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03/07/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ANCA Web Fax Campaign Urges Pres. Bush to Speak With Moral Clarity on the Armenian Genocide 2) ARF Bureau Member Meets with PES Secretary General 3) EU Raps Turkey on Police Violence 4) Former US Envoy Backs Armenian Genocide Recognition 5) Turkey Accused of Misleading EU over Resettlement 6) Turkey Renames ~QArmenian~R Animals 1) ANCA Web Fax Campaign Urges Pres. Bush to Speak With Moral Clarity on the Armenian Genocide WASHINGTON, DC--In light of discrepancy in policy of US complicity in Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide in recent weeks, the Armenian National Committee of Armenia began its WebFax Campaign asking for moral clarity and principled leadership in the coming weeks. On the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, send a free ANCA WebFax urging President Bush, once and for all, to bring an end to the shameful policy of US complicity in Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide. The letter asks Pres. Bush ~Sto adopt a new approach to our nation's policies on the proper recognition, official commemoration, and contemporary implications of the first genocide of the 20th century.~T It also urges the President to ~Sabandon the policy of opposing legislative and other initiatives--in Congress, at the state level, and by municipal governments--to recognize and commemorate the Armenian Genocide, as well as end all forms of official US complicity in Turkey's campaign of genocide denial, and use the full moral standing and geopolitical influence of the White House to press Turkey to acknowledge this crime, accept its responsibilities, and come to terms with the Armenian nation.~T In February 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush (campaigning for votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan Republican primary) pledged to properly characterize the genocidal campaign against the Armenian people. In subsequent statements, Pres. Bush has consistently evaded references to the Armenian genocide and consistently opposed legislation marking this crime against humanity. In February of this year, US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans, in town hall meetings with Armenian communities in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Fresno and San Francisco, spoke openly and candidly about the Armenian genocide. Under apparent pressure from the Turkish government and its surrogates, he later issued a statement noting that his private views on this subject did not represent a change in official US policy. Send an ANCA WebFax asking the President to honor his pledge to properly recognize the Armenian genocide by visiting <; 2) ARF Bureau Member Meets with PES Secretary General YEREVAN (Yerkir)--ARF Bureau Member Mario Nalbandian met with the Secretary General of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Philip Cordery, at the organization's headquarters. The two Socialist leaders spoke about the political situation in Armenia, Turkey' accession to the European Union (EU), and the EU's "New neighborhood Wider Europe" policy. After a brief presentation about the ARF, Nalbandian discussed the ARF's role in the governmental coalition, stressing the party's aim of promoting stability and democracy. Regarding Turkey's European Union candidacy, Nalbandian noted the importance of the recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey during the negotiations between Brussels and Ankara. He said that "this issue is not emotional, but rational." He explained that Turkey's aggressive policy against Armenia and Armenians is linked to the genocide itself, and asked the Party of European Socialists to closely scrutinize Turkey's actions as part of the broader effort to guarantee the security and stability of the South Caucasus. 3) EU Raps Turkey on Police Violence ANKARA (Reuters)--The European Union has condemned the use of violence by Turkish police against women demonstrators and urged Turkey to fully implement all human rights reforms aimed at preparing the country for EU membership. Television footage showed Turkish police kicking and beating women's rights protesters on Sunday during an unauthorized demonstration in Istanbul just as senior EU officials arrived in the country for three days of talks on Turkey's EU bid. "We have been very concerned to see such disproportionate use of force against demonstrators," said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. Luxembourg holds the EU's rotating presidency. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul promised a full investigation into the incident and said Turkey remained fully committed to meeting all EU norms as it prepares for entry negotiations, which are due to start on October 3. Asselborn urged Turkey to keep up the momentum of its reforms, including a 'zero tolerance' policy towards torture and full property rights for non-Muslim religious groups. Gul rejected recent criticism by EU officials and Turkish media that Ankara has been dragging its feet over the EU process since winning its October 3 date for talks at a historic summit in Brussels last December. He attributed the impression of recent inactivity to the big reform push ahead of the December summit, jokingly comparing Turkey to a "doped-up" athlete racing for the finishing line. "Now we continue our work at a more normal pace," he said. 4) Former US Envoy Backs Armenian Genocide Recognition YEREVAN (RFE-RL)--A retired diplomat who served as the United States' first ambassador to Armenia has joined calls for the international recognition of the Armenian genocide, echoing surprise statements on the subject made by the current head of the US mission in Yerevan. Over the weekend, Ambassador Harry Gilmore said the extermination of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey fits the definition of genocide set by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. "There is no doubt that the Armenian events were genocide," Gilmore said. "Of course, we have to bear in mind that the Genocide Convention came well after the events in the Ottoman Empire," he added. "I think legally there is no question of the convention applying retroactively. But the key point is that the convention sets up a standard and the massacres and deportations of the Ottoman Armenians meet that standard fully." Gilmore argued that Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish author of the word "genocide," referred not only to the Jewish Holocaust but also the events of 1915-1918 when he came up with the concept following the Second World War. "In fact, when Mr. Lemkin coined the term genocide the Armenian events were one of the two archetypes he used in his work," he said. Gilmore, who served as ambassador to Armenia from 1993-1995, was the first US government official to visit and lay flowers at the genocide memorial in Yerevan. But both he and his two successors consistently avoided calling the systematic deportation and massacres of the Armenians a "genocide" in line with Washington's policy on the highly sensitive subject. Successive White House administrations have been anxious not to upset Turkey, a major US ally which strongly denies that the government of the crumbling Ottoman Empire pursued a premeditated policy of exterminating its Armenian population. Ankara also claims that the Armenian death toll is inflated. John Evans, the current US ambassador in Yerevan, therefore took many observers by surprise when he declared at a series of meetings with members of the Armenian-American community last month that the Turks did commit "the first genocide of the 20th century." The remarks fueled speculation about a pro-Armenian shift in the US government's position on the issue. But Evans denied it, saying in a statement last week that he expressed his personal opinion. A senior official from George Bush's administration stated that Evans's statements "absolutely contradict the policy of the US government." Gilmore declined to comment on possible implications of Evans's statement. "Because I am outside the US government now, I have no insider knowledge of what his communication with the US government might be on the issue," he said. "From my thorough study of the events of that period I am persuaded that they do indeed constitute a genocide," he added. Evans likewise told members of the Armenian-American community that he studied the subject in detail and consulted with a State Department lawyer before going on record. Leading Armenian-American organizations were quick to commend him. 5) Turkey Accused of Misleading EU over Resettlement ANKARA (HRW)--Turkey's government was accused on Monday of misleading the European Union about progress made in resettling nearly 400,000 people displaced by the civil war between the army and Kurdish separatists in the 1980s and 1990s. Human Rights Watch alleged the government had exaggerated the number of people returning to their villages and farms in the southeast of the country last year, just as EU political leaders were deciding whether to invite Turkey to join the EU. The organization said the government's claim that one-third of the estimated 378,000 mainly Kurdish refugees were being helped to return home was "unreliable." It said its own investigation showed that in some places, the number was less than a fifth of the official estimates. "Our analysis found that the official statistics are not entirely reliable, and that permanent returns are running at a much lower rate than indicated," Human Rights Watch said in a report issued on Monday. It said many villagers were reluctant to return because their homes and villages had been destroyed and were often without electricity, telephone lines, education, or health facilities. Assistance with reconstruction was "minimal or non-existent." Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division, accused paramilitary village guards of "attacking and killing" returnees in some parts of the region. She said a visiting EU delegation should put the issue of returnees at the top of its agenda. The resettlement of people displaced by the civil war is a benchmark of Turkey's chances of joining the EU, and the government has pledged to facilitate their return. The refugees were forced out of villages and farms across a swathe of the south-east by the armed forces in their campaign against PKK rebels. 6) Turkey Renames ~QArmenian~R Animals ANKARA (AP)--Turkey is renaming three indigenous animals to eliminate references to Kurdistan and Armenia, the Environment and Forestry Ministry announced Friday, saying the old names were given by foreigners with designs on the country's unity. A species of red fox known as "Vulpes Vulpes Kurdistanica" will now be known as just "Vulpes Vulpes," a species of wild sheep called "Ovis Armeniana" was changed to "Ovis Orientalis Anatolicus," and a type of deer known as "Capreolus Capreolus Armenus" was renamed "Capreolus Cuprelus Capreolus," a ministry statement said. "Unfortunately, foreign scientists, who for many years researched Turkey's flora and fauna, named plant and animal species that they had never come across before with a prejudiced mind-set," the statement said. "Unfortunately, there are many species in our country that were named in this way with ill intent. This ill intent is so obvious that even species that are endemic to our country were given names that are against our unitary structure," the statement added. The ministry said the new names were chosen through scientific research. It was not clear why Turkish authorities have waited until now to change the names. It was also not clear if the name changes would be internationally recognized. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.