Author: Badalian Vardan

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 24 2011

Getting prepared for 1915

by Murat Yetkin

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has announced a series of
measures as a reaction to French Parliament’s voting of a bill that
criminalizes saying the 1915 killings during World War I that hit the
Ottoman Empire were not `Armenian genocide.’

The measures include the cancelling of all existing political and
diplomatic programs and military cooperation including using airspace
and maritime routes under Turkish control and any kind of cooperation.

Stressing that French Parliament’s decision was with the backing of
President Nicolas Sarkozy, ErdoÄ?an said that was only the first stage
of measures, and if the French Senate will approve the bill to become
a law, there are more to come, without elaborating much about what
those were.

There was no mention of an economic boycott on French goods following
two careful warnings. One was by the French government reminding the
Turkish government of the Customs Union agreement with the European
Union and the World Trade Organization regulations. The other was by
the Turkish business community, particularly by Ã`mit Boyner of Turkish
Industry & Business Association (TÃ`SÄ°AD) and Rifat HisarcıklıoÄ?lu of
the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) who
said, one, it may hit the Turkish economy, especially in the
employment side, and two, it is not likely to bear any productive
results, at least in the short run.

Time is important because, according to French laws, the legislative
work has to stop two months ahead of the elections. The first round of
presidential elections in France is on April 22, 2012, so the bill has
to pass at the latest on Feb. 22, 2012.

The date is important because April 24 was the date of a telegram sent
to local officials by the Interior Minister Talat Bey of the
disintegrating Ottoman Empire in 1915 about deportation of the
Armenian population from eastern provinces with accusations of
collaborating with the invading Russian army, which is considered as
the beginning of the alleged genocide.

Therefore, if the bill is approved by the French Senate, both
Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and François Hollande of
the Socialist Party (PS) seek to harvest the votes of the Armenian
electorate in the country (most of them are immigrants from wartime
Turkey) at least for the second round on May 6.

In 2006 the French Senate had refused to vote for a similar bill on
grounds that it was against freedom of expression, one of the basic
elements of France.

Despite a terrible competition between Sarkozy and Hollande this time,
the same thing may happen and the Senate may again drop the bill,
turning the whole theater into a game to take Armenian votes for
French politicians by bashing Turkey once again.

But we have the American Congress’ turn of bashing Turks for Armenian
votes beginning early 2012, a black festivity that repeats itself
every year.

And there is more to come as the 100th anniversary of the 1915
incidents approach. Ankara is right to say the French attempt was
aiming at freedom of expression. But that doesn’t help the situation
with Turkey’s Armenian issue, which needs more that correcting the
image campaigns.

This is a major issue that Turkey has to put behind it in order to
move on, and it needs political steps to be taken, the sooner the
better.
December/24/2011

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 24 2011

Deputy PM silent on pressure on lenders
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

ALÄ° BABACAN
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan neither denied nor
confirmed pressure on French investment banks in Turkey to leave the
country after the parliamentary approval of a bill on punishing any
denial of Armenian genocide allegations.

`If France continues to insist on the bill, Turkey can launch new
economic sanctions on France,’ Babacan said to the Hürriyet Daily
News, telling of the sanction announced by Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an.

`Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) would
smoothly and quietly pass such a message to the banks,’ if such a
decision was made, he said on the sidelines of a meeting with Banks
Association of Turkey (TBB) Dec. 23.

Due to the political tension between the countries, Turkey’s economic
administration recently asked two French investment banks to end all
their operations in Turkey and leave the country, reported Sabah, a
Turkish daily, Dec. 22.

ErdoÄ?an announced only the first stage of sanctions and there will be
further stages, Babacan said.
`There is no doubt that we will have some sanctions as the bill moves
stage by stage through the French Parliament,’ Babacan said. Turkey
would take further actions should France move further to make the bill
a law in the future.

`We have not received any inquiries yet on the issue, but still,
executives are concerned,’ a source told the Daily News by phone Dec.
22. The source from a French investment bank active in Turkey was
speaking under the condition of anonymity.

`The claims are baseless,’ said Yesim Sözen, an expert from the
banking regulator, in an email response to Daily News questions.
December/24/2011

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 24 2011

Betting adds to protests to France

Turkey’s state gaming authority announced it has removed French
football and basketball leagues from betting programs to protest the
resolution penalizing the denial of Armenian `genocide’ approved by
the French Assembly Dec. 22.

Spor Toto, which is the authority overseeing Ä°ddaa, the official
sports betting company, announced the decision with a statement
released late Dec. 22, hours after the voting took place in the French
Assembly.

`Spor Toto announces it will take French Ligue 1, French Ligue 2 and
French Basketball League out of its programming indefinitely,’ the
statement read.

The Spor Toto decision came after Turkey announced it cancelled
bilateral military and economic cooperation and suspended all
bilateral political consultations with France, describing the French
vote as politics of racism and xenophobia ahead of the presidential
elections next year.

December/24/2011

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 23 2011

`Turkish Sarkozys’ versus `Sarkozyland’ ex parte Armenians

Ä°HSAN YILMAZ

I find Turkey’s reaction to `Sarkozyland’s’ genocide bill needlessly
exaggerated. Both

the Turkish media and opposition are trying to benefit from the
process. At the end of the day, the bill is not a definitive
scientific verdict on the issue, and everyone can see that France is
not working on the moral high ground but for shameless domestic and
international political gain. Who takes Sarkozyland seriously and why
should we?

The government should not elevate the tension in the country and
should not aggravate the feelings of its citizens by overreacting to
the incident. Most importantly, Turkey should not blackmail France by
claiming she will do certain actions if she will not be able to impose
them. This could indeed undermine the credibility and prestige of the
country.

Saying this does not mean that France should not be punished. What I
am saying is that the government should work on carefully drafted,
effective plans that will work and harm France in the long run.
Otherwise, only resorting to emotions and reminding Turks how great
their grandfathers were are not effective tools against France. France
and Germany have been trying to distance Turkey from the EU process
and our reactions and actions should play into their hands. In this
regard, it has been wise to base our arguments on the basis of freedom
of speech. This message should directly be communicated to the French
people and intelligentsia and in order to be effective, we should not
look like cowboys and rough hooligans. Some ministers who think they
are making very clever jokes should revisit their domestic
consumption-focused attitude. Talking about freedom of speech to gain
the moral high ground on this issue, the government must as soon as
possible annul the notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) that criminalizes the `insults to Turkishness’ that killed Hrant
Dink.

I do not find reminding France now of its own massacres in Africa
ethical. If Turkey had a problem with these very obvious crimes
against humanity, then she had to tackle them in a sophisticated
manner even when we had good relations with France. Remembering these
atrocities and bloody massacres that terminated millions only when we
have a problem with France simply reduces Turkey to Sarkozyland’s
moral nadir. France should not be our teacher in this dirty political
game that tries to gain advantages from other people’s sorrow and
pain. I would urge our state to make plans on the issue for the long
run and educate experts, scholars and academics who would study these
alleged crimes against humanity all over the world, including Turkey.
Nevertheless, I know very well that after a few weeks an enthusiastic,
emotional anti-French festive season, we will all return to our myopic
daily lives and wake up in April again when another bill approaches
the US Congress. We deserve our politicians.

A more robust strategy to tackle Sarkozy-type politicians so that they
will not gain an advantage from the Armenian issues includes our
normalization vis-Ã-vis 1915. Even the official Turkish version
accepts that several hundred thousand Armenians were either massacred
or died because of the terrible conditions during their forced
deportation. Whatever the cause of the decision to deport these people
was, in the final analysis, it was the state’s primary duty to protect
these innocent civilians against whom there was not any court verdict.
Turkey has to apologize at least for its inability to protect them.
Then, it must invite Armenians abroad to come and get their
inheritance in Turkey. Thirdly, Turkey must erect some monuments and
build museums for these massacred, great people who had lived in these
lands for thousands of years but faced extinction because of some
secular-nationalist Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) dictators’
faulty, to say the least, decisions and actions.

These are primarily our moral duties that we must fulfill even if
there is not one Sarkozy on Earth.

Islamic Republic News Agency
Dec 23 2011

President says “arrogant powers” try to hinder Iran’s progress

Yerevan, 23 December: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s president, who
was speaking at a gathering of Iranians living in Armenia, referred to
the developments and terrorist measures in the region and said: “By
taking terrorist measures, the arrogant powers try to bring to power
their own favourite individuals in the region so that to achieve their
goals.”

According to a despatch by an IRNA reporter, Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, who
was speaking on Friday [23 December] at a gathering of Iranians living
in Armenia, said that the arrogant powers might resort to hype and
take some measures in the region. He added: “Whenever they see that
Iran makes a new progress in various fields including scientific,
economic, and reconstruction arenas, they try to confront Iran and
hinder such progress.”

He said that the Iranian nation is a great and powerful nation and
added: “The Iranian nation was able to achieve great success in
scientific, industrial fields and particularly in nanotechnology while
misbehaviour by the arrogant powers still continues and they use their
all power to hinder Iran’s progress.”

The president said that the arrogant is aware that Iran plays
significant role in international developments and said: “The reason
behind all these pressures against the Iranian nation is that they are
well aware that a powerful Iran will be able to change all equations
in the world in favour of nations.”

Ahmadinezhad said that the arrogant powers accuse Iran of terrorism
and added: “They level such accusations against the Iranian nation
wile this nation is the cradle of a kind of culture and belief in
which terror and terrorism has no place.”

The president said: “Those who accuse Iran of terrorism are the ones
who obtain their livelihood through waging war. They export billions
of dollars worth of weapons every year and seek war.”

Ahmadinezhad added: “Instead of terror, the Iranian nation present to
the world logics and culture that are welcomed.”

He said: “Iranians have great responsibility today. In fact, each
Iranian who is living anywhere in the world should be a role model of
justice, friendship and service to humankind. This is because such
things are among the culture and belief of Iranians since the old time
and will continue to be so.”

[translated from Persian]

Interfax, Russia
Dec 23 2011

France loses trust as Karabakh mediator – Azeri MP

BAKU. Dec 23

After the passage by the French parliament of a bill criminalizing the
denial of the Armenian genocide on Thursday, this country can no
longer be considered an objective mediator in the Karabakh conflict
resolution process, Azeri Parliament member Ilyas Ismailov said.

“France must be removed from the co-chairmanship of the OSCE
(Organization for Security and Co-operation Organization) Minsk Group
which mediates the Karabakh conflict, because by passing this bill it
proved that it is siding with Armenia,” Ismailov, who previously
served as the Azeri Justice Minister and Prosecutor General, told
Interfax.

“Azerbaijan of course must stand by Turkey on this issue,” he added.

By passing this law, France violated the generally accepted rules
which restrict the legal force of a law to the geographical boundaries
of the legislating country, Ismailov said. “Under these rules, France
must answer only for the historical events which took place in its
territory. However, France preferred to hold people responsible for
the denial of an event that happened 100 years ago in another region,
which is also quite a dubious event,” he said.

This law runs counter to the rules regulating the protection of human
rights, Ismailov said. “Besides, the passage of the French Senate of
this bill raises questions about the degree of tolerance in the French
society,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday members of the French National Assembly passed a
bill making it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide.

The move was followed by Turkey’s decision to recall its ambassador from Paris.

Interfax, Russia
Dec 23 2011

Yerevan thanks Paris for bill criminalizing denial of Armenian genocide

YEREVAN. Dec 23

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has thanked the French
leadership and the French people for the passage by the lower chamber
of the French parliament of a bill criminalizing the denial of the
Armenian genocide.

“By passing a bill criminalizing the denial of the [Armenian] genocide
today, France has once again proven its commitment to general human
values,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry quoted Nalbandian as saying.

“In this connection, I would like once again to say words of gratitude
to the top leadership of France, the National Assembly, and the French
people,” he said.

By recognizing the Armenian genocide at the legislative level ten
years ago, the French people confirmed that human rights are the
highest value, he said.

“By passing this bill today, France has reaffirmed that crimes against
humanity have no statute of limitations and their denial must be
unambiguously condemned,” he said.

The French National Assembly on Thursday approved a bill criminalizing
the denial of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Now
this bill will be passed to the Senate for approval.

If the bill is made into law, the denial of the Armenian genocide
would carry imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of up to
$45,000, French media reported.

Ankara said it could impose sanctions on Paris in response to the
passage of this bill.

States News Service
December 23, 2011 Friday

JEHOVA’S WITNESS SENTENCED TO 6 MONTHS IN PRISON: ARMENIA MUST RESPECT
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE

The following information was released by International Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH):

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member
organisation the Civil Society Institute (CSI) condemn the sentencing
of Jehova’s witness, Andranik Makvetsyan, to 6 month in prison.

On 28 November 2011, Judge Tigran Petrosyan, of the Court of General
Jurisdiction of Malatia and Sebastia sentenced Andranik Makvetsyan,
under the Article 143.1 (Breach of citizens’ legal equality) of the
Criminal Code of Armenia.

On 15 May 2011, members of the Jehova’s Witness religious
organisation, Andranik Makvetsyan and Samvel Grigoryan, were preaching
to two citizens in the vicinity of the Holy Trinity Church of Yerevan.
Priest Ter Yesayi Artak Atanesyan ordered the preachers to leave,
which led to a quarrel with Andranik Makvetsyan.

On 17 May 2011 a criminal case was instituted against Andranik
Makvetsyan, who was charged under Articles 118 (Battery), 322.1
(Arbitrariness) and 137.1 (Threats of murder, causing grave harm to
health, or property destruction) of the Armenian Criminal Code.
However, on 21 October the Prosecutor amended the charges, adding a
new charge under Article 143.1 (Breach of citizens’ legal equality).

The Court found that Andranik Makvetsyan had violated Article 8.1
(State-Church relationship) and Article 14.1 (Equality before the law)
of the Armenian Constitution , stating that “Andranik Makvetsyan
violated the right of the victim, Priest Ter Yesayi Artenyan, to
hinder attempts to involve people in the Jehova’s Witnesses
organization and advocate in the vicinity of the church. Therefore,
the acts committed by Andranik Makvetsyan qualify as a crime under
Article 143.1 of the Criminal Code.”

Nevertheless, our organisations consider that Articles 8.1 and 14.1
cannot be applicable to the quarrel at issue. Moreover, Article 8.1 of
the Armenian Constitution regulating State – Church relationships does
not envisage any individual right that could have been breached.

Our organisations believe that the verdict in Andranik Makvetsyan’s
case was motivated by the fact that he is a member of the Jehova’s
Witnesses’ religious organisation. Consequently, the verdict violates
Article 26 (Freedom of Religion) of the Constitution of the Republic
of Armenia, in a general context of pressure against religious
minorities.

FIDH and CSI call upon the Armenian authorities,

to drop the charges and release Andranik Makvetsyan immediately;

to ensure all religious organizations and their members have the
freedom to preach their beliefs, and take all necessary measures to
respect Article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia;

to ensure impartial and independent court hearings in cases concerning
freedom of religion;

to maintain neutrality in freedom of religion related issues and
promote tolerance in society and in the relations between all
religious organizations.

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
December 23, 2011 Friday

Turkish envoy to France leaves amid growing diplomatic wrangle

Turkish ambassador to France Tahsin Burcuoglu left
Paris Friday morning after his recall to Ankara amid a growing diplomatic
dispute between the two nations following a French Parliamentary vote to
penalize anyone questioning the Armenian “genocide” in 1915.

The “genocide” is claimed by Armenians to have cost the lives of 1.5
million people at the hands of Turkish Ottoman forces, but Ankara disputes
this claim and says that 300,000 people died in fighting and other conditions.
Under pressure from local Armenian lobbies here, France in 2001 recognised
the “Armenian Genocide” and went further on Thursday by penalising its denial
with a one-year jail term and a fine of USD 59,000.

The Turkish government, which had lobbied heavily against the new French
law, reacted furiously and withdrew the ambassador and has cut off political
and military ties with France and is threatening further sanctions.
Media and diplomatic sources confirmed the departure of Burcuoglu, a
veteran in his post here and considered an excellent advocate of his country’s
interests.

France Info radio said that he had left his residence early Friday morning
for Ankara, but that Turkey had not closed its embassy.
French diplomatic sources said that Paris did not intend to respond to the
move as yet, especially as the French ambassador is currently on vacation in
France and his withdrawal is not on the agenda for the moment.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in statements on Thursday that he
hoped Turkey would not “overreact” to the vote. Juppe is said to have been
opposed to the bill in parliament but was overruled by President Nicolas
Sarkozy, who has taken tough views on Turkey in the past. He has especially
and staunchly opposed any Turkish bed to join the European Union.
Trade could be the first victim between the two countries. In 2010, Turkey
represented about USD 15 billion in trade.

The Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
December 23, 2011 Friday
First Edition

French adopt Armenian genocide bill; Turkey upset

BY McClatchy-Tribune news service

The already strained relations between France and Turkey suffered a
further blow Thursday after France’s National Assembly adopted a bill
making it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered genocide at the
hands of Ottoman Turks during the First World War.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted with predictable
anger, saying he was recalling Turkey’s ambassador from Paris. He also
announced French military planes could no longer fly over Turkey;
French naval ships could no longer dock in Turkish ports; and all
military, political, economic and educational exchanges, visits and
commission meetings were cancelled.

“We don’t have genocide in our history,” Erdogan told reporters in Ankara.

The bill, which punishes denial of genocides by a year’s imprisonment
and a fine of about $59,000, was adopted by a large majority of
parliamentarians.

France officially recognizes two genocides: the Nazi Holocaust during
the Second World War and the mass killings of Armenians in
Ottoman-controlled eastern Turkey during the First World War. The
country already has a law punishing Holocaust denial.

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million people were either killed or died
of neglect on deportation marches to the Syrian desert.

Ankara says between 300,000 and 500,000 Armenians were killed, but it
argues the deaths were mainly the result of unrest following the
invasion of eastern Turkey by Russian forces and there was no
systematic policy to kill them.