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06/12/2006
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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.”
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