Author: Andres-Papazian

ANALYSTS SAY N. KOREAN MISSILES “FAKE”

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 26, 2012 – 18:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Half a dozen ominous new North Korean missiles
showcased at a lavish military parade were clumsy fakes, according to
analysts. Their conclusions cast more doubt on the country’s claims of
military prowess after its recent rocket launch failure. The weapons
displayed on April 15 appear to be a mish-mash of liquid-fuel and
solid-fuel components that could never fly together, the experts said,
according to Belfast Telegraph.

Undulating casings on the missiles suggest the metal is too thin to
withstand flight. Each missile was slightly different from the others,
even though all were supposedly the same make, and they did not fit
the launchers they were carried on.

Analysts detailed the discrepancies in a paper posted on the website
Armscontrolwonk.com, adding there is no doubt the missiles were
mock-ups. “It remains unknown if they were designed this way to
confuse foreign analysts, or if the designers simply did some sloppy
work,” Markus Schiller and Robert Schmucker, of Germany’s Schmucker
Technologie, wrote in a paper.

The missiles, called KN-08s, were loaded on to the largest mobile
launch vehicles North Korea has ever unveiled. Pyongyang gave them
special prominence by presenting them at the end of the lavish parade,
which capped weeks of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of
the country’s founding father, Kim Il Sung. The unveiling created
an international stir. The missiles appeared to be new, and designed
for long-range attacks.

Along with developing nuclear weapons, North Korea has long been
suspected of trying to field an intercontinental ballistic missile
(ICBM) capable of reaching the United States. Washington contends that
North Korea’s failed April 13 rocket launch was an attempt to test
missile technology rather than the scientific mission Pyongyang claims.

But after poring over close-up photos of the missiles, Mr Schiller
and Mr Schmucker, whose company has advised Nato on missile issues,
argue the mock-ups indicate North Korea is a long way from having a
credible ICBM.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN NATION SHOULD REDOUBLE EFFORTS TOWARD THE REALIZATION OF THE ARMENIAN CAUSE – ASBAREZ

tert.am
26.04.12

The three years preceding the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide
must be a time for the Armenian nation to redouble its efforts
toward the realization of the Armenian Cause and the movement for the
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide must be equally
coupled with the pursuit of justice and demands for reparations and
restitution for the Genocide, Asbarez writes.

‘The Turkish government has accelerated its continued denial of the
Genocide, and will stop at nothing and spare no expense to advance a
policy that trumpets its skewed version of history. At the same time,
other governments, especially the United States, are becoming more
and more entrenched in the Turkish campaign and are becoming pawns
in Ankara’s ploys and as a result broadening their complicity in
the crime.

The agenda for the Armenian nation is simple yet complicated at the
same time. Simple, because it is the reiteration of the decades-long
call for justice; complicated, because the imperative to launch
a multi-pronged approach to the just resolution of our national
aspirations will require will and determination from the entire
Armenian nation.

The government of Armenia, which kicked off the centennial efforts by
hosting a large-scale conference in Yerevan last year, should become
a more active in the field and utilize its position as a world player
to pursue the international recognition of the Genocide. After all,
this matter is etched into Armenia’s Constitution and whoever ascends
to the leadership of the country, must make this a priority. In the
past we’ve seen the Turkish government apparatus completely involved in
efforts to undermine Genocide recognition, be that in the US Congress
for the French legislature, while the Armenian government has sat on
the margins. The centennial must serve as a call to action for the
government to work in concert with advocacy groups and movements in
the Diaspora and advance the cause of justice.

By the same token, the push by the Diaspora for the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide should take on renewed impetus and be based
on the logic that reparations and restitution for the Genocide go
hand-in-hand with its recognition. Individual efforts to mount law
suits for survivor claims should be coordinated so that they are
not class-action suits that merely scratch the surface of what is
actually owed to the descendents of the Genocide. The pressure must
be placed on the Turkish government to take responsibility not only
of its history but the consequences of the Genocide.

The Armenian youth have an important and historic role to play in
the realization of our national agenda. It is the youth who will be
marshalling the cause. The activism demonstrated by the youth in the
past several year is encouraging and, in some cases, contagious. It
is imperative to reinvigorate the methodology and modality of the
pursuit of Hai-Tahd and the new generation must be front and center
in leading that effort. There are plenty of examples in the world
today of how the youth have taken the mantle for justice and mobilized
masses toward victory.

The challenges we face as a nation are manifold. Aside the fight for
recognition and reparations for the Genocide, there is the equally
important element of working to advance and strengthen Armenia,
fighting for the self-determination of people of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (Artsakh) and the well-being of the Armenian population
in Javakhk. All those are links to the same chain. All those are
intertwined with the ultimate fate of the Armenian nation.

To paraphrase the famous Armenian author, our nation’s salvation
lies in its collective strength. The imperative to demonstrate that
strength is NOW,’ the editorial concludes.

From: A. Papazian

EDUARD SHARMAZANOV RESPONDS TO THE STATEMENTS OF TURKEY’S FOREIGN MINISTRY

tert.am
14:07 ~U 26.04.12

Vice chairman of Armenia’s National Assembly commented on the
criticism of the Turkish foreign ministry over the statements on the
97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide made by the U.S. President
Barack Obama, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s presidential
candidate Francois Hollande.

‘Armenia welcomes the international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, condemnation of crimes against humanity and criminalization
of their denial. As to Turkey’s proposal about discussion of the fact
of the Armenian Genocide, I am forced to repeat again that the fact
of the Armenian Genocide cannot become a subject for discussion
at any case. The only obstacle on the way to the establishment
of Armenian-Turkish relations is Turkey which continues Armenia’s
blockade, forwards pre-conditions and continuously denies the fact
of the Armenian Genocide. Armenian-Turkish relations may be settled
only after Turkey puts an end to such behavior and implements the
international commitments it has assumed,’ Sharmazanov said.

From: A. Papazian

“SARDARAPAT” LOST A FRIEND

02:54 pm | Today | Social

The “Sardarapat” Movement’s initiating group was sad to receive the
news about the sudden death of well-known journalist Armen Dilanyan.

“With the death of Armen Dilanyan, Armenian journalists lost
professionalism and one of the best representatives that struck the
eye with impartiality, and the “Sardarapat” Movement lost its friend
and supporter.

Seeing hope for positive changes in Armenia through this movement,
in 2011 and 2012 Armen Dilanyan provided unconditional service to
provide awareness about the “Sardarapat” Movement in Los Angeles and
making its ideas popular.

We express our deep condolence to Armen’s family and relatives,”
as stated in the Movement’s statement.

From: A. Papazian

WHERE WERE THE OUTSTANDING ONES ON APRIL 24?
HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:27:55 – 26/04/2012

The Public Channel televised the celebration of April 24, the day of
remembrance of the genocide, by the Armenian community of Moscow.

Whenever the music awards of Tashir and Armenia are held at the
conference palace of the Kremlin, the house is full.

Hardly 500 people attended the ceremony of commemoration in one of
the squares of Moscow. Meanwhile, the Armenian community of Moscow
is one of the largest in the world. In Moscow, Armenians count from
several hundred thousand to one million.

In this sense, Moscow keeps up with Los Angeles and Paris. Meanwhile
the number of people attending the ceremonies in these cities and
Moscow cannot be compared.

The case of the Armenian community of Moscow is interesting. This
community’s political efficiency is almost zero. In fact, the political
efficiency of the Armenian communities in the West is also doubtful
because they are facing the serious challenge of modernization. By
the way, the Armenian state must deal with it because the Diaspora is
first of all one of the important tools of this state in the global
race of nations.

Nevertheless, the Western Armenian communities wish to deal with
politics, there are institutes and traditions.

The Armenian community of Russia is not such. In other words, there
is nobody or no group of people which expresses such willingness and
takes steps. The representatives of the Armenian community are mostly
engaged in economic activity, sometimes charity in Russia and Armenia.

And the main goal is not to address national goals, the goal is to
achieve their personal goals. Nevertheless, this is obviously an
ineffective option of solution of problems.

At the same time, Russia’s totalitarian structure and atmosphere do
not allow the local Armenian businesses to grow into political factors
and pursue a political line different from that of the Kremlin. One
needs money and risk to deviate from the political trajectory of the
Kremlin or make changes to it. It is difficult to tell whether the
reason is the lack of money or courage but the capitalists of the
Moscow-based Armenian community will not invest in this goal.

The level of social activity of the community is also low though the
reason is reluctance and lack of self-consciousness.

The Armenian community of Moscow or Russia is interested in show and
business with zero politics. Therefore, the conference hall of the
Kremlin is full for shows while nobody has time to do politics.

Therefore, the Moscow-based Armenian community has popular glamour
magazines and no serious Armenian mass media.

And the indicator of the weight of the community is Zhironovsky, the
“king’s fool” who was the only representative of the Russian political
establishment participating in the commemoration of April 24.

Moreover, not only Russian politicians (the Azerbaijani community would
be offended) but even the so-called Armenian outstanding politicians
and political scientists who are always in the first row during the
Armenian-Russian friendship shows.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH NUCLEAR THREAT

26.04.2012

Gagik Harutyunyan
Executive Director of “Noravank” Foundation

Proliferation of nuclear and mass destruction weapons is the most
topical issue of the global security today. The researches, carried
out back in the middle of the 20th century, come to prove that usage
of the mass destruction weapons brings to the global catastrophe. It
seemed that after the end of the Cold war between the USA and USSR
there is no more threat of such an apocalyptic scenario. But the real
situation is cardinally different. The parties conflicting in the Cold
war seriously approached the issue and elaborated (especially after
the Caribbean Crisis in 1962 when world appeared on the threshold of
a nuclear war) various mechanisms and drafted different agreements,
which have regulated the “nuclear” relations of these states till now
and have decreased possibility of mass destruction weapons usage. Let
us also mention that over that period the US-USSR (NATO – the Warsaw
Pact countries) confrontation was going on within the framework of
“deterrence strategy” and “mutual assured destruction doctrine”
which also reduced nuclear risks.

Today the number of the “nuclear club” members is rather big (US,
Russia, Great Britain, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan,
North Korea) and this number tends to grow. Meanwhile, the “nuclear
relations” between the Asian members of this club are far from being
normal; they do not dialogue on the issue, and IAEA’s consulting
functions are not enough to fill this gap.

Form the point of view of risk assessment the incentives (motives)
which dictate any country to possess nuclear weapons are also topical.

Without referring to the precedents of India, Pakistan and North
Korea, let us try to discuss briefly the current “nuclear” situation
in the Near East – the region which directly refers to the security
of Armenia (Rep. of Armenia and NKR) and which is considered to be
one of the highly explosive regions.

Though the Israeli authorities do not admit it, this country has
possessed nuclear weapon since 1970s and they number at least 200
pieces. Taking into consideration some radical approaches of some of
the countries in the region to the physical existence of that state,
it should be admitted that the motives of Israel’s possession of
nuclear weapons are grounded. Of course, there are refinements in
this issue but anyway it is obvious that Israel acts within the
strategy of “deterrence of the enemy and delivering inevitable
destructing retaliation”. At the same time Israel is monopolist in
the region in the nuclear aspect and as air strikes delivered on
nuclear centers in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007 showed they do
everything to preserve their existing status quo. It is clear that
Israel would have done the same way with its today’s rival – Iran –
if it possessed appropriate resources and guarantees that this would
not have devastating aftermaths. In this aspect let us also consider
briefly Iran’s nuclear project.

If we accept as a possible release version that Iran elaborates mass
destruction weapons within its nuclear programme we have to accept that
this country also acts in the context of protection of its sovereignty
and system of government chosen by its people. In other words this
isolated and sanctioned state, which has strained relations with the
nuclear monopolist Israel, is, nevertheless, obliged to elaborate
nuclear weapon as a mean of self-defence. This may seem strange, but
it should be admitted that there is some similarity in the incentives
of Israel and Iran in mass destruction weapons issue.

It is remarkable that in both countries religious-spiritual and other
conceptions coming from their history play a certain role in decision
making. This is believed to be conditioned by a factor of mutual
non-compliance, but rich civilizational past can serve for finding a
common ground. Taking into consideration considerable activation and
strengthening of Sunnite factor after the “Arab spring”, such scenario
has a pragmatic grounds either, as possible Israel-Iran dialogue
would balance, to some extent, distribution of powers in the region.

Of course, all the aforementioned observations do not exclude
possibility of US, Israel-Iran confrontation, but, in our opinion,
the main source of nuclear threat in the region is neither Israel
nor Iran, but their competitor – Turkey.

This version is conditioned not only by such an important circumstance
that this country has managed to establish appropriate “nuclear”
infrastructures in the spheres of management, science and technology,
raw materials, etc., which would allow them to create nuclear weapon
in the near future; it is known that there are other countries which
have such possibilities either. The nuclear threat coming from Turkey
is based on a fact that this country’s sovereignty and existence are
not threatened (unlike Israel or Iran) and it can use this nuclear
weapon rather with expansionist purpose and on revanchist ideological
grounds than for its self-defence. Such a conclusion is drawn from
the following circumstances:

~UIdeologies which are widely spread and officially supported in
Turkey (neo-Ottomanism, Neo-Pan-Turkism, Neo-Pan-Islamism) are of
distinct expansionist orientation and are based on revanchist and
nationalist doctrines.

~UToday’s Turkey, basing on the aforementioned aggressive ideologies,
obviously tends to play decisive role and have its share in the
geopolitical and global economic repartition of the region.

~UTurkey, unlike Israel and Iran, is genocidal state; it arranged
on a state level mass killings of the Armenians, Greeks, Kurds,
and Assyrians on the assumption of their ethnic identity.

This last circumstance, as well as the fact that today’s Turkey, as a
regional country, was formed only in the Middle Ages, come to prove
that, unlike Israel and Iran, this state does not have appropriate
civilizational grounds and traditions, which would restrict the
aggressiveness of its policy, including usage of nuclear weapons.

“Globus” analytical journal #4 (25), 2012

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN SIDE WILL NOT BE LATE WITH ITS RESPONSE TO AZERBAIJANI FIRES: PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 27, 2012
STEPANAVAN

STEPANAVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS: Yesterday and tonight the Azerbaijani
side continued to open fire at the Armenian positions in Tavush
province.

In frame of the campaign in Lori province, Chairman of Republican
Party of Armenia, President Serzh Sargsyan told the residents of
Stepanavan town that the Armenian party will not be late with its
response, Armenpress reports.

He noted that on April 26 the enemy targeted the building of the
kindergarten and the sanitary car, and today 3 servicemen have been
killed from their bullets.

“I think nobody doubts that the rival will get a worthy response,”
Serzh Sargsyan stated.

From: A. Papazian

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN: L’HONNEUR DES “JUSTES”

L’Express

26 avril 2012
France

Dans l’Empire ottoman, certains se sont opposes au genocide des
Armeniens. Leur action sort aujourd’hui de l’oubli et pourrait
contribuer a faire evoluer la societe. Pour que soit enfin reconnu
un evenement occulte par la memoire collective.

Annee après annee, le tabou sur les massacres d’Armeniens perpetres
sur ordre des Jeunes-Turcs au pouvoir en 1915, se lève en Turquie. De
nombreuses publications ont paru sur le sujet. Des intellectuels ont
lance une campagne en faveur d’une demande de “pardon” aux Armeniens.

Et, le 24 avril, jour anniversaire du debut du genocide de 1915,
fait desormais l’objet de commemorations en plein coeur d’Istanbul.

Certes, le pays est encore loin d’un veritable questionnement sur son
histoire. La majorite de la population ignore toujours ce qui s’est
reellement passe a l’epoque et prefère croire, selon l’expression
consacree, que ses “ancetres n’ont pu commettre un tel crime”. De
nombreux boulevards, places et ecoles portent encore le nom de
responsables des massacres. Et la politique officielle d’Ankara
persiste dans le deni.

Dès 1915, pourtant, dans l’Empire ottoman, des voix s’etaient elevees
pour denoncer ce crime contre l’humanite. Des dizaines de hauts
fonctionnaires, d’elus, de chefs religieux et de tribus, et un nombre
d’anonymes que l’on ne peut evaluer s’etaient opposes aux ordres et
refuse de deporter ou de massacrer les Armeniens. Au risque de perdre
leur poste ou, pour certains, leur vie. Celal Bey, gouverneur de Konya,
fut demis de ses fonctions parce qu’il avait empeche le depart des
convois de deportes ; Huseyin Nesimi, sous-prefet de Lice (sud-est
du pays), fut assassine par des soldats depeches par le prefet de
Diyarbakir car il avait refuse de faire executer ses administres ;
Mustafa Aga, maire de Malatya (Anatolie), fut tue par son propre fils,
qui n’avait pas supporte que son père vienne en aide aux “mecreants”.

“Briser l’enfermement encourage par l’Etat”

Tombee dans l’oubli, l’histoire de ces “Justes” pourrait, cependant,
jouer un rôle crucial pour la societe turque dans sa confrontation
avec sa propre histoire. “Un des obstacles majeurs pour les Turcs
est la difficulte d’admettre que leurs grands-parents aient pu
commettre ces atrocites, explique Rober Koptas, redacteur en chef
d’Agos, hebdomadaire publie en armenien et en turc. Derrière le mot
“genocide”, ils entendent une accusation collective les visant tous,
alors ils se retranchent derrière une position defensive. Rappeler
l’histoire des Justes, c’est briser l’enfermement encourage par
l’Etat. Les simples citoyens pourront ainsi voir que les responsables
du genocide appartiennent a une epoque et a une ideologie precises. Au
lieu de venerer les coupables, chacun pourra s’approprier des figures
positives.”

Fonde par Hrant Dink, journaliste armenien de Turquie assassine en 2007
par un ultranationaliste, Agos publie regulièrement des articles sur
les Justes. “Hrant Dink a ete un des premiers a chercher un nouveau
langage afin qu’un plus grand nombre de ses concitoyens puissent
comprendre ce qui s’est passe en 1915, souligne Rober Koptas.

L’histoire des Justes permet de l’etablir.” Sans pour autant
effacer les responsabilites ni soulager les consciences. “Parler
des survivants ne minimise pas la catastrophe. estime Betul Tanbay,
de la Fondation Hrant-Dink. Mais ces histoires permettent de mieux
la comprendre.” Creee après l’assassinat du journaliste, la fondation
soutient depuis 2010 les recherches universitaires sur les Justes. Et
prend position. “Les noms de responsables du genocide, comme Talaat
Pacha, ne doivent plus apparaître sur les boulevards”, juge Betul
Tanbay.

Journaliste a Radikal, Oral Calislar est un des rares chroniqueurs
a consacrer ses colonnes a ce sujet. “Nous avons ete eleves dans
l’illusion d’une histoire nationale sans tache, dit-il. Nous comprenons
maintenant que c’etait un mensonge.” Pour lui, la Turquie est sur
la bonne voie : “30 000 petitionnaires pour la “demande de pardon”,
c’est une revolution, ici.”

Pour autant, ces avancees ne concernent qu’une partie infime de la
population. “C’est un processus de longue haleine, autant creuser un
puits avec une aiguille”, resume Rober Koptas. “Il n’est pas facile
de dire la verite si vous avez menti pendant quatre-vingt-dix ans,
rencherit Taner Akcam. Surtout si vos heros nationaux risquent d’etre
accuses d’assassinat ou de vol. Le premier obstacle a la reconnaissance
du genocide est la continuite entre les elites ottomanes et celles qui
ont fonde la Republique.” Taner Akcam fut un des premiers historiens
turcs a travailler sur le genocide et a oser cette qualification. Ses
travaux publies dans les annees 1990 ont contribue a desserrer cet
etau. Pour lui, les gouvernements successifs ont entretenu a dessein
les peurs en evoquant d’eventuelles demandes d’indemnites au cas où la
Turquie reconnaîtrait officiellement le genocide. “Il faut trouver
un discours qui s’adresse a la conscience et au coeur des gens,
croit-il. L’histoire des “Justes” peut y contribuer.”

Si les efforts des intellectuels et des ONG, qu’accompagne la
democratisation du pays, ont ouvert le debat, le tournant a ete
l’assassinat de Hrant Dink. Celèbre chroniqueur du quotidien Milliyet,
Hasan Cemal fait partie de ceux dont les positions ont ete bouleversees
par ce meurtre. “Avec l’assassinat de Hrant, j’ai vu tous les autres
assassins de l’Histoire”, resume-t-il. Lui, le petit-fils de Cemal
Pacha, un des membres du triumvirat au pouvoir lors du genocide, est
alle, en septembre 2008, deposer des fleurs au memorial du genocide
a Erevan. Depuis, il enchaîne les conferences dans le monde entier
et declare partager la douleur des Armeniens. Ce qui lui vaut d’etre
qualifie de “traître” en Turquie. “La nevrose qui fut fatale a Hrant
est le produit de cette Histoire que l’on n’a pas pu regarder en face,
affirme-t-il. C’est le meme etat d’esprit qui a permis le massacre
de Kurdes, d’Alevis ou de Grecs dans le passe.

C’est l’origine de tous nos problèmes d’aujourd’hui.”

L’ouverture du debat sur le genocide ne risque-t-elle pas d’etre
menacee par les atermoiements d’un gouvernement tente par l’exaltation
du nationalisme a l’approche du 100e anniversaire du genocide, en
2015 ? “Une fois le djinn sorti du flacon, il ne peut plus y rentrer,
affirme Rober Koptas. Nous continuerons a ouvrir une faille dans le
mur et a l’elargir avec patience. Cela vaut la peine, surtout quand
je vois les nouvelles generations, plus pretes a entendre une autre
version de l’histoire.”

____ Ceux qui ont desobei On les appelle, en turc, les
“Consciencieux”. Depuis quelques annees, le terme designe ceux qui
se sont opposes au genocide armenien par sens ethique ou conviction
religieuse. Leur histoire se differencie des protections interessees,
accordees a des femmes pour leur beaute et a des enfants adoptes
pour servir de main-d’oeuvre ou juste monnayes. A la difference de
ces “faux sauvetages”, leurs actes impliquent une desobeissance,
d’autant plus admirable que desesperee.

“Ma situation a Konya ressemblait a celle d’un homme qui se tient
au bord d’une rivière sans avoir aucun moyen de sauver ceux qui sont
emportes par l’eau, ecrit dans ses Memoires Celal Bey, gouverneur de
Konya, qui refusa d’appliquer les ordres de deportation. […] J’ai
sauve ceux que je pouvais attraper avec mes mains et mes ongles. Les
autres sont partis sans possibilite de retour.” Il a desobei par
humanisme et patriotisme: “Reunis, nos ennemis du monde entier
n’auraient pas pu nous faire autant de mal.”

D’autres “Justes”, comme de rares chefs de tribus kurdes, ont cache
leurs voisins armeniens ou les ont aides a fuir vers la Russie. Les
habitants de Dersim auraient ainsi contribue a ce que 20 000 personnes
soient epargnees. Au total, Hrant Dink estimait a 300 000 le nombre
de personnes sauvees par ces actions.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE: 97E ANNIVERSAIRE DU GENOCIDE

Le Figaro

24 avril 2012
France

RecommanderDes milliers d’Armeniens ont defile aujourd’hui a Erevan a
l’occasion du 97e anniversaire des massacres d’Armeniens sous l’Empire
ottoman, qui constituent un genocide selon l’Armenie, un terme rejete
par la Turquie.

Dès le matin, des foules ont afflue vers un memorial au sommet
d’une colline de la capitale armenienne pour y deposer des fleurs et
allumer des bougies en souvenir des victimes. “Aujourd’hui, nous nous
inclinons, comme beaucoup, beaucoup d’autres gens a travers le monde,
devant la memoire des victimes innocentes du genocide armenien”,
a declare le president armenien, Serge Sarkissian, dans un communique.

Tsovinar Toumassian, 75 ans, est venue en souvenir de son père qui,
raconte-t-elle, s’etait battu a l’epoque pour essayer de proteger des
femmes et des enfants contre les forces turques. Si les Turcs “ne sont
pas forces a reconnaître le genocide, ils ne le feront jamais. Ils
croient qu’avec le temps, tout le monde oubliera”, a-t-elle declare.

La Turquie refute le terme de genocide, meme si elle reconnaît des
massacres.

L’adoption en janvier par les deputes francais d’un texte prevoyant
de punir d’un an de prison et 45.000 euros d’amende la negation d’un
genocide reconnu par la loi, y compris du genocide armenien, avait
provoque une crise diplomatique entre la Turquie et la France. Le
Conseil constitutionnel francais a cependant rejete cette loi, la
jugeant contraire a “la liberte d’expression”.

Les persecutions des Armeniens sont commemorees chaque annee le 24
avril, date de l’arrestation en 1915 a Constantinople de plus de 200
intellectuels et dirigeants de la communaute armenienne, un evenement
qui avait marque le debut d’une vague de massacres et de deportations
ayant dure jusqu’en 1917. Pour les Armeniens, le genocide a fait plus
de 1,5 million de morts, alors que la Turquie ne reconnaît qu’entre
300.000 et 500.000 morts.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH FM REGRETS OVER U.S. PRESIDENT’S APRIL 24 STATEMENT

Trend
April 26 2012
Azerbaijan

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has expressed its regret over U.S.
President Barack Obama’s statements on the so-called “Armenian
genocide”, which distorts historical truth, CNN Turk television
channel reported.

In its statement the Turkish Foreign Ministry says that such biased
statements further complicate the process of normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations.

“These statements voiced by Turkey’s close partner and ally further
deepen the problem of the so-called “Armenian genocide”,” the Foreign
Ministry said in its statement.

Yesterday addressing representatives of the Armenian diaspora, Barack
Obama called the 1915 events as “great tragedy”.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of the Turkey
– Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the Armenians
living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the “Armenian Genocide”
by the parliaments of several countries.

From: A. Papazian