Month: October 2006

DIFFICULTIES WILL BE MOSTLY POLITICAL IN E.U. PROCESS, BABACAN

Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006

ANKARA – Indicating that Turkey will have mostly political difficulties
in the EU accession process, State Minister and Chief Negotiator Ali
Babacan said on Tuesday: "we have to be patient, act resolutely and
defend Turkey’s EU vision in front of difficulties".

Taking the floor at a symposium on "Strategic Prevision: 2003 World and
Turkey in 100th Year of Turkish Republic", Babacan assessed Turkey’s
position as regards EU process.

He stated that it was impossible to regard Turkey’s EU vocation
separately from economy, domestic and foreign politics. "As a matter of
fact, this process paved the way to extremely important developments
in economy. Now,all actors in Turkish economy look at the future from
a wider perspective" he added.

"Turkey approaches EU with strong dynamics and Turkey’s membership
must be regarded as a significant event which could redefine the
future of Europe", Babacan noted.

-CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS-

Regarding the bill in the French Parliament which aims to criminalize
the denial of so-called Armenian genocide, Babacan said : "this
kind of attempts are extremely harmful in terms of understanding and
respect to each other. These attempts take aim tolerance, dialogue
and efforts of understanding and can make harm more than expected" .

"Turkey’s EU membership will be the most important response to this
intolerance that threatens the world. (However) There may be some
negative opinions about Turkey, especially in some countries during
election period. We have to be prepared to these" he added.

-MEETING WITH EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS-

Meanwhile, Babacan had a meeting with The Party of European Socialists
(PES) group co-chairman, Finnish Parliament Speaker Paavo Lipponen
and an accompanying delegation. Turkey-EU relations were reported to
be discussed at the meeting.

REACTIONS TO FRENCH PARLIAMENT’S DRAFT LAW ON SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006

ANKARA – "France’s attitude towards Turkey is not friendly. We are
deeply concerned over such an attitude from France. The Turkish
parliament will respond to any step taken against Turkey," Turkish
Speaker of Parliament Bulent Arinc said today in regard to a draft law
that makes any denial of so-called Armenian genocide a crime in France.

Another fierce reaction came from Chairman of the Turkish Union of
Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu. "If
the French parliament approves the draft law on so-called Armenian
genocide, this would be due to electoral concerns and desire to
attract voters. The reaction of the Turks will be immense if the
draft law gets approved," noted Hisarciklioglu.,

Hak-Is Labor Union’s Chairman Salim Uslu remarked that the draft law
on so-called Armenian genocide will obstruct freedom of thought and
expression. "The French should remember the genocide they committed in
Algeria. More than 1.5 million Algerians were killed by the French,"
said Uslu.

A deputy of the Turkish Motherland Party (Anavatan) from
Afyonkarahisar, Reyhan Balandi indicated that "France’s hands won’t be
enough to close the eyes of the world. Once all archives are studied,
the reality will come to surface. French leaders should accept charges
of massacring Algerians in a planned and brutal way.

We have lived with Armenians as brothers and sisters for 900 years.

If the Armenians abandon claims of genocide, Turkey will help Armenia’s
development," commented Balandi.

Deputy leader of the Turkish-French Interparliamentary Friendship
Group Omer Ozyilmaz stressed that "if the draft law on so-called
Armenian genocide gets approved in the French parliament, this would
be a serious blow to political and commercial relations with France."

The Federation of Family Members of Turks Killed or Wounded by
Armenians During World War I announced that it will start a campaign
under the title of "I reject the allegations of a genocide. Put me in
jail, France!" The campaign is directed at Turkish nationals living
in France. The federation wants to make France the biggest jail of
the world. "The acceptance of the draft law on so-called Armenian
genocide will hurt Turkish-Armenian relations and damage global and
regional peace," said the federation.

Meanwhile, Dr. Erol Kurkcuoglu of the Turkish-Armenian Relations
Research Center at the Ataturk University in eastern city of Erzurum
noted that "France wants to use the Armenia issue as a political
tool." The approval of the bill that makes all denials of so-called
Armenian genocide a crime would be devastating for relations,
expressed Kurkcuoglu.

Kurkcuoglu added that, in the year 2005, 90 French historians presented
a statement to the French parliament clearly showing that there was
not any Armenian genocide.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: PROTESTS IN FRONT OF FRENCH EMBASSY

Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006

ANKARA – Two separate groups of protestors from Turkish Labour Party
(IP) and True Path Party (DYP) reacted to France in front of French
Embassy in Ankara, regarding the bill which aims to criminalize
denial of so-called Armenian genocide that will be voted in the French
parliament (on October 12th).

Chanting slogans as "stop France, boycott is on the way" and "we
did not commit genocide, we defended our country", protestors laid
a black wreath in front of French Embassy.

-A DELEGATION OF DEPUTIES FROM CHP DUE TO PARIS-

Meanwhile, a delegation of MPs from main opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) will go to Paris to attend the French Parliament’s session
on October 12th.

CHP delegation will consist of Haluk Koc, Onur Oymen, Sukru Elekdag
and Gulsun Bilgehan.

" Not only our friends will watch French Parliament but also 70 million
people will watch; history will watch," said CHP leader Deniz Baykal
on Tuesday.

THE SOCIETY SHOULD ACTIVELY MONITOR THE ELECTIONS PROCESS

Yerkir, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

Q: What should be done to ensure fair elections in Armenia? What can
ARF do in this direction?

A: Necessary environment on the legislative, executive, political and
public levels should be ensured to have fair elections. These levels
are all interconnected. In order to have fair elections we first
of all need clearcut legal mechanisms. The law should minimize the
possibility for election fraud and set strict punishment for any such
incidents. It was due to ARF’s efforts that an amendment was made to
the Electoral Code to increase the number of proportional seats. ARF
proposed to have 100% proportional elections; however, a consensus
was reached to have a proportional/majoritarian ratio of 70/30.

This is a positive change taking into consideration that election
fraud usually occurs in majoritarian precincts. National Assembly
deputies elected under the majoritarian vote form the quantity rather
than quality in the National Assembly. Once the number of deputies
elected on party lists is increased the elections and their results
will become political.

Political parties should be the ones to implement the political
processes and not individuals who strive for the deputy’s mandate
for some personal interests.

Legislative regulation is necessary but not adequate for ensuring
fair elections. Good laws can be applied in very bad ways by different
authorities, the society or the same political forces.

The majority of political parties participating in the elections
initially support free, fair and transparent elections and pledge
to take joint efforts against election fraud. However, the political
forces are not honest and make these public statements for populist
reasons.

ARF supports such reform of the Electoral Code that would on the one
hand eliminate the possibility for election fraud while on the other
hand contributing to the oversight of enforcement of the law.

The punishments stipulated in the Electoral code for election fraud
should be made stricter first of all for any instances of attempts to
influence the election processes on the part of public officials. The
authorities are formed by the people’s vote, and people should be
interested in ensuring that their vote is note rigged.

The society should actively monitor the elections processes and
cooperate with forces that are also interested in having fair
elections. It is ARF’s and other parties’ mission to instill in the
society the political culture of elections.

THE COMMUNITY SHOULD GOVERN ITSELF

Yerkir, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

Dear compatriots,

The Ajapniak district of Yerevan will elect its prefect on October 29.

The election is pivotal to every resident of our district since it
would allow making local governing a reality. The community should
govern itself.

The prefect of our community should not be appointed but actually
elected by the residents. It should not become a formal election but
one that is real and based on competition of platforms.

With such approaches in mind, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
has nominated Gagik Sargsian for the prefect’s office.

We will use every means to protect the votes you are going to cast
for him. We are calling on you to work together for the victory of
Gagik Sargsian because his victory would mean a victory for all the
Ajapniak residents.

ARF Ajapniak Committee

OSCE OFFICE IN YEREVAN PRESENTS SECOND EDITION OF TEXTBOOK ON OSCE

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

An updated version of a textbook entitled "OSCE: History, Activities
and Perspectives" was presented today by the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

"Assisting Armenia in implementation and promotion of OSCE
commitments is part of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan,"
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office, said during
the presentation ceremony. "This book is valuable because it raises
awareness about OSCE, its concept and key values."

Given the demand and interest the first edition, published two years
ago, attracted, the Office initiated a new edition that includes
information on the ongoing OSCE reform. In particular, readers are
introduced to a report prepared by an OSCE panel looking into how to
make the Organization more effective.

Education and Science Minister Levon Lazarian welcomed the book at
the presentation ceremony.

"Co-operation, key to security, lies in the main philosophy behind
the OSCE. Thorough knowledge of OSCE principles and values will help
future diplomats and politicians to better understand the system of
European security," he said.

The book is recommended by the Ministry of Science and Education as
a textbook for students and lecturers. The book also is useful for
policy-makers and legislators.

ARMENIA RANKS 101ST IN THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH LIST

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

According to the "Reporters without Borders" international
organization, this year Armenia ranks 101st in the freedom of
speech list. The document, issued today by the headquarters of the
organization in Paris, includes 168 states and covers the period from
September 2005 to September 2006.

The list is concluded by Turkmenistan, Eritrea and North Korea.

Finland, Ireland, Island and Netherlands share the first four places.

France, which is considered a country of free speech, digressed from
the 30h to the 35th position.

As compared to the previous year, Russia digressed from the 138th to
147th position.

Among other CIS countries Azerbaijan ranks 141st, Belarus – 151st,
Uzbekistan – 158th and Turkmenistan – 167th.

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER HOPES FOR PROGRESS IN THE KARABAKH ISSUE

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

The Foreign Minister of France Philippe Douste-Blazy has expressed
the hope that the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov in Paris will help
achieve progress in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, ITAR-TASS
was told at the French MFA.

It was reported also that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev will pay
a state visit to France in January 2007. During the meeting of the
Foreign Ministers of France and Azerbaijan it was noted that the
relations between the two countries are developing. Last year the
commodity turnover rose thrice, reaching 500 million Euros.

SPECIAL ATTENTION TO BE PAID TO THE KARABAKH ISSUE DURING RA PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO RUSSIA

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

"The relations between Armenia and Russia are characterized as allied
and stand out for positive dynamics," says the statement disseminated
by the Press Service of the Russian Embassy in Armenia connected with
RA President Robert Kocharyan’s working visit to the Russian Federation
October 30-31. It is noted in the document that "the recurrent visit
of the Armenian leader is called to bring Russian-Armenian relations
to a higher level of partnership." The statement says also that in
the Republic of Armenia the year 2005 passed under the slogan of
Russia, and correspondingly 2006 was announced the Year of Armenia in
Russia. Conduct of large-scale events in the framework of the national
years fostered the activation of public and business initiatives,
as well as expansion of cooperation in trade and economic, scientific
and educational, information and cultural spheres. According to the
document, during RA President’s visit to Russia special attention will
be paid to the Nagorno Karabakh issue. In this regard it is noted
that "Welcoming the Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue on all levels,
primarily that on the level of Presidents, Russia proceeds from
the conviction that the conflicting parties should find a mutually
acceptable solution themselves. Russia is ready to provide the most
active assistance both in the bilateral format and as an OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chair, and to become the guarantor of the agreement reached."

OSKANIAN-MAMMADYAROV MEETING TO BE HELD IN PARIS

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 20 2006

The meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, featuring
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will be held in Paris today. Vartan
Oskanian is due to meet also with the Foreign Minister of France
Philippe Douste-Blazy.