Author: Babajanian Karo

11 NOVEMBRE 2011 : LE MUSEE DE LA GRANDE GUERRE A MEAUX

Source/Lien : Ministere francais de la Defense
Publie le : 14-11-2011

Info Collectif VAN – – “Le musee de la Grande
Guerre a Meaux a ete inaugure le 11 novembre 2011 par le President de
la Republique, en presence du secretaire d’Etat auprès du ministre
de la Defense et des Anciens combattants. Ce nouveau musee presente
l’une des plus importante collection d’objets et documents, en Europe,
qui aborde la Première Guerre Mondiale. La Grande Guerre c’est : 35
pays belligerants, plus de 70 millions d’hommes mobilises, plus de
9 millions de soldats morts dont 1 412 000 militaires francais plus
de 13 millions de civils morts (genocide armenien, surmortalite due
a la famine, grippe espagnole, exactions, victimes de guerre…).” Le
Collectif VAN diffuse une information en ligne sur le site du ministère
francais de la Defense.

Ministère francais de la Defense

La Grande Guerre se devoile a Meaux

mise a jour : 10/11/2011 17:04 – Auteur : Carine Bobbera

Le musee de la Grande Guerre a Meaux sera inaugure le 11 novembre par
le President de la Republique, en presence du secretaire d’Etat auprès
du ministre de la Defense et des Anciens combattants. Ce nouveau musee
presente l’une des plus importante collection d’objets et documents,
en Europe, qui aborde la Première Guerre Mondiale.

” J’ai commence ma collection il y a quarante ans avec l’achat de
mon premier objet, pour arriver aujourd’hui, a cette structuration
d’un evènement, d’une epoque, d’une histoire d’hommes de femmes,
qui est declinee dans ce musee sur 3 000 m² ” se felicite Jean-Pierre
Verney, specialiste reconnu de la Première Guerre mondiale. Vendredi
11 novembre ouvre un nouveau musee, le musee de la Grande Guerre du
pays de Meaux. Près de cent ans la fin des combats du premier conflit
mondial, ce musee permet de redecouvrir l’histoire de cette periode
qui a marque le passage du XIX au XXème siècle. Ce musee presente
sur 3 000 m² l’extraordinaire collection de Jean-Pierre Verney.

Le musee de la Grande Guerre propose au visiteur une longue immersion
dans l’univers des Poilus. Les combats y sont abordes sous une grande
nef où sont reconstituees deux tranchees, francaise et allemande,
separee par un no man’s land. Le visiteur peut ainsi s’immerger dans
le quotidien des combattants. Les quatre annees de guerre sont traitees
en miroir pour mettre en exergue les evolutions en matière d’armement,
d’aviation et d’equipement. De nombreux espaces annexes developpent
des thèmes specifiques, comme la mobilisation de la societe, le
rôle des femmes et des enfants, les tactiques et les strategies, la
mondialisation, le rôle des americains… ” Nous avons voulu montrer,
a travers la Grande Guerre, le passage d’un siècle a un autre “,
explique Michel Rouger. ” Il s’agit d’une approche generaliste, d’une
porte d’entree pour decouvrir les epreuves passees, mieux comprendre
la societe d’aujourd’hui “.

Ce musee repose sur la collection impressionnante de Jean-Pierre
Verney. Il commence a collectionner des objets ayant trait a la
Grande Guerre a la fin des annees 1960, avec comme objectif de
raconter l’Histoire. Au fil des annees il rassemble du materiel
militaire, des objets de la vie quotidienne, plus de 200 uniformes
complets representant la totalite des pays belligerants (35 pays),
des journaux, photographies, plaques de verre…” Mon premier objet
etait une huile sur toile, representant une scène de bataille, que j’ai
marchandee pendant deux jours aux puces. Ma dernière acquisition est
un telephone russe, que j’ai achete sur internet “. Cette collection
presente des pièces extremement rares, comme un uniforme militaire
japonais ou encore une paire de godillot fabriques en 1918 avec des
orties et des semelles en bois. ” Pour moi il n’y a pas d’objet phare.

Ils ont tous une place, ils eclairent tous quelque chose de different
“, s’exclame Jean-Pierre Verney. ” J’ai autant de respect pour un
bâton de marechal que pour un paquet de tabac de 5 centimes ! “. Cette
collection plus de 20 000 objets, 30 000 documents de 35 nationalites
differentes. Acquise en 2005 par la Communaute d’Agglomeration du Pays
de Meaux, cette collection est a ce jour une des plus importantes
collections d’Europe pour aborder la Grande Guerre sous tous ses
aspects.

” Ce musee ne montre pas les gagnants et les perdants, il depeint
les inquietudes, les souffrances des soldats. Il place l’homme en
fil conducteur de la visite et on comprend comment cette tragedie
s’inscrit dans le monde contemporain “, souligne Jean-Francois Cope,
president de la communaute d’Agglomeration du Pays de Meaux.

Le musee de la Grande Guerre sera inaugure le 11 novembre par le
President de la Republique, en presence du secretaire d’Etat auprès
du ministre de la Defense et des Anciens combattants.

La Grande Guerre c’est : 35 pays belligerants plus de 70 millions
d’hommes mobilises plus de 9 millions de soldats morts dont 1 412
000 militaires francais plus de 13 millions de civils morts (genocide
armenien, surmortalite due a la famine, grippe espagnole, exactions,
victimes de guerre…)

Retour a la rubrique

LES ARMENIENS DENONCENT LE MARCHANDAGE “GENOCIDE / DIPLOMATIE” DE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

L’actu vue par JSS
13 nov 2011

S’il est une population que les memoires de Condoleezza Rice a decu,
c’est bien les armeniens. Et le lobby armenien a Washington le fait
savoir sans gene (et avec raison). Dans son livre paru cette semaine,
Rice aborde le sujet du genocide armenien. Tout en reconnaissant
la brutalite et l’ampleur des effusions de sang, Rice ecrit que la
reconnaissance americaine du genocide armenien aurait contrarie la
Turquie, un allie strategique cle pour les Etats-Unis. Elle prefère
donc utiliser la “raison d’Etat” pour ne pas parler de “genocide”.

Pas de quoi plaire aux Armeniens-americains comme Harut Sassounian,
l’editeur du The California Courier, un hebdomadaire de los Angeles
apprecie par la diaspora armenienne. Sassounian, dans une lettre
ouverte a l’Universite de Stanford (où Mme Rice travaille actuellement
comme professeur de sciences politiques et d’economie politique)
decrit Rice comme “une negationniste du genocide qui ne devrait pas
etre la bienvenue dans des institutions superieures americaines.”

Puis, il accuse Rice de se comporter comme une “fonctionnaire veule
d’une republique bananière cedant aux interets turcs.”

Et l’auteur de cette lettre d’etre particulièrement outre par la
caracterisation de Rice de “puissant lobbying armeno-americain.”

De son côte, le president du Comite National Armenien d’Amerique a
appele ses membres a “mettre la pression pour que, a l’avenir, une
personne dans la position de Rice, n’ose plus jamais compromettre
l’Amerique en jouant miserablement la carte du genocide comme
marchandise politique.”

L’administration Obama a aussi soigneusement evite d’utiliser le
mot genocide pour parler des Meds Yeghern. Et ce, bien qu’Obama le
faisait regulièrement avant de se faire elire quand il etait candidat
et Senateur.

Nathan Berdigo – JSSNews

EP’S LAMBSDORFF: EU, TURKEY SHOULD BE IN STRATEGIC DIALOGUE ON EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Today’s Zaman

Nov 13 2011
Turkey

As tensions are high in the eastern Mediterranean — from Cyprus to
Syria and from Gaza to Egypt — European and Turkish leaders should
talk with each other more than ever as their interests and strategic
goals in the region overlap, according to this week’s guest for
Monday Talk.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, member of the European Parliament from
Germany and vice chair of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe (ALDE Group), has said Europe and Turkey have a
“real interest” in having a strategic dialogue.

“We need to talk about these things and find solutions to these
questions. It’s very difficult, takes a long time sometimes, but we
must avoid developing political ideas that would lead to a divergence
of European interests and strategic goals and Turkish interests and
strategic goals,” he said in relation to challenges in the stability
of the eastern Mediterranean.

In a recent visit to Ýstanbul, he elaborated on the issue while
answering our questions.

You stress the point that the EU and Turkey need to renew their
dialogue. Would you elaborate on this idea? Why is it important?

Turkey is an extremely important country, and the European Union is
very important, too. We have had a long and close relationship for
many decades, but paradoxically, with the opening of the accession
negotiations we’ve seen a cooling of the relationship because the
process does not work well enough. That has led to loss of interest
on both sides. Therefore, I suggest to continue with the accession
process but also to look at other options for cooperation, integration
and for common strategies between Turkey and the EU because I believe
we need a positive atmosphere just as we need technical and political
negotiations.

The EU seems to have other priorities at this time other than the
accession process.

The EU is trying to stabilize the euro, and that takes a lot of energy
as this concerns the welfare of our society. Enlargement is indeed
much less of a concern to our citizens right now.

There is a belief in Turkish society that Turkey’s accession process
has been stalled because of some of the leaders in the EU — like
Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy — and there are anti-Turkey and
anti-Turkish feelings in Europe. What do you think about this?

In certain parts of Europe there are anti-Islamic feelings. I would
not call this anti-Turkish; it is different. For me, a member of a
liberal political party that advocates the strict separation of the
religious from the political sphere, this is a completely unacceptable
position in any kind of political debate. On the other hand, there is
a legitimate political argument about the merits of Turkish accession,
and there are some leaders in Europe who say it would be better if
Turkey were not to accede to the European Union. As nobody expects
that the negotiations will conclude in the next few years, however,
this is not so important, as the entire European and Turkish leadership
will have changed before a decision on Turkish accession has to be
taken in earnest.

‘It is utterly unacceptable that the EU is incapable of admitting a
majority Muslim country’ You said there are anti-Islamic feelings in
Europe. There is also Islamophobia. Which one do you think is more
prevalent? What is the distinction between the two?

I would not make a great distinction between the two. Some
conservatives in Europe think of the EU as a club of countries that
is incapable of admitting a majority Muslim country. This is utterly
unacceptable. It is a minority position, not a position that is widely
shared by citizens. If we reintroduce religion into politics, we open
a Pandora’s box. Europe has much experience with religion trying to
dominate politics; indeed, our most terrible war was fought over that
question, the Thirty Years’ War from 1618-1648. At the end, the peace
deal made sure that religion and politics were to be kept separate.

Would Turkey’s inclusion in the European Union help or not in
eliminating Islamophobia or anti-Islamic feelings?

The accession process of Turkey to the EU is a political process. It
is not a social process, and it is not a religious process. From
a political point of view, one needs to analyze whether it is
economically feasible, whether it has political support and whether
Turkey fulfills the acquis. All of those things must be checked but
people should not have high hopes that membership of any particular
country is going to change the minds of prejudiced people.

Now that the French elections are coming up, do you expect that more
anti-Turkey positions will be highlighted?

I hope not. You may hear about two issues: one related to the Armenian
question and the other to Turkey’s possible European Union membership.

On the Armenian question, everyone knows what the discussion is about,
and on the EU accession, a clear majority of the French population, not
just the leadership, is against Turkey’s accession. So some politicians
may choose to exploit those feelings by linking the Armenian issue
with EU accession, and therefore create an atmosphere that makes it
difficult for France and Turkey to rebuild a constructive relationship.

‘Strategic dialogue not replacement of Turkey’s accession process’
You also stress that Turkey and the EU need a strategic dialogue,
aiming at cooperation rather than competition, especially in the
eastern Mediterranean.

The entire issue of stability in the eastern Mediterranean is
difficult right now. We have a terrible situation in Syria, tensions
between the Palestinians and Israelis, extremists in power in Gaza,
a changing Egypt that becomes more difficult to predict, hardly any
progress on the island of Cyprus and now in addition to that we see
the exploration of resources off the coast of Cyprus. So the entire
eastern Mediterranean right now is an area where challenges for the EU,
the Middle East and Turkey overlap. Turkey and the EU member states
are nearly all NATO allies. We need to talk about these things and
find solutions to these questions. It’s very difficult, takes a
long time sometimes, but we must avoid developing political ideas
that would lead to a divergence of European interests and strategic
goals and Turkish interests and strategic goals. Therefore, starting
in the eastern Mediterranean, we have a real interest in having this
strategic dialogue. But if you look at other areas around Turkey like
Central Asia, the Caucasus or sub-Saharan Africa, you have an active
Turkish role in all of those areas, and you have an active European
role in all of those areas. So why not compare notes and see where we
can cooperate. There might be instances where we will have to agree
to disagree. But then, as allies, we should be aware of that because
if we disagree, we must be able to manage that responsibly.

Do you hear any arguments in Europe against strategic dialogue
with Turkey?

No, not at all. The only argument I hear sometimes is from Turkish
friends who are concerned that such a dialogue may become a replacement
for the accession process, which is definitely not the intention. I’m
glad therefore that the Turkish government has accepted this invitation
to enter into a strategic dialogue.

‘Turkey’s exclusion by France to participate in discussions over Libya
was profoundly wrong’ You emphasize Turkey’s position more than the
EU’s, especially in relation to the Arab Spring. Would you explain
the reasons behind this?

If one looks at a map, it is clear that Turkey is a very important
country in a very delicate area and has assets that it can bring to
the discussion in relation to what is going on in North Africa and
the Middle East. The Europeans should try to use these resources
as we have a role in NATO. We are well advised in Brussels and
in national capitals — London, Paris, etc. — to have a constant
dialogue with Ankara. One thing that completely baffled me is that
in the early stages of planning the Libyan military campaign, Turkey
was not invited by France to participate in the discussion. This
was profoundly wrong. Because whatever you think about accession,
denying that Turkey has an important strategic role and is a crucial
player is very short-sighted. After all, Turkey is the ally with the
second largest armed forces inside NATO.

Is the axis shift debate regarding Turkey still continuing in Europe?

There was a fear for some time that Turkey may turn away from Europe
and turn its back on NATO. In 2003, Turkey did not allow American
troops to use its territory for the war in Iraq, and then came the
deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations. Having said all this, a
closer analysis of Turkish foreign policy in its immediate neighborhood
and in the regions with which Turkey was supposed to construct new
axes does not make us think that the fears are justified. There is
no Ankara-Tehran axis; there is no Ankara-Damascus axis; there is
no Ankara-Moscow axis. Ankara’s strongest axis is with Brussels and
Washington, D.C. Strategically speaking, that makes sense. Europe is
Turkey’s economic future if the country wants to become a high-tech
nation, and I believe it does. The US is the leading power in NATO
and Turkey’s security guarantee. Turkey’s strategic interests are
best met in the West and the North, even though the South and the
East may be a bit more interesting than they used to be.

——————————————————————————–

‘First, UN should try its best to resolve Cyprus issue’ Turkish
officials have said that Turkey will freeze relations with the European
Union if Greek Cyprus is given the EU presidency in 2012. Do you think
this would lead to a new low point in ties between the European Union
and Turkey?

Announcing a freeze of Turkish-European relations was not wise. One
should recognize that Cyprus is not the only small country in the EU
with a big neighbor who may not always like all the policies the small
member decides to pursue. For example, if Latvia or Estonia holds
the EU presidency and Russia is unhappy with some of the policies of
these countries, Russia may decide to boycott the EU, and you could
certainly expect that the rest of the EU would close ranks around
these countries. For a candidate country — and Turkey is a candidate
country — it is necessary to think through the implications of such
a statement. I hope a constructive way of handling this issue can be
found for the second half of 2012.

If there is no solution found despite all efforts of the UN to the
problems on the island of Cyprus, do you think the European Union
should assume a role in solving the problem?

We have had United Nations efforts for decades trying to resolve the
situation on the island. Let’s now have the UN try their best; they
have our full support. If there is no solution found by the end of
this year, it is everyone’s concern — the EU, Greek Cypriots, Turkish
Cypriots and Turkey — to find a new approach in solving this problem.

If that means Europeanizing the process, it may be worth trying also
because as an EU member state, Cyprus will have a special obligation
to engage constructively in an EU-led process.

——————————————————————————–

‘Turkish politicians say Europe is less important for them, but…’
You hold talks with both ruling and opposition party politicians
in Turkey and talk about the accession process. Do you see serious
divergences in their approaches toward Turkey’s EU accession process?

While there is a certain frustration with the accession process on
all sides, no responsible politician from either the government or the
opposition has indicated to me that Europe was becoming less important
in their opinion. There has been a set of developments in the Turkish
neighborhood that has led to more activities vis-a-vis the countries
in Turkey’s immediate neighborhood. However, as I said above, if one
takes a closer look at this trend, one sees that this has not always
led to an improvement, be it with regard to Syria, Iran or Armenia.

Europe is still Turkey’s largest trading partner, the largest partner
in direct foreign investment, the largest destination for migration and
remigration, the source of high tech and know-how and so on. With 500
million people and high purchasing power, the EU is the largest single
market in the world. The proximity to Europe and NATO membership are
the source of Turkey’s strength, and responsible leaders in Turkey
recognize this full well.

——————————————————————————–

‘Regardless of accession, we must continue to work together’
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan was in Germany recently
to celebrate the 50th year of the start of Turkish migration to
Germany. At a joint press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel,
Erdoðan complained that the [terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party]
PKK was able to collect 6 million euros in Germany, and Erdoðan has
criticized Germany for not dealing with the PKK, echoing similar
remarks during a visit in February to Dusseldorf. What do you think
the German government can do to deal with the PKK?

Let me start by saying that in comparison to the resources available
to the Turkish state and taking into account the wealth of Germany,
6 million euros is a very small amount of money. It is surprising that
the prime minister should even mention such a small sum. As for the
PKK, it is considered a terrorist organization by German authorities.

It is monitored by our domestic intelligence service; its activities
are followed very closely by the police. As far as I know, no terrorist
acts have been prepared, planned or carried out by PKK activists from
inside Germany in a very long time.

In an interview with the German Bild newspaper, Erdoðan criticized
Germany’s stand on Turkey’s EU aspirations, saying the EU’s largest
member state had “abandoned” Turkey on the issue of EU accession. Your
ideas on that.

When negotiations started there was no political consensus about
Turkish accession in Europe. Because of this, the negotiations were
structured in a way that each and every member state can legally
block each and every chapter of the negotiations. So now, we are faced
with a blockade in the Council. But that is not Germany’s fault. At
the time, Turkey pushed for negotiations despite the obvious lack of
support for Turkish accession in some very important member states. So
when the prime minister criticizes Germany, he should consider that
Turkey bears part of the responsibility for the current difficulties
as well. All of us must recognize, however, that mutual recriminations
are not helpful. We face so many challenges that we must move ahead
and define a new positive agenda. We need a re-launch of a meaningful
Turkish-European dialogue. Turkey and the EU must engage with one
another in a constructive and respectful manner because no matter
what happens regarding accession, we must continue to work together
as neighbors, allies and friends.

——————————————————————————–

‘We strongly favor a liberalized visa regime with Turkey’ Is there
any progress regarding visa liberalization?

As European liberals, we strongly favor a liberalized visa regime
with Turkey. We must make progress with visa facilitation for groups
of travelers like students, business people, academics, artists and
so on. In Germany, where we are in government, the talks are going on
to find a solution to this problem. We try to push the conservatives
on this.

——————————————————————————–

PROFILE Alexander Graf Lambsdorff

Member of the European Parliament and vice chair of the Group of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE Group), he is
from Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP), which currently serves as
the junior coalition partner to the Union (Christian Democratic Union
and Christian Social Union) in the German federal government. He is
the founding member of both the Atlantic Initiative Germany and the
German-Turkish Foundation. He served in the German Foreign Office
in 1995-2003.

KRISTIAN VIGENIN: IF WESTERN BALKANS CARRY OUT REFORMS MORE QUICKLY, THEY WILL SHORTEN THEIR WAY TO EU
Yanitsa TANEVA

Focus News

Nov 13 2011
Bulgaria

Kristian Vigenin, a Member of the European Parliament and chairman
of the working group of the Party of European Socialists about
EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, in an interview with FOCUS
News Agency.

FOCUS: Mr. Vigenin, what are the main issues discussed at your meetings
in Armenia?

Kristian Vigenin: My visit to Yerevan comes after the conference about
the EU’s policy towards its eastern neighbors, Eastern Partnership. I
took the opportunity also to hold talks about the relations between
Armenia and the EU, parliamentary cooperation, EU’s expectations of
the reforms in Armenia and upcoming parliamentary elections in May
next year and, of course, the issue with Nagorno-Karabakh and the
ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan. These are the main issues.

I had a meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian, Parliament Speaker
Hovik Abrahamian, and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Catherine Ashton is set to visit Yerevan and Baku at the beginning of
the next week and before that I will brief her on my talks in Armenia.

Her visit once again shows the EU wants to be more involved in the
region, including in the solution of the so-called frozen conflicts,
especially the one between Armenia and Azerbaijan; a conflict that
has been vexing the atmosphere for years. There is tiny progress. It
seems to me a stronger EU commitment could change this.

The positive thing is that Armenia has been showing a serious
commitment to enhancing its cooperation with the EU at all levels –
governmental, parliamentary and expert. It has to do with the country’s
ongoing domestic reforms. Armenia and the EU are holding talks about
free trade and considerable progress has been made. This is to say
there is positive dynamics and we have to note them. I hope Armenia
will keep on showing willingness and generating results, despite its
election campaign and even after the elections, which we hope – at
least the leaders expressed this commitment – will be fair, democratic
and in line with the highest standards of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. I hope the elections will give Armenia’s
democratic process a new appearance and will strengthen the country’s
European orientation.

FOCUS: How does Armenia cooperate with Euronest?

Kristian Vigenin: Armenia participates very actively in the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Eastern Partnership. It has a strong
delegation with strong persons in it and participates actively in
the four standing committees and five working groups. As a result,
at the beginning of the next year a standing committee will hold its
first meeting outside Brussels – in Armenia at the end of February. It
is important to us to support Armenia’s active work and efforts. The
country takes commitments, holds meetings at a sufficiently high
political and organizational level. I hope this will strengthen both
Armenia’s work and awareness of the Eastern Partnership and EU policy
in Armenia.

Armenia is one of the countries widely promoting the work of
the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. When I say this, I am very
optimistic, although it is essential that reforms and policy are
carried out continuously, without interruptions. I also hope that the
neighborhood policy which was revised this year and is to be approved
by the European Parliament by the end of the month will give a fresh
impetus to reforms in EU’s all eastern neighbors, because the new
neighborhood policy introduces an important principle – more for more,
i.e. more funds, more financial assistance will be allocated for the
countries that carry out more reforms. The countries are interested in
making their laws, practices and principles, such as fair democratic
elections and human rights respect, similar to the EU’s. More work
should be done in these areas in order to meet the standards the EU
expects. Of course, in parenthesis, sometimes the EU underestimates
the situation in some of its member states. For example, Hungary,
whose government undertook steps to the detriment of media freedom.

For instance, Bulgaria, whose latest elections cannot serve as an
example for non-EU countries. For example, Romania, which experienced
similar problems in previous elections and now they are expected to
be much harder, if no measures are taken. There are other examples
I can give – the media monopoly in Italy and others. These examples
give a reason to some of our partners to say: “Yes, you advise us,
but you do not have mechanisms to handle the issue within the EU.” It
is true – we have to work within the EU, but I believe that what we
want from these countries, from Armenia in particular, is beneficial
to Armenia’s citizens and is not a whim of the European institutions.

Despite the negative examples they give, after all this does not
diminish their commitment and the need to take this road.

FOCUS: At the meeting of the working group of the Party of European
Socialists (PES) about the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans
you said the enlargement policy is gathering speed. What are the
enlargement prospects of the Western Balkans?

Kristian Vigenin: I think each of the Western Balkan states has good
prospects and it all depends on them. If they carry out reforms more
quickly and live up to criteria and expectations, they will cut their
way to the EU short. On the other hand, the EU has to show support for
the reforms and to be critical enough when reforms do not take place.

When I said the enlargement policy is gathering speed, I had the
following in mind. Croatia completed its accession negotiations. Most
probably on December 9 its accession treaty will be signed and then
a ratification process will kick off. So the EU will have one more
member – in the summer of 2013 as planned. Meanwhile, the Commission
recommended an EU candidate status for Serbia. If everything runs
smoothly, Serbia is likely to get the status in December and start
accession negotiations next year. The opinion about Montenegro is
positive. The country’s accession negotiations will open next year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania are lagging behind, as they face
hard domestic problems. The institutions are unstable and unable to
work actively enough. That’s why they have not achieved considerable
progress.

The situation with Macedonia is similar. It has a serious problem –
the name issue with Greece. In addition, Macedonia is not working hard
enough on other issues, too. I am under the impression that the name
issue is used as an excuse and Macedonia says that irrespective of its
moves, Greece will keep on blocking the start of the negotiations. We
do not believe this is the right policy and we think the blame for
the name issue should not be transferred entirely on Greece. The name
issue should be resolved as openly as possible by both sides. After
all the European Commission once again recommended to the European
Council to open the accession negotiations, but Greece will most
probably block them due to the unresolved name dispute.

I think on the one hand the region is taken in general, because the
countries are small, similar and approaches look much alike, but on
the other hand a country aspiring to the EU is assessed individually.

So the failures or delays of some countries will not affect the
progress of others. If you do your work, you will get an assessment.

European Enlargement Commission tefan Fule has made this quite
clear – there are no gifts, neither are there any false penalties.

FOCUS: Is the PES group worried about Europe’s economic condition,
2012 forecasts and European Commission’s predictions about the economic
growth and recession?

Kristian Vigenin: Of course, it is. We discussed some of the problems
emerging now or finding their late solutions now even before the
beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. Then we said hedge funds
were making a bubble that would burst and it did. It was only then
that regulation came on the agenda. We wanted this long before that.

Four or five years ago we voiced the need of a tax on financial
transactions as a type of regulation on capital movement. It was only
this year when leading countries such as Germany and France, as well as
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, agreed on a tax on
financial transactions. We said long ago that a policy of restrictions
is important, but it should be implemented with due measure and that
a policy of growth is more important. It was only recently that the
IMF started speaking about how important it is to pursue a policy of
growth stimulation, because the debt crisis cannot be resolved solely
with spending cuts, reduction in social benefits, refusal of projects,
which actually sends countries into a downward spiral with no way out.

Regarding the European and national economic and financial policies,
the Party of European Socialists was much more adequate throughout the
crisis. Unfortunately, we did not have real political mechanisms to
fulfill our ideas, because the leading countries in the EU are still
governed by rightists, who were not inclined to accept these ideas,
but the political situation is changing. In almost entire Europe
leftists have been winning elections. Next year we think France will
have a new president; most probably next year Germany will have a new
chancellor; the situation is already changing in Italy. This is to say
there is a political change and I think it will be for the people’s
welfare. Given the adequacy of our reactions and positions in the
recent years, I think this will be good for the long-term stability
of the EU and eurozone.

ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE HAS STRAYED FROM ITS CHARTER
By William A. Levinson

American Thinker

Nov 13 2011

The Anti-Defamation League’s original charter is simple,
straightforward, and honorable:

The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason
and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation
of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and
fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to
unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or
body of citizens.

Nowhere does this call for the ADL to shield Barack Obama from the
consequences of his policies toward Israel and other allies of the
United States. The “National Pledge for Unity on Israel,” which the
ADL cosponsored with the American Jewish Committee, is but the most
recent example of how this organization has lost touch with the very
reason for its existence.

U.S.-Israel friendship should never be used as a political wedge
issue. At a time when Israel is confronting new dangers and challenges
in a fast changing Middle East, the United States must continue to
project to the world the solid support of the American people and
their elected representatives for Israel’s rights and quest for peace
and security. U.S. leadership in the efforts to achieve an agreement
resolving the conflict that results in two states–the Jewish state
of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peaceful
coexistence–is more critical than ever.

The fact that “President Obama today [May 19] backed pre-1967 borders
as the basis for negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians
on the contours of an eventual peace deal” encourages terroristic
violence ranging from the slaughter of the Fogel family to acts
of war including the launch of Grad rockets against Israel. The
statement that the pre-1967 borders are the basis for negotiations
tells the Palestinians openly that they can kill as many civilians
as they want, fire as many rockets and mortar shells as they want,
and break as many truces as they want without the prospect of having
land concessions taken off the table forever.

The Arabs’ provocation or initiation of three wars while Israel was
inside its 1967 borders proves meanwhile that Israel’s “occupation”
of Gaza, Samaria, and Judea is not and never was the root cause of the
region’s violence. This Palestinian video that declares Tel Aviv part
of “Palestine” reinforces this obvious conclusion. The deluded idea
that Israel’s surrender of any of this territory will bring peace
therefore underscores the disconnection from reality of those that
promote it, including the ADL, as shown above. This should indeed be
a 2012 campaign issue that, especially in combination with similar
behavior toward the United Kingdom, underscores Mr. Obama’s lack of
fitness for his job.

The infamous Zimmerman Telegram of the First World War encouraged
Mexico to attack the United States only if the U.S. attacked Germany
first. The U.K. was in contrast not threatening to attack the United
States when Mr. Obama said that it and Argentina should negotiate
the future of the Falkland Islands. This could conceivably encourage
Argentina’s next Leopoldo Galtieri to start another war with the
United Kingdom. Mr. Obama’s encouragement of totalitarian aggression
is therefore in no way limited to Palestinian terrorists.

The ADL, meanwhile, demolished its credibility years before its cynical
“National Pledge for Unity on Israel,” aka “Give Barack Obama a pass
for stripping terroristic violence of meaningful consequences.”

Abraham Foxman had this to say in 2007 about Turkey’s genocide of
about 1.5 million Armenians during the First World War: “The Turks and
Armenians need to revisit their past. The Jewish community shouldn’t
be the arbiter of that history, nor should the U.S. Congress.”

Foxman did not go so far as to deny that Armenians had been murdered,
but he has nonetheless turned the ADL into an organization where the
words “Never Again” are a meaningless slogan. This was so repulsive
that ADL Director Andrew Tarsy refused to support Foxman and was
fired as a result. Two ADL board members then resigned in disgust.

The ADL has also become a facilitator and enabler of the very
hate-mongers it claims to oppose. Mr. Foxman issued this joint
statement on hate symbols with Al Sharpton, thus legitimizing this
prominent racist and anti-Semite. The actions of Mr. Sharpton and his
National Action Network at Freddy’s Fashion Mart speak for themselves,
as do Mr. Sharpton’s statements about the Crown Heights riots and
his role in the Tawana Brawley scandal. ADL then went even farther
by attacking as “Islamophobic” people and organizations that expose
anti-Semitism and similar hate-related activities against Christians
under color of Islam.

The organization [Stop Islamization of America, SIOA], led by Robert
Spencer and Pamela Geller, warns of the encroachment of Shari’a, or
Islamic law, and encourages Muslims to leave what it describes as the
“falsity of Islam.”

Adherents of this ideological Islamophobia view Islam as an existential
threat to the world, and especially to the “West.”

A phobia is an irrational fear of an imaginary danger. Does the ADL
contend that this video, which calls for the annihilation of Jews and
proclaims that Islam will rule the word, was produced by people who
do not call themselves Muslims? Is the woman who calls for Jews to
“go back to the ovens” in this video (3:20) an actress instead of
a person who calls herself a Muslim? Are these people who call for
the bombing of Denmark and the taking of Danish women as war booty
movie extras and not militant Muslims? Is this Islamic cleric who
called women who do not wear hijabs “uncovered meat” whom any man is
free to rape a figment of Spencer’s, Geller’s, and our imaginations
and therefore a phobia? Will the ADL treat this massacre of Coptic
Christians as an issue like the Armenian genocide, in which “Egyptians
and Copts will have to revisit their past”? Does the ADL deny that
a self-appointed sharia court (aka lynch mob) in Spain sentenced
a woman to death for “adultery,” or that Islamic supremacists are
trying to carve out sharia-compliant zones in Europe? From where we
sit, the ADL’s condemnation of SIOA makes it a moral accomplice and
accessory to all these outrages.

The ADL has also strayed from its charter by joining the American
Jewish Committee and other groups in an attack on the Second Amendment,
with the explicit statement that there is no individual right to
possess firearms. This puts the ADL and the others squarely on the
side of dictators and racists whose first priority is to disarm those
they might wish to exterminate or lynch later. This underscores the
ADL’s appalling judgment even in the absence of the other issues,
because taking either side in a controversy unrelated to its basic
charter simply alienates people who might otherwise support it.

The ADL was once a fine organization, and it can become one again —
but until it changes its current orientation and behavior drastically,
it does not deserve the support of any American.

William A. Levinson, P.E. is the author of several books on business
management including content on organizational psychology, as well
as manufacturing productivity and quality.

ACTIVISTS TO MARCH FOR BLIND PEOPLE IN ARMENIA

news.am
Nov 13 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – “Seeing isn’t any Difficult, You Just Need to Look” march
will take place on International Day of the Blind on Sunday in Yerevan.

The event aims to improve road safety conditions for people with
visual disabilities. The march will begin at 4.30 p.m. from monument
to Alexander Tamanyan in Yerevan downtown, closing at the Republic
Square with a specific performance.

“BANDITS” ON ROAD TO TRCHKAN

The issue of Trchkan Waterfall has been solved and there won’t be
construction of a hydro-electric station there, but environmental
activist Mariam Sukhudyan says there are still issues that remain
unsolved.

“To this day, Trchkan Waterfall is not registered, and this means that
there is no guarantee that it will be preserved,” Mariam Sukhudyan told
“A1+”. Volunteers will be on-duty at Trchkan Waterfall to follow up
and see what is going on there.

We mention that the environmental activists had organized a 14-day
sitting strike near Trchkan Waterfall to not allow the construction of
a hydro-electric station. When they were convinced that there wouldn’t
be any construction, they shaved their heads as a sign of victory.

“The decision of shaving our heads was linked to the feeling of
rebirth. A person who has fought for 14 days like us will understand
us better,” Mariam Sukhudyan said.

The environmentalists hadn’t been permitted to climb to the top of
the waterfall through the Chichkhanadzor road and the reason was
because that was one of the villagers’ property.

Sukhudyan confirmed this and said: “That happened twice. The same
person would stop us and tell us that we were going through his
property and had to pay him 5,000 drams for that.”

Mariam provided the RA Police with information about this with the
demand to instigate a case on “The bandit on the Chichkhanadzor road”,
but the police found that the villager was not committing a crime.

VIOLINIST MISHA SIMONYAN TO PERFORM AT MOZART FESTIVAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 12, 2011 – 11:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The 4th Johannesburg International Mozart Festival
(JIMF) will take place from January 27 to February 19, 2012 in
Johannesburg, Artslink reports.

Originally organized in 2006 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthday, the Johannesburg International
Mozart Festival has developed into a highly successful and well-loved
annual classical music event.

Highlights on the 2012 program of performances include distinguished
young South African artists such as Shannon Mowday, and Quattro Fusion,
with previous Standard Bank Young Artist award winners Melanie Scholtz
and Samson Diamond performing with Melvin Peters and Godfrey Mgcina.

A number of high-caliber international artists join their South
African colleagues, to make music and inspire a younger generation
of musicians. Coming from the UK is Brazilian Cristina Ortiz, whose
natural musicality and masterful craftsmanship have ensured her a
place among the most respected pianists in the world. Throughout her
extensive career she has performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker,
Wiener Philharmoniker, and the Chicago Symphony, Philharmonia and
Royal Concertgebouw orchestras amongst many others. Other renowned
musicians featured include conductor Kristjan Jarvi, Swiss recorder
virtuoso Maurice Steger, New York-based Armenian Violinist Misha
Simonyan, German/Japanese Solo Violinist Mirijam Contzen, Italian
flautist Massimo Mercelli, and French organist Daniel Roth.

$8,000 FOR A RENOVATED ROOM FOR 25 DAYS ONLY – CHORRORD INQNISHKHANUTYUN

Tert.am
12.11.11

The paper claims that Sisak Avetisyan – deputy chief of the department
against organized crime and who was recently dismissed from that
position by the newly-appointed Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan –
held that position only 25 days.

The paper claims that Avetisyan, who has worked in police system for
quite a long time, had to bribe officials at the upper level so that
to get that position.

Upon his appointment, the paper adds, Avetisyan started to renovate
his room: he built a private toilet, bought expensive furniture, etc,
and spent a total of $8,000 for the renovation only to enjoy it for
a few days.

Further, the paper claims that Sisak Avetisyan, mostly known as Surik,
is one of those police officers who have their own businesses. He is
a shareholder at the Atlantic cafe near Liberty Square.

FRENCH DENIAL OF GENOCIDE?

news.az
Nov 11 2011
Azerbaijan

by Cem Oguz, head of the Turkish Center for Strategic and International
Studies.

The remarks made (prior to, and during, his official visit to Southern
Caucasian countries last month) by President Nicholas Sarkozy regarding
the ~SArmenian genocide,~T brought an interesting debate to mind that
erupted in 2006 between Algiers and France.

Perhaps you will well remember: The French National Assembly’s approval
in 2005 of a law claiming French colonialism played a positive role
in history was responsible in 2006 for substantial tension between the
two countries. The Algerian government officially called on France to
apologize for crimes committed during its colonial rule. On the 60th
anniversary of the massacres, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
not only condemned the French Army’s attack on the cities of Setif
and Guelma in May 1945, which claimed the lives of 45,000 Algerians,
but also called on Paris to act responsibly. The most interesting
remarks, however, came from Amar Bakhouche, then Algerian Senate
speaker. Speaking to AB Haber.com at the time, Bakhouche complained
about Western impositions on less developed or developing countries
and urged France to clean up its own backyard before getting involved
in the Armenian allegations. He then criticized the French standpoint
on Turkey’s EU membership bid, arguing that a Muslim population is
undesired in the European Union.

Since then various French politicians have made statements that add
a great deal of weight to the widely expressed view that “history
should be left to historians.” Then French Foreign Minister Michel
Barnier, for instance, stated historians from both Algeria and France
had to be encouraged to work together. But the same Barnier reminded
Turkey of its duty to come to terms with its past and urged it to
recognize the Armenian “genocide.” He underlined that France didn’t
consider Turkish acknowledgement of that a precondition for EU entry,
but insisted his country would raise the issue once talks opened.

In 2006, to set a new course in turbulent Franco-Algerian relations,
then French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy made an official
visit to Algeria. Signing a delayed friendship accord between
the two countries that, according to analysts, resembled the 1963
Franco-German reconciliation treaty, was to be the most crucial
undertaking on Douste-Blazy’s trip. For the French government such a
treaty would have been a move to patch up relations. Yet the treaty
wasn’t signed, on the pretext that both parties needed more time to
strike a deal. More importantly, a week after the French foreign
minister’s visit, Bouteflika accused France of having committed
genocide during its occupation of Algeria which lasted for 132 years.

According to the Algerian president, this genocide “was not only
against the Algerian people but also against Algerian identity.”

The remarks of Bouteflika, who subsequent to his speech went to France
for medical treatment at a military hospital, stirred up substantial
discontent in French domestic politics. Far-right leader Jean-Marie
Le Pen, himself with a dubious record of service in the Algerian
War, argued that accusing France of having committed genocide of
Algerian identity not only had no historical meaning but was also
an unfounded insult aimed at the country. Right-wing nationalist
Movement of France leader Philippe de Villiers attacked the French
government for what he described as its cowardice for refusing to
comment on Bouteflika’s remarks. Last, but not least, Lionnel Luca,
then a deputy from the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) Party,
portrayed Bouteflika’s visit as “indecent,” adding that allegedly it
wasn’t the first time the Algerian president had insulted France.

Douste-Blazy, too, wasn’t late in responding. He accused the Algerian
president of engaging in polemics. According to the then French
foreign minister, colonialism had had a positive role as well.

Supposedly, the much-complained horrors took place only at the
beginning of the conquest. He then concluded that the recently-invented
term “genocide,” as taught by philosophers and intellectuals such as
Primo Levi, should never be “overused.”

Well, what do you all think? Is this also a denial by the French? Is
Mr. Sarkozy simply the proto-type of populist French politicians in
that regard?

C. Cem Oguz [email protected]