Author: Badalian Vardan

The Voice of Russia
Dec 28 2011

Armenian factor in geopolitics

Ilya Kharlamov

Valerie Boyer, a French lawmaker who drafted the controversial
Armenian genocide bill, has been made a target by the Turks. She has
received death threats following the passing of a bill making the
denial of Armenian genocide in Turkey a criminal offence. Then hackers
attacked her personal website, posting a Turkish flag and a message in
Turkish and English, describing the Armenian diaspora in France and
the French as “pathetic and pitiful”.

Last week, the National Assembly passed a bill criminalizing public
denial of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey rejects the term “genocide” to
describe the killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. In
response to the bill, Turkey has recalled its Ambassador to France,
halted political and economic contacts with Paris and suspended
military cooperation. These tough measures seem to have encouraged
Turkish nationalists who are not afraid to resort to crime.

Opponents of the bill say that by passing it France’s ruling party
wants to win votes of some half a million ethnic Armenians living in
France in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. But
it is quite strange as their vote can not be of any significance in
the country with the population of 65 million. The fact that up to 1.5
million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Turks in 1915-16 has been
proved by many studies. It is recognized by dozens of countries and
the European Parliament.

It is not the first time France has come up with this initiative, says
expert in the Oriental Studies Stanislav Tarasov.

“Here we have geopolitical interests. During the Presidency of Nicolas
Sarkozy France is trying to play a more significant role in the Middle
East and the North Africa. That is why France has always been opposed
to granting EU membership status to Turkey. France was one of the
countries that supported the Arab Spring. Trying to gain control over
raw materials, France started to act more independently as one of the
regional leaders. At the same time, Turkey managed to strengthen its
ties with Russia and Muslim countries starting to distance itself from
NATO and the West. The conflict was inevitable.”

France has taken risks by passing the bill on the Armenian genocide.
It wins the support of the Armenians, but has alienated the Turks and
migrants from other Muslim states.

Besides, Turkey may decide to give up the idea of joining the European
Union, which would play into the hands of France and Germany. This
conflict draws the line under the Turkish attempts to enter the
European Union, says Alexander Sotnichenko, head of the Center for
Studying the Middle East.

“This scandal wraps up all the efforts by Turkey to join the European
Union. Euro integration for the country is now a thing of the past.”

The Armenian factor could also deteriorate the relations between
Turkey and Israel. The Israeli Parliament began debating a proposal to
recognize the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
A large majority supports the proposal, although Israel’s Foreign
Ministry warned that it will damage relations with Turkey. They are
not great, especially after last year’s incident when Israeli naval
commandos killed nine Turks in a raid on a flotilla that tried to
breach Israel’s Gaza blockade.

So the adamant stand taken by the Turkish authorities who respond
sensitively to the proven historical fact will bring a lot of
surprises in the future.

OneNewsNow
Dec 28 2011

House’s ‘powerful victory for religious freedom’

Charlie Butts

The U.S. House has passed a resolution that calls on the government of
Turkey to end repression of the remnants of ancient Christian and
pre-Christian civilizations and return the property taken from them.

House Resolution 306, spearheaded by Representative Ed Royce
(R-California) and Howard Berman (D-California), was recently passed
by a huge majority, calling on the State Department to raise the
issue. Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) tells OneNewsNow the persecution has been going on for many
centuries.

“This includes the Armenian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Greek
Church, the Syriak Church — many of the Christian communities that
have been present in Anatolia since biblical times and even before the
time of Christ,” he explains.

The more serious persecution occurred early last century.

“They were largely seized during the period of the Armenian genocide,
which started in 1915, which was an effort to wipe out the entire
Christian population of the Ottoman Empire. And it very nearly
succeeded in doing that,” the ANCA executive director laments.
“Armenians and Syrians, Greeks, Pontians and others represented over
two million of the citizens of the Ottoman Empire, and today they
represent less than one percent.”

About a million and a half people were killed, and now only a handful
of churches exist, compared to thousands that were in Turkey prior to
the alleged genocide. Turkey denies the latter and has lashed out at
the House for passing the resolution.

But despite opposition from Turkey’s prime minister and the Obama
administration, ANCA chairman Ken Hachikian says the adoption
“represents a powerful victory for religious freedom.”

Azerbaijan Business Center
Dec 29 2011

Azerbaijan covers border regions of Armenia by digital broadcasting

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Teleradio (a company of the Ministry of
Communications & IT; MCIT) has covered the Dashkesan and Gedabey
regions of Azerbaijan by digital broadcasting.

The MCIT informs that in both regions digital broadcasting of 10
programs has been provided today.

Digital broadcasting organized in Dashkesan, and Gedabey centre and
Gargar village covered Armenia’s areas bordering with Azerbaijan.

Soon Teleradio intends to cover the whole territory of Azerbaijan by
digital broadcasting. The transition from analog to digital
broadcasting started in Azerbaijan in 2009, and test work in this
direction have been conducted since 2004.

AZERBAIJANI TOP OFFICIAL: FRANCE’S CO-CHAIRMANSHIP AT OSCE MG MAY BE DISCUSSED

Trend
Dec 29 2011
Azerbaijan

France’s co-chairmanship at the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) may be discussed
at the organization’s meeting.

“Turkish President Abdullah Gul made a proposal concerning France’s
participation in European institutions, OSCE and OSCE MG. Perhaps,
this issue will be discussed at the MG’s meeting,” Azerbaijani
Presidential Administration Social and Political Department Chief
Ali Hasanov told journalists on Thursday.

With regard to the bill criminalizing denial of the so-called “Armenian
genocide” adopted at the French parliament, Hasanov said it is a tool
of certain circles to use the Armenians against the Turks.

He said it is nonsense against a background of Europe’s current
development.

Arresting and fining people for freedom of thought in the center of
Europe, in a country defining Europe’s public life norms, are the
norms of the Middle Ages,” he underlined.

The French Parliament adopted a bill criminalizing the denial of a
fictitious “Armenian genocide” last week.

Some 45 out of 577 French MPs participated in the voting, while 38
voted for and seven voted against the adoption of the bill.

The bill envisages about a year imprisonment and a fine worth 45,000
euros for denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

MPs from the French President’s “Union for Popular Movement” (UMP)
party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed the bill which
aims at criminalizing denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide” to
the legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December.

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.

TURKEY WARNS FRANCE OF MORE ACTION OVER GENOCIDE BILL

Trend
Dec 29 2011
Azerbaijan

29 December 2011, 09:36 (GMT+04:00) Turkey on Wednesday warned France
it would take further action against Paris should the French senate
pass a bill making it a crime to deny the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey constituted genocide Today`s Zaman reported

Ankara reacted furiously when the lower house of the French parliament
last week approved the bill, recalling its ambassador from Paris,
banning French military aircraft and warships from landing and docking
in Turkey and freezing political and economic meetings.

Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan slammed the bill as “politics
based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia” and turned his anger
on French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accusing France of colonial
massacres in Algeria.

In a statement, the National Security Council (MGK), the top state
body for security matters, said it hoped “common sense” would prevail
in France and that Paris would give up on its “mistake”.

France is Turkey’s fifth biggest export market and the sixth biggest
source of its imports, with bilateral trade worth $14 billion in the
first 10 months of 2011.

The National Security Council comprises Turkey’s top generals, Erdogan,
members of the cabinet and President Abdullah Gul.

“About this subject, measures announced by the government and further
additional measures would be announced depending on France’s steps,”
the National Security Council said at the end of a five-hour meeting.

“If the proposal passes into law, there will be an objection in every
way against this unfair measure.”

The French bill, which will be debated in the Senate next year,
has caused outrage in Turkey, which argues killings took place on
all sides during a fierce partisan conflict.

Erdogan, whose personal animosity towards Sarkozy is well-known for the
Frenchman’s opposition to Turkish membership of the European Union,
has suggested Sarkozy was angling for ethnic Armenian votes in next
year’s presidential election.

Buoyed by its fast-growing economy while Europe battles a financial
crisis and angered at its stagnant bid to join the EU, Ankara feels
it has little to lose in a political fight with Paris.

Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Chaglayan has said French investments
in Turkey are safe but has suggested that “consumers might take
matters into their own hands”

U.S. AMBASSADOR SAYS SERVICE AS AMBASSADOR IN AZERBAIJAN – MOST ENJOYABLE AND MOST EASY

Trend
Dec 29 2011
Azerbaijan

The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza says serving as
ambassador in Azerbaijan has been the most enjoyable and the most
easy he has ever had.

“I had very warm reception here. This job has been the most
interesting, the most complicated and at the same time the easiest job
I have ever had. I could submit that together we did a very good job,”
he said.

He also said he had incredible staff here in the embassy.

I would like to mention three stages of our relationship: security,
energy and internal reforms. We have also intensified the cooperation
in the area of the protecting of infrastructure on the Caspian sea
against natural disasters and other risks,” he said.

“In Azerbaijan I feel a lot of officials would very much like to
modernize and liberalize the society and achieve modern economy and
developed education. There is surprisely strong cooperation between
the president administration, parliament, civil society and foreign
allies such as America,” he said.

“Unless the senate supports me I will have to leave for Washington
before the new session of parliament starts” he said.

Bryza will end his mission in Azerbaijan in December, 2011.

The Armenian lobby in the United States is against Bryza’s candidacy
for ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Bryza said cooperation in Afghanistan and transportation to Afghanistan
on the ground was also sustained and deepened. “There have been 5000
military flights over Azerbaijan every year, 100,000 soldiers flow
over Azerbaijan. Over 1/3 of on-military cargo fuel, food, besides
Azerbaijan is important route for Afghanistan and it is now starting
to get commercial for Azerbaijan,” he said.

Bryza also touched upon the air crash in Afghanistan.

“I would like to mention the air crash in Afghanistan. Those men
gave their lives in cooperation with us. In terms of Azerbaijan’s
permission to fly over Azerbaijan the country’s government would
like to reconsider the terms of the permission of flights through
Azerbaijan and the discussions are underway now,” he said.

PROTEST ACTION HELD OUTSIDE IRANIAN EMBASSY IN AZERBAIJAN – PHOTO

APA
Dec 28 2011
Azerbaijan

Baku. Azer Mustafayev – APA. Members of the Azerbaijani National
Democratic Party (ANDP) picketed the Iranian embassy in Baku in a
protest against the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to
Armenia and his economic-political agreement with the country-invader.

The picketers chanted “Ahmadinejad is the enemy of Muslims”, “Russian,
Persian and Armenian are the enemy of Turk”, “Ahmadinejad, you are
Muslim, but you came to agreement with Armenia”.

The resolution of the action was read and then submitted to the
embassy.

BALANCE SHEET AFTER ‘BOYER ACT’

Today’s Zaman

Dec 28 2011
Turkey

Let us start with France. It is impossible that the recent legal
moves in this country will result in the political and ethical goals
they seek. The political outcomes of the draft bill proposed out
of Sarkozy’s concerns over re-election will be inconclusive as long
as the bill is supported by all political parties and the Socialist
candidate to the presidential elections, Francois Hollande.

Targeting the votes of the French citizens of Armenian descent through
legislative action assumes that these voters shape their preferences
in reference to considerations and sensitivities shown by politicians
toward Armenians. Alas for Mr. Sarkozy, the vast majority of French
Armenians cast their votes out of social preferences rather than the
sensitivities of their hypothetical community. There is no such thing
as ethnic lobbies in Europe, contrary to the US, and it should be Mr.

Sarkozy who knows this before anyone else.

The third point concerns the double standards of the Sarkozy
administration during the legislative process. The EU Framework
Decision of Nov. 28, 2008, which constitutes the basis of the Boyer
Act, is far more comprehensive. For instance, it covers the Tutsi
genocide in Rwanda, which France fails to recognize. That the final
version of the French bill is restricted to the denial of the Armenian
genocide points to a double standard of the legislation and undermines
its legitimacy and strength. Moreover, the bill will never stop the
denial in France like the Gayssot Act, which penalizes the denial of
the Shoah but never persuaded French deniers to stop challenging the
very fact.

Getting back to Turkey, the vote in the French National Assembly
revealed some basic truths and realities. Above all, it became
evident that a defensive approach that determines the stance of
the state vis-a-vis the issue has never worked and that the entire
strategy, which consists of ‘lobbying, persuading and threatening,’
has manifestly failed.

Secondly, the official history that has been promoted by the state of
what happened to Armenians and the other non-Muslim communities of
these lands in the past should be revised and reconsidered. Former
American envoy to Turkey Morton Abramowitz, who knows the country
quite well, once told the Turkish deputies who were heading to the US
to lobby against a draft bill in the House of Representatives that
Turkey had lost the war over history in the US long ago, implying
that criminalizing denial has no impact in the US or elsewhere.

Thirdly, Turkish society has been experiencing a healthy process
of remembering the past over the last decade. Cultural, academic,
religious, public and individual memory and information on Armenians
and Assyrians who were almost eliminated during the process of nation
building, the Greeks who were exchanged for Balkan Muslims, the Kurds
and Alevis who have been denied their fundamental rights, the Muslims
whose presence in the public sphere has been made illegal, in short,
almost the entire population of these lands is now being remembered.

It is critical to promote these works and initiatives and to make
sure that the process attains unhindered progress for the sake of
the country and its democracy.

Fourthly, neither the legislation in the French National Assembly
nor the hyper-emotional reactions to it would facilitate the
above-mentioned memory recall. Alongside the nationalistic rhetoric,
dogmatic denial has resurfaced after the French vote. It is likely
that the government’s over-confidence will raise these reactions to
a far more critical level. Additional measures that will be taken by
the government if the draft bill is adopted in the French Senate in
January should be read from this perspective.

Finally, the freedom of expression and speech has been debilitated
in both countries by the draft bill. The main objection in Turkey
focused on freedom of expression. It was not convincing for Turkey,
where freedom of expression has been grossly undermined, where
thousands of citizens, including writers, politicians, lawyers,
students, academics and journalists are in jail, to criticize France
for failing to honor the freedom of expression. On the other hand,
even though it is no longer a taboo to speak of genocide in regards to
the fate of Anatolian Armenians, legally speaking, the idiom is still
outlawed. In France, however, it is now becoming impossible to deny the
genocide under the draft bill. Though it is possible to insult Islam,
as evidenced constantly in cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad,
and not get convicted.

It is understandable from an ethical perspective to not include
religious and spiritual symbols within the scope of the freedom of
expression, but there should be no hierarchy of tragedies and beliefs.

Because it means war otherwise…

TERM ROW DISMAYS PRESIDENT GUL, TOO

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 29 2011
Turkey

President Abdullah Gul has expressed frustration at the continued
debate over the length of his term in office, urging politicians to
make a swift decision on the matter.

“I won’t say anything about the length of my mandate. I hope very
much that a decision on this is made in the shortest possible time
because the situation is becoming awkward,” Gul said told the private
Kanal 24 channel late Dec. 27.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said Gul’s mandate
should be seven years – meaning that it would be exempted from
constitutional amendments passed in 2007 reducing presidential terms
to five years. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen as the
strongest contender to succeed Gul as head of state, and political
pundits have suggested that Gul may return to the AKP helm and
eventually become prime minister.

“I don’t have any political ambitions or expectations. There is nothing
like that on my mind,” Gul said, but added that he did not believe in
“retirement in life.”

He said he had served at every level in politics before the
presidency. “It is obvious what I can do afterwards. I [participated
in] politics and came here.”

Gul also denied that he aspired to become the United Nations’
secretary-general.

Warning on rights breaches

The president also voiced discomfort over lengthy pre-trial detentions
and said Turkey’s international prestige could suffer over restrictions
on free speech and media.

“As far as I can see, the detention periods have begun to hurt public
sensitivities. A way must be definitely found to shorten them,” he
said. “Those who have done wrong should be held accountable. But we
cannot be at ease if anyone spends even half an hour in jail unjustly.”

Gul said democracy, human rights and free speech were at the core of
Turkey’s “soft power” and progress made in recent years should not
be overshadowed.

“I see that complaints are on the rise. I see some developments
at the United Nations concerning human rights issues [in Turkey]
that are not good. We have to prevent Turkey from falling among the
countries with whom it should not be seen together,” he said.

PKK is being shown its place

Touching on the Kurdish issue, Gul said using “police-state methods” to
combat the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its supporters
would be “unthinkable,” but added that “authority in some provinces
has been taken over by others.”

The PKK, he said, had the misconception that reforms expanding Kurdish
freedoms came as a result of its violent campaign against the state.

“If the terror organization believes it is stronger and has the upper
hand, it has to be shown that this is not the case. And this is what is
happening at present,” he said, praising better coordination between
the security forces against the PKK.

Gul said Turkey’s reform process had put civilian-military relations
“on a democratic track” and that the military had now “pulled back
to its area of responsibility.”

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of
the international community.

Sarkozy will be ignored

Commenting on tensions with France over a bill outlawing the denial
of the 1915 events as genocide, Gul said he would ignore his French
counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, the next time the two encounter each
other in response to the latter’s refusal to speak about the issue
by phone.

“He ignored me, so I will [ignore him],” he said.

France, the cradle of civil rights, has put itself in an awkward
position “by punishing thoughts that contradict the official line of
the sate,” Gul said. “It is incredible that they do this on account
of petty political calculations.”

He said he hoped the bill, which was approved in the French
Parliament’s lower house last week, would be stopped before reaching
the Senate, and added that Turkish researchers should produce
“credible” studies to counter Armenian allegations.

Turkey is not competing with France over regional influence, he
also said. “Everybody must be happy if we use our regional power
constructively.”

RESTAURANT CHANGES ITS FRENCH NAME
by Gila Benmayor

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 28 2011
Turkey

In the crisis between France and Turkey following the French
Parliament Lower House decision to criminalize the denial of the
Armenian genocide, the most prudent statement came from Economy
Minister Zafer Caglayan. He said Turkey will not impose an embargo
on France and will not restrict trade.

The data from the Turkish-French Commerce Association visiting Paris
just before the vote at the French Parliament with delegations from
Turkish Industry & Business Association (TUSÄ°AD) and Turkish Union
of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) demonstrates how relevant
Caglayan’s words of “no embargo” were.

As the letter the association sent to French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and ministers stated, the trade volume between Turkey and France is
currently 12 billion euros. Of this total, 6.5 billion euros comprise
French exports to Turkey.

Investments of more than 400 French companies operating in Turkey
for years exceed $15 billion.

As General Manager of Renault Mais Ä°brahim Aybar pointed out,
the electric Fluence ZE, which the Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Melih
Gökcek cancelled the purchase of after the crisis broke out, was
the product of Turkish workers’ labor. Fifty percent of the car is
made up of locally produced parts.

While the Ankara mayor is boycotting the electric Renault vehicle, he
is punishing both the Turkish worker and the local car parts producer.

He is punishing the Ankara residents who are yearning to breathe
clean air and also an Ankara that would have a somewhat lower carbon
dioxide count in its air with the use of electric cars.

When the crisis broke, we had heard from top officials, primarily
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that the campaign against France
was not going to target the French people but the Sarkozy government.

However, it does not occur as such in practical terms. As we can
see from what is happening, what the politicians say has a multiplied
effect on the public. I can also see this in the emails I have received
since the crisis broke out.

I will refer to two examples: The call from Chef Mehmet Yalcınkaya
saying, “Even though we chefs are influenced by the French food
culture, we should boycott this country,” received a positive reply
from Turkish Federation of Cooks (TAFED). The federation has declared
it will not be using French products.

The second example is the “strange decision” made by the restaurant
“Le Pecheur” (Fisherman), which has been operating in Istanbul’s
Tarabya district for 22 years.

According to the message I received via email yesterday, the restaurant
has decided to remove its French name.

I don’t know, I guess “Le Pecheur” will go and the Turkish for
fisherman, “Balıkcı,” will come instead.

This kind of a “beyond any measure” reaction makes me feel unsettled.

The French high school I graduated from has a scheduled 156th
anniversary Jan. 20. Now the alumni association of the French
high school is troubled on how it will make its printed ads of the
anniversary.

However, the Turkish-French Commerce Association reminds us of this
fact: The motion which has passed the Lower House has to be approved
in the Senate.

Nobody should doubt that TOBB, TUSÄ°AD and the Turkish-French Commerce
Association will continue their lobbying activities to prevent a
negative decision from the Senate.

It is good to remain on the “cool” side.