Month: October 2006

NATO REPORT ON SOUTH CAUCASUS TO BE REVIEWED
Author: J.Shahverdiyev

TREND, Azerbaijan
Oct 17 2006

A delegation headed by the Chairman of the Sub-committee on
Future Security and Defense Opportunities of the Defense & Security
Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO, Vahid Erdem, met on
16 October with the Chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary Commission
on International Relationships and Inter-parliamentary Bond of the
Milli Majlis [Azerbaijani parliament] as well as the head of the
Azerbaijani delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE), MP Samed Såyidov, Trend reports.

Seyidov stressed that Azerbaijan is actively integrating into Europe
and the Euro-Atlantic area. "During his visit to Germany and at the
opening of the Autumn session of Milli Majlis, Azerbaijan President
Ilham Aliyev re-iterated the fact. Our integration into Europe is
one of the major steps taken with regards to our foreign policy,
our relationship with NATO is also developing and we are very keen
to pursue it," Seyidov stressed.

The Chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary Commission noted that NATO
is developing a report on South Caucasus countries and it contains some
inaccurate data. The occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani territory by
Armenia, which resulted in the replacement of 1 million Azerbaijanis
from their native land, as well as the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh was
always part of Azerbaijan, was depicted wrongly in the document. These
facts were included in the resolution issued by the UN Security
Council, documents of the Council of Europe and OSCE. We hope that
after the visit, serious changes will be injected into the document.

The head of the delegation noted that the key objective of the visit
is to collect detailed information on the facts. "We will work on
the document to ensure that the details are precise," he stated.

–Boundary_(ID_aLOePWx0BGB+auUfdmG7Kw)–

NATO PA PREPARES REPORT ON SOUTH CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 13:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ UN and NATO peacekeepers may be deployed in the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict region after conclusion of a peaceful
agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, head of the delegation of
the NATO PA defense planning subcommittee Vahid Erdem said. In his
words, the purpose of his visit to Azerbaijan is to meet with the
leadership, representatives of NGOs and media and to get familiarized
with the current situation on the way of integration into the NATO. His
conclusions will be presented in his resulting report titled "Role
of NATO in the South Caucasus". He also remarked that the committee
will meet in Canada in the near future to discuss the report. As for
possible deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict zone, Erdem considers that peacekeepers may be deployed in the
region after Armenia and Azerbaijan seal peace, reports Azeri Press.

GENOCIDE: TURKEY MAY HAVE HEADACHE IF DEMOCRATS SCORE VICTORY IN U.S. CONGRESS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 13:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey, frustrated by a French National Assembly vote
this week to criminalize denial of the Armenian Genocide, may have
a major headache on the same issue if the Democrats score a victory
in the U.S. Congress in next month’s elections. Last Thursday’s vote
in the French parliament was a victory for Armenian groups and their
supporters, but the top-prize country for the Armenians has always
been and will always be the United States, says Turkish Daily News.

The newspaper observer says that President George W. Bush’s
administration, like earlier administrations, so far has consistently
declined to use the term Genocide in official remarks in an effort
to avoid alienating Turkey. But Congress has always been Turkey’s
weaker side. With the Republican Party, which currently holds clear
majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives,
in shambles, political analysts agree it is highly likely that the
Democrats will win a majority in the House in November, for the first
time since the 1994 elections.

A Democratic triumph in the House or the Senate will mean major
problems for Turkey in its efforts to stop genocide recognition. In
the event of a Democratic victory in the House, pro-Armenian lawmakers
will definitely force legislation for the Armenian Genocide recognition
shortly after the new Congress takes office in January. U.S. Armenians
accuse the Republican Bush of failing to keep his earlier pledge for
Genocide recognition and backed Democratic presidential candidate
John Kerry, a strong supporter of the Armenian cause in the Senate,
in the 2004 elections.

FINNISH FM TOUMIOJA: FRENCH DECISION WAS "STUPID"

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 17 2006

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, speaking about last week’s
approval in France of the bill calling for jail time and monetary
fines for people denying the so-called Armenian genocide, has called
the French Parliament’s decision "stupid."

Finland is currently the term president of the EU. Tuomioja’s
comments were published on a Finnish web site; the Finnish FM also
noted in his comments that the French decision would serve to inflame
nationalistic circles within Turkey. Said Toumioja "My calling this
French decision ‘stupid,’ and my hope that the bill is immediately
withdrawn has nothing to do with actually happened to the Armenians
in Turkey. Personally, I do think that ‘genocide’ is the correct term
to describe what happened to Armenians in the past, and I wish that
Turkey would be ready to accept this."

EUROPE, ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, AND TURKEY

RIA Novosti, Russia
Oct 17 2006

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Pyotr Romanov) – Armenian genocide
is in the news again. There are two reasons for this.

First, the Nobel Prize for literature was awarded this year to
brilliant Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who had barely escaped prison
for publicly acknowledging the 1915Armenian genocide. This is qualified
as treason by Turkish law.

He was saved by international solidarity but the pressure exerted on
him by the Turkish government had its effect. Pamuk flatly refused to
talk on the subject when he arrived in Moscow for the presentation
of his book in Russian translation. On a human plane, this is easy
to understand – the author wanted to return home to Istanbul, the
main character of all his books.

To sum up, the Nobel Committee’s decision has caused mixed feelings
in Turkey – it is not often that it gives such a prestigious award
to someone who is guilty of "high treason" at home.

The law that has just been passed by the lower chamber of the French
Parliament has evoked an even bigger uproar. In a way, this is a mirror
image of the Turkish law on Armenian genocide – in Istanbul the crime
is to admit genocide, whereas in France it is illegal to refute it.

The adoption of this law in France was generated by domestic
pre-election considerations rather than international motives. It
is highly dubious that the upper chamber will approve this law,
and even less likely that the President will sign it. Moreover,
France officially acknowledged the Armenian genocide by passing a
relevant law in 2001. President Jacques Chirac was laying a wreath
to the monument to the victims of genocide at almost the same time
as the Parliament voted for the recent law.

Incidentally, the official date of the Armenian genocide – 1915 –
is largely a convention. There had been atrocious Armenian pogroms
much earlier than that. Thus, the Turkish theory of attributing the
events to the excesses of the war is not convincing. Moreover, the
Turks were also slaughtering Greeks, Serbs, and many other Christians.

The wave of indignation which has swept Turkey because of Europe’s
renewed attention to the genocide is remarkable. The recent protests
in Turkey suggest many questions. The main one is whether it is worth
admitting to the EU a country that does not want to acknowledge its
guilt for the heinous crimes of the past and repent them? Respect
for Germany only grew when it was honest about the Holocaust. What
prevents Turkey from telling the truth?

I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that the survival of
European civilization in the 21st century depends on what decision
the EU adopts on Turkey’s admission. The excessive flow of migrants
is already a heavy burden for Europe. The migrants may contribute to
its culture, but every year the Europeans lose much more, and their
identity is fading away amidst this carnival of newcomers. If Europe
cannot absorb the migrants it already has, what will happen when it
flings open its doors to Turkey? Fairy tale writers may hope that
Europe stands to gain from this, but others will have to face reality.

On top of it all, there is also the religious aspect, from which
Europe is trying to disassociate itself as much as possible.

Meanwhile, political correctness is only indispensable in everyday
life but very counterproductive when it comes to serious analysis.

Looking at life through rose-tinted glasses means deliberately
distorting reality, and making wrong decisions.

Speaking Aesopian language may help one avoid the "uncomfortable" word
– Islam. But if you want to survive in the real world, you had better
look through old newspapers, recall the names of terrorists, find out
who taught them, whom they prayed to, and who gave them money. Only
in this way will you be able to protect yourself and your children.

Why do Christians admit their old mistakes, repent, and ask for
forgiveness? And why are Muslims reluctant to do so? As Orthodox
Father Kurayev put it, instead of going into the future, rethinking
and reassessing its past, Islam goes into fits of hatred from time
to time under any excuse imaginable. On one occasion, it may be the
problem of hijab, on another, the cartoon scandal, and on still other,
a deliberate misinterpretation of an ancient quotation mentioned by
Pope Benedict XVI. Every fit of hatred is directed against Christians,
who are attacked and often murdered.

It is not surprising that German opera directors have recently decided
to cancel a performance with a Muslim motive for fear that Muslim
fanatics might go crazy. Angela Merkel made a statement against this
decision, but it did not help. Europe is already filled with fear.

It would not be correct to say that every Muslim likes these fits of
hatred. But the general goal of Islam is clear – to unite the Muslim
world along the obvious lines. Needless to say, not every believer
in Prophet Muhammad is a terrorist, but it is an indisputable fact
that in the 21st century the non-Muslim world has developed serious
problems with Islam.

Some people believe that these are growing pains rather than the
gist of the Muslim teaching. I’d like to hope this is so. But even in
this case, it is more sensible to wait until teenage aggressiveness
is over before inviting such a guest home.

Others attribute Islamic extremism to impudence towards Muslims on
behalf of people professing other religions. This also happens from
time to time. Impudence is evil, but it should not be mixed with
the right to tell Muslims the truth. In turn, they should learn to
appreciate freedom of speech, and respect the opinion of others. We
will get nowhere if Muslims can say and do whatever they like, and
we can do nothing. This is absurdity rather than political correctness.

Still others think that social inequality is the root of all evil.

This opinion is justified. We should eradicate social inequality by
all reasonable, and, let me stress, evolutionary methods.

What we should not do is to fling European doors wide open without
thinking about the consequences. The times have changed.

SPEAKER ARINC: CHIRAC’S APOLOGY WAS NOT GENUINE

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 17 2006

Bulent Arinc, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, has said that
he does not think President Jacques Chirac’s apologetic phone call
to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of the French
Parliament’s acceptance of the "genocide denial" bill was "genuine."

Arinc also asserted that it was no coincidence that the Armenian terror
group ASALA was most active in France. The Speaker’s comments came
yesterday at a parliamentary meeting in Ankara. Arinc also reserved
words for the upcoming 2007 presidential elections in Turkey:

"Do not listen to those who want to foment chaos and disorder in our
country as the presidential elections draw nearer. Don’t pay attention
to those who want to scare you by intoning ‘The country is being sold.’

COMPANIES OF KRASNOYARSK AND ARMENIA CONCLUDE SEVERAL AGREEMENTS ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Financial Information Service(Registration), Russia
Oct 17 2006

KRASNOYARSK, October 16. /FIS/. As noted by Chairman of Armenia’s
Commodity Producers Union Vasgen Safaryan, a ‘SibArmAlco’ warehouse
is to open in Krasnoyarsk within the next month on the base of the
‘Siberia’ shopping and exhibition center having a representative
office in Armenia. The warehouse is intended for wholesale trading
of Armenian cognac, dry and vintage wines and champagne. Other plans
are to facilitate the cooperation between Armenian and Krasnoyarsk
enterprises, namely KrAZ, General Rubber Goods Plant, wood industrial
and machine building complexes. Concluded are also contracts on the
supply of Armenian mineral water and facing slabs from Armenia’s
precious stones.

ARMENIAN BILL CONTINUES TO SET WORLD AT ODDS

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

US Armenians welcome ‘genocide’ bill

People of Armenian origin living in the U.S. welcomed the French
Parliament’s passage last week of a bill making it illegal to deny
the Armenian genocide claims.

In a written statement over the weekend, an Armenian group expressed
its pleasure over passage of the bill but added that it still needs
the approval of the French Senate and President Jacques Chirac.

In related news, during a phone conversation over the weekend President
Chirac assured Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he won’t sign
the bill.

French President Chirac expressed his disappointment over the bill
and told Erdogan that he will do best to block it from becoming law.

Underlining that the Armenian bill is related to next year’s elections
in France, Chirac said that Armenian voters living in France had also
influenced its passage by Parliament, stressing that the development
shouldn’t hurt good relations between Turkey and France.

2 Lang invites scholars to debate Armenia genocide claims

Former French Culture Minister and Socialist Deputy Jack Lang over
the weekend called on Turkish and Armenian scholars to organize
seminars about their common history to shed light on the Armenian
genocide claims.

Stating that the bill is unconstitutional and would erode freedom of
_expression, Lang stated that France should assist the debate between
Armenians and Turkish intellectuals to institutionalize a dialogue
between societies instead of making laws.

3 Rasmussen: Freedom of _expression is limited

The Danish premier, who justified the publication of the controversial
Prophet Muhammed cartoons in a Danish newspaper this year, claiming
that they were an _expression of freedom of speech, over the weekend
criticized the French Parliament’s approval of the Armenian bill,
stressing that the move limits freedom of _expression.

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who at the time stated that
he didn’t have the authority to ban the publication of the Muhammed
cartoons since it was an issue of freedom of _expression amid protests
in the Muslim world, said, "Channeling people towards violence,
terrorism and provoking terrorism can be prohibited by law.

However, people should be left free to express what they think. I do
not find France’s act correct."

4 EP president: Secular Turkey is no threat to EU

The president of the European Parliament stated that a secular Turkey
isn’t a threat to the EU, referring to the French Parliament’s passage
of the Armenian bill, which he implied is an extension of the French
desire for the issue to become a precondition for Turkey’s membership.

EP President Joseph Borrell, speaking to Italian daily La Stampa
over the weekend, warned that the EU can’t survive by supporting a
single culture in today’s world, and said, "Europe should get used
to multiculturalism, because hundreds of thousands of immigrants move
to Europe each year bringing their cultures with them."

Speaking out against new conditions being brought before Turkey
during its EU accession process, Borrell said, "There are criteria for
incoming EU member states. Turkey will become a member by fulfilling
them during a long and difficult period. The EU, for its part, will
take in Turkey by making concessions on its geographical situation. And
Turkey’s membership will strengthen the EU politically and make the
Union a multicultural power."

5 The Observer: French past not spotless

British daily The Observer commented on Sunday that making denial
of an Armenian "genocide" a criminal offense is "wrong and bad,"
describing the French move as an "enemy of free speech."

The daily underlined that quite apart from limiting free speech, and
therefore legitimizing a desirable debate on historical questions,
the French are "surely obliged to remember more distinctly, and more
publicly, the collaboration of so many of their own people with the
Nazi transport of Jews before starting on the business of criminalizing
remoter cases of denial."

The Observer also stated that the Armenian bill was designed to
complicate Turkey’s application to join the EU.

"It is a bewildering reality that France sees Turkey’s refusal
to acknowledge what happened to the Armenians as an obstacle to
membership, while at the same time continuing to regard its own
wartime behavior as somehow irreproachable," it was added.

6 Armenian ‘genocide’ statue stolen from Paris suburb

A statue commemorating an Armenian "genocide" has been stolen from
a Paris suburb, local authorities said on Saturday.

The event took place three days after French lawmakers approved the
controversial bill that would make it a crime to question the Armenian
genocide claims.

The bronze monument, installed in front of the train station in the
Paris suburb of Chaville in 2002, went missing between Friday night
and Saturday morning, said the authorities of the Haut-de-Seine region.

The police have not ruled out the possibility that the statue, which
weighs several hundred kilograms, was stolen to be sold as scrap metal,
said Stephane Topalian, who serves on the board of the local chapter
of the Armenian church.

However, Topalian stressed the timing of the robbery, which came just
days after France’s lower house of Parliament on Thursday passed a
bill that would criminalize questioning the Armenian genocide claims.

NO IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF FRENCH ARMENIAN BILL
By Ali Ihsan Aydin

Zaman Online, Turkey
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

A bill that would penalize those refusing the so-called Armenian
genocide in France will be discussed Thursday in the French Parliament.

The bill, a major project of the Armenian Diaspora, is expected
to easily pass the parliamentary vote due to France’s approaching
presidential elections.

The majority of deputies from the ruling UMP (Union for a Popular
Movement) who do not support the bill will abstain from voting to
prevent a possible backlash from Armenian voters.

A likely scenario is that the 30-40 deputies who backed the bill in
2001 will join the voting session.

Before Thursday’s critical assembly, the consensus in Paris is that
most of the French MPs want the bill to pass to appease the Armenians,
but they do not approve its implementation.

The draft bill submitted by the main opposition Socialist Party (PS)
calls for up to five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for
anyone who denies the purported Armenian genocide.

Not content with the French law in 2001 that stated France openly
"recognized the 1915 Armenian genocide," Armenians have been pressuring
French politicians since then for a new law to penalize those rebuffing
the so-called genocide.

Deputies from both ruling and opposition parties in close ties with
Armenians had prepared four bills in recent years.

However, these bills stalled at the parliamentary bureau.

In May 2006, the Socialists used their right for the first time to
determine the agenda, allocated to political parties in proportion
to the number of deputies, and submitted the bill prepared by Deputy
Didier Migaud to the parliament.

The bill did not pass as Parliamentary Speaker Jean-Louis Debre, who
opposes "politicians writing down history" interrupted the session
twice, dropping the bill from the parliamentary agenda.

French historians, speaking out against passing a bill on a historical
issue and issuing a notice, made some attempts in parliament to
prevent the bill from passing.

The Socialists, however, following pressure from the Armenians,
used their right to determine a special agenda for a second time and
brought the draft to the parliament again.

Blocked in May, the bill is predicted to pass quite easily this time.

The Socialists want to send a political message to the nearly 400,000
Armenians in France at the threshold of elections.

Most of the ruling UMP deputies not supporting the bill will not join
in tomorrow’s vote.

The UMP Parliamentary Group Chairmanship did not issue a group decision
regarding the bill, leaving the deputies free to vote as they see fit.

A majority vote in the general assembly is required for the bill
to pass.

There were nearly 30 deputies at the general assembly during the
genocide recognition vote 2001.

The UMP has 364 seats and the PS 150 seats in the 577-seat French
Assembly.

The bill may still be rejected by the senate or vetoed by French
President Jacques Chirac

If the bill is passed in the parliament Thursday, it must also be
passed in the senate for full approval.

Pointing out that the bill may wait its turn at the senate dependant
on the order of agenda set by the government, parliamentary officials
recall the opposing attitude of the government and say the bill may
remain pending for a long time.

The bill must be passed in the senate in the same form as in the
assembly, and in the event that minor amendments are made in the text
it will be resent to the assembly, a process that risks being lengthy.

If bill is passed in the senate, it must be signed by the president
for its implementation.

Chirac may send the draft back to the parliament for a second
examination.

Though there are various views on the bill’s conformity with
the constitution, no party would likely refer the bill to the
Constitutional Council.
From: Baghdasarian

FINNISH ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SUPPORT TURKEY OVER FRENCH BILL
By Suleyman Kurt, Ankara

Zaman Online, Turkey
Oct 11, 2006

The Party of European Socialists (PES) has said that it feels uneasy
about the bill envisaging punishment for a denial of the Armenian
genocide.

Finnish Assembly President Paavo Lipponen, also the president of the
advisory board of the PES Turkey Group, said, "the so-called Armenian
genocide will never be a criterion for Turkey’s membership to the EU."

He used "the so-called Armenian genocide" phrase during his entire
speech and worried about the consequences of the bill’s passage.

Lipponen noted that he would take the matter up with Francois Hollande,
the secretary general of France’s Socialist Party, a member of PES.

Asking Turkey to open its Armenian border, he went on to say that
Turkey should be reconciled with its past. Supporting Turkey’s full
membership and opposing a privileged partnership, he also praised
the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a "real reformist party."

"There are many more things to be undertaken in the direction of
economic and social growth; however, this party has contributed a
great deal to the development of Turkish society," he remarked.

Without naming it, he also criticized the Turkish opposition People’s
Republic Party (CHP) by saying, "I hope all the parties in the
Turkish parliament adopt a positive approach in terms of supporting
the government for the continuation of the reforms."

He also expressed his concern about the rise of Turkish nationalism,
adding that "issues related to the EU are being exploited."