP, the Chairwoman of the EU-South Caucasus
delegation. As the point person in the European Parliament on engagement
with Armenia and its Caucasus neighbours, Isler-Beguin began by noting the
EU’s concern about the Armenian Cause, and stressing her appreciation of the
fact that the concerns raised by Armenians about Turkey’s candidacy are
founded in fact. While noting that the EU should use its leverage over
Turkey’s entry to bring an end to the blockade of Armenia, she added that
she believed that, in time, Turkey would accept its past and mutual
interests would prevail over mutual hostility. On the topic of EU-Armenia
relations, Isler-Begiun stated that European institutions would welcome
progress by the Caucasus countries toward the EU family. She specifically
expressed encouragement about Armenia’s acceptance into the EU’s new
neighbourhood program, the values that the EU and Armenia share, and the
prospect for continued cooperation between Europe and Armenia on specific
projects.
The second speaker, Vicken Tchitetchian, serves as Armenia’s Ambassador to
the European Union. He provided an in-depth review of the current status
and future prospects for expanded EU-Armenia relations. He pointed out that
European integration was not being imposed from the outside, but rather
sought by the Armenian government, which is moving this process forward in a
realistic and practical manner. Amb. Tchitetchian stressed that Armenia has
made progress in its key areas of reform, despite the fact that its
neighbour to the West has sought, using the last closed border in Europe, to
hinder its progress at every turn.
Also presenting as part of the second panel was Vahan Zanoyan, the CEO of
the Petroleum Finance Corporation and a world-renowned expert on
international energy issues. Zanoyan reviewed the history and current
status of the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan pipeline and its implications for Armenia.
He focused on two pressing challenges for backers of the pipeline, namely
financing, which has largely been resolved via multilateral agencies, and
the sufficiency of oil throughput for the line’s viability, which remains an
open question. He then spent considerable time offering his insights on the
geopolitics of the pipeline and its impact on Armenia and the region.
Richard Tibbels, the Armenian Desk Officer of the European Commission’s
Directorate General, offered a presentation on “EU-Armenia relations:
Challenges and Opportunities.” Tibbels, who works on a daily basis with the
Armenian government, stressed that Armenia has made considerable progress
across a number of reform areas – including alignment with European legal
standards, membership in the World Trade Organization, and in its poverty
reduction efforts. He also pointed out areas for improvement, including the
conduct of the 2003 presidential elections, respect for human rights, and
the need to address income disparity and corruption as the economy grows
stronger. The neighbourhood program is not a gateway to prospective EU
membership, but nor does it, he explained, in any way close the door to
future participation in the European Union. Tibbels closed by noting the
critical role that Europe’s Armenian community plays in bringing the EU and
Armenia closer together.
The next presentation began with an announcement by Amb. Tchitetchian that
the speaker – Demetrio Volcic – had been awarded the “Mkhitar Gosh” award in
recognition of his support for the rule of law and the virtue of justice.
Volcic, a former member of the European Parliament, noted that the EU has
adopted a new pattern of thinking about areas on its borders. The EU, he
said, can no longer afford to ignore the Caucasus region, and should devote
increasing attention to Turkey’s policies toward Armenia.
Volcic was followed by Armand Sarian, a noted economist from France, who
spoke on the topic of “Economic Relations between Armenia and the EU.”
Sarian began by noting the economic importance of this relationship, on
issues ranging from investment to foreign aid. He stressed the progress
Armenia has made on economic issues, despite its lack of resources, the near
total orientation of its economy to Soviet markets, the 1988 earthquake, and
the ongoing Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades. He underscored the need to
continue Armenia’s growth, to foster the conditions for peace, and to make
Armenia increasingly attractive to outside investors.
The final speaker of the day was Prof. Otto Luchterhandt, who teaches
International Law at the University of Hamburg. In his remarks, he outlined
a compelling historical and legal case for Nagorno Karabagh’s right to
self-determination. In addition, he sharply criticized the EU’s
inconsistency in identifying serious shortcoming in Turkey’s willingness to
meet clear European standards, while still recommending that Turkey begin
talks toward eventual membership. He stated his strong opposition to any
actions by the EU that position it as a neutral party in the matter of the
Armenian Genocide. The proper role for the EU, he argued, is in the morally
correct position of pressing Turkey to come to terms with this crime.
During the discussion period after this presentation, Deputy Foreign
Minister Shugarian repeated a point he had made several weeks earlier that
Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide represents a security issue
for the Republic of Armenia. Other topics raised in questions included
whether the EU was fully using its leverage to press Turkey to meet
international norms domestically and in its conduct with neighbouring
states. Other issues for discussion included Armenia’s economic integration
with Europe and the need for a differentiated EU approach to the Caucasus
countries based on the merits of their respective progress in economic and
political reforms.
Additional news about the second day of the Convention will be forthcoming.
The EAFJD represents more than 300 Armenian organizations in Europe.