Author: Badalian Vardan

ERIC RUBIN: US WILL CONTINUE TO URGE TURKEY TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

ARMRADIO.AM
27.01.2012 17:50

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received US Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for Europe and Eurasia Eric S. Rubin. The interlocutors
discussed a wide range of issues related to Armenian-American
relations.

Welcoming the Armenian government’s activity in the field of effective
economic management, Eric Rubin noted that the United States will
continue supporting the steps targeted at the development of our
country.

According to Rubin, his country is ready to continue the cooperation
with Armenia towards implementation of the second stage of the programs
of the “Millennium Challenge Corporation.”

“Since the first stage of the program was successfully implemented
in Armenia, we must try to have this work continue,” the US Deputy
Assistant of State said.

Touching upon regional issues, Eric Rubin noted that “in public or in
private the US will continue urging Turkey to normalize the relations
with Armenia, open the border and establish land a rail communication
with Armenia.”

The parties touched upon the bilateral cooperation in the fields of
economy, fighting corruption, education, information technologies
and others.

ARMENIAN DIASPORA STUDIES CENTER OPENS IN LEBANON

Noyan Tapan
2012-01-26

The opening ceremony of the Center for Armenian Diaspora Studies was
held on January 25.

The event was attended by Prelate of the Armenian Diocese in Lebanon,
Archbishop Gegham Khacherian, Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashot
Kocharyan, President of the University of Lebanon, former minister,
Dr. Adnan Seyid Hussein, state deputies, as well as representatives
of political parties and associations.

The event held at the Heritage building of Haigazian University started
with speeches by President of Haigazian University, the Very Reverend,
Dr. Paul Haydostian and the event’s benefactor, founder of the Erjo
Samuelian-Tricolor Fund Erjo Samuelian, followed by a welcoming
speech by Professor of the University, Dr. Arda Ekmekj, who welcomed
the gathered and presented the program, attaching importance to the
establishment of such a center in Lebanon.

President of the University, the Very Reverend, Dr. Paul Haydostian
underlined that the establishment of a Center for Armenian Diaspora
Studies “pushes us toward a new stage of resisting challenges”.

“Lebanon, with its exceptional contribution to culture and with the
large presence of Armenians, serves as an impetus, and the Haigazian
University is a natural setting for the study of Armenians and the
Diaspora in the Middle East,” the Very Reverend underlined.

“For more than a decade, the establishment of such a center, which
was an issue on the agenda of Haigazian University and was proposed
during the conference attended by RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush
Hakobyan in September 2011, is now a reality,” the Very Reverend
Haydostian said and expressed satisfaction with Minister Hakobyan’s
congratulatory message.

Haydostian also expressed deep gratitude to the Center’s benefactor
Erjo Samuelian, “without whom the establishment of this center would
be impossible”. The Very Reverend Haydostian also thanked Haigazian
University’s board of trustees, particularly Dr. Harutyun Nigolian
for their support and encouragement.

The President of Haigazian University also informed that Dr. Antranig
Tagesian had been appointed Head of the Center. In 2010, Tagesian
presented his dissertation at Suans University in Cales on the future
of Armenians and Kurds in Lebanon.

Then, Haydostian expressed his gratitude to former minister, President
of the University of Lebanon, Dr. Adnan Seyid Hussein and voiced
hope for efficient bilateral partnership. In his turn, President
of the University of Lebanon, Dr. Adnan Seyid Hussein welcomed the
establishment of the center, praised the initiating sides’ efforts and
pledged to assist the development of this center through partnership.

Director of the Center for Armenian Diaspora Studies, Dr. Antranig
Tagesian stressed that the relationship between Armenians and the
Arabs in the East traces back to the first century B.C. and that the
Sisy family, which was a resident of the Sisy capital of the Armenian
Cilician Kingdom, settled in the Lebanese Qalamoon region in 1350 and
later in the Zgharta region. Dr. Tagesian listed the Armenian Studies
Centers of the University of San Josef (USJ), the Hamazkayin and the
AGBU in Lebanon that are aimed at encouraging the new generations of
Armenians to receive higher education. In the meantime, the Department
of Armenian Studies was established at Haigazian University in 1955.

Dr. Tagesian thanked benefactor Erjo Samuelian, Haigazian University’s
board of trustees and President, the Very Reverend Paul Haydostian.

Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashot Kocharyan welcomed the
establishment of the center and read RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush
Hakobyan’s congratulatory message for the event in which Hakobyan
voiced hope that “the mutual partnership would bring a new sweep to
the implementation of research on the Diaspora”.

On this occasion, according to tradition, Dr. Paul Haydostian presented
special awards to benefactor Erjo Samuelian on behalf of Haigazian
University, reports Lebanon’s Aztag Daily.

PUTIN LIKELY TO CHANGE STYLE OF KARABAKH TALKS – EXPERT

news.am
January 26, 2012 | 12:06

YEREVAN.- The Karabakh peace process will undergo certain changes
after Vladimir Putin takes up the office, Armenian political analyst
Richard Giragosian told journalists on Thursday.

“Putin’s style is different. He will insert pressure on Sargsyan
and Aliyev rather than shake their hands. Taking into account not so
close relations between Sargsyan and Putin, pressure will less affect
the Armenian side,” said Giragosian, Director of the Armenia-based
Regional Studies Center.

The expert stressed that less warlike statements were voiced by
Azerbaijan during the recent Sochi meeting. The world community and
the OSCE Minsk Group have explained that such statements are dangerous,
he said.

“Armenia continues to strengthen its foreign policy. Armenia is
becoming a country of strategic importance,” he added.

FRENCH SENATE’S DECISION WAS MESSAGE TO TURKEY – ARMENIAN ANALYST

news.am
January 26, 2012 | 11:52

YEREVAN. – The impact, for Armenia, of the French Senate’s passing
of the bill that criminalizes the denial of genocides, including the
Armenian Genocide, was three kilograms, and in the form of a child:
Sarkozy Avetisyan, Regional Studies Center Director Richard Giragosian
stated during a press conference on Thursday.

“We have many Hamlets in Armenia, but this was the first Sarkozy. This
also shows the voting’s importance for Armenia,” Giragosian added.

The analyst also noted that this voting was a huge message to Turkey,
in the sense that genocide recognition is an international movement
which cannot be stopped. “Genocide recognition is stronger today than
before. There was huge pressure on Turkey. The French Senate’s voting
day was very important, since the voting took place days before the
anniversary of the murder of [Hrant] Dink [the founder and former
chief editor of Istanbul’s Agos Armenian weekly, who was killed in
2007]. This shows how Turkey will change,” Richard Giragosian stressed.

“The third development is connected with EU-Turkey relations. This was
a very god opportunity for France to harm Turkey’s EU [membership]
bid. Turkey is compelled to look toward the East. For example,
returning to the football policy, [and] normalization of relations,”
the analyst maintained.

And the fourth development, as per Richard Giragosian, was that
Turkey’s reaction to the French Senate’s decision further intensified
the genocide talks.

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: