Author: Badalian Vardan

TURKEY BANS FRANCE FROM USING ITS AIRSPACE AND TERRITORIAL WATERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 3, 2012 – 16:37 AMT

French state aircraft and warships are no longer using Turkish airspace
and territorial waters after permission requests in three different
cases were rejected by the Turkish government, France’s top diplomat
inAnkarasaid, amid the ongoing spat over the French bill penalizing
the Armenian Genocide denial.

“Our requests [for an aircraft and two warships] have been rejected,
so we are no longer issuing such requests. We are using alternative
routes,” ambassador of France to TurkeyLaurent Bili said.

Bili said the first rejection was to a request for a French military
aircraft that wanted to use Turkish airspace on its way toFrancefrom
Afghanistan. Similarly, two French warships were not allowed to
enter Turkish territorial waters recently. Turkey’s move against the
French military was part of sanctions imposed againstFranceafter the
French Parliament’s adoption of the Genocide draft law late December
last year.

“There was such an atmosphere [in Ankara] that necessitated my return
to France,” Bili said, adding that the Turkish reaction against
the move was a surprise for many French people but did not affect
Turkey’s image in the country. “France attaches great importance
to its ties with Turkey. We need to be calm. The law is not aimed
againstTurkey[…] The number of Armenians living inFranceis 10
times more than the number of Armenians in Turkey. They have become
a part of French history. I understand how sensitive issues are,
but cutting off ties is not a good idea.”Hurriyet Daily News quoted
ambassador as saying.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the
Armenian Genocide denial with 127 votes for and 86 against. Expected
to be signed into law by President within 14 days, the bill will
impose a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France
who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire.

Two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the legislation
– from both the Senate and the lower house – said they had formally
requested the constitutional council examine the law. The groups said
they each had gathered more than the minimum 60 signatures required
to ask the council to test the law’s constitutionality. The council
is obliged to deliver its judgment within a month, but this can be
reduced to eight days if the government deems the matter urgent.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Organized by The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia

“THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: FROM RECOGNITION TO REPARATION”
23-25 February, 2012
Antelias – Lebanon

L’ARMENIE ENVOIE DES LIVRES SCOLAIRES ARMENIENS EN GEORGIE
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 4 fevrier 2012

L’Armenie aide les ecoles armeniennes de Georgie. Le ministère
armenien de l’Education et des sciences a envoye au quelques 150
ecoles armeniennes de 13 regions de Georgie, des livres scolaires en
armenien. 7 500 manuels scolaires en armenien, des cahiers, des cartes
et des tableaux sont destines a la region d’Akhalkhalak peuplee en
majorite par les Armeniens. Ces envois s’effectuent en accord entre
le ministère armenien de l’Education et son homologue georgien. En
2011 l’Armenie a envoye 47 240 livres scolaires a destination de
la diaspora.

FRENCH CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL TO MAKE DECISION ON “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” LAW BEFORE MARCH 1

Trend
Feb 3 2012
Azerbaijan

The French Constitutional Council will make a decision on repeal of
the law criminalizing the denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”
before March 1, Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

Votes of seven members of the Council are required for making any
decision. According to the news agency it is expected that many
members of the Constitutional Council will vote for repeal of the law.

On Jan.31, French Senators collected required number of signatures
to submit to the Constitutional Council to demand a repeal of the
law criminalizing the denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

Previously on Jan 23, after an eight-hour debate, the French senate
adopted the bill. Some 127 senators voted in favour, while 86 voted
against.

The bill demands a year’s imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euro for
denying the so-called “genocide.”

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.

MALATYA MUNICIPALITY DEMOLISHES ARMENIAN PLACE OF WORSHIP

Today’s Zaman

Feb 3 2012
Turkey

Officials from the Malatya Municipality have demolished three
buildings, including a place of worship that was under renovation,
located inside an Armenian cemetery even though the Malatya governor
and mayor gave permission.

A residence for the watchman, a room to bathe the bodies of the dead
and a place of worship were pulled down when nobody in charge of the
cemetery was around on Thursday. The municipality officials said
the place of worship was being built without official permission,
and argued that there was nothing illegal about the demolishment.

Citing the intolerance towards Armenians as the reason behind the
municipality’s move, Turkish media outlets reported on Friday that
the municipality had the facilities pulled down because of hundreds
of petitions submitted by locals who opposed the construction of a
place of worship for Armenians, thinking that a church was being built.

Malatya Mayor Ahmet Cakır gave verbal permission for building the
place of worship on orders by Malatya Governor Ulvi Saran. The cost of
the building was met by an Ä°stanbul-based philanthropist foundation
of Malatya Armenians, HAYDER. The blueprint of the place of worship
was drawn up by renowned Turkish-Armenian architect Kevork Ozkaragöz.

Garo Paylan, member of the board of directors of HAYDER, said in a
statement that both the governor and the municipality were quite warm
to the idea of renovating the demolished buildings at the cemetery
four months ago.

“However, our cemetery does not belong to us anymore, it belongs to
the municipality. Therefore, we asked the municipality for renovation,
but they said they can’t do it even though they will allow us to do
it,” he said.

The renovation work started in the cemetery in Malatya, where there
is only about 100 Armenians left.

“It is important for those people to bury their loved ones according
to their religious practices. Since there are no churches left in
Malatya, the only place that they can have a religious ceremony is
in the cemetery,” he said.

According to Paylan, the reason for the municipality to destroy the
cemetery is because of pressure being put on the municipality by
some groups to abolish it due to the French Senate’s recent vote for
a controversial bill making it a crime to deny the 1915 killings of
Armenians was “genocide,” ignoring warnings from Turkey that passing
the legislation would lead to new measures.

Mayor Cakır was quoted on the website of the Turkish-Armenian weekly
Agos as saying he is sorry for what happened but the demolition
occurred due to miscommunication among officials and that they will
compensate for it.

FRANCE TO RULE ON ARMENIAN LAW LATE FEBRUARY

Feb 3 2012
Turkey

The council was set to appoint a rapporteur from among its nine
members in a few days to make a preliminary evaluation in the case.

France’s highest constitutional authority is expected to pass a ruling
late February or early March on a law that makes it a crime to deny
Armenian allegations on Ottoman era incidents of 1915.

Sources close to the issue told the Anadolu Agency that the
Constitutional Council would deliver a ruling on February 29 or March
1 about the law that makes denial of Armenian allegations punishable
with a prison term of one-year and a fine of 45 thousand euros.

The council was set to appoint a rapporteur from among its nine
members in a few days to make a preliminary evaluation in the case.

At least seven members need to concur for to make a binding decision
in the council as analysts have said all nine members would oppose
to the law.

If the council annuls the law, the French government would only have
a week to present a new bill as the French parliament is scheduled
to go on recess on March 9 due to upcoming presidential elections
with first tour in April.

Sixty-five French MPs and 77 senators had appealed to the
Constitutional Council to contest the law on its constitutional merits.

The council may reject a law altogether, or approve it entirely
or partially.

ARMENIAN SERVICEMEN DEADLY INJURED ON KARABAKH-AZERBAIJANI CONTACT LINE

news.am
February 03, 2012 | 20:59

STEPANAKERT. – An Armenian serviceman was deadly injured in Jabrail
military unit in Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, Armenian News-NEWS.am
source reports.

Head of the Karabakh MOD PR department Senor Hasratyan approved the
report to the Armenian News-NEWS.am adding the incident occurred at
5.00 p.m. in the Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line on Thursday.

Serviceman Karlen Baghdasaryan, 20, was deadly injured and died on
the way to hospital. Investigation is underway. Further details will
be available later.

STATE FREEZES PURCHASE OF FRENCH CARS IN PROTEST OF GENOCIDE DENIAL BILL

Today’s Zaman

Feb 2 2012
Turkey

The government has frozen the purchase of 130 Renaults, a French
brand, as official state cars for high-ranking officers in protest
of the approval of a genocide denial bill that criminalizes denying
the forceful deportation of Armenians by Ottoman rulers in 1915
was genocide.

According to the Haberturk daily, the Akmercan Company, which provides
official cars for upper-level bureaucrats from the prime minister’s
office, decided to buy 130 Renault Latitude cars, but the prime
minister’s office rejected this decision in protest of the French bill
that has been approved by both the French Parliament and Senate. The
Akmercan Company decided to order Ford Mondeos instead. The company
has already bought 20 Ford Mondeos.

Furthermore, Renault’s electric car, Fluence Z.E., planned to be
given to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, waits for approval from
the prime minister’s office before it can be delivered. In addition,
the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology has frozen the order
for 10 electric cars due to the genocide denial bill.

The daily pointed out that these freezes occurred before French
parliamentarians appealed three days ago to the country’s supreme
Constitutional Council to overturn the bill.

The French bill has caused outrage in Turkey, which argues killings
took place on all sides during a fierce partisan conflict.

PROF. DR. GUY CARCASSONNE: THIS BILL GOES AGAINST FRANCE’S PRINCIPLE OF INDEPENDENCE

Sabah
Feb 2 2012
Turkey

Commenting on the Armenian bill accepted by the French Senate, famous
legal professor Dr. Guy Carcassonne, “There are three principles that
make France the nation it is: Equality, independence and fraternity.

This sort of bill does not comply with independence. There is obscurity
present in the bill’s text, which is unacceptable when dealing with
criminal law.”

France’s famous constitutional law professor Guy Carcassonne
contributed to the text of appeal presented to the Constitutional
Council for the cancellation of the bill which intends to criminalize
the denial of Armenian allegations.

Prof. Dr. Guy Carcassonne (61), who is on the faculty for
Paris-Nanterre University and also teaches law at a number of the
world’s most prestigious universities, is also a constitutional
advisor. Carcassonne discussed the text submitted to the Constitutional
Council with Sabah and expressed that the bill does not comply with
France’s principle of independence. “I underlined two elements in
the text. The first being freedom of speech and the second being the
elusiveness present in the text. Obscurity is unacceptable when it
comes to issues involving criminal law,” states Carcassonne.

Is the draft bill being debated in the French Assembly just?

“I have no doubt that genocide transpired. However historical truths
are not the business of legislation. Not in France, nor in any other
country. There are three principles that make France the nation it
is: Equality, independence and fraternity. This sort of bill does not
comply with independence. Once the bill was passed certain senators
and ministers reacted and then took action. In light of the historical
camaraderie with Turkey, a significant majority want to ensure that
such legislation is at the very least respectful of the principles
in our constitution. It’s a good thing there was a majority.”

Which main subject titles were brought up in the text submitted to
the Constitutional Council?

“My theses are based on two fundamental elements. The first being
freedom of speech. This protects the freedom of speech even if
expressions and ideas are hurtful to others. If the person on the
other side does not agree with their opinions, they must absolutely
accept their right to express them. The French Constitution draws a
single line here: ideas or expression must not in any way harm another
individual or public order. This is a violation of constitutional
rights. However, this is not a situation that pertains to this. In
addition, there are significant differences between events such as the
Jewish genocide. The Jewish genocide was ruled as such in accordance
to an international agreement (Nuremberg, 1946). There is not a single
characteristic of the Jewish genocide that could be compared to the
Armenian genocide.

My second argument in my thesis is this: The assembly establishes a
punishment for a crime. The Constitution then applies that punishment
if the crime was ‘clearly’ and ‘definitely’ committed. First
of all it is completely unnecessary to punish the denial of an
incident that did not transpire in France. Secondly, the bill not
only intends to criminalize denial, but it also includes the term
‘extreme belittling.’ However, such terminology is obscure and its
meaning unclear. Thirdly, the bill refers to the denial or extreme
belittling of incidents recognized as genocide by France. Although
this is a reference to the French legislation established in 2001
labeling Armenian allegations as so-called genocide, there also exists
legislation referring to genocides in Ruanda and former Yugoslavia.

Nobody knows if this bill intends to include these genocides. Such
obscurity is unacceptable when it comes to debating criminal code.”

How would such a bill affect relations between two nations?

“The Council will make a decision within one month. When I think
rationally, I can say that I am optimistic of the results. That the
bill will endanger Turkey-France relations is definite. It is extremely
unnecessary to be put into such a situation. For hundreds of years
now, Turkey and France have had amicable relations. This friendship
will survive this rocky period and will continue for years to come
and I am very pleased about this.”

FRANCE’S TURKEY BASTE

The Weekly Times
February 1, 2012 Wednesday
Australia

TURKEY’S Union of Agricultural Chambers will begin a boycott of all
French agricultural products after Paris approved a law criminalising
denial of the Armenian genocide.

The head of the Agricultural Union, Samsi Bayraktar, said his group
represented 5.4 million Turkish farmers and it had decided on the
boycott because the French decision on the Armenian issue disturbed
every Turkish citizen, the Middle East Monitor reports.

“The boycott will deal a blow to co-operation between Turkish and
French agronomists at both the economic and social levels,” he said.

He said he looked forward to the reaction of French farmers.

According to the Turkish Statistics Institute, last year Turkey’s
exports to France reached $6.9 billion, with imports from France
being valued at $8.6 billion.