Month: March 2007

MIGHT EUROPE BAN GENOCIDE DENIAL?

514
Updated: March 2007

On February 15, the EU’s 27 Justice Ministers met to revive draft
legislation that, if enacted, would make criminal offenses of such
acts as incitement to racial hatred, genocide denial and condoning
crimes against humanity. The Germany chairmanship of the EU, currently
leading the negotiations, hopes to have the text adopted in the spring-
possibly even in April 2007.

For Bashy Quraishy, chairman of ENAR, the European NGO network against
racism, "a third failed attempt to agree this instrument would send
a disastrous message to the victims of racism, as well as to the
perpetrators, and would have the potential to foster a growing sense
of impunity for racist hate in Europe". The draft legislation was
initially put forward by the European Commission in 2001, but Member
States have since failed to reach agreement.

Consensus was almost reached in 2005, but Italy, under Berlusconi,
vetoed it at the time. The country’s new Prime Minister, Romano Prodi,
has now lifted its objection.

EU member states remain divided between the imperative of preserving
freedom of expression and the struggle against racism. They do not
all share the opinion of philosopher Karl Popper, as quoted by German
Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries: " in the name of tolerance, we
must claim the right to be in tolerant with the intolerant.".

Why European legislation against racism? In the first place, article
29 of the EU Treaty, the European institutions’ Bible, mandates
the EU to act against racism. Furthermore, disparities between the
Member States’ legislation make it increasingly difficult to prosecute
racists; the Internet has indeed made to that problem worse. Finally,
the EU has the legitimacy to act: 84% of Europeans are said to support
increased EU action against racism.

The German government regularly appeals to their country’s "specific
historic responsibility" to press for the adoption of European
legislation on racism. For them, consistency self evidently demands
that genocide denial be made illegal at the same time as incitement
to racial hatred.

The initial 2001 proposal was quite clear on this subject, and proposed
to ban the denial and "public condoning with racist or xenophobic
intentions" of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

However, not all European governments share Germany’s determination
on this topic. The British government, for instance, continues to
favour freedom of speech, to the point of even opposing sanctions
against denial of the Holocaust. Inevitably, when it comes to the
Armenian genocide, foreign-policy considerations add to Member States’
hesitations.

The compromise that will emerge from these differences may allow Member
States to abstain from implementing some of its provisions if they
wish. One of the ideas under discussion for instance is that Member
States should be allowed to require that genocide or crimes against
humanity be recognised by an international tribunal for their denial
to be illegal.

This clause would of course allow the states that are concerned not
to offend Turkey to exclude the Armenian genocide from the scope of
European legislation. It would also allow Turkey to join the European
Union without having to face the daunting task of banning genocide
denial on its own territory.

At the end of the day, whether or not the text is adopted remains
uncertain.

In matters of criminal co-oporation within the EU, unanimity is
required; this provides each member state with a veto. The European
Parliament will be consulted on the text, but it will not be able to
amend it.

And yet, while there is reason to fear that reasons of state
or disagreement on principle may, yet again, stand in the way of
clamping down on racism, there is also reason to be optimistic. The
struggle against racism is after all one of the priorities of 2007,
which has been declared "European Year of Equal Opportunities". So
member states will want to show results. Secondly, another failure
in the negotiations would be very embarrassing, in the face of past
declarations and commitments. Finally, the German presidency of the
EU seems to be moving ahead with determination.

The German Justice minister, Brigitte Zypries, thus declared after
the latest talks, that "the European continent must send a clear
signal that we wish to combat racism and xenophobia in Europe. It is
true to say that some countries have expressed reservations. But I
am convinced that we will find an agreement."

The same day as European ministers had met to discuss this proposed
law, another meeting was taking place in Brussels that underlined the
significance of the ministers’ work. Just a few hundred metres away
the from the European Council’s building, Turkish Prof. Dr. Yousouf
Halacoglou gave a (denialist) conference entitled "perspectives on
the so-called Armenian genocide" sponsored by the Turkish platform
in Brussels. Belgian authorities made no objection.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, CIS MILITARY TREATY OFFICIAL DISCUSS COOPERATION

Arminfo
15 Mar 07

Yerevan, 15 March: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met [CIS]
Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] Secretary General
Nikolay Bordyuzha in Yerevan today [15 March].

The presidential press service reported that the parties had discussed
the key goals of the CSTO as well as issues related to reforming the
organization to raise its effectiveness.

ARMENIAN SPEAKER SCEPTICAL ABOUT OPINION POLLS

Arminfo
15 Mar 07

Yerevan, 15 March: Armenian Speaker Tigran Torosyan is sceptical about
various opinion polls on the forthcoming parliamentary election in
the country [on 12 May]. According to such polls, the Republican Party
of Armenia [RPA] has considerably less popularity than the Prosperous
Armenia Party [led by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan].

Torosyan told a news conference today [15 March] that results of such
polls are quite approximate almost two months before the election as
voters have not yet made up their minds in terms of their preferences
and that it is a question whether they are sincere or not when giving
their answers. "I am sure that the picture will significantly change
when we get closer to the election, but even then, such polls will
be relative," he said.

ARMENIAN SPEAKER SAYS HIS PARTY WANTS FREE AND FAIR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

Arminfo
15 Mar 07

Yerevan, 15 Mar: The 12 May parliamentary election in Armenia will be
of great significance to Armenia for the next 20-25 years, National
Assembly [parliament] Speaker Tigran Torosyan told a news conference
today [15 March].

He said he was not talking about the possibility that the Millennium
Challenges Account programme may be suspended if cases of possible
[election] fraud are detected. The country’s future and its democratic
development are more important than several million dollars, he said.

He also said that there are tens of thousands of people in the
Republican Party of Armenia [RPA] – where he is the deputy chairman
of the board – and it is impossible to make sure that no party member
engages in fraud. However, the RPA’s position was and is the same:
to thwart any fraud and do whatever it takes to ensure free and fair
election. Torosyan said that in the near future, a commission will be
set up in the parliament tasked with ensuring free and fair election.

As for the RPA’s chances in the parliamentary race, Torosyan said
that any political party which has a faction in parliament counts on
maintaining what it has and enlarge its representation, if possible.

OSKANIAN STATES THAT PART OF ORDINARY CITIZENS OF ARMENIA HAVE SENSE OF POWERLESSNESS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 15 2007

GENEVA, MARCH 15, NOYAN TAPAN. On March 13, RA Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian made a speech a the UN Human Rights Council.

The Minister, in particualr, regretted to say that the human rights
record in our whole region during the past fifteen years is nothing
to be envied. "It is a case study in how human rights abuses lead
to conflict and how conflicts heighten human rights abuses. From
pogroms to ethnic cleansing, from destruction of spiritual markers
to vilification of ethnic groups, we have lived through the worst
that man can do to man," he said.

The Minister stated that it is an entangled web of human rights
abuses of varied scope, nature and depth that has brought our region
to this situation.

First, there is the total disrespect of the cultural values of
other people.

Five thousand Armenian monuments have been destroyed by the Azerbaijani
government in the region of Nakhichevan in the past few years, simply
to eliminate the trace of a whole nation from that territory.

Second, there is the violation of the right of people to
self-determination.

In the waning days of the USSR, the people of Nagorno Karabakh opted
for self-determination. The Azerbaijani authorities decided to attack
their own citizens to suppress those calls. "And by doing so, they
lost the political and moral right to govern people they considered
their own citizens," Oskanian stated.

The third phenomenon, in Oskanian’s words, is the negative consequences
of the double denialism of the Turkish government. The denial of the
right of their own people to freely discuss and debate their common
past with Armenians, and the denial to both Armenians and Turks to
forge a common future, by keeping borders closed. Hrant Dink, the
Turkish-Armenian journalist who fell victim to an assassin’s bullet,
was the embodiment of both Turkishness and Armenianness. Hrant Dink
had two missions in his life – to break all taboos within his own
society, Turkish society, and to forge a dialog between Turks and
Armenians to reach understanding and reconciliation. "Indeed, that’s
exactly what we want today," Oskanian said.

Speaking about Armenia’s commitment to human rights and democracy,
Oskanian said that in our 16th year of independence, our people will
be going to the polls to elect a parliament whose powers the people
chose to enhance, to invest them with broad authorities for social
and economic advances. The task of our next government is clear:
to stay the course and more aggressively promote human rights,
alleviate poverty and build effective governing institutions, to
enable our society to embrace democracy individually and collectively.

In the Minister’s words, the cruelties inherent in the process of
massive economic readjustment that we have been undergoing have led
to a sense of powerlessness on the part of ordinary citizens. "As a
consequence, they are cynical about the value of expressing their
voice. This means we must work harder to strengthen democratic
institutions and processes, including elections," Oskanian stated.

US DIPLOMATS URGE FREE AND FAIR ELECTION IN ARMENIA

Armenia TV, Yerevan
15 Mar 07

[Correspondent] The improvement of voter lists, organization of
elections, ensuring an awareness of election commissions, fact-finding
visits aimed at learning election practices of other countries,
raising an awareness of voters, organizing classes about legal issues
in elections, financing NGOs in election and observance of elections
by local and international officials are general elements through
which the US government will assist to improve the election activity
in Armenia.

[US charge d’affaires in Armenia Anthony Godfree, in English with
Armenian voice-over] The USA has been assisting Armenia for some time
in improving the election activity in the country within the framework
of its programme to help develop democracy. Working with the [Armenian]
government and social workers, we are ready to help Armenia to make
speedy improvement. We see the necessary opportunities for that.

[A man identified as USAID mission director for Armenia, in English
with Armenian voice-over] This programme differs from previous ones
by its content. We will work with representatives of different strata
of society to ensure justice in election.

[Correspondent] The new election guidelines and the improved
constitution give opportunity for better cooperation, Anthony Godfree
said. He added that cooperation involved both government organizations
and NGOs.

[Anthony Godfree] We attach particular importance to seminars on
investigating an election fraud. The seminars are under way. Polls
show that Armenians are worried about lack of investigation of an
election fraud.

[Correspondent] Anthony Godfree says that not only the international
community should be concerned about voter lists. The voters should
be active in this as well. All our programmes are objective, Godfree
says, adding that this time the work will also be done for further
improvement.

[USAID mission director for Armenia] We have already allocated funds
to some NGOs that will observe the election thoroughly. An awareness
of voters and the participation of passive groups should be encouraged.

[Correspondent] The Millennium Challenge programme has no intention
to replace other aid provided by the US government. The aid of
the USA within the Freedom Support Act has been insufficient for
some countries. Armenia is lucky to receive assistance through
the Millennium Challenge programme which is important to improve
infrastructure, Godfree said.

He added that a free and fair election is very important for continuous
participation in the programme. The US representatives said that a fair
election will make Armenia more powerful. Godfree said that if everyone
shows responsibility, this election will be a substantial improvement.

CIS MILITARY TREATY OFFICIAL SAYS HIS VISIT TO ARMENIA, NATO WEEK COINCIDENCE

Mediamax news agency
15 Mar 07

Yerevan, 15 March: Armenia is an active member of the [CIS] Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and sees the provision of its
security within the framework of this very organization.

Mediamax reports that the CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha,
who is in Armenia for a visit, said this today during the meeting
with the students of the Yerevan State University.

According to him, at present the CSTO is elaborating three directions
of structural development: collective response to extreme situations;
peacekeeping operations both within the framework of the CSTO and
other regions if there is a corresponding request of the UN Security
Council, as well as provision of information security.

Nikolay Bordyuzha also noted that he did not take part in the NATO week

in Armenia, and his visit coincided with the schedule of events within
the framework of the [NATO] week.

REPRESENTATIVE BILBRAY DECIDES TO COSPONSOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

ArmRadio.am
15.03.2007 14:32

The San Diego ANC met with the Congressional District Office of
Congressman Brian Bilbray on March 12, 2007. Preceding this meeting,
the San Diego ANC engaged the community by preparing letters
to Rep. Bilbray voicing concerns regarding the Armenian Genocide
Resolution. Next, members of the Armenian American community of the
Greater San Diego area traveled to Rep. Bilbray’s district office to
discuss the Armenian Genocide Resolution and other issues of concern
to local constituents.

Within one day of the meeting, the Congressman communicated his
support for the Armenian Genocide Resolution. "This meeting with
Congressman Bilbray’s office allowed us to present a united front
of support for H. Res. 106 – we need to make sure that the Armenian
Genocide is properly recognized by Congress, " stated ANC activist
Edik Ismaelyan. "During the meeting, each attendee expressed an
individual perspective on the Armenian Genocide Resolution and the
Congressman’s office greatly appreciated our visit. We look forward
to working with Congressman Bilbray here in his district," added ANC
activist Rob Deranian.

46 of the 53 Congressmen from California have signed on as cosponsors
to H. Res. 106.

ISRAELI KNESSET REJECTS THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

ArmRadio.am
15.03.2007 14:35

The Israeli Knesset did not pass the resolution on recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. 12 Deputies voted for the bill in the Parliament
having 120 seats. At the moment of voting 27 parliamentarians were
present in the hall. The resolution would be adopted if two more MPs
voted for it, since according to the procedure, the bill passes in
case the majority of those present vote in favor of it.

The issue was put on agenda at the initiative of the "Meres" party,
which has 6 seats in the Parliament. The Foreign Minister of Israel
declared yesterday that the ruling coalition would not vote for the
resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

One of the leaders of the Armenian National Committee of Israel,
historian Georgette Avagyann had declared the other day, "I hope
that if the adoption of the resolution fails this time, it will be
certainly passed next time."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS TEAM OFF TO PARIS

ArmRadio.am
15.03.2007 14:41

The Armenian artistic gymnastics team left for Paris today to
participate in the World Cup round to be held March 18-19 in
France. Armenpress was told from RA Gymnastics and Acrobatics
Federation that the trainer of the team is Hakob Serobyan. The
team comprises Vahagn Stepanyan, Harutyun Merdinyan and Astghik
Gyulnazaryan.