Author: Badalian Vardan

AMNESTY SAYS FRENCH GENOCIDE BILL THREATENS FREE SPEECH

Today’s Zaman
Jan 25 2012
Turkey

Human rights group Amnesty International has criticized a bill passed
this week in French Parliament to criminalize denial of the 1915
killing of Armenians in Anatolia as genocide, saying the legislation
violates freedom of expression.

The bill, passed in the French Senate on Monday night, sets a
punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros
for those who deny or “outrageously minimize” such events. French
Parliament already passed a resolution describing the killings of
Armenians during World War I in eastern Anatolia as genocide.

Turkey, which denies the genocide charges saying there were many deaths
on both sides as Armenians revolted against the Ottoman Empire for
independence, has threatened to impose sanctions if the bill becomes
a law. The bill needs to be approved by President Nicolas Sarkozy,
who is known to back the measure, to go into effect, something French
officials said would take place within two weeks.

“This bill, if implemented, would have a chilling effect on public
debate and contravene France’s international obligations to uphold
freedom of expression,” said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia
Director at Amnesty International, according to a statement released by
the Amnesty International on Tuesday. “People should be free to express
their opinions on this issue — in France, Turkey and elsewhere.”

Noting that Turkish laws penalizing description of the 1915 events
as genocide are also in violation of freedom of expression, the
Amnesty International official recalled that the European Court of
Human Rights has repeatedly held that freedom of expression applies
not only to inoffensive ideas, “but also to those that offend, shock
or disturb the State or any sector of the population.”

“International human rights law allows for restrictions on the exercise
of freedom of expression if necessary and proportionate for certain
specific purposes including respect of the rights or reputations of
others or to protect national security or public order,” the statement
read. “Amnesty International believes that neither of these applies in
this instance, and the new legislation would criminalize the exercise
of freedom of expression that is seen as ‘outrageously’ contesting
or trivializing historical events or their characterization.”

Turkey has argued the bill would compromise freedom of expression in
France, with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu saying that “a
new … Inquisition” will begin in Europe if each country’s parliament
makes decisions based on its own views of history and implements them.

“European values are under threat,” Davutoglu said earlier this week.

“The real issue at stake with this bill is not whether the large-scale
killings and forced displacement of Armenians in 1915 constituted
a genocide, but the French authorities’ attempt to curtail freedom
of expression in response to that debate,” Duckworth said. “French
authorities are failing to comply with their international human
rights obligations.”

ARMENIA IMPROVES ITS POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL REPORT ON FREEDOM OF PRESS
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan

ArmeniaNow
26.01.12 | 15:56

The Reporters without Borders (RWB) media watchdog’s annual report on
press freedom for 2011-2012 states that as compared to 2010 Armenia
has improved its position by 24 points, enjoying the 77th position
instead of the previous 101st. RWB, however, does not consider this
to be great progress.

“Armenia’s 24-place rise in the index seems spectacular, but in fact
it has just gone back to where it was three years ago, before the
brutal crackdown after the disputed 2008 elections. The media are,
nonetheless, subject to constant judicial harassment and the size of
the damages demanded in lawsuits is intimidating. Self-regulation is
a major challenge that still needs to be tackled,” the report reads.

During the recent years Armenia has had regress in human rights
related reports, which is caused by the post-election bloody clashes
in 2008, when ten citizens of Armenia died and hundreds of people were
arrested. RWB believes that opposition mass media, which used to be
targets of assaults quite often in years of Armenia’s former President
Robert Kocharyan’s regime, now enjoy more freedom. Nevertheless,
according to the report, independent and opposition press continues
to face censorship; however now the censorship is exercised through
more civilized, judicial pressures.

Armenia’s neighbor Azerbaijan is currently the 162nd among 179
countries included in the report with its press freedom index (in 2010
Azerbaijan was the 152nd), Georgia is in the 104th place (it was the
100th in 2010), Iran is the 175th, keeping its position unchanged,
Turkey is in the 148th place (it was the 138th in 2010).

“There was a dramatic rise in the number of arrests in Azerbaijan where
Ilham Aliyev’s autocratic government did not hesitate to jail netizens
(derived from ‘net’ and ‘citizen’ words), abduct opposition journalists
and bar foreign reporters in order to impose a news blackout on the
unrest,” the report says.

In terms of press freedom the list of the countries is headed by
Finland, Norway, Estonia and the Netherlands.

HAYASTAN SHOPPING CENTER BECOMES PROPERTY OF AMERIABANK

/ARKA/
January 26, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. A building that houses Hayastan shopping
center in Yerevan became the property of Ameriabank after the company
running the center failed to pay back a loan it had received from
the bank.

In a press release Ameriabank provides explanations concerning a string
of stories in Armenian media about the conflict between the bank and
the company, saying that the building located at 2, G. Kochar street
in central Yerevan became its property legally because the company
failed to pay an outstanding debt.

The bank disseminated a duplicate of the certificate of property
rights, which says that this building became the property Ameriabank on
December 16, 2011. Ameriabank sent a month notice to Hayastan company
asking IT to free the building in a month, but that was not done.

“The bank is currently taking steps to free the shopping center from
illegal possession. These measures will in no way affect the persons
engaged in retail trade in its territory, who were asked to renew
their lease contracts, the press release says.

Ameriabank is a universal bank that provides investment, corporate and
retail banking services in an integrated package of banking solutions.

It is fully owned by Troika Dialog, one of the largest private
investment companies in Russia.

PM SARGSYAN INSTRUCTS ENERGY MINISTER TO HOLD TALKS ON KAJARAN

hetq
12:53, January 26, 2012

At today’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan instructed
Energy Minister Arsen Movsisyan to invite Heritage Party MP’s for a
discussion on the on-going debate regarding mining operations in the
southern Armenian village of Kajaran.

PM Sargsyan requested that Movsisyan draft a review of the MP’s
concerns and possible solutions.

Heritage Party MP’s had petitioned the government to review its
decision to hand over hundreds of hectares of community lands to a
mining company under eminent domain.

FRENCH SENATORS LACK VOTES TO PROTEST GENOCIDE BILL

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 26, 2012 – 14:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – French Senators have only 48 hours left to protest
the bill penalizing Armenian Genocide denial at Constitutional Court.

By now, the number of French MPs protesting the bill has reached 35,
with Turkish-French friendship group chair, the Union for a Popular
Movement (UPM) member Michel Diefenbacher, other UPM members and some
oppositional Socialists among the malcontent.

With 60 parliamentarians necessary to appeal to the Constitutional
Court, experts are skeptical the necessary number of supporters will
be reached.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the
Armenian Genocide denial with 127 votes for and 86 against. To be
signed into law 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.

FRANCE’S ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL THREATENS FREE SPEECH, SAYS AMNESTY

Ekklesia

Jan 26 2012
UK

A bill passed by the French Senate would violate freedom of expression
by making it a criminal offence to publicly question events termed as
“genocide” under French law, Amnesty International has said.

In 2001, a French law officially declared that the mass killings
and forced displacement of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915
constituted a genocide.

The new bill would impose up to a one-year jail sentence and/or a
~@45,000 fine on anyone found guilty of “outrageously” questioning
or trivialising such events.

“This bill, if implemented, would have a chilling effect on public
debate and contravene France’s international obligations to uphold
freedom of expression,” said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia
Director at Amnesty International. “People should be free to express
their opinions on this issue – in France, Turkey and elsewhere.”

Turkish authorities have consistently denied that what took place
in 1915 was an act of genocide. People in Turkey who contest that
official version of the events have been prosecuted, in violation of
their right to freedom of expression.

The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly held that freedom
of expression applies not only to inoffensive ideas, “but also to
those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the
population”.

International human rights law allows for restrictions on the exercise
of freedom of expression if necessary and proportionate for certain
specific purposes including respect of the rights or reputations of
others or to protect national security or public order.

Amnesty International says it believes that neither of these applies
in this instance, and the new legislation would criminalise the
exercise of freedom of expression that is seen as “outrageously”
contesting or trivialising historical events or their characterisation.

International human rights law also obliges states to prohibit advocacy
of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement
to discrimination, hostility or violence.

But while the French authorities claim the law would implement EU
guidelines aimed at combating racist or xenophobic speech that is
“likely to incite violence or hatred”, the new bill does not mention
such incitement as an element of the types of expression that will
be prohibited, and France already has in place legislation which
prohibits such incitement.

“The real issue at stake with this bill is not whether the large-scale
killings and forced displacement of Armenians in 1915 constituted a
genocide, but the French authorities’ attempt to curtail freedom of
expression in response to that debate,” stressed Nicola Duckworth.

“French authorities are failing to comply with their international
human rights obligations.”

* Ekklesia has shared a concern that the truth of the Armenian
Genocide – a quite distinct issue from the appropriateness
or otherwise of this French law – should be known. Our news,
comment, research and resources on the issue can be accessed here:

SOCHI MEETING FAILED TO SECURE PROGRESS IN KARABAKH TALKS – RUSSIA PROFILE
By Andrew Roth

Tert.am
26.01.12

For the tenth time during his presidency, Dmitry Medvedev met with the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle the frozen conflict
in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The meeting, which took place on
Monday in Sochi, once again failed to secure a breakthrough in the
negotiations. As Russia turns inward to focus on recent political
protests and Medvedev plans a speedy exit from the limelight, there
is still no end in sight to what he has called possibly the only
conflict in the post-Soviet space that can be settled today.

The trio’s winter meetings have become something of a tradition,
noted Medvedev, who spoke to the press this weekend when he took a
break from the negotiations to go skiing. There were low expectations
for the talks, especially after the group failed to achieve a
breakthrough in a highly anticipated meeting in Kazan last year. A
joint statement released by the parties simply reported both sides’
“readiness to speed up the development of agreements on the main
principles, including all previous work,” reported RIA Novosti.

Nagorno-Karabakh has remained in a perpetual state between conflict
and peace since the end of a six-year civil war in 1994 prompted by
the breakup of the Soviet Union and a territorial dispute between
neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia. A ceasefire for the separatist
region that nominally belongs to Azerbaijan was negotiated by the OSCE
in 1994, but since then the decision of how to stamp out low-level
violence and find a lasting solution for Karabakh’s political future
has led to a series of dead ends.

An OSCE devised road map, the Madrid Principles, appeared to be
the best chance for a lasting peace in the region. The agreement,
which would quickly demilitarize Nagorno-Karabakh, ensure a right of
return to refugees from the war and eventually lead to a referendum on
Nagorno-Karabakh’s political status, seemed to be gaining strength,
but both Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev have refused to make key concessions. Those include when
a referendum on Nagorno-Karabakh’s political status would take place,
and whether that would include only the region or all of Azerbaijan,
as well as an agreement on a military withdrawal from two of the
seven Karabakh regions that are considered strategically important
for Armenian security.

Meanwhile in Nagorno-Karabakh, a low-level conflict continues as
sniper exchanges occasionally kill Azerbaijani regulars, separatist
fighters, and local residents as well; exchanges of fire take place
on an almost daily basis, according to local reports. While there are
few casualties, the incidents show the shaky nature of the ceasefire
along the border.

Azerbaijan’s willingness to compromise remains the key question, but
Sergei Minasyan, the head of the political research for the Institute
of the Caucasus, said that the border had been “comparatively quiet”
since the beginning of the new year. “The government of Azerbaijan
for the last two years has threatened war the next day. Yet no war
took place and the sides have become accustomed to the situation. I
think that even in Azerbaijan, which is not very satisfied with the
status quo, it is understood that the use of the front line as a
lever in the negotiations is already part of a past era, ” he said.

Yet Azerbaijan has far from abandoned a “position of strength, ”
said Sergei Markedonov, a Caucasus expert at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies, writing on Politcom.ru. He quoted the
Azerbaijani president Aliyev as having said earlier this year:

“If anyone believes that the main topic of the discussion is the
prevention of war, then I do not agree with this opinion. Nobody
wants war… but that doesn’t mean that the negotiations will be
pushed off to the side, and that all efforts will be spent on the
prevention of war.

That simply does not happen.”At least in domestic politics, Aliyev
must continue to show a very strong position and avoid looking like
he might appease Armenia. “In this way, the president of Azerbaijan
showed that the goal of the negotiation process is not compromise,
but a discussion from the position of strength,” Markedonov concluded.

Despite the modest success of this round of negotiations, other experts
did note a silver lining. Alexander Markarov, who heads the Armenian
department of the CIS Institute, noted that both sides remain more
or less committed to guiding documents like the Madrid Principles,
which the OSCE continues to tout as the best framework for a possible
agreement.

The question now is whether Aliyev and Sargsyan can overcome their
differences without Russia to bring them together. While the recent
protests in Russian cities will certainly divert Russia’s attention
further away from Karabakh conflict, Medvedev’s time is also up; his
successor will not likely have the same patience for endless meetings
that bear few results. “The meeting at Sochi looks like Medvedev’s
farewell to his colleagues… the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
understand the meaninglessness of the meeting, but could not refuse, ”
said Elkhan Shakhinolgu, the head of research at the Atlas think-tank,
reported Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

“DEJA VU” AT SOCHI PRESIDENTIAL MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 26, 2012 – 11:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On January 23, Sochi hosted yet another meeting
between Armenian and Azeri presidents mediated by Russia. As usual,
the three presidents issued one of their neutral statements, with
mediators noting progress in positions of conflicting parties, while
the experts on each side went on to stress the diplomatic success of
their countries’ leadership.

Recent Sochi-hosted meeting strikes one as a deja vu, with the
joint presidential statement once again urging for investigation of
incidents at contact line. However, the continued deaths and injuries
over Azeri ceasefire violation and retaliation of Armenian forces
came as a proof of the inconsistency of the statement.

According to January 2012 statement, “Presidents of Azerbaijan,
Armenia, and Russia took into consideration the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs report on investigation of incidents at contact line and
instructed relevant bodies to continue working in this direction.”

Thus, until the co-chairs pressure Baku into pulling Azeri snipers
from contact line and abandon subversion attempts, losses on both
sides are inevitable.

OSCE MG and the international community as well show remarkable
restraint towards Azerbaijan. The official Baku being the only party
keeping up the military rhetoric, while continuing to violate the
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), the mediators,
curiously enough, call on both parties to abandon bellicose statements
and promote peaceful settlement. (Any example of Armenian official
threatening to start a war?)

Taking the connivance of mediators as silent approval, Baku continues
preparing the Azeri society for a war.

ARTSAKH PRESIDENT CONVENES CONSULTATION ON BEAUTIFICATION OF STEPANAKERT

Panorama.am
26/01/2012

On 25 January Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan convened a
consultation on beautification of the Stepanakert city.

Special attention was paid to the capital reconstruction of the
apartment houses’ roofs beautification and the improvement of
courtyards and common areas.

The President mentioned that even though substantial work had already
been done in this direction the situation could not yet be considered
satisfactory.

President Sahakyan underlined the necessity of searching for a complex
solution to the current problems, adding that capital Stepanakert,
being the visiting card of the republic, where a considerable portion
of population is concentrated, should have a decent appearance and
corresponding comfortable living conditions.

The President gave the Cabinet instructions for the solution of the
current problems. The President in particular instructed to work out
together with the Stepanakert city administration a comprehensive
program for the improvement of the apartment houses courtyards,
common areas and capital reconstruction of roofs, to schedule the
realization of works taking into consideration the current situation,
the priority of the problems and provide full coverage of the works
done by the mass media.

NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan and other officials attended the
consultation, Artsakh President’s press office reported.

NKR PARLIAMENT SAYS JUSTICE IS DOGMA FOR FRANCE

Panorama.am
26/01/2012

NKR National Assembly political forces issued on January 25 a statement
in address to French National Assembly and Senate on the occasion of
adoption of Armenian Genocide denial bill.

The statement particularly reads: “Having passed a bill criminalizing
the denial of Armenian Genocide France has been introduced to the
world as a statement who accepts justice and facts as dogmas.”

Tens of thousands of Armenians who survived Genocide have France
sought asylum in France. Their generations are citizens of France,
member of that society.

NKR Parliament press service says they have not been surprised by the
reaction of Azerbaijan, a country that backs Turkey’s policy of denial.

“We are authorized to express gratitude on behalf of our people to
France’s National Assembly and Senate for the adoption of Armenian
genocide denial bill. On the path of justice and democracy,
establishment of universal human values our people support you.”