ASBAREZ Online [10-07-2004]

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10/07/2004
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Writer Paulo Coelho Receives Praise in Armenia 2) French Politicians Seek Debate, Vote on Turkey 3) Pallone Calls on Powell To Protest Turkish Law Criminalizing Discussion of the Armenian Genocide 4) CIS Parliamentary Assembly to Review Armenian Genocide Recognition 5) ANCA Urges Legislators To Adopt Key Pro-Armenia Trade Measure Before Congress Ends Session 1) Writer Paulo Coelho Receives Praise in Armenia YEREVAN (Armenpress)--Prominent Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho met with President Kocharian on October 7 to discuss the role of culture and literature in educating the new generation. Coelho, who is visiting Armenia at the invitation of the Hamazkayin cultural organization, is well-known for his powerful storytelling technique and profound spiritual insights. The president remarked that Coelho's works erode the boundary between reality and fantasy in the best traditions of Latin American literary heritage. The president also said the Armenian translation of one of his most acclaimed works, The Alchemist, has become accessible to Armenian readers. On October 5, the auditorium of the Armenian Writers' Union was packed to honor the author. Chairman of Armenian Writers' Union Levon Ananyan, praised The Alchemist as an outstanding piece of modern literature and presented a membership card of honor to Coelho. In his speech, Coelho spoke of the Armenia as a motherland which has children around the world, who come back to their motherland and enrich its culture with the elements of different civilizations. 2) French Politicians Seek Debate, Vote on Turkey PARIS (Reuters)--French politicians opposed to Turkey joining the European Union called on Thursday for a debate and vote in parliament before a December summit at which the EU will decide whether to start accession talks. The demand highlighted splits in France that could undermine Turkey's entry bid and increased pressure on President Jacques Chirac over the issue, one day after the European Commission recommended Ankara be allowed to open entry talks. Ignoring an appeal for calm by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, about 50 deputies from Chirac's conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party and the center-right Union for the French Democracy (UDF) wrote to the president seeking a meeting with him on Turkey. They also demanded a debate before the EU's December summit. Prominent politicians seeking a vote in the 577-seat parliament, as well as a debate, include Laurent Fabius, a Socialist former prime minister and possible presidential candidate in 2007. "No negotiations have ever started without them ending up in a 'yes'," Fabius told reporters, reflecting the concerns of some French politicians that Turkey's entry is an accomplished and presumably irreversible fact and that they will not be properly consulted. UDF head Francois Bayrou said such an historic decision had to pass through parliament as well as be put to a referendum "as an elementary rule of democracy." Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the hard-right National Front, voiced his concerns too. "Once negotiations start, there'll be no turning back whatever happens," he said. Parliamentary speaker Jean-Louis Debre, a Chirac ally, has said a parliamentary debate on Turkey's membership can be organized but not a vote. Even a debate could embarrass Chirac because it would underline the divisions over Turkey. REASSURANCE BY RAFFARIN Raffarin seemed determined to head off controversy by saying there was nothing immediate or definitive. "Let's talk straight. Turkey's not going to be in a position to join the European Union in the coming years but we can't shut the door for eternity," Raffarin told Metro, a publication that is distributed free of charge in Paris and other big cities. "Let's not allow partisan politics to draw the curtains on a matter that needs time," he said, highlighting that Turkey would need big progress on reform before joining the EU and that there was a clause allowing suspension of talks after they opened. The Commission says Turkey has made substantial progress in political reforms but must improve implementation, notably in the fight against torture, and expand freedom of expression and religion, and rights for women, trade unions, and minorities. Chirac announced last Friday that France would hold a referendum on entry if the EU agrees to accession, despite the risk that France could block its membership. He made the move under pressure from his ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Although a referendum is unlikely for more than a decade, a recent opinion poll showed 56 percent of French people oppose Turkey's immediate entry because of fears over jobs and concerns about letting in a mainly Muslim country that straddles the divide between Europe and Asia. France, a predominantly Catholic country which is also home to Europe's biggest Jewish and Muslim communities, did not hold a referendum before the EU expanded to 25 members in May. French people are concerned that France's influence in the EU has been diluted by enlargement and that the entry of a country of 71 million people will water it down more. 3) Pallone Calls on Powell To Protest Turkish Law Criminalizing Discussion of the Armenian Genocide WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)--Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) this week called on Secretary of State Colin Powell to formally protest Turkey's adoption of a new penal code that criminalizes even the discussion of the Armenian genocide. Section 306 of new Turkish penal code provides for prison sentences of between three and ten years for remarks concerning the facts of the Armenian genocide or the withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces from Cyprus. In his letter, Congressman Pallone noted that this action represents a "hardening [of Turkey's] anti-Armenian stance and undermines hopes for a reduction of tensions in the region." Commenting specifically on the Administration's opposition to the Genocide Resolution (H.Res.193 and S.Res.164), Rep. Pallone said, "We have been told, recently and in the past, that the State Department and the Administration have fought so strenuously against this legislation, because its adoption would somehow harm progress in the region toward the normalization of ties between these two states. This line of reasoning is, in my view, deeply flawed. However, if the State Department were to seriously rely on this argument concerning improved Turkey-Armenia relations, it would stand to reason that the State Department should also publicly and privately condemn Turkey's patently hateful codification of its official campaign to deny the Armenian genocide." "Armenian Americans, having endured years of attacks on efforts to recognize the Armenian genocide, remain profoundly troubled by the hypocrisy of a State Department that never hesitates to openly protest--and strenuously work against--legislation before Congress commemorating this crime, yet seems perpetually unable to summon the will to utter even a single word of concern regarding Turkey's hateful and shameless campaign of genocide denial," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. The full text of Congressman Pallone's letter is provided below. Dear Secretary Powell, I write to you today to bring your attention to a recent troubling development in Turkey. Just this past week, Turkey adopted a new penal code that represents a dramatic display of the Turkish government's campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide and further inhibit a resolution to the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus. This new criminal code not only hinders improved relations between the Republic of Armenia and Turkey, but it is also an imprudent step on the part of a nation that is desperately trying to establish an image of having a free and democratic society. Section 306 of this new criminal code would punish individual Turkish citizens or groups that confirm the fact of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey or call for the end of the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus--with up to ten years in prison. Far from coming to terms with the Genocide or reaching out to Armenia-Turkey, in adopting Section 306 of its new penal code, is hardening its anti-Armenian stance and undermining hopes for a reduction of tensions in the region. I would like, for a moment, to discuss why I consider it important that the State Department not remain silent in the face of this extremely troubling restriction on freedom of expression mandated by a NATO ally. In the past, when the State Department has spoken out against an Armenian Genocide Resolution, it has argued that such legislation would not contribute to improved Turkish-Armenian relations. We have been told, recently and in the past, that the State Department and the Administration have fought so strenuously against this legislation, because its adoption would somehow harm progress in the region toward the normalization of ties between these two states. This line of reasoning is, in my view, deeply flawed. However, if the State Department were to seriously rely on this argument concerning improved Turkey-Armenia relations, it would stand to reason that the State Department should also publicly and privately condemn Turkey's patently hateful codification of its official campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide, the most recent attempt being in the form of a repressive and unjustified new criminal code. Section 306 of the new criminal code does nothing to remove barriers to bilateral cooperation and lower the level of distrust and tension in this critically important region. I urge you and the State Department to condemn this oppressive provision in the criminal code and do everything that is in your power to ensure that the government of Turkey, our NATO ally-cease to inhibit the rights of its citizens; remove its troops from Northern Cyprus; come to terms with its own history; and finally start living up to the expectations that the United States has of free and democratic nations. 4) CIS Parliamentary Assembly to Review Armenian Genocide Recognition YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--The permanent defense and security commission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Parliamentary Assembly decided on Thursday to review recognition of the Armenian genocide during its 2005 session. The proposal came from the Russian Federation's Prosecutor General's office, and was approved by session participants. Parliamentary representatives of CIS member countries, who were meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, also reviewed a number of model legislative programs to combat crime and trading of illegal substances, as well as military-technical cooperation. Absent from the session were representatives of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. 5) ANCA Urges Legislators To Adopt Key Pro-Armenia Trade Measure Before Congress Ends Session --Urges Adoption of Provision as Part of Larger Trade Measure WASHINGTON, DC--With the 108th session of Congress coming to an end, the Armenian National Committee of America is urging legislators to include a pro-Armenia trade measure, spearheaded by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in the final version of a larger trade bill set to be approved before the end of this week. The US House, last November, approved Permanent Normal Trade Relations Status (PNTR) for Armenia, opening the door to expanded US-Armenia commercial relations. The Senate version of this legislation, known as the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (H.R.1047), did not include the PNTR for Armenia provision. As a result, the Congressional leadership has assigned a "conference committee" to reconcile the two different versions of this legislation. The conferees include Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA); Trade Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL); Rep. E. Clay Shaw (R-FL); Ways and Means Ranking Democrat, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY); Trade Subcommittee Ranking Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI); Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN); Finance Committee Chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), and; Finance Committee Ranking Democrat, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). The ANCA has asked Armenian Americans to call on their Senators and Representative to urge the conferees to include PNTR for Armenia in the final version of the bill approved by Congress. The ANCA action alert can be found at: The sample letter for activists includes several reasons to support this legislation, among them: * Increased US-Armenia trade and investment advances US foreign policy by strengthening Armenia's free market economic development and integration into the world economy. * Expanded US-Armenia commercial relations will strengthen bilateral relations and reinforces the enduring friendship between the American and Armenian peoples. * Adoption of PNTR for Armenia will help offset-- no cost to US taxpayers--the devastating impact of the dual Turkish and Azeri blockades, estimated by the World Bank as costing Armenia up to a third of its entire GDP (as much as $720 million annually) and half of its exports. The Trade Act of 1974 excluded all Soviet countries from having normal trade relations (NTR) status with the United States. One particular provision of the Act, known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment, required the President to deny NTR to those countries that restricted free emigration. The policy was adopted, in part, in response to Communist government restrictions on the emigration of Jews. According to the terms of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, when the President determines that freedom of emigration rights have been reinstated in a country, normal trade relations may be granted. To maintain NTR, the President must report to Congress twice a year that Jackson-Vanik requirements have been met. While successive Presidents have waived the Jackson-Vanik Amendment restrictions on Armenia during the past decade, the passage of the Knollenberg bill would grant Armenia permanent normal trade relations status, without the need for semi-yearly Presidential determinations. 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