Month: October 2006

Christian Science Monitor, MA
Oct 13 2006

French bill complicates Turkey’s EU bid

The French National Assembly’s move to outlaw denials of an Armenian
genocide has enraged Turkey.
By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – By a wide margin, the French parliament voted
Thursday to make it a criminal act to deny an Armenian genocide at
the hands of Ottoman Turks, enraging Turkey and further deepening its
suspicion of the European Union.
Islamic Turkey – which has sought for decades to join the EU and is
now in membership negotiations – vowed retaliation against France
that could disrupt billions of dollars in trade, even as both sides
explore the limits of free speech.

The vote came the same day that Orhan Pamuk, the celebrated Turkish
novelist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Charges of
"denigrating Turkishness" against Mr. Pamuk – brought after he
publicly spoke of the killing of 1 million Armenians during World War
I, and 30,000 Kurds – were dropped earlier this year in a case seen
as a test of Turkey’s commitment to EU-driven reforms.

The two events get at the heart of contradictions in modern Turkey,
where democratic and West-leaning EU aspirations often clash with
history. The staunchly secular state – a full member of the NATO
military alliance – casts itself as an indispensable bridge between
East and West, but has yet to be accepted as such by Europe.

Many Turks see the genocide vote – a hot- button issue – as just one
more obstacle to keep them out of the 25-member EU club.

"Turks find it very hard to swallow this; even Francophile Turks
educated there are turning their backs on France," says Sami Kohen, a
foreign affairs columnist for Milliyet newspaper. "A lot of us fear
this will further encourage critics of the EU [who] will say: ‘Enough
is enough; we should give up on this EU.’ "

Turkish lawmakers Wednesday proposed a counter-bill that would
recognize an "Algerian genocide" carried out by colonial French
forces in 1945.

Turkish columnists are also raising France’s considerable role in
Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, as they seek to even the moral playing field.

Analysts say the French vote is likely to embolden Turkish
nationalists and those who oppose EU membership for Turkey. Recent
polls show that Turkish support for joining the EU has dropped from
nearly 70 to around 50 percent now.

To become law, the bill must pass the French senate, which is not
certain, and be signed by President Jacques Chirac. Punishment would
include a one-year prison term, and a 45,000 ($56,500) fine, the
same penalty now on French books for denying the Holocaust.

One Turkish newspaper headline took aim at France’s reputation as the
home of human rights and justice. It read: "Liberté, égalité,
stupidité."

"Fr ench-Turkish relations, which have developed over centuries …
have been dealt a blow today as a result of the irresponsible false
claims of French politicians who do not see the political
consequences of their actions," Turkey’s foreign ministry Abdullah
Gul said in a statement.

"If this bill is passed, Turkey will not lose anything but France
will lose Turkey," Mr. Gul had warned before the vote. "[France] will
turn into a country that jails people who express their views."

The vote has become a political issue in France, where a majority is
against Turkey’s membership in the EU, where 400,000 ethnic Armenians
live, and presidential elections are to be held in seven months.
French exports to Turkey in 2005 totaled $5 billion.

During a visit to Armenia last week, Mr. Chirac stated that Turkey
should not be allowed to join the EU unless it officially accepts
that the death of more than 1 million Armenians, which took place in
the last years of the Ottoman Empire, constitute a "genocide."

Though the French government said Thursday it opposed the legislation
as "unnecessary and untimely," Chirac says Turkey must recognize the
genocide before it joins the EU.

But while EU officials have been at pains to note that no such
genocide criterion applies to Turkey, the sentiment matches widening
unease in Europe over Turkey’s EU application. Such fears in France
are believed to be one reason the French last year rejected the
proposed EU constitution.

"France has done its best to hamper Turkey’s relations with the EU"
and has been seeking "a kind of vengeance" against Turkey since the
EU constitution failure, says Seyfi Tashan, director of the Turkish
Foreign Policy Institute in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. "So
politically, the more damage they do to Turkey, the better."

Armenians say that 1.5 million died in 1915 in the first systematic
genocide of the 20th century, though historians often count 1
million. Turkey officially argues that some 300,000 Armenians died in
a partisan conflict that took just as many Turkish lives, when
Armenians sided with invading Russian armies during World War I.

While Turkey has declared that it would open its files to historians,
a host of Turkish writers and academics who have challenged official
versions of events, sometimes using the word "genocide," have been
charged with insulting the state by hard-line prosecutors.

Treading that line has been Mr. Pamuk, whose novels have dug into
Turkey’s imperial past to explore the contradictions and dilemmas of
modern Turkey. The Nobel citation praised the work: "In the quest for
the melancholic soul of his native city, [Pamuk] has discovered new
symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures." In February 2005,
Pamuk told a Swiss newspaper that "30,000 Kurds and a million
Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk
about it."

"What I said is not an insult, it is the truth," Pamuk said during
his trial. "But what if it is wrong? Right or wrong, do people not
have the right express their ideas peacefully?"

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 13 2006

Turks rip French MPs for passing bill on Armenian genocide

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Friday, October 13, 2006

Turkey threatened unspecified measures against France Thursday after
the French Parliament passed a bill making it a crime to deny that
Turks committed genocide against Armenians during World War I. In
Ankara, angry protesters pelted the French Embassy with eggs, others
laid a black wreath at the gate of the French Consulate in Istanbul
and unions called for a trade boycott.

"We have considered measures in every field. We will activate them
seriously and soberly," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told reporters.

"Our indignation is great – both on the official level and among the
people," he added.

Gul said the Turkish Parliament will hold a special session Tuesday
to assess the situation.

The French bill – which foresees up to one year in prison and a fine
of up to 45,000 euros ($57,000) for anyone who denies that the
1915-1917 massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule was genocide –
still needs the approval of the Senate and the president to take
effect. The French government did not support the motion and promised
on Thursday to oppose it when it gets to the Senate, but Turkey said
the damage had already been done.

Ankara warned before the vote that French companies would be barred
from major tenders, including a project for a nuclear power plant
whose tender process is expected to start soon.

"Turkish-French relations… took a heavy blow today through the
irresponsible initiatives of some short-sighted French politicians,
based on unfounded allegations," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

"With this draft law, France is unfortunately losing its privileged
status with the Turkish people," it said.

"We hope France will come back from this dead-end," Gul said. "No one
should expect that Turkey will forget this as it did in 2001," he
said, referring to a first French resolution recognizing the killings
as genocide.

Ankara also said the draft impeded free debate on a historical
subject and flouted provisions protecting freedom of expression in
the European Convention of Human Rights.

Pointing at mounting European Union pressure on Ankara to ensure
freedom of speech after several Turkish intellectuals were put on
trial for contesting the official line on the Armenian issue, Gul
said: "From now on, France will never describe itself as the homeland
of freedoms.

"It will never be proud of being the country where ideas are freely
expressed," he added. "This shame will really be a grave one for
them."

Ankara sees the bill as a political gesture to France’s large
Armenian community ahead of presidential elections next year.

Many also see it as a blow below the belt by opponents of Turkey’s EU
membership that will tarnish the country’s image in Europe and fan
anti-Western feeling among Turks.

Echoing that sentiment, Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said
that the French move reflected a "hostile attitude" toward Turkey.

"It is a shameful decision. This is a hostile attitude against the
Turkish nation … It is unacceptable," Arinc was quoted as saying by
Turkey’s official Anatolia news agency.

Members of a trade union laid a black wreath outside the French
Embassy in Ankara and at least one egg was hurled into the mission’s
garden before police seized a bag full of eggs the protesters had
brought, Anatolia reported.

Some business and consumer groups called for a boycott of French
goods.

"Each week, we will announce a French brand [to boycott] and the
boycott list will grow," said Baris Deniz, the head of the Consumers’
Union.

"French companies must be definitely sidelined from major public
tenders, particularly in the transport, energy and defense industry
sectors," Omer Bolat, chairman of Islamist-leaning business group
MUSIAD, told Anatolia.

But Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan said that his country does
not plan to boycott French products.

"As the government of Turkey, we will not be leading, we are not
going to organize such events," Babacan said.

"But on the other hand, if in some segments of the society, some
civil actions, will do things in that line, it is up to our people,"
he said.

Bilateral trade between Turkey and France totaled $10 billion in
2005. – Agencies

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 13 2006

Turkey’s Pamuk wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Friday, October 13, 2006

BEIRUT: Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s most famous novelist and an outspoken
critic of his country’s restrictive policies regarding free speech,
has won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, the Swedish Academy in
Stockholm announced Thursday. Pamuk is the author of one memoir and
nine novels, five of which have been translated into English,
including "Snow," "The Black Book" and "My Name is Red."

Beating a crowd of strong contenders (though the academy keeps its
short list secret), Pamuk is the first writer from the Middle East to
win the coveted Nobel, worth $1.36 million, since Egypt’s Naguib
Mahfouz won in 1988.

The award citation praised Pamuk for discovering "in the quest for
the melancholic soul of his native city … new symbols for the clash
and interlacing of cultures."

Last year, Pamuk was brought up on charges of denigrating
"Turkishness" for a comment to a Swiss publication about the killing
of more than million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds by Ottoman Turks
during World War I. The case was dropped in early 2006.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 13 2006

A French law harms free speech in Turkey

By Howard Eissenstat
Commentary by
Friday, October 13, 2006

On October 12, France’s National Assembly approved a proposal to
criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide. If it also passes
the Senate and receives presidential approval, the law will be a blow
to freedom of speech in France; more importantly, it will also be a
blow to freedom of speech in Turkey.

For advocates of free speech in Turkey, the past few years have been
a time both of great hopes and great frustration. In 2003 and 2004,
when the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party government
of Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan first came to power, it
seemed to promise a new, more democratic and pluralistic Turkey. In
those heady days, it seemed that Turkey was poised to achieve its
long-term goal of membership in the European Union.

For the past year or two, however, such hopes have seemed
increasingly Pollyannaish as Turkish reforms have stumbled. Most
dramatically, a steady stream of Turkey’s most prominent
intellectuals, journalists, and authors have been brought to trial
under the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish criminal code, which
makes it a criminal offense, punishable by as many as three years in
prison, to "denigrate Turkishness." The international stature of
several of those accused, including novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif
Shafak, have ensured widespread media coverage of the trials and a
steady decline in Turkey’s stature abroad. Even as charges against
one intellectual were dropped, several more cases emerged in steady
succession, so that they have remained in the news and become a
constant drain on Turkey’s international standing.

On September 21, Elif Shafak’s case was thrown out of court as
baseless. The charges against her, based on what a character in one
of her novels said, was only the most absurd in a long series of
embarrassing trials. Nevertheless, within a matter of days, new
charges were brought up against Hrant Dink, the publisher of a small
Armenian newspaper.

In fact, this situation appears to be part of a concerted effort by
members of the old elite within the bureaucracy and the military and
their allies to sabotage both the Erdogan government and Turkey’s
European aspirations. The liberalization promised by the government –
and demanded by the EU – placed elements of the old elite in a
dilemma. Many in the Turkish bureaucracy, and particularly within the
military, believe it is their right and duty to shepherd Turkey
toward modernization. Elected officials are seen as too corrupt and
the populace as too ignorant and fickle to be trusted with
stewardship of the nation. When legal limitations are insufficient
for maintaining control, a murky system of patronage, strong-arm
tactics, and outright violence that the Turks refer to as the "deep
state" can be relied on to keep both politicians and ordinary
citizens in line. The liberalization demanded by the EU and the
reforms implemented early on by the Erdogan government threaten this
monopoly on real power.

In recent weeks, the battle between the government and elements of
the Turkish state has become more heated, with generals warning of
the threats of political Islam almost on a daily basis. Yet,
advocates of free speech have gained significant popular support. The
public, seeing the ludicrous nature of the Article 301 trials, has
started accepting the virtues of defending unpopular opinions. Both
Erdogan and his foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, called Shafak while
she awaited trial to demonstrate their support. For a time it seemed
a corner had been turned, and advocates of free expression were
starting to feel hopeful.

All of this came to a crashing halt thanks to the debate in France’s
National Assembly over the proposed law to criminalize denial of the
Armenian genocide. The law is a bad idea for France and, more
importantly, it has proven to be a tremendous blow to Turkish reform.

History is not the issue. If we accept the definition of genocide
used in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, there is no
question that the Ottoman state’s destruction of much of its Armenian
population between 1915 and 1917 was genocidal. In dispute is whether
denial of this fact should constitute a crime. After all, freedom of
speech is the right to say what one believes, even if those beliefs
are stupid, wrong, or offensive. Indeed, it is often beliefs that are
offensive that require protection since they are most likely to be
limited by state power.

This has been the argument that Turkish liberals have been making as
they have tried to build a more open and democratic society. This is
the argument that has created space for public discussions of the
Armenian genocide and for advocates of Turkish recognition of the
crime, like Dink and Shafak. Despite significant pressure against
this, openings have been made, conferences held, and articles
written.

Now, however, discussion of Article 301 has almost completely
disappeared from the Turkish public sphere while newspapers endlessly
discuss the French proposal. The draft law, moreover, has allowed the
most anti-democratic elements in Turkish society to pose as
"defenders of liberty." Turkish intellectuals who had been exerting
their energy to develop greater awareness of the Armenian genocide,
or simply working for more freedom, have been forced to suspend their
criticisms of Article 301 to argue against the French law. They
realize that defending the freedom to express unpopular opinions in
Turkey requires that they also defend unpopular opinions in France.

Criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide tarnishes France’s
reputation as a bastion of freedom of expression. More seriously, it
will be a devastating blow to freedom of speech in Turkey.

Howard Eissenstat teaches Middle Eastern history at Seton Hall
University in New Jersey. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY
STAR.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 13 2006

Armenians protest Turkish UNIFIL role
Demonstrators point to world war I-era massacres

By Iman Azzi
Daily Star staff
Friday, October 13, 2006

BEIRUT: The red, orange and blue stripes of the Armenian flag
fluttered beside the cedar of Lebanon Thursday as thousands of
Lebanese citizens of Armenian descent protested Turkey’s planned
participation in the UN peacekeeping forces patrolling South Lebanon.
"We, the Armenian community, are against the deployment of Turkish
troops in South Lebanon, because of their history as a violent
state," explained Hagop Havatian, spokesman for the ARF Tashnak
Party, the youth party responsible for coordinating Thursday’s
demonstration. "Last week we sent letters to every member of the
Lebanese Parliament asking them to reconsider this issue. We also
sent a letter to [UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan but until now,
these has been no reply."

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were slaughtered
in orchestrated killings by Ottoman Turks during World War I, in an
act they maintain can only be seen as genocide. The rally took place
at Beirut’s Martyrs Square, which honors six Lebanese nationalists
who were hanged by the Ottomans during the war.

It was the third such protest organized by the Lebanese-Armenian
community, which is said to number over 200,000. The rally drew a
larger crowd than previous rallies held in front of UN House in
Beirut and in Bourj Hammoud.

"We will continue our refusal in democratic ways," Havatian added.
"This act ignores one of the biggest groups in Lebanon. We are hurt
and feel humiliated and hope the Lebanese government will reconsider
this issue and our feelings."

Razmig Karayan was attending the protest with his girlfriend. "I am
here against the Turks," he said. "I don’t trust them. They are
friends with Israel … They can’t be depended on to work for peace."

A statement circulated at the protest read: "Any participant force in
the UNIFIL should be welcomed by the whole Lebanese society …
Turkey continues to lead a hostile foreign policy in the region,
especially with its immediate neighbors and still occupies northern
Cyprus, continues to blockade Armenia, and refuses to recognize and
apologize for the 1915 Armenian genocide it has perpetrated."

Hundreds of students at Armenian private schools attended the rally
instead of class, some still sporting school uniforms. The protest
grew into a diverse crowd, from babies in strollers to older women
carrying walking sticks and teenagers sporting Armenian flags painted
on their cheeks.

Narine Bouljhourdjian left a class at the American University of
Beirut early to join the protest. She brought a friend on vacation
from Canada, who also was of Armenian descent.

"I believe that Turkey does not have the right to work for peace, not
with their history. Peace and Turkey just don’t correlate," she said.

Behind the two girls, a protester held a sign: "Placing Turkish
troops in Southern Lebanon is an insult to the collective memory of
Lebanon."

Another placard read: "Murderers cannot be peacekeepers."

In total, Turkey is to deploy some 700 soldiers and civil engineers
in Lebanon. Those who landed on Tuesday were the first Muslim
peacekeepers to arrive in the country.

Turkey held a sending-off ceremony Thursday for nearly 260 soldiers
and civil engineers scheduled to depart for the Southern port city
of Tyre on October 19 and are expected to help rebuild damaged
bridges and roads.

Earlier Thursday, French MPs approved a bill making it a crime to
deny that the 1915-1917 massacres of Armenians was genocide,
provoking the fury of the Turkish government. The bill still requires
approval by the French Senate and president Jacques Chirac, neither
of which is expected, to become law.

"What France has done is very good. The Lebanese government should do
the same instead of welcoming Turkish troops," said an elderly
demonstrator who gave his name as Taurus. The Lebanese Parliament
recognized the Armenian genocide in May 2000.

Overriding widespread opposition, the Turkish Parliament approved a
government motion on September 5 to join the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon. Turkish peacekeeping troops have also served in
Bosnia and Kosovo and have led international operations in Somalia
and Afghanistan. – With agencies

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 13 2006

Outstanding – and outspoken – Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk wins Nobel
Prize for Literature
Writer recently occupied international spotlight not for his work but
as a target of his country’s prosecutors

By Kaelen Wilson-Goldie
Daily Star staff
Friday, October 13, 2006

BEIRUT: His name has been floated for years now, with bookies often
quoting the odds in his favor over a pack of strong contenders –
including Syrian poet Adonis, American novelist Philip Roth, Polish
journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski, Mexico’s Carlos Fuentes, Algeria’s
Assia Djebar and Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa. But the coveted Nobel
Prize for literature has eluded Orhan Pamuk – until now.

On Thursday, Turkey’s leading novelist finally got the award, making
him the first Nobel literature laureate from the Middle East – if one
considers Turkey to be a part of the region, and this newspaper does
– since the late Naguib Mahfouz of Egypt, who won in 1988. (Israel’s
Shmuel Yosef Agnon split the Nobel with German poet and playwright
Nelly Sachs in 1966. No Turkish writer has ever been honored in the
prize’s 105-year history).

Making the announcement at mid-day on Thursday, the Swedish Academy
in Stockholm – charged with doling out the award and its attendant
check for $1.36 million – praised Pamuk for discovering "in the quest
for the melancholic soul of his native city … new symbols for the
clash and interlacing of cultures."

Pamuk has published one memoir – "Istanbul: Memories and the City" –
and nine novels, five of which have been translated into English.
Overall, his work has earned widespread critical acclaim and
international recognition while finding its way into print in some 40
different languages.

That said, with the exception of a pirated translation from Syria of
his first novel "Cavdet Bey," his work is not widely available in
Arabic, and Pamuk himself has reportedly made a few disparaging
remarks in the past about there being little need for such
translations as so few Arabic speakers read novels.

However, outside literary circles and those who do, whatever the
language, read novels, Pamuk is best known as the famous writer who
went on trial in Turkey. In February 2005, he gave an interview to
the Swiss publication Das Magazin, in which he declared: "Thirty
thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands and
nobody but me dares to talk about it." For that statement, a
prosecutor named Turgay Evsen charged Pamuk with violating Article
301 of Turkey’s controversial penal code, which prohibits public
denigration of Turkish national identity, the republic or the
national assembly.

In December 2005, Pamuk’s trial stalled as soon as it started. The
presiding judge, Metin Aydin, postponed the proceedings for two
months on a technicality and eventually the entire case was dropped.
Though he is known for his reclusive and introverted work ethic,
Pamuk never ceases to speak out in defense of free speech and on
behalf of lesser-known colleagues who, without the benefit of kicking
up an international storm of ultra-nationalist protestors on one side
and lemon-faced European Union observers on the other, have been or
are being brought up on the same charges, particularly the
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Another Turkish novelist,
Elif Shafak, went on trial for violating Article 301 last month. Her
case, dropped for lack of evidence, had the rare distinction of being
based entirely on the words Shafak put into the mouths of fictional
characters in her novel "The Bastard of Istanbul."

Beyond his ability to puncture the often tough tissue of
sociopolitical taboo, Pamuk is arguably unrivaled in his ability to
capture the complexities of the Turkish psyche and, more broadly, the
disappointments and depravations of those living in the developing –
but not yet embraced as developed – world.

Pamuk is a brilliant literary stylist. He coils one story into
another and then another, all in the space of a single page, often
even a single paragraph. He crafts his novels into compelling,
blood-rushing narratives of pursuit – his books are essentially
detective stories shot-through with post-modern twists, turns,
doubling backs and returns.

"Snow," his most recent novel to appear in English, follows the poet
Ka to the remote Turkish city of Kars, where he is to report an
investigative feature for a newspaper on a rash of suicides by
so-called "headscarf girls." Really, though, he has traveled to this
foreboding corner of the country to find his first love, Ipek. Just
as he sits down with her in a cafe, a man one table over is shot to
death in the chest, a victim of political assassination.

Yet the core of "Snow" is filled with a certain melancholy
characteristic of all Pamuk’s work. The poet Ka – secular, Western –
wonders why people are growing so religious. He strains to understand
but at the same time seems to seek an alternative source of
spirituality – inseparable from the creativity of his craft – to
either fill the gap of godlessness or protect him from the impulse to
give up and go religious himself. (Pamuk, who was born to an elite
family in Istanbul, has said in the past that members of his social
class regard religion as the reserve of the poor and provincial).

Yet Pamuk’s take on class division betrays no arrogance. Rather, it
is part of a more mournful attempt to document and probe what is too
often reduced to a clash of civilizations. In 2001, Pamuk penned one
of the most cogent responses ever committed in print to the ways in
which the attacks of September 11, 2001, changed the dynamic of
global politics.

"The Western world is scarcely aware of [the] overwhelming feeling of
humiliation that is experienced by most of the world’s population,"
he wrote in The New York Review of Books. "This is the grim, troubled
private sphere that neither magical realistic novels that endow
poverty and foolishness with charm nor the exoticism of popular
travel literature manages to fathom. And it is while living within
this private sphere that most people in the world today are afflicted
by spiritual misery.

"The problem facing the West is not only to discover which terrorist
is preparing a bomb in which tent, which cave, or which street of
which city, but also to understand the poor and scorned and
‘wrongful’ majority that does not belong to the West."

Pamuk’s strength as a writer lies in his skill for channeling such
concerns into fiction and then going one step further by inscribing
them onto the surface of the city he loves most. Mid-way through his
masterful novel "The Black Book," Pamuk’s only work of fiction set
wholly in Istanbul, the protagonist Galip, who is searching for his
missing wife and her half-brother, whom he suspects may be together,
remarks: "While it was possible to perceive the city’s old age, its
misfortune, its lost splendor, its sorrow and pathos in the faces of
the citizens, it was not the symptom of a specifically contrived
secret but of a collective defeat, history, and complicity." – With
agencies

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Paris Link, France
Oct 13 2006

Armenian genocide: The EU is picking the wrong battle
Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:40:00
Gareth Cartman

A law, proposed by the Socialist party, has been voted through the
Assemblée Nationale today. Turkey is furious, as is the EU. However,
they forget one thing – the holocaust is banned in many countries
across Europe. Time to be less selective with our memories.

A little perspective. Holocaust denial is illegal in the following
countries:

Austria (6 month to 20 years prison sentence),
Belgium (maximum one year sentence or a fine),
Czech Republic (6 month to 2 years prison sentence),
France (maximum two year sentence or a fine),
Germany (maximum five year sentence or a fine),
Israel (maximum five year sentence),
Lithuania (maximum ten year sentence),
Poland (maximum three year sentence),
Romania (6 month to 2 year sentence),
Slovakia (maximum three year sentence)
Switzerland (maximum 15 month sentence or fine)
Today, French socialists have voted through a law that will make
denial of the Armenian holocaust illegal as well, with a one year
jail sentence and a fine. Not wishing to take part in a debate that
they morally could not win, the UMP refused to take part, making the
actual vote (106-19) something of a cakewalk for the Socialists.

The reaction has been hostile. Firstly, the Turks have taken to the
streets in protest outside the French embassy in Ankara. There has
been talk of a boycott of French products, which the government moved
to deny quickly – stressing that the people would make that choice.
The government then went on to mention that French companies would be
viewed unfavourably when seeking to enter markets in Istanbul.

France has reconfirmed its commitment to dialogue with Turkey and has
stressed that the passing of this law will in no way hinder talks
regarding accession to the EU, to which France has always been
relatively favourable.

EU spokesmen have spoken furiously against the law today. Quoted in
Libération, British Lib-Dem vice-president for the Turkish
delegation, Andrew Duff, said that it was a sad day for liberal ideas
in France, and that the Assemblée Nationale had rejected the
fundamental rights of freedom of speech. Voltaire must be turning in
his grave, he said.

While the EU is attempting to force Turkey to overturn its own laws
which "offend the Turkish identity" (and mentioning the Armenian
Genocide is a possible method of offending this identity), it feels
that the French law will hinder negotiations. Indeed, if Turkey is to
promote freedom of speech by overturning their own law, this law in
France hardly gives the Turks the best example of how to do so.

Jacques Chirac – the man who started the debate by declaring in
Yerevan that the Turks must acknowledge the genocide – has been
strangely quiet on the issue. Chirac has been strongly against
historic laws, throwing France’s colonial glorification out of the
law books, acknowledging the role the Harkis played for France in the
Algerian war and revising the pensions of colonial-origin soldiers
recently.

The majority of historians agree that the genocide of the Armenians
did indeed take place. Not just the majority, but almost every single
historian. To its credit, even Turkey has welcomed a debate on the
subject and university professors have acknowledged that the genocide
did take place. Between 1915 and 1917, over 1.5 million Armenians
were massacred as the Ottoman Empire drew to a bloody close.

The genocide took place. Of that there can be no doubt. Today’s law
may not be the most necessary law in the world, and it may not be the
most popular, but the EU are picking the wrong battle. While voices
against this law claim that it will hinder negotiations, it should
indeed help negotiations. Concerned only with its own negotiations
and business, the EU ignores the fact that holocaust denial is
illegal in most countries across Europe – why should denial of the
Armenian genocide cause such a problem?

This is not about freedom of speech – holocaust deniers or
revisionists frequently take their claims to the European Court using
the Freedom of Speech Law as the basis of their ultimate defence.
They are thrown out of court each time. Besides, what use is freedom
of speech when it is to deny the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians?

If Turkey has pretentions to EU accession, then the EU will be all
the better for its eventual inclusion. But the EU cannot and must not
accept Turkey unless it acknowledges the genocide. The law passed
today is not foolish, useless or even vain. It is necessary – and not
without precedent. Remember.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

October 13, 2006

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

PRELATE MEETS WITH ARMENIA FUND
BOARD MEMBERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

On the morning of Friday, October 13, the Prelate welcomed board
members and administrators of Armenia Fund, to the temporary Prelacy offices
in Encino.
The Prelate met with Armenia Fund Chairperson Maria Mehranian,
Vice-Chairman Ara Agishian, Executive Director Sarkis Kotanjian, and
Director of Development Greg Boyrazian, to discuss the support and
participation of the Prelacy and its affiliates at this year’s Telethon.
Mr. Peklar Pilavjian, Armenia Fund Executive Board member, also
participated in the meeting as a representative of the Prelacy.
The Prelate offered his commendation and encouragement to the
members and wished them success at the Telethon, which will take place on
Thanksgiving Day.

MEETING OF THE ORIENTAL ORTHODOX

SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMITTEE

On the afternoon of Saturday, October 14, the organizing committee of the
Oriental Orthodox Sunday School 2nd Spiritual Gathering will meet at
Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in Santa Ana to finalize the
details of the gathering that is to be held on Saturday, October 28, at the
aforementioned church.
Under the direction of H.E. Archbishop Mousegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, the directors of the Prelacy Christian Education Department, along
with representatives of Prelacy Sunday Schools, will attend the meeting.

RECEPTION IN SUPPORT OF

STATE SENATOR CHUCK POOCHIGIAN

On the afternoon of Sunday, October 15, a reception will be held in support
of State Senator Chuck Poochigian at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph and
Savey Tufenkian in Glendale.
The Prelate conveyed his blessings to Mr. and Mrs. Tufenkian and
his support to Senator Poochigian in his campaign bid for Attorney General
of California.

MEETINGS OF THE PRELACY ACYA CENTRAL AND ECUMENICAL COMMITTEES

On the evening of Wednesday, October 18, under the auspices of the Prelate
and with the participation of the Christian Education Department directors,
the ACYA Central and Ecumenical committees of the Prelacy will hold their
meetings at St. Mary’s Church in Glendale.
Among the items on the agenda is the upcoming gathering of the
youth with H.H. Catholicos Aram I, scheduled for December 2nd and 3rd in
Detroit.

Turkish army accuses Armenia, tensions rise
Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:10pm ET

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s military said on Friday Armenian soldiers fired
into its territory two days ago amid an escalation in tensions after France’s
passage of a law making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide by
Ottoman Turks.
The powerful General Staff called on the Foreign Ministry to investigate the
incident on the border on October 11, which it said caused no injuries or
material damage.
"Turkish soldiers came under harassing fire from Armenian territories on the
Turkey-Armenia border on October 11, 2006," the Turkish General Staff said in
a statement.
Turkey closed its border with the ex-Soviet republic of Armenia in 1993 to
protest against Yerevan’s occupation of territory inside Azerbaijan, a
Turkic-speaking ally of Ankara.

Ties have also been strained by claims by Armenia that some 1.5 million of
its people suffered genocide from 1915 to 1923 on Ottoman territory.
Turkey denies any genocide, saying the Armenians were victims of a partisan
war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives. Turkey accuses Armenians of
carrying out massacres while siding with invading Russian troops.
The military’s statement comes a day after France’s lower house of parliament
approved a law making it a crime to deny the genocide. France is home to
Europe’s largest Armenian diaspora.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday that European Union-applicant
Turkey was studying retaliatory measures against France following approval of
the law, which still needs the senate and President Jacques Chirac’s
approval.
Turkey’s problems with Armenia have always threatened to complicate Ankara’s
entry talks with the EU, which expects all member states to have good
relations with their neighbours.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

A1+

DEPUTY ATTACKED THE JOURNALIST
[05:02 pm] 13 October, 2006

more images Today another incident took place in the Parliament; one
more deputy-businessman threatened a journalist.

Learning from his colleagues who was the journalist of newspaper
`Aravot’, NA Deputy Nahapet Gevorgyan from the Republic party (from
the electoral area N30) approached Anna Israyelyan and tried to «get
even with her» for an article about him the author of which was not
Anna Israyelyan. The article in question was the one published in
«Aravot» by journalist Naira Mamikonyan where his name had been
mentioned.

When Anna Israyelyan tried to find out if the deputy knew whom he was
talking to (i.e. she was not Naira Mamikonyan), Nahapet Gevorgyan
started to shout, «Shut up, or I’ll hit you», and tried to put his
words into execution. At that very moment secretary of «Justice»
faction Grigor Haroutyunyan took him away from the hall. But even
after that foul words could be heard from the corridor.

Presently, thanks to the efforts of leader of the United Labor party
faction Gourgen Arsenyan Nahapet Gevorgyan finally apologized to Anna
Israyelyan in the corridor.