Month: November 2006

TURKEY’S TIES WITH FRANCE UNRAVEL OVER ARMENIA DISPUTE
International Herald Tribune, France
The Associated Press
Nov 16 2006
Ankara lashes back over law on Armenia
Turkey has suspended military relations with France in a dispute over
whether the mass killings of Armenians in the last century amounted
to genocide, the land forces commander said Wednesday.
The move was the latest backlash against French legislation that, if
approved by the French Senate and president, would criminalize denial
that the World War I-era killings of Armenians in Turkey were genocide.
France and Turkey, both NATO members, have previously had close
military ties, and Turkey has been a buyer of French-made weaponry.
But the Turkish military has also blacklisted several French companies
in the past in similar disputes over the mass killings of Armenians.
Today in Europe
Efforts to integrate Russians in Latvia stoke tensions French
Socialists to pick presidential candidate Germany criticized for its
training of Afghan police The Turkish commander, General Ilker Basbug,
announced the suspension to reporters at a reception in Ankara,
according to the state-owned Anatolia news agency. The lower house
of the French Parliament approved the genocide-denial legislation
in October.
“Relations with France in the military field have been suspended,”
Anatolia quoted Basbug as saying. Asked whether there had been any
cancellation of military visits, Basbug said: “There are no high-level
visits between the two countries.”
Turkey sees the French bill as a hostile, anti-Turkish move, and has
said that the lawmakers’ vote has already deeply harmed Turkish-French
relations. The French bill still needs the approval of the upper
house and the signature of President Jacques Chirac to become law.
Turkey vehemently denies that it committed genocide against Armenians,
though many nations have classified the killings as such.
Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians died in mass
expulsions and fighting, but says the number of dead is exaggerated
and that most were killed in ethnic conflicts as the Ottoman Empire
collapsed.
Armenians and many nations say about 1.5 million Armenians were killed
in a genocidal campaign devised and carried out by Turkish leaders.
The European Union and the European media have criticized the French
bill, saying it is not in line with the principle of free expression
and does not promote dialogue with Turkey, which wants to join the
EU. The United States also criticized the bill, saying that it got
in the way of Turkish-Armenian dialogue.
The Armenian issue is one of the most divisive and emotional in
Turkey. Those who classify the killings as genocide are often accused
of treason.
EU rebuffed over Cyprus
Turkey will not succumb to European Union “blackmail” in the dispute
over the divided island of Cyprus and its bearing on Ankara’s prospects
of joining the bloc, the Turkish foreign minister said Wednesday,
according to The Associated Press and Reuters in Nicosia.
The EU has told Turkey it must open its seaports and airports to ships
and planes from Cyprus to avoid a breakdown in EU membership talks,
but Ankara does not recognize the government of Cyprus.
“We won’t bow to blackmail, in the same way that we did not bow to
blackmail in the past,” Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul of Turkey said in
a speech on the Turkish Cypriot side of the island’s capital, Nicosia.
Cyprus has been split between the Greek Cypriot south – whose
government is recognized by the international community – and the
Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded in
response to an attempted coup by military officers who were trying to
unite the island with Greece. Only Ankara recognizes the Turkish-run
north.
On another issue that has clouded Turkey’s ties to the EU, meanwhile,
officials said Wednesday in Ankara that it planned to amend a law
that the EU asserts curbs freedom of expression in time for an EU
summit meeting in December.
The law, Article 301, which makes it a crime to insult “Turkishness,”
has been used by nationalists to prosecute writers and intellectuals,
although most cases have ended in acquittals. The Justice Ministry
is exploring new forms of wording that would make it more difficult
for politically motivated lawyers to open cases.
Turkey has warned the EU not to try to arbitrate in the dispute,
saying the 25- nation bloc could not help secure a balanced solution
because Cyprus is already one of its members.
Gul said that the United Nations should play the role of mediator.
“To expect concessions from Turkey by moving the question from the
United Nations to the EU is a dead-end road,” Gul said.

TURKEY FREEZES MILITARY TIES WITH FRANCE – AGENCY
Reuters, UK
Nov 16 2006
ANKARA, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Turkey has frozen all military ties with
France in protest over the French parliament’s support for a bill
making it a crime to deny claims of an Armenian genocide, the state
Anatolian news agency said on Wednesday.
The National Assembly voted last month in favour of the bill,
triggering angry protests and threats of a trade boycott in Turkey,
which strongly rejects the claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide
against Armenians during World War One.
The bill is unlikely to become law due to opposition from the Senate
and President Jacques Chirac, but Turkish leaders have said the
National Assembly’s move will harm bilateral ties.
“Relations with France in the military field have been suspended,”
Anatolian quoted General Ilker Basbug, head of Turkey’s land forces,
as saying.
“High level visits between the two countries are not being made,”
added Basbug, who is number two in the hierarchy of Turkey’s powerful
armed forces. He gave no further details.
The French foreign ministry declined to comment.
French defence firms view NATO member Turkey, which has a fast-growing
economy, as a lucrative market for their hardware.
The Armenian issue is very sensitive in Turkey, which denies any
genocide took place but says large numbers of both Muslim Turks and
Christian Armenians were killed in a partisan conflict that raged on
Turkish soil as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
France, which holds elections next year, is home to the largest
Armenian diaspora in Europe.
Chirac said during a recent visit to Yerevan that Turkey must accept
the genocide before it can join the European Union.
Turkey began EU entry talks last year but the large Muslim country’s
accession bid faces growing opposition from some existing member
states, including France.

FESTIVITIES TO BENEFIT ARMENIAN CHILDREN’S FUND
Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Nov 16 2006
The Armenian Children’s Milk Fund will host a fun-filled family
event on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the National Heritage
Museum in Lexington. The evening will include traditional Armenian
music and dance, as well as face-painting, crafts, food and other
festive activities.
The evening also highlights two special events for children.
Acclaimed master storyteller Angela Klingler will recount stories
based on Armenian folklore, and Twinkles the Clown will bedazzle and
amuse children with her magic.
Doors to the museum will open at 5:30 p.m. Both children’s performances
begin at 6 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door.
Admission: $16 adults; $8 children; ages 2 and under free.
If you’d like to volunteer to help out, or for more information,
call ACMF at 617-484-6233. Directions to the museum, located at 33
Marrett Road in Lexington, are available at
Proceeds from this event will benefit the Armenian Children’s Milk
Fund. ACMF has been providing infant formula to needy families
in Armenia since shortly after the tragic earthquake in December
1988. Through the fundraising efforts of its volunteers over the
years, ACMF has helped thousands of Armenian children get a healthy
start in life.

TWO EXAMPLES OF YOUTHFUL EXCELLENCE
By Fred Kirshnit
New York Sun, NY
Nov 16 2006
In 2003 I covered the opening night of the National Chamber Orchestra
of Armenia in Yerevan for a European publication. The orchestra was
much as I had expected: like most of the professional organizations
of contemporary Armenia, it has seen better days.
The real story was the audience. Dressed in their best, albeit
sometimes threadbare, finery, the crowd was attentive and appreciative
– this was a gathering of true music lovers, people who had grown up
studying music in the home, most with at least a rudimentary ability
to navigate a keyboard and read a simple score.
Out of this homegrown tradition comes Natalia Kazaryan, a Georgian
of Armenian descent. She presented a piano recital Tuesday evening
in the chapel of St. Bartholomew’s Church under the auspices of the
Stecher and Horowitz Foundation Young Artists Series.
When reviewing aspirants not yet fully matured, it is often
difficult to combine the knowledge of their potential growth with the
understanding of their immaturity. By what standards should they be
judged? In the case of the 19-year-old Ms. Kazaryan, the problem was
solved by her prodigious ability to perform at a highly proficient
adult level.
She is a student of Jerome Lowenthal, who was in attendance this
evening. Beginning with Haydn, specifically the Sonata in E major,
Hob. XVI:31,she immediately established an atmosphere of strength
and confidence. Especially notable were her clear lines and sound
definitions between individual notes. Although I might have wished
for a tad more grace, this was fine, declarative music making.
Chopin’s Sonata in B-flat Minor is forever associated with its third
movement, in the same way that the “Moonlight” is always immediately
identified by its famous introduction. For a performance of it to be
good, the funeral march must be good.

NATO DEFENSE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE CONFIRMS FACT OF OCCUPATION BY ARMENIA OF AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIES
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
As reported, since November 11, the first vice-speaker of Milli Majlis,
the head of delegation of Azerbaijan in NATO Parliamentary Assembly
(NATO PA) Ziyafet Askarov and a member of the safety and defense
standing committee of the Parliament, Siyavush Novruzov have been
on a visit in the Canadian city of Quebec for participation in 52nd
annual session NATO PA.
One of the major questions of the agenda of session was the
prepared report on the countries of Southern Caucasus, and the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This question has been
discussed at the session of Defense and Safety Committee of NATO PA
taken place on November 14 and corresponding decision was accepted.
As stated by Mr. Suyavush Novruzov, the session considered the
question of integration of the countries of Southern Caucasus in
the Euro-Atlantic space, including reports on Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Armenia.
Prepared earlier in subcommittee of NATO PA, the report on Azerbaijan
did not satisfy us, he said. “We repeatedly expressed our opinion on
the documents. After the meetings, held during stay of representatives
of Committee in Baku, the report was radically changed. I shall note,
that the document in this time reflected the fact of occupation
of 20 percent of the Azerbaijan territories, heavy life of more
than 1 million refugees and IDPs, and also driving of 200 thousand
Azerbaijanis from their native lands in the territory of Armenia, 4
Resolutions of UN Security Council on aggression of Armenia against
Azerbaijan. Along with that, the document also specifies the arsons
committed by Armenians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. This
is an only document where the concrete figures contain all the moments
connected to the conflict.
>From 26 states-participants possessing the vote, 25 have voted at
session for acceptance of the given document”.
The document especially notes the role of Azerbaijan in energy
safety of Europe. Though the Armenian party lifted the far-fetched
“genocide” question again, it has been completely excluded from the
text of the document.

TURKEY GIVES IN ON FREE SPEECH BUT CUTS ARMY TIES WITH PARIS
By Mark Beunderman
EUobserver.com, Belgium
Nov 16 2006
In a move to curry favour with the EU, Turkey has said it will quickly
change a notorious article of its penal code curbing free speech – but
at the same time, Ankara has put its ties with France under further
strain by suspending military cooperation following a dispute over
the Armenian genocide.
Turkish officials on Wednesday (15 November) announced they will work
towards amending the notorious article 301 of the penal code which
penalises insulting “Turkishness” before EU leaders meet for a 14-15
December summit meeting, which is set to be dominated by a debate on
the fate of Ankara’s embattled EU accession process.
Newswires cite Turkish officials as saying the country’s ruling AKP
party hopes to have a parliamentary vote on the issue “in the first
week of December,” just ahead of the EU leaders’ meeting.
Revision of article 301 is seen as a symbolically important move,
with a critical European Commission report on Turkey’s accession
process earlier this month highlighting the article as contributing
to a “climate of self-censorship in the country.”
The article has been used to bring charges against various
intellectuals or journalists including Nobel Prize winner Orham Pamuk,
with important parts of Turkish civil society also eager to get rid
of it.
But while the announced concession on free speech could take some of
the criticism on Turkey away at the December summit, one important
EU player – France – on Wednesday saw its tense relations with Ankara
further deteriorate as a Turkish general announced that military ties
with Paris will be suspended.
“Relations with France in the military field have been suspended,”
general Ilker Basbug said according to press reports, adding the move
is a protest against pending French legislation which would penalise
the denial of the 1915 Armenian genocide.
The new French bill, adopted by the French National Assembly but
still waiting for approval from the Senate, makes it a crime to deny
that Armenians suffered genocide by the Ottoman Turks, with Ankara
describing the bill immediately after adoption in October as a
“severe blow” to French-Turkish relations.
Ankara denies that the mass killings of Armenians during World War
I constituted a genocide.
The row is escalating just as Paris is defining its position on whether
or not to suspend Turkey’s EU accession talks over the Cyprus issue,
with Brussels and EU capitals pressing Ankara to open its ports and
airports to traffic from Cyprus before the December summit.
Ankara’s continuing failure to open up to shipping from Cyprus –
and EU member which Ankara does not recognise – could jeopardise the
accession negotiations, with member states currently debating whether
the talks should be fully or partially frozen.
Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that his
country is not ready to compromise over the issue, stating “We won’t
bow to blackmail, in the same way that we did not bow to blackmail
in the past.”
The Finnish EU presidency is currently engaged in intense diplomatic
efforts to save the Turkey talks, proposing in a trade-off plan that
the EU lift the isolation of Turkish Cypriots in the North of the
island in return for Turkey allowing trade from Cyprus.

GENERAL BASBUG: TURKISH-FRENCH MILITARY RELATIONS ARE SHELVED FOR NOW
Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 16 2006
The top commanding officer of the Turkish Land Forces, General Ilker
Basbug, has said that following the French Parliament’s decision to
approve a bill calling for jail time and monetary fines for people
publicly denying Armenian genocide allegations, that high level visits
between his officers and French land forces officers are no longer
on the docket.
Basbug commented yesterday that relations between Turkish and
French military officials are currently “shelved” in the wake of the
controversial French parliamentary decision. Basbug’s comments came
during a reception in honor of the founding of the Northern Cypriot
republic.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE IS IDEAL FORUM TO CONTINUE SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN
AND ARMENIA ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT: U.S. MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR URGES
Author: A.Mammadova, E.Huseynov
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
U.S. Ambassador Matthew Bryza, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, stated
in an exclusive interview for Trend that the OSCE is the ideal forum
from which to continue the settlement negotiations between Azerbaijan
and Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He was commenting on
the possible involvement of other international organizations, such
as the Council of Europe, United Nations and other organizations in
the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh.
The diplomat stressed that statements by other international groups and
bodies that reinforce the OSCE Minsk Group process and the Co-Chairs’
Basic Principles may certainly be helpful. The leaders of the G8
countries issued such a statement in St Petersburg in July, he added.
Bryza recalled that more recently, the UN and OSCE worked together to
bring about an OSCE-led assessment mission of the wild fires in and
around Nagorno-Karabakh with joint participation of Azerbaijani and
Karabakh-Armenian experts. “I consider that kind of co-operation to be
a positive sign, and I hope we’ll see the two sides agree to more of
these kinds of confidence-building measures in the future,” he stated.
‘We were encouraged by the positive mood and open-minded spirit of
the two Foreign Ministers in their recent discussions, as well as
their commitment to continue discussions based on the Co-Chairs’
Basic Principles,” he said.
The diplomat voiced his belief that the basic principles represent a
fair, balanced, workable solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
and hoped that the two sides will embrace those principles – perhaps
with some minor modifications and improvements based on their own
input – as the basis for enduring peace in the region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS WOULD BE A STEP TOWARDS SETTLING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT – ARMENIAN PRIMER
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
The meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia would be a
step towards settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian
Prime Minister, Andranik Markaryan briefed the media on 15 November.
“The possibility of conducting the meeting would be a step forward
and would mean that the Foreign Ministers of the two countries have
agreed on certain topics,” the Head of the Government stressed.
“Naturally more detailed discussions will take place at the time of
the meeting of the Presidents,” Markaryan said, adding that “I would
welcome such a meeting”.
During the recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan,
Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan in Brussels, the
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group offered to discuss the expediency
of the meeting of the Presidents of the two countries, Trend reports
with reference to News-Armenia.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry considered the negotiations which took
place between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as constructive.

EU-ARMENIA ACTION PLAN WILL LEAD THE REPUBLIC TO QUALITATIVELY NEW LEVEL
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.11.2006 17:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian, Azeri and Georgian FMs held a news
conference in Brussels yesterday. During the event, led by EU External
Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the Armenian and Azeri
FMs were predisposed well towards each other. In any case, their
comments differed strongly from those made public during previous
similar meetings. In their prior comments both Ministers appreciated
the Action Plans within the ENP. Answering a question, whether their
comments seeming friendly mean anything in the light of the talks over
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict starting today, Vartan Oskanian said,
“We do not know what may happen tomorrow. There is a logical proposal
on the bargaining table, there are interesting ideas, talks should be
held and the necessary will should be displayed. This is what today’s
statement expressed.”
In the opinion of Azeri FM Mammadyarov, “the issue should be considered
within the context that time pushed us forward, mutual understanding
has enhanced, it is necessary to move away from a stalemate point.”
“In this case I believe we have good opportunities,” Mammadyarov said.
Speaking of the Action Plan within the ENP, Oskanian remarked,
“New quality is attributed to our relations.
It is a rather large document, which comprises new opportunities. It
is necessary to concentrate and implement it in the best manner.” “We
want to fully use it, as it will really lead Armenia to a qualitatively
new level both in political and economic respects,” reports RFE/RL.