ASBAREZ Online [12-13-2004]

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12/13/2004
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) France Wants Turkey to Acknowledge Armenian Genocide 2) IUSY Resolution Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Genocide 3) Turkish Leader Warns of Terror Wave if EU Rejects Membership 4) Javakhk Armenians Discuss Region's Fate 5) ANCC Speaks out on Escalating Violence against Armenians in Iraq 6) President Lahoud Honors Dr. Haroutune Armenian 7) BRIEFS 1) France Wants Turkey to Acknowledge Armenian Genocide BRUSSELS (AFP/Reuters)--France wants Turkey to acknowledge the World War I massacre of Armenians during negotiations on its membership of the European Union, Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Monday. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Turkey had "a duty to remember." Barnier said France did not consider Turkish acknowledgment a condition of EU entry, but insisted his country would raise the issue once talks opened. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss plans to invite Turkey for accession talks, Barnier said, "It is a request that France will make, to recognize the tragedy from the start of the century...Turkey must carry out this task as a memorial." In addition, France believes that accession talks should not begin before the second half of 2005, Barnier said. Turkey has pushed for immediate negotiations. "I believe that when the time comes, Turkey should come to terms with its past, be reconciled with its own history, and recognize this tragedy," Barnier said. His comments drew no immediate official response from Turkey, which has consistently denied orchestrating genocide and the Armenian figures. A foreign ministry spokesman in the Turkish capital, Ankara, told Reuters that Turkey has never and will never recognize "any so-called genocide." France's Armenian community of about 300,000--more than in any other European country--has vowed to press President Jacques Chirac to prevent negotiations on Turkish membership of the European Union until Turkey acknowledged responsibility for the genocide. EU leaders are expected to give Turkey a conditional green light at a summit this week to start membership talks with the bloc, while setting a series of strict conditions and warning the whole process could take at least a decade. The Armenian genocide has been a bone of contention for nearly nine decades, with Turkey consistently refusing to acknowledge that genocide in 1915-1917, when up to 1.5 million Armenians died. The French parliament passed legislation in 2001, officially recognizing the Armenian genocide; relations with Turkey subsequently cooled significantly. Another 14 nations, including Switzerland, Russia and Argentina, also classify the killings as genocide. 2) IUSY Resolution Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Genocide YEREVAN (Yerkir)Prompted by the efforts of the Armenian Youth Federation, the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) adopted a resolution recognizing the 1915 genocide of the Armenian people during its two-day world congress, which convened on December 3 in the Chilean capital of Santiago. The resolution states that the "IUSY and its [member] organizations decide to pay their respect to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, which is to have its 90th anniversary on April 24, 2005; IUSY recognizes and condemns the described acts in order to obtain international recognition of the genocide committed against the Armenian people; and IUSY calls the European Union to recognize the Armenian Genocide." The delegates also resolved to discuss the issue of genocide recognition during its next world congress, to be held in South Africa next year. The youth organization of the Socialist International, the IUSY consists of 143 member socialist, social democratic, labor, and student organizations, representing over 100 countries. The AYF is a full member of the IUSY and was represented at the congress by a delegate from Argentina. 3) Turkish Leader Warns of Terror Wave if EU Rejects Membership ANKARA (Times Online)--Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told European Union leaders that they will pay a heavy price in continued and escalating violence from Islamic extremists if the EU rejects Turkey as a member and confirms itself as a Christian club. "Accepting a country that has brought together Islam and democracy will bring about harmony between civilizations. If, on the other hand, it is not welcomed, the world will have to put up with the present situation," he said, referring to terrorism by such groups as al-Qaeda--whose local affiliates hit Turkey last year, bombing the British consulate and three other targets in Istanbul. "That is the very clear and present danger and it is all around us today. There is nothing we can do if the EU feels that it can live with being simply a Christian club...but if these countries burn their bridges with the rest of the world, history will not forgive them." Erdogan's powerful warning came just days before the EU summit that will decide whether to start formal accession talks with Turkey and against a furious European debate about the effects of incorporating Turkey's 70 million, mainly Muslim, population into the Union. He was speaking before opening Istanbul's first modern art museum--an event he had ordered to be brought forward from early next year to help to project a modern image of his country ahead of the summit. After knocking on the EU's doors for four decades, Turkey is painfully aware that it is viewed abroad as a poor and backward country and that, despite its secular constitution, much of the West is currently afraid of its Muslim tradition. Erdogan is a declared "conservative democrat," but his background as an Islamic firebrand has led to so many questions that his face broke into a "not again" smile at the mere mention of the problem. "We are Muslim, we are Turkish, we are democratic, and our country is secular," he said, emphasizing every phrase. "Nothing else need be said." Nevertheless, he believed that the EU, in trying to add safeguards and get-out clauses in the draft for the talks, was discriminating against Ankara. "I am of the opinion that Turkey is being faced with tougher criteria compared to other candidate countries," he said. "No other country had to wait for 41 years at Europe's door. We have fulfilled all the criteria, but despite this, Europeans are hesitating." Although loath to say so, he feels upset, maybe even betrayed, by suggestions from some, including France, that Turkey might be offered an alternative form of association with the EU if talks fail. "There are 400,000 Turks already living in France...what have we done to make them so afraid? We find it hard to understand what it is the French do not understand about us that makes them so wary. There is no such thing in the EU as privileged partnership. No other country has been offered this and there is no way that we will accept such an option for Turkey," he said. He also rejected suggestions that talks could be open-ended. "At the end of membership negotiations either there is full membership or there is nothing. Full membership is not automatic anyway--it may be that we don't manage to fulfill our side of the bargain and it all ends in failure. So why hobble the process from the start?" Conditions other than the existing political and economic criteria would be unacceptable, he said, especially any permanent brake on the freedom of movement of Turks, millions of whom were already economic migrants in Europe. Turkey's economy has been transformed after a crisis in 2001, while numerous reforms, including the abolition of the death penalty, have improved the human rights situation and reduced the power of the military--an institution that staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and effectively wrote the present constitution. Erdogan acknowledged that the more difficult phase of implementing all these reforms lay ahead, but he was adamant that Turkey had done enough so far to begin negotiations. A former semi-professional football player, he resorted to sporting terms to describe the situation: "We are not bringing any conditions to this ourselves. But we are seeing here that new rules are being introduced while the game is being played. As this is unacceptable in a game of football, it is equally wrong in a process like this." Despite his criticism, he remains optimistic, saying that he expected to be offered a start date within the next year for talks with the goal of full membership. "In the last days of the Ottoman Empire, we were then called the sick man of Europe. Note, of Europe, never the sick man of Asia. You said so yourself," he said. 4) Javakhk Armenians Discuss Region's Fate AKHALKALAK (Armenpress)Ethnic Armenian non-government organizations in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe Javakheti held their first joint conference last Saturday to discuss the numerous social, economic, and cultural problems that plague the region's mostly Armenian population. Although interested in working with the Georgian government to help alleviate some of the community's problems, conference participants expressed concern over the central authorities' desire to forcefully integrate the region with the rest of the population, stripping it of its Armenian character. The conference outlined the nature of the crisis, its possible solutions, and moved to create a task force, which will seek to design development plans together with Georgian officials. Of those invitedGeorgian parliamentarians, foreign diplomats stationed in Georgia's capital city, Armenian government officials, and representatives of the UN, OSCE, and European Commissiononly the OSCE Tbilisi office representative joined conference participants. Ethnic Armenian parliamentarians who represent the region's population also failed to attend the meeting. 5) ANCC Speaks out on Escalating Violence against Armenians in Iraq MONTRÉALIn a statement released on Monday, the Armenian National Committee of Canada expressed outrage over the December 7 bombings of Kabul's Armenian and Chaldean churches. "The Armenian National Committee of Canada is deeply concerned over an increasing climate of anarchism in Iraqi cities. From the beginning of the contested occupation of Iraq, Christians in generalincluding Armenianshave been targeted by terrorist groups, and a considerable number have fallen victim. As reported by various news agencies, the spiritual sanctity of over six Armenian churches have been violated, and a number of parishioners have fallen victim to these aggressions," read the statement and concluded by calling on the country's authorities "to take measures for the security of the centuries old Armenian minority of Iraq." Echoing the language of the statement, ANC-Canada Chairman Dr. Girair Basmadjian, said, "Some of the oldest Christian monuments of the Middle-East have been attacked and damaged, if not destroyed. These acts remind us of a not so distant past, filled with unspeakable horrors that we most certainly would not like to see repeated. I call upon all concerned authorities to stop this disaster from escalating to outright religious conflict." 6) President Lahoud Honors Dr. Haroutune Armenian BEIRUT--On the decision of President Emile Lahoud, Dr. Haroutune Armenian was awarded Lebanon's Cedar Medal last week during a ceremony that marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the American University of Beirut (AUB). In speaking of Dr. Armenian's accomplishments, the Dean of AUB's Faculty of Health Sciences Huda Zurayk, said that his achievements and input in the medical field internationally, regionally, and locally have brought honor not only to the school, but to all of Lebanon. "For this reason, President Lahoud wanted to pay tribute to him." Dr. Armenian, a graduate of the Hamazkayin Nshan Palandjian Jemaran, studied medicine at AUB, specializing in internal medicine. He received his PhD in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and went on to head the School of Public Health there, as well as at AUB. He is currently the President and Dean of the American University of Armenia and a Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health. In detailing Armenian's accomplishments, associate Dean Iman Nuwayhid said, "He is truly a bridge between the east and west," never missing an opportunity to academically link Armenia, Lebanon, and the United Sates. In bestowing the honor to Dr. Armenian on behalf of President Lahoud, Health Minister Karam Karam said, "Dr. Armenian embodies the highest level of cultural cooperation." After accepting the award, Dr. Armenian shared the honor with his colleagues at the AUB Faculty of Health Sciences. He thanked President Lahoud and Health Minister Karam for the privilege, adding that the public health sector requires collective efforts, and he has been fortunate to have worked with excellent coworkers, professors, and students. As the first independent school of public health in the region, AUB's Faculty of Health Sciences has educated over 1700 public health and health sciences professionals, many of whom have made important contributions to the promotion of public health in Lebanon, the Arab region, and the world. 7) BRIEFS Armenia Has Plans for Rail Link with Iran YEREVAN (AP)--Armenia's transport minister announced plans for a railroad linking Armenia with its southern neighbor Iran. The government has drafted two alternate plans for the railroad's route inside Armenia, both leading to the border town of Meghri, said Andranik Manukian, adding that one would cost $760 million, the other $900 million. Although he did not specify the source of the funds, a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some financing could come from Iran and Europe. Construction began last month on a pipeline that is to bring Iranian natural gas to Armenia, easing its reliance on supplies from Russia via Georgia. Georgia Not to Impose Economic Sanctions against Armenia YEREVAN (Armenpress)--In an interview with Agence France Press agency, Georgia's foreign minister Salome Zurabishvili said her government enjoys good relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia. On the recent decision by Azerbaijan to shut down its cargo rail traffic to other Caucasus republics because it feared that some of the goods were being delivered via Georgia to Armenia, Zurabishvili said Tbilisi had agreed to prevent transit through its territory of military goods, but added, "We refuse to take any economic sanctions against Armenia." Commenting on Georgia's role in the Karabagh conflict, she said that if Georgia was anything other than neutral in the dispute, "we would enter into a logic of escalation which would be not only damaging for us and for our neighbors, but for the whole region." US Citizen Wins Court Case against Armenian Prosecutors YEREVAN (RFE-RL)--A US citizen of Armenian descent won a court case against Armenian prosecutors whom he accuses of covering up an alleged wholesale embezzlement of his business assets in Yerevan, his lawyer said on Friday. George Najarian, who has engaged in extensive charitable work in Armenia and Karabagh for the last 15 years, sued the Office of Prosecutor-General for its refusal to press fraud charges against his former local business representative. The man, Grigor Igitian, is the legal owner of a photo shop and two buildings currently constructed in downtown Yerevan. According to Najarian's attorney, the court recognized his client as a "victim" and ordered the Prosecutor-General's Office to resume the fraud inquiry. Pope John Paul II Might Help Armenian Pilots in E. Guinea YEREVAN (RIA Novosti)--Armenian Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan appealed to Pope John Paul II to help the Armenian pilots convicted in Equatorial Guinea for involvement in an alleged attempted coup d'etat. The court in Malabo delivered its guilty verdict on November 26, sentencing the captain of the Armenian crew to 24 years in prison and the rest to 14 years each. According to Alaverdian, the president of Equatorial Guinea will meet with Pope John Paul II in the near future. Lights Down in Majority of Georgian Districts TBILISI (Itar-Tass)--Lights went down in the majority of Georgian districts on Sunday because of an emergency shutdown of several power lines and a unit of the Inguri hydropower plant. Electricity imports from Armenia stopped late Saturday night because of the emergency shutdown of the Alaverdi power line, which supplies 100 megawatts of electricity to Tbilisi and another 60 megawatts to Georgian areas bordering on Armenia. One of the two units of the Inguri hydropower plant stopped functioning for several hours Sunday night due to technical reasons. Armenian Parliament Tightens Laws on Smoking YEREVAN (AP)--Armenia's parliament voted to tighten restrictions on smoking Friday, approving legislation that will hike fines and outlaw lighting up in schools and in other public places. The legislation, passed by the National Assembly, calls for fines of up to 100,000 drams ($200) for violators and also bans smoking by teenagers under 16. The legislation, which goes into effect in January, will also prohibit smoking in cultural institutions and at sporting events. Packs of cigarettes and other tobacco products that do not have medical warnings on them about the dangers of smoking will be destroyed. The World Health Organization estimates that 63.7 percent of Armenian men are smokers--the highest rate in Europe. Classical European Film Festival Starts in Yerevan YEREVAN (Arminfo)--The European Film Festival kicked off on December 13 in Yerevan's Moscow theater with a showing of the German film "Good Bye Lenin." The festival is organized by EU Mission Offices in Armenia and Georgia, in cooperation with French, German, Italian, Greek, and Polish embassies, as well as British Council Office in Armenia. The proceeds from ticket sales will be used for charitable purposes. 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