Month: December 2008

ERDOGAN AND GUL’S SILENCE ON APOLOGY CAMPAIGN EQUALED TO INTEREST IN THE INITIATIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 17:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Corriere della Sera Italian newspaper has published
an article dedicated to the initiative of Turkish intellectual to
apologize for the Armenian Genocide.

Over 5000 Turkish intellectuals, authors, journalists, scientists and
musicians have already signed the petition which reads, "My conscience
does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the
Great Calamity that befell the Ottoman Armenians in 1915. I reject
this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and
pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."

According to the author of the article, Antonio Ferrari, Erdogan
and Gul’s silence on the apology campaign can be described as their
interest in the initiative.

Arriving in Armenia in September 2008, Turkish President Abdullah Gul
open a route which is being polished by diplomats now, Ferrari writes.
From: Baghdasarian

CAUCASUS PLATFORM CALLED IN QUESTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 17:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Caucasus stability and cooperation platform is
a good idea but its implementation is called into question, a Turkish
professor said.

"The problems between Georgia and Russia, as well as the Karabakh
conflict hamper implementation of the project," said Mitat Celikpala,
associate professor of international relations at Turkey’s TOBB
University.

"Besides, we should wait until U.S. President-elect Barack Obama
take office and announces his stand on the initiative," he said,
1news.az reports.

TURKISH PEOPLE SEEM WILLING TO KNOW THE TRUTH

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 17:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The apology campaign is an objective process that
has started within the Turkish society, an Armenian expert said.

"Turkish people finally seem willing to know the truth," Ruben
Safrastyan, director of the institute of oriental studies at the RA
national academy of sciences, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"The Turkish society is trying to confess, clear and dissociate itself
from the sad heritage of the Ottoman Empire, although it will be a
hard process," he said.

"Turkey needs acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide to move
forward. For Armenia, recognition is the issue of morality and
conscience," he said.

The apology petition initiated by a group of Turkish intellectuals
has been already signed by over 5000 people.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ECHR OBLIGES TURKEY TO PAY COMPENSATION TO ISTANBUL-BASED ARMENIAN FOUNDATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 17:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled
Tuesday that Turkey violated the property rights of two Armenian
foundations in Istanbul.

The Board of Governors of the Samatya Surp Kevork Armenian Church,
School and Cemetery and the Foundation for the Armenian Hospital in
Yedikule appealed to the Strasbourg-based court claiming the decision
taken by Turkish courts setting aside their title to property acquired
as a donation, violated their property rights under the European
Human Rights Convention.

The two Armenian foundations were established by Imperial Decree in
1832 under the Ottoman Empire and founded under modern Turkish law.

According to the ruling, Turkey must return the titles of all
properties to each foundation and pay compensation of 600,000 euro
to the Samatya Foundation and 275,000 euro to the Yedikule Foundation.

The charter of both foundations complies with the provisions of the
Lausanne Treaty affording protection to foundations that provide
public services for religious minorities.

The ECHR said Turkey had violated the protection of property rights
defined under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the convention, Hurriyet
Daily News reports.

AYTEKIN YILDIZ: TURKISH STATE HAS TO APOLOGIZE

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 17:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The apology campaign was not only criticized by
Turkish denialists, but also by some Turks who felt the statement
had not gone far enough, Zaman reports.

"It is a good starting point, but not enough. Firstly, what
do they mean by saying ‘Great Catastrophe’? Let’s name it. It is
genocide. Secondly, the state has to apologize," stated Aytekin Yildiz,
Coordinator of the Confrontation Association.

Historian Ayse Hur said that Turkey "has to apologize on behalf of
the perpetrators and for itself, too, because it has legitimized
their actions through the years."

Another prominent Turkish intellectual said, on condition of anonymity,
that the Turkish state, rather than individuals, must make the apology.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR: BAKU STATEMENTS THWART INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 18:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan’s attempts to impose on the mediators and
the world community its own vision for the Nagorno Karabakh problem
and the ways of its settlement are not a novelty, the NKR Foreign
Ministry said.

"Baku resorts to different techniques, in particular, presents itself
as a victim of its own aggression launched against the people of NKR
and uses slogans for European values and democracy as a cover for
its goals," Georgy Petrossian said.

"Meanwhile, the latest statements by the Azerbaijani leadership, in
particular, the peculiar interpretation of provisions of the Moscow
Declaration by Ilham Aliyev, i.e the political settlement of the
conflict does not exclude use of force, as well as the above-mentioned
Azerbaijani principles of conflict settlement demonstrate all the
hypocrisy of the Azerbaijani diplomacy and thwart the efforts of the
international community to find ways of peaceful resolution of the
conflict. Moreover, this kind of actions by Azerbaijan show not only
disrespect for the international mediators’ work, but also create an
impression of Azerbaijan as an improper partner, which is ready to
denounce a previous agreement the very next day," he said.

MOSCOW TO HOST A CONFERENCE ON GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 18:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Moscow-based Russian-Armenian Association jointly
with Just World Institute will hold an international conference titled
"The phenomenon of genocide: its causes and ways of prevention" on
December 17, reported Yerkramas, the news paper of Armenians of Russia.

The conference is dated to the 60 th anniversary of Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It will bring
together politicians and experts from the CIS and Europe, who will
discuss the following issues: genocide as a gravest international
crime and its legal classification as a crime against humanity;
theArmenian Genocide as an international crime of extermination of a
nation; legal and political responsibility of states and individuals
involved in the organization and perpetration of genocide; UN measures
for prevention of genocide.

"Lack of an adequate assessment of the first genocide of the 20
th century – barbarous extermination of the Armenian nation by the
Ottoman Turkey – led to other crimes against humanity," said Yuri
Navoyan, president of the Russian-Armenian Association.

NKR FM: ATTEMPT TO PULL KARABAKH BACK TO PAST DOOMED TO FAILURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 18:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The current status quo is the result of aggression
and consequent hostilities of Azerbaijan against NKR and its people,
the NKR Foreign Minister said.

"As an initiator of the war, Azerbaijan carries full responsibility
for the consequences. The existing status quo is the minimum that
allowed guaranteeing the security and independence of NKR and its
people under Azerbaijani aggression," Georgy Petrossian said.

"The policy of the NKR authorities is directed to maintaining peace
and guaranteeing the irreversibility of the process of establishment
of long-time stability in the region. Changing the status quo,
as we see it, will inevitably lead to destabilization of the
situation and escalation of tensions with a possible resumption
of hostilities. During the years of Soviet rule, the leadership of
the Azerbaijani SSR, including "national leader" Heydar Aliyev, was
trying to make Nagorno Karabakh not self-sufficient and dependent
on Baku, first of all with their attempts to change the demographic
composition of the population. This was also the case while drawing
the borders of the former Nagorno Karabakh autonomous region. Today,
they are trying to return Nagorno Karabakh into the past. However
these attempts are doomed to failure," he said.

"The readiness to risk regional peace, a basic precondition for
social-economic development and realization of international investment
projects, makes the policy of official Baku a serious threat not
only to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, but also to regional peace
and security," the Minister added.

KARABAKH HASN’T RECEIVED "TECHNICAL DOCUMENT" ON CONFLICT SETTLEMENT YET

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 18:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Nagorno Karabakh authorities have not received
the "technical document" French mediator Bernard Fassier was speaking
about, said Georgy Petrossian, the NKR Foreign Minister.

"However as a party to the conflict, acknowledged as such in accordance
with OSCE basic documents on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, we expect
to get it soon from the Minsk Group Co-chairs," he said.

Earlier, OSCE MG French Co-chair, Ambassador Bernard Fassier said that
Foreign Ministers of Russia, France and the U.S. handed a technical
document, which can speed up the settlement process, to the sides in
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"First of all, this document should be developed and
studied. Afterwards, it will be either approved or rejected," the
Ambassador said, adding that Armenia and Azerbaijan were offered
a schedule of coordination of the basic principles till the end of
the year.

"The latest meeting in Helsinki was useful. Foreign Ministers of
Armenia and Azerbaijan held 5-hour talks on the Karabakh issue,"
Fassier said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO: OSCE MINSK GROUP HANDLES ITS JOB WELL

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 18:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NATO supports peaceful resolution of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, the Alliance’s Deputy Secretary General said
in Baku.

"Resolution of the conflict will do good to the entire region. The OSCE
Minsk Group handles its job well and NATO will endorse its efforts,"
Claudio Bisogniero said, Trend Azeri news agency reports.