ASBAREZ Online [06-12-2006]

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06/12/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) ANCA Calls on Senators to Demand Full Explanation of Evans Firing 2) Armenian And Azeri Foreign Ministers to Resume Karabagh Talks 3) Swiss FM Condemns Demolition of Cemetery; Reaffirms Genocide Recognition 4) EU Resumes Talks with Turkey despite Cypriot Objections 5) US Will Never Recognize Northern Cyprus 1) ANCA Calls on Senators to Demand Full Explanation of Evans Firing WASHINGTON, DC--The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) urged US Senators Friday to demand a full and open explanation of the highly controversial firing of the current US Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, before the Senate moves to confirm a new envoy to Yerevan. In June 9 letters, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian encouraged Senators to vigorously investigate the reasons behind the Administration~Rs decision to recall the Ambassador more than a year prior to the end of his normal term of office. The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Fresno Bee have reported that the State Department~Rs actions against Ambassador Evans were due to his comments, made during February 2005 speeches to Armenian American audiences, accurately and openly describing the Armenian genocide as a clear instance of genocide. Despite more than 60 Members of Congress having called for an official explanation of the Administration~Rs policies and actions on this matter, over the past four months the White House and State Department have yet to offer any meaningful explanation about the dismissal of this highly-regarded, 35 year veteran of the Foreign Service. Hachikian stressed, in his letters, that, ~SThe US Senate cannot, in good conscience, approve the nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until the circumstances of the current envoy~Rs highly controversial firing are fully, officially, and openly explained to Congress and the American people. More broadly, the Administration needs to honestly explain its policies and actions concerning the Armenian genocide. This is especially true given that serious questions remain unanswered concerning the role that a foreign nation--the Turkish Government--played in Ambassador Evans~R firing.~T The ANCA letter closed with Hachikian urging Senators to delay the final approval of the incoming ambassador until the Administration clearly and openly explains its policies and actions in connection to the firing of Ambassador Evans. Hachikian~Rs letters to the 18 members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee addressed their special oversight during the panel~Rs upcoming confirmation hearing for the President~Rs nominees to serve as the next Ambassador to Armenia. 2) Armenian And Azeri Foreign Ministers to Resume Karabagh Talks YEREVAN (RFE/RL/Yerkir)--Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said on Monday that he will fly to Paris early Tuesday for talks with his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov to continue talks on the Karabagh conflict settlement. ~SI don~Rt know yet whether the negotiations will be direct or in the so-called proximity format,~T he told reporters, adding that they were initiated by the American, French, and Russian mediators. The Paris meeting will come just one week after the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan held two days of intensive negotiations to reach a framework agreement in Bucharest. That meeting did not end with and agreement. Oskanian said that there is still a chance for peace. ~SThere are still unresolved problems,~T he said. ~SBut there are also difficult issues on which we had for years failed to agree but on which there is agreement now. So there is that positive element in the process.~T He declined to disclose those issues or give other details of the talks. Oskanian added that during their meeting, he and Mamedyarov will also discuss another meeting between the two countries~R presidents. 3) Swiss FM Condemns Demolition of Cemetery; Reaffirms Genocide Recognition YEREVAN (Yerkir/RFE/RL)--Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey condemned Azerbaijan~Rs destruction of the centuries-old Armenian cemetery in Julfa, Nakhichevan during an official visit to Armenia on Monday. ~SDuring my latest visit to Azerbaijan I stressed the importance of maintenance of cultural heritage. We condemn the demolition of the Armenian cemetery in Old Julfa in Nakhichevan by an order of the Azeri authorities,~T said Calmy-Rey at a news conference in Yerevan. She said that Switzerland has appealed to UNESCO about the matter and the PACE Committee on Protection of Cultural Heritage will pay a visit to the site in September. During her visit, Calmy-Rey also reaffirmed her country~Rs recognition of the Armenian genocide committed against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. ~SThe Armenian genocide has been recognized in Switzerland at different levels, including the federal, cantonal, and municipal levels,~T Calmy-Rey said. She cited a ~Ssubstantial capital of sympathy~T for the Armenians existing among the Swiss as a major reason for that. In a move that enraged Turkey, the Swish federal parliament overwhelming voted for a resolution in December 2003 that described the slaughter of an estimated 1.5 Armenians as genocide. The vote came two months after the Turkish government angrily called off Calmy-Rey~Rs planned visit to Ankara in protest against a similar resolution passed by the Swiss canton of Vaud. The visit eventually took place in March 2005, with Calmy-Rey publicly urging Turkey to ~Sconduct an in-depth historical research of its own past, especially when the question is so painful.~T Relations between Ankara and Bern further deteriorated over the prosecution by Swiss authorities of two prominent Turks who denied that the Armenian massacres constituted a genocide during separate trips to Switzerland. Swiss law forbids public denial of the Armenian and other genocides. ~SSwitzerland makes periodical efforts to improve Turkish-Armenian relations, but it has not had much success so far,~T Calmy-Rey told a news conference. She said she hopes a normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey will be facilitated by further progress towards resolution of the Karabagh conflict. According to official Armenian sources, Calmy-Rey~Rs talks with President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian focused on ways of increasing the presently modest volume of Swiss-Armenian commercial ties. Kocharian was also cited by his press service as praising the Swiss government for providing $34.4 million worth of economic and humanitarian assistance to Armenia in recent years. 4) EU Resumes Talks with Turkey despite Cypriot Objections LUXEMBOURG (AFP)--The European Union clinched a last-minute deal to start detailed membership talks with Turkey, overcoming Cypriot objections and narrowly avoiding a new crisis for the beleaguered bloc. But EU Foreign Ministers warned that tension between Turkey and Cyprus risks clouding the talks so long as Ankara refuses to normalize ties with the Greek Cypriot Government in Nicosia. "Failure to implement its obligations in full will affect the overall progress in the negotiations," it said in a carefully-worded compromise formula to appease Nicosia and keep pressure on Ankara. The deal paved the way for the vast, mostly-Muslim state to start concrete talks eight months after it secured a landmark green light from the EU. "It's good that the EU found a way out of this situation," said Turkey's ambassador to the EU, Volkan Bozkir. "The good thing is we have achieved a result and the difficulties have been eliminated." Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who had insisted on staying in Ankara until a deal was reached, was expected to fly into Luxembourg later in the day for a formal ceremony opening the talks. Ankara was approved to start accession talks with the EU last October, but only after allaying critics who wanted Turkey to be offered a "privileged partnership" rather than full EU membership. But Cyprus, which as a member state has power of veto, had been refusing to agree to the first detailed talks until Turkey recognized the Greek Cypriot Government and fully implemented the so-called Ankara protocol. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the island with Greece. Monday's talks were on science and research, the first and possibly the least contentious of 35 policy "chapters" to be covered during negotiations with Ankara which are expected to last at least a decade. The Greek-Cypriot Government had pressed for the accord with Turkey to include an explicit reference to the need for Ankara's recognition, and ratification of the Ankara pact to allow Cypriot ships and planes into Turkey. But other EU states had argued for simply a reference in the text to an EU declaration made last September which itself set out in details the demands. In the event, the key paragraph at the center of the diplomatic dispute steered a fine line between the two versions--and included the clear warning to Ankara. French Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy echoed the warning to Turkey, saying: "If at any moment the (EU) commission judges that the criteria are not met we should not be afraid to say it." Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan shrugged off the threat, referring dismissively to "a part of Cyprus." "Currently I do not believe... members of the European Union would pay a lot of attention to that veto of a part of Cyprus," he said, speaking during a visit to Croatia. More broadly, Turkey's EU hopes have been seriously clouded by the institutional turmoil into which the European bloc was plunged last year, when French and Dutch voters torpedoed the EU's hard-fought constitution. Public skepticism over EU enlargement, and specifically over plans to take in country so vastly different from mainland Europe, was widely cited as a reason for the "no" votes. "We're in a different game now. Everyone is much more cautious," said one diplomat. 5) US Will Never Recognize Northern Cyprus WASHINGTON, DC (Anadolu)--Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried said Turkey should open its sea ports and airports to Cyprus if it hopes to become a member of the European Union. He also said that the US will never recognize the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and only aims to reunite the island. At a conference held by the Greek Cypriots, Fried said, ~STurkey should open its ports to Cyprus ships and airplanes and fulfill its responsibility of expanding the Customs Union agreement in a way to include the Republic of Cyprus." Fried stated that the United States will continue helping the both parts reach a solution with the help of the United Nations and two-party talks. But he added: "We do not recognize and will not recognize any government other than the Republic of Cyprus on the Cyprus Island. We are quite open about this issue. None of our policies are aimed at recognizing another political existence; the United States does not even imply this. Cyprus is a single country. We have a single embassy there and it will remain so." 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) 2006 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.