Author: Chalian Meline

A1+
| 20:15:25 | 30-09-2005 | Politics |
EURO COURT IS GOING TO SPEED UP THE HEARING OF CASES
Great as the hopes are to restore justice in the Euro Court, the time you
spend waiting for it to make a decision makes people desperate. In answer to
the questions of «A1+» the president of the European Court of Human Rights
Luzius Wildhaber who is in Armenia at present said,
– The despair of the people is justified, but justified as the complaints of
the RA citizens of your court system may be, the National courts must be
given the possibility to hear the complaints of their citizens. Only in that
case can they apply to the European Court of Human Rights. As for the dates
of hearings, I agree that the process lasts long, and I have always fought
for speeding it up the. The Governments of the CoE member countries have
come to an agreement in this respect, and the 14th protocol has been adopted
according to which the authors of the complaints must be given quick
responses and the hearings must be accelerated. We get 45 thousand cases a
year and we are not able to hear them all.
– In the Euro Court no case from Armenia has been heard up to now. The TV
Company «A1+» was one of the first which applied to the Euro Court. 3 years
have passed, but the case has not been heard.
– I cannot refer to the details of the case. Really, it has been long since
you applied to court, and «A1+» can get details about the procedure via
corresponding mechanisms.
– Today many people in Armenia are worried by the possibility of the
decisions of the Euro Court being ignored by the RA authorities.
– The decisions of the European Court are subject to immediate fulfillment.
It realizes control over the fulfillment of the decisions, and the CoE
member countries report to the CoE Presidents Committee about the process
from time to time.
– How can you account for the fact that no case from Armenia has been heard
in the Euro Court?
– I am very sorry, but we are not able to hear all the cases. The Court has
only 4 chambers, and each chamber can hear only a case in a month.
VIKTORIA ABRAHAMYAN

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 1 2005
Turkey is still far from ready to have a seat at the EU negotiating
table
By Hratch Varjabedian
Commentary by
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The European Union will start membership negotiations with Turkey on
October 3, more than 15 years after Turkey’s application to become a
full member of the European Economic Community in 1987.
Turkey’s rapprochement with Europe started long before, however, when
the Ottoman Empire reached the gates of Vienna in 1697 only to suffer
a major defeat and be forced to sign the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699
which put an end to its westward expansion. Turkey has been known as
the “sick man” of Europe ever since, but its efforts to integrate in
Europe started gaining momentum again in the 1950s.
EU leaders decided during their December 2004 summit that Turkey was
ready to sit at the negotiating table for full membership. However,
many prominent European politicians, such as former French president
Valery Giscard d’ Estaing, staunchly oppose Turkey’s membership of
the EU.
The vast majority of European citizens in countries such as France
and Austria also oppose Turkish membership and express concern at the
dire consequences of such an event.
A look at the current situation of Turkey on the political, economic
and social levels explains these concerns. Territorial disputes with
neighboring countries, rule by the military, a record of repression
of minorities and human rights violations, economic underdevelopment
and low indicators of human development render Turkey unable to match
up to EU member countries and unsuitable for membership.
Politically, Turkey continues to be an invader of Cyprus’ territory,
a neighboring country and a member of the EU. Despite pressures from
EU leaders to the contrary, Turkey still refuses to officially
recognize the Republic of Cyprus and instead is the only country to
have recognized the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Democracy and the rule of law are common victims in Turkey, where
despite pretenses of a secular democracy, occasional outbreaks of
violence and gross violations of human rights attract the attention
of the world media, reminding the world of Turkey’s true character.
Turkey’s repression of its Kurdish population and other minorities in
the country continues despite some reforms. Freedom of expression is
often curbed; recognition of the Armenian Genocide and statements in
favor of Turkey’s withdrawal from Cyprus are considered punishable
crimes under the newly reformed Turkish Penal Code.

Despite increased international pressures and recognition by the
world community of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, Ankara continues to
practice an official policy of denial. Countries recognizing or
planning to recognize the Armenian Genocide are threatened, an
official blockade is still applied against Armenia and lands
rightfully belonging to Armenians, namely Western Armenia, are still
occupied in Eastern Turkey. In an attempt to conceal the Armenian
identity of these lands and erase traces of Armenian existence on
them, Turkey regularly destroys centuries-old Armenian monuments.
Economically, Turkey suffers from high unemployment rates, large
government debt and impoverishment, especially in the central parts
of Anatolia. Life in these regions is still primitive and poor in
comparison to most European cities.
In the case of full membership, the EU would have to make large
investments to put Turkey’s economy on a par with that of other
member countries. Unemployed Turkish citizens would spill in their
millions across the border to Europe.
Turkish values, beliefs and lifestyles fundamentally differ from
those of Europe; the two parties have gone through a completely
different course of development over the centuries. Respect for human
rights, freedom of thought and expression and the value of an
individual human being are the values on which the EU is based. In
Turkey, these are more often victims than values.
Turkey is still far from ready to have a seat at the negotiating
table for EU membership. Now that the negotiations are set to start
however, EU leaders should demand real and tangible changes from
Turkey. The future will show just how much Turkey is prepared to do
for EU membership.

Hratch Varjabedian is an Armenian journalist in Lebanon. He wrote
this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005
INTERPOL SECRETARY GENERAL RATES HIGHLY PROFESSIONALISM OF ARMENIAN
POLICE
YEREVAN, September 28. /ARKA/. Interpol Secretary General Ronald
Kenneth Noble has rated highly the professional level of Armenian
police. At his meeting with RA President Robert Kocharyan he stated
that the Armenian police take an active part in Interpol’s
activities. He also said that Interpol has introduced a new passport
control system in Armenia, which will be a serious help to Armenia’s
police.
In his turn, the RA President pointed out Interpol’s important role
in battling international crime, expressing a hope that the Interpol
Secretary General’s visit will contribute to further development of
our country’s cooperation with this organization. Kocharyan pointed
out the importance of crime control, especially in conditions of
globalization and growing challenges. The RA President singled out
technical equipment and personnel training as the main problems of
Armenia’s police. P.T. -0–

OSKANIAN APPRECIATES EP’S DECISION ON CALLING ON TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 29 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “We appreciate
the decision of the European Parliament, it’s quite a natural one:
if Turkey wants to become a member of the European Union it should be
like other EU countries that’s to accept and watch its past openly,”
Vartan Oskanian, the RA Foreign Minister stated at the September 29
press-conference commenting upon the September 28 resolution of the
European Parliament.
To recap, in the process of the enlarged session, the European
Parliament postponed studying of the issue on starting negotiations
on Turkey’s membership to the EU, instead of this, adopting a
resolution on calling on Ankara to recognize the Armenian Genocide
in Ottaman Turkey. The given proposeal was supported by the majority
of parliamentaries.

‘RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IS ONE OF THE ELEMENTS OF ARMENIA’S SECURITY’
By Tatoul Hakobian
AZG Armenian Daily #174
29/09/2005
Meeting
At a joint press conference with his Finn counterpart Tarja Halonen
Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated that the Russian military
base of Armenia is one of the elements of the country’s security. “We
are situated in a complicated region where separate states are working
to improve their relations. We are interested to see this base here
and view it a security element for Armenia”, Robert Kocharian said.
President Kocharian underscored that the presence of the Russian
base is within Armenia’s interests and it was established in line
with a bilateral agreement without pressure from Moscow. Yerevan is
not negotiating with Russia over expanding or enforcing the base.
Answering a question about the Nagorno Karabakh regulation RA President
said that the negotiation process is in full swing today and there
is certain hope for a final agreement. “There were moments when the
sides were close to a possible regulation but then obstacles came in”,
Kocharian said. President of Finland said on her part that in case of
a final agreement, the international community can send peacekeepers
to Karabakh.

Turkish right-wing group denies alliance with Labour Party over
Armenian issue
Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in Turkish
25 Sep 05
Ankara, 25 September: In a statement, the Idealist Hearths Education
and Culture Foundation General Headquarters has announced that the
reports to the effect that the idealists cooperated with the members
of Labour Party during the protest demonstrations that were held
against the “Armenian Conference” do not reflect reality in one way
or another. The statement stressed that it is impossible for the
idealist movement to establish alliances with groups that are in no
way related to its ideology just for the sake of spreading its views.
Explaining that masses with all kinds of views gathered in front of
the university in order to protest against the conference, but that
efforts were made to give the impression that the idealists and the
members of the Labour Party have formed “an ultranationalist
alliance,” the statement said: “The reports to the effect that the
idealists cooperated with the members of the Labour Party during the
protest demonstrations against the Armenian Conference do not reflect
reality in one way or another.”

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 28, 2005 Wednesday
Defendant wounds plaintiff, lawyer in Moscow court
MOSCOW
A defendant in a Moscow magistrate’s court fired with an assault
rifle at the plaintiff and his lawyer, seriously wounding both, city
police told Itar-Tass.
The incident occurred in Domodedovskaya Street about noon on
Wednesday. “During a court hearing, the defendant took out a
Kalashnikov rifle and fired several shots at the plaintiff and his
lawyer. The men were hospitalized with serious wounds,” a
law-enforcement official said.
The attacker, an ethnic Armenian, was detained and brought to a
police station.
A group of investigators are working at the scene of shooting. They
are questioning court personnel about how the man brought the weapon
into the building unnoticed.

CoE SEC. GEN. COMMENDED INITIATORS OF ARMENIAN ISSUE CONFERENCE FOR COURAGE AND RESOLUTENESS
Pan Armenian News
26.09.2005 07:46
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Council of Europe Secretary General Mr.Terry Davis
commended the initiators of the conference of the Armenian issue for
courage and resoluteness. He also noted that the “people believing in
modern, democratic and tolerant Turkey do not fear of nationalists
in the Istanbul streets any longer.” “I confirm my endorsement to
the position of Prime Minister Erdogan, who came to support freedom
of speech in Turkey. I hope that such attitude will affect the legal
proceedings against well known Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who is
accused of making public statements on the Armenian Genocide”,
Mr. Davis said. “I understand the sensitivity of the Turkish
authorities on this issue, however such delicate issues should be
solved via dialogue and truth but not by means of prosecution and
propaganda. Being a member of the Council if Europe Turkey is obliged
to respect the European Convention on Human Rights. I am convinced
that the Turkish leadership will not abandon the way of democratic
reform in the time epochal for the Turkey-Europe relations,” CoE
Secretary General stated, Mediamax reports.

Burbank Leader, California
Sept 24 2005
A step forward, two steps back
The fight to prevent future genocides lost one of its greatest
crusaders this week, but inched forward as a bill acknowledging the
genocide of 1.5 million Armenians passed the House International
Relations Committee.
Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who relentlessly tracked
down Nazi war criminals after World War II, once said that “When
history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren’t able to
kill millions of people and get away with it.”
Wiesenthal died Tuesday, but his message should resonate in Glendale
and Burbank and beyond to Washington D.C., where last week a
resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide, moved on to the House
of representatives.
Embedded in Wiesenthal’s message was a need to establish justice and
moral values for humanity.
That is why it is so hard to come to grips with why the United States
government has yet to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, brought on
at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, although the answer is easy to
come by: Politics.
Even with the mark-up last week, passing this resolution will be an
uphill battle, just like past efforts to push such a resolution
through.
The next step in that fight is convincing House leadership to commit
to moving the resolution forward, Rep. Adam Schiff said.
The resolution’s backers will have to convince House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to allow the resolution on the House floor for a
vote. That will be difficult given what we know about the politics of
officially recognizing the genocide.
It was DeLay who once released a statement with Reps. Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), saying that such an acknowledgment
would upset the U.S. relationship with Turkey, which has been a
reliable ally of the United States for decades.
Germany, too, has been an ally. Yet, the Holocaust, is recognized,
much because of Wiesenthal’s dogged efforts to bring its perpetrators
to justice, as a specific historical moment with devastating
consequences.
Why is it that this nation’s leaders — who tout freedom of religion,
speech and the need to transform despotic nations states into
democracies — cannot collectively agree that the Armenian Genocide
is just that: a genocide?
What good are Wiesenthal’s efforts against prejudice against all
people if because of politics, the killing of 1.5 million people
cannot be officially recognized by the United States?
Rep. Brad Sherman, who sits on the committee, said the denial of a
genocide is a genocide’s last act.
Wiesenthal must have known that. Why doesn’t our government?
Maybe this time, the push of local representatives, the e-mails, the
faxes and the letters to legislators will make a difference.
Let’s hope so. Unfortunately, no timetable has been set for even the
possibility of a floor vote, leaving the possibility of yet another
push for recognition falling through the cracks.
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide should not be a game of
politics, up for a battle every so often. These killings were real.
And it is a horrific moment in history that needs to stay in living
memory, just as Wiesenthal kept the horrors of the Holocaust in the
collective memory.
“If we pardon this genocide, it will be repeated, and not only on
Jews,” Wiesenthal said of the Holocaust. “If we don’t learn this
lesson, then millions died for nothing.”

Pan Armenian News
EU TO URGE TURKEY TO OPEN BORDER WITH ARMENIA, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS
STATE
23.09.2005 05:45
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Green parliamentarian Cem Ozdemir stated that the European
Union will urge Turkey to open borders with Armenia and show better attitude
to the national minorities. When commenting on the EU-Turkey negotiations to
open October 3 Mr. Ozdemir noted that the resolution to be adopted by the
European Parliament on September 28 maintains an item urging Ankara `to make
a decision on opening borders.’ The parliamentarian also said that the
Christian Democratic faction of the European Parliament will urge inclusion
of the Armenian Genocide recognition by Ankara in the EU-Turkey negotiation
agenda. When touching upon `December 2004 – October 2005. Has Turkey
changed?’ International Conference held September 22 in Brussels Cem Ozdemir
noted that some participants stressed that `the European Union is a bloc of
Christian states and cannot accept Muslim Turkey. `Nothing has changed in
Turkey and it would be a historical mistake to accept it to the European
Union’, European Parliament member Francesco Enrico Speroni stated, RFE/RL
reports.