Author: Chmshkian Vicken

DOKURCUM MILL, SILENT WITNESS OF MASSACRE

Turkish Press
Oct 25 2006

GAZIANTEP – "Dokurcum mill in (southeastern city of) Gaziantep where
14 Turkish youths were shot to death by French soldiers should be
restored," Tourism Association Chairman Bekir Sitki Severoglu said.

Speaking to the A.A correspondent, Severoglu stated, "French soldiers
committed massacres in Gaziantep (in 1920). All countries should be
informed on this matter."

Severoglu noted, "I took several initiatives to condemn France,
but I did not receive any positive answer on the matter."

He indicated that "Dokurcum Mill Monument" should be erected against
the French draft law criminalizing denial of so-called Armenian
genocide.

A group of French soldiers executed 14 Turkish youths by shooting in
front of Dokurcum Mill on March 28th, 1920 (during Gaziantep Defence
in Turkish National Independence War).

AHEAD OF ERITREA
Aram Abrahamian

Aravot, Armenia
Oct 25 2006

RCF famous international organization, recording regress in the
freedom of press in Armenia has put our country in the 101st place
from 168, 12 points lower than it was last year. Our neighbors, Turkey
and Georgia are more ahead. Certainly our authorities may console
themselves from the fact that Ukraine, Russia and Azerbaijan yield
us in the freedom of the press. Not to mention Belarus, Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan and Eritrea. RCF mentions that self-censorship exists
in the Armenian private mass media. But it is arguable; when the
president’s residence controls the private TV Companies and forbids
broadcasting any oppositionist without "sanction", it is a complete
censorship.

But in general, the RCF’s remark is objective and very offensive for
our state and people. The Armenians should worry about being before
Eritrea. As the latter doesn’t have a theatre of 2000 years. If
seriously this situation is the exact reflection of our public
apathy. "A1+" was close by the President’s order 4,5 years ago.

People ask me everywhere when "A1+" will be opened and curse the
authorities. But when we say, people if you want "A1+" to be opened
come to the square and demand, 200-300 people will be gathered.

Cowardly and passive public has cowardly and passive Mass Media.

This doesn’t humble the sin of our authorities. The instinct of
self-protection makes them surprise when they aren’t praised. I have
always thought and think that revolution doesn’t threaten Armenia.

Consequently if the authorities are too criticized their posts will
stay unchangeable. How can the head of Nubarashen read articles about
his omission /if he knows reading/. He will punish the reporter for
that article. He will do it, as he knows he won’t be punished for it.

The RCF and other international organizations’ reports are made by
such facts.

Sometimes our authority officials call the politicians and journalists
to "think about the reputation of our country". I want to return that
summon to the authorities, think about the reputation of our country
when you send skinheads to punish the journalists or fill ballots.

KARAPETYAN STILL HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CRASH

A1+
[07:05 pm] 25 October, 2006

The RA authorities try to consign to oblivion the May 3 crash of
airplane A-320, leader of New Times party Aram Karapetyan claims.

The leader of New Times party announced today that he is going to
ask a number of questions to RA Public Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan in
order to find out which one of the versions of the crash circulating
in Armenia and Russia correspond to the reality.

Aram Karapetyan himself has his sources in the National Security
Service. According to his sources, the first telegram received by
the Armenian Aviation Service immediately after the crash was the
following, "It disappeared from the radar screen". One question to
Aghvan Hovsepyan is: "Did they pay attention to the fact that this
expression is used when the plane explodes?"

The specialists with whom Mr. Karapetyan talked claimed that the
content of the telegram does not exclude the possibility of explosion.

The second question: Did the criminal grouping in the plane try to
force the pilots to make a landing in Sochi and not to return to
Yerevan? Was the pilot beaten up? Aghvan Hovsepyan also has to answer
if there was much money, gold and precious stones on board. He must
also answer why the plane did not return to Yerevan when the Sochi
dispatcher warned that it was impossible to land. Who forced the
pilot not to obey the warning of the dispatcher?

Aram Karapetyan also wonders if the workers of the airport security
service checked the luggage of the VIP passengers. In case they
did, were there weapons or explosives there? Are the protocols of
check-ups kept?

It is true that the International Aviation Committee took only six
of the necessary 40 parameters from the French?

These were the main questions which according to Aram Karapetyan
could pour light on the reasons of the May 3 air crash.

By the way, Mr. Karapetyan’s source in the National Security Service
also informed him that once in every three months a similar plane
takes a luggage of gold and drugs to Sochi. It also informed that
the Armenian A-320 plane which burnt in a hangar in Brussels a day
later contained the whole technical pack concerning the crashed plane.

SAIPANPRENEURS OF THE WEEK: VICTOR AND LINDA BALIAN
By Walt F.J. Goodridge

Saipan Tribune, Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia in S. Pacific)
Oct 24 2006

The Saipanpreneur Project: Creating economic success for the CNMI

The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of
living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique
product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in
exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula
applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy
has its own products or services of value to export to the world.

Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to
exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on
your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!

In last week’s column, I made the suggestion that Saipan (and of
course, the entire CNMI) could achieve a brand identity as a place
of health, healthy lifestyle and/or eating. As a result, I received
quite a few suggestions to meet and get to know a special couple who
already seem to be leading the movement to achieve just that.

Meet Victor and Linda Balian, owners of the Golden Lobster Restaurant,
located on the Chalan Lau Lau end of Middle road opposite the NMPASI
building, a few yards down from TicToc. Syrian-born Victor, and his
wife Linda, originally from Iraq, are now proud U.S. citizens who
took over the Golden Lobster in May of this year.

(They’ll be changing the name of the restaurant very soon to the
Magic Lamp to reflect its new Mediterranean menu.)

So, how and when did the two of you meet?

Victor: "My sister is good friends with Linda. She introduced us
back in 1986. I think we met in a hospital for about 10 seconds. But
she was married to the "other guy," [Linda smiles] so we were just
acquaintances. We didn’t get to know each other better until after
Linda divorced. So I’d say we really met and started getting serious
in 1995.

How did you end up on Saipan?

Victor: It was business initially. In 1996, I was made a great job
offer by a major construction company. So we’ve been here for 10
years now.

You mentioned you’re Armenian, born in Syria. Would you explain
that please?

Victor: "Armenian is an ethnicity I’m very proud of. It’s just like
here someone might be of Chamorro or Carolinian blood, but born on
Saipan, I’m of Armenian blood, born in Syria.

Why a restaurant? Is that a mutual passion?

Victor: My wife is a very good cook. It’s her passion to cook.

Linda: A few months ago, we were sitting home. We had both lost our
jobs, and were deciding what we were going to do next. Should we leave
the island? Should we stay? We love Saipan, so we decided to stay."

Now even though you serve a wide range of meals including chicken and
beef, yours is the first I’ve seen with such an extensive vegetarian
menu. Why is that?

Victor: My wife has been vegetarian for six years now. Since we’ve
been here on Saipan, it’s been a little difficult to find restaurants
that really understand what that means. I remember once we were in a
restaurant and ordered vegetable soup. When the soup came, we saw it
had shrimp in it. Linda is also allergic to seafood. So we told the
waitress that we ordered a vegetable soup and showed her the shrimp.

She took it back to the kitchen. A few seconds later, she came back,
put the soup on the table, and we noticed that the shrimp was still in
the soup. She said, "Chef says, ‘don’t worry, no charge for shrimp!’"

So what makes YOUR restaurant special?

Linda: What we serve in here is very unique. You cannot find it
anywhere on the island, and nowhere in the Pacific for that matter.

Nobody has what we have here. We’re representing Mediterranean food,
from our countries, so we go to special lengths to make our food
taste just right.

Victor: See those 50lb bags of there? That’s bulgur wheat. I import
it myself. It’s a regular part of people’s diet where I come from.

Linda: Bulgur wheat is very low in carbohydrates. No starch, so it’s
great for people who are diabetic. It comes in different sizes, so you
can use it for many types of dishes, including as a rice substitute.

Victor: We get exotic Mediterranean spices for our dishes, many that
you can’t find anywhere even in the states. And my wife mixes her
own spices.

Linda: There’s no MSG in our food either.

Victor: My wife makes a homemade chocolate yogurt that kids really
like; kids really like the chocolate, and there’s no sugar in it,
and it’s healthy. We also make homemade pickles.

Linda: And if there’s any cheese or butter in any of the dishes,
I make sure the saturated fat is less than 3 percent.

Speaking of saturated fat, you mentioned something very impressive
about that when we spoke earlier. Could you share that with our
readers?

Linda: Well, I brought my cholesterol level down myself without any
medication. It was 260; now it’s 190.just by eating pretty much what
we serve here.

Victor: My wife also has a diploma in Fitness and Nutrition, AND
she’s a Herbalife distributor, so if anyone needs it, she can put
them on a diet and help them make money at the same time! [Laughs]

Anything else?

Linda: Let’s see..Our pita bread is home-made. I mix my own baking
powder.

Victor: And we make our own ketchup! With low sugar!

Now Victor, you’re not vegetarian. How do manage at home?

Victor: Well it’s just like on our menu, there’s food for the
vegetarian and food for the meat eaters. We’re not out to change
anyone, but just want to give people different choices every now and
then that they might find tasty.

Linda: Being vegetarian is just my personal choice. We started
raising animals here on Saipan. And as I got closer to the animals,
I just couldn’t chew on them anymore! Everytime I think about it,
I hear our goat crying in my mind.

Victor: My wife asks me ‘how can you eat that? Don’t you remember
Bambi? Don’t you hear the goat crying?’ I say, ‘yes, I’m crying too,
but I’m hungry!’

And just in case people think a healthy diet isn’t just as delicious
as what they eat now, tell us some of the feedback you’ve gotten.

Victor: We had a group come in the other day, and when they had our
Shawarma [Mediterranean dish popular throughout Asia.], they said
they never tasted Shawarma like ours!

Most of our clients who are doctors from CHC and other places are
regular customers.

Linda: People taste our hummus, and say, ‘We never ate humus like
this.’ That makes me happy, because I give the dish as much as it
takes to be perfect. If I cut back on the lemon, or on the tahini,
it won’t taste the same.

[On their way out, two diners from NMC complimented Victor on the
food. Just then, another customer, Jack Stokes of the TSA, came in
and greeted us. I decided to find out for myself what people liked
about the Golden Lobster. I asked Mr. Stokes:] Why do you come here?

Jack: "I love the Shawarma! It’s different, tastier.. the lunch
specials are reasonable, I like the atmosphere, and the customer
service is fantastic."

And I understand you do all the cooking yourself, Linda? Wow, talk
about passion!

Linda: I’ll give the food as much as it takes. There is a big
difference in the food whether you spend 10 minutes or two hours
preparing like I do. There’s a difference whether you use canned
vegetables or fresh like we do, soy sauce or real spices like we do.

I only use virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in our salads. If
it is expensive, it doesn’t matter. The quality of the food is what
comes first in my list. This is how I am. If it takes expensive,
exotic spices, that’s what I use. What I’m sharing is a traditional
and cultural way to cook. I cannot just make shortcuts.

[During the interview, Linda got up a few times to go the kitchen.] I
notice how involved you are in the cooking. Are you training anyone
to take over for you?

Linda: In my country, we say, "It’s the hand." The unique way the
food tastes is in the cook’s "hands"; it’s the spirit of the cook
that you taste. It’s a talent, passed from one person to another. I
got it from my mother, and she got it from her mother. When I cook,
I don’t even have measurements, my measuring cup is my hand. And I
don’t even taste the food. I know how it tastes just from the smell.

So I cannot train someone. I’m not trying to be selfish, but it’s
just that the quality of the food will suffer, because they have
different hands.

[While I was there, a couple walked in, sat down, looked at the menu,
but left shortly afterwards. I asked Victor about it.] Why did that
couple leave?

Victor: She [Angel, the waitress on duty] told me they wanted a certain
pork dish. We don’t serve pork. Not because of religious reasons,
but because it’s not healthy. That’s been proven.

Linda: I come from a different corner. I cannot change my quality
or serve certain dishes just to get more customers. I can prepare
a dish of humus much cheaper but I would rather close. These are my
principles in the kitchen, and I cannot change it.

Follow your passion and stick to your principles. That seems like
great advice for everyone. Victor, any advice for other entrepreneurs?

Victor: Pay attention to every detail in your business. You may need
to alter your expenditures in hard times, but be patient for better
times to come!

Experience Linda’s Mediterranean cooking passion every day from 8am
to 2pm, and from 6pm to 10pm. (Lunch specials start at 11am). Contact
Victor and Linda at the Golden Lobster (soon to be Magic Lamp) at
670 234-765. Visit for more information.

* * *

Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a
destination!–Walt

(Walt F.J. Goodridge is author of 12 books including Turn Your Passion
Into Profit. Walt offers coaching and workshops to help people pursue
and profit from their passions. Originally from the island of Jamaica,
Walt has grown several successful businesses in the US, and now
makes his home here in Saipan. To learn more about the Saipanpreneur
Project and Walt’s philosophy and formula visit
and Send article suggestions, entrepreneur
nominations and feedback about this article to [email protected].)

http://www.saipantribune .com/newsstory.aspx?cat=3&newsID=62362

PUNISHING THE DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: BRUSSELS CRITICISES THE FRENCH VOTE
By Anne-Marie Mouradian in Brussels
Translated by Geraldine Ring

Caucaz.com, Georgia
Oct 24 2006

Approved by France’s lower house of parliament, the National Assembly,
on October 12, the bill would make it a crime for French citizens to
deny that the Armenian genocide occurred. Such a decision is being
made in a country home to 500,000 descendants of survivors of the
Armenian massacres and where earlier this year Turkish organisations
held demonstrations denying the genocide. The law, which foresees
the same penalties as those instituted in 1990 by the Gayssot Law on
the denial of the holocaust, still has to go to the upper house, the
Senate, for another vote. If the law comes into force, it will appear
as an ultimatum and "have serious consequences for relations between
the European Union and Turkey", said Olli Rehn, EU Commissioner for
Enlargement, who is leading membership negotiations with Ankara.

The Commissioner is convinced that the law would have a negative impact
and an "effect contrary to the objective sought." "We have always
told Turkey that it must reconcile with Armenia on issues related to
the past, as well as current difficulties such as the reopening of
the border. This law would prohibit debate efforts and the necessary
dialogue," said Krisztina Nagy, spokesperson for Commissioner Rehn. She
added that, "Certainly, progress on the subject is still minimal, but
a conference held last year by historians and Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call to set up a commission of historians to
shed light on these events are encouraging signs."

Brussels, which is also critical of the Turkish deadlock on the
issue of Cyprus and the slowness of reforms, does not want to get too
involved with an issue that is not part of the membership criteria
defined in Copenhagen in 1993. The European Commission has always
avoided clashing head on with Ankara on this hypersensitive issue and
explains that it is not its role to make statements on the nature of
the "painful events" of 1915.

The European Parliament, on the other hand, clearly requested Turkey
to recognise the Armenian genocide in 1987. Without making it a
precondition, it reaffirmed on September 27 that it is "crucial that
a country on the road to membership confront and recognise its past."

However, some Euro-MPs have criticised the National Assembly’s vote.

The president of the European Parliament’s EU-South Caucasus
delegation, France’s Marie-Anne Isler Beguin (Green Party), believes
that such a law "would fuel the arguments of those against Turkey’s
entry to the EU" and would also be "paradoxically counterproductive
for Armenians in Armenia."

"It is not at all a question of denying a genocide that the French
state has officially recognised since 2001, and even less a question
of imagining the EU integration of a Turkey which itself has not
recognised this genocide. The recognition of a historical reality
should not lead to the criminalization of matter which calls this
reality into question, not the least because this would touch upon
one of our democracies’ most fundamental rights, the freedom of
expression," said Mme Isler Beguin.

Does that mean the Gayssot Law which applies to the denial of the Shoah
should be abolished? Or is there "genocide and genocide"? In Belgium,
where talks of a similar law seem to have come to a standstill and
where those who deny the Armenian genocide hold seats in community
councils, the Coordinating Committee of Belgian Jewish Organizations
(CCOJB) and the Secular Jewish Community Centre are asking for the
crime of denying the Shoah to be extended to the Armenian and Tutsi
genocides. A similar wish has been expressed by the Belgian Movement
Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia, presided over by Radouane
Bouhlal, who applauded the French National Assembly’s vote.

u.php?id=269

Armenia Fund, Inc.
111 North Jackson St. Ste. 205
Glendale, CA 91206
Tel: 818-243-6222
Fax: 818-243-7222
URL:

PRESS RELEASE
Contact ~ Sarkis Kotanjian
[email protected]

Armenia Fund’s 9th Annual Telethon Set to Air Internationally
Nationwide Broadcast in All Armenian Communities

Los Angeles, CA – Armenia Fund United States Western Region is pleased
to announce the domestic and international broadcast coverage lineup of
its upcoming 9th Annual International Telethon. The telethon will be
aired on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2006 in all Armenian communities
around the United States and the world.

As part of the Rebirth of Artsakh project, proceeds from the live 12
hour program will benefit the regional development of Hadrut, Nagorno
Karabakh. The funds will go towards building new drinking water
pipelines as well as reconstructing healthcare facilities and schools
that fell victim to the war and years of neglect. In an effort to
eradicate poverty in this war ravaged border region, Armenia Fund will
also implement a comprehensive agricultural development project to
impact 1,000 farmers in 8 Hadrut villages. A similar regional
development program is currently underway in the northern Martakert
region using the funds raised during last year’s Telethon 2005.

His Excellency Arkady Ghoukasian, President of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic and Mrs. Naira Melkoumian Chief Executive Officer of Armenia
Fund International will be present during the telethon. The live program
is set to air internationally from Glendale Studios, California. Below
is the listing of the domestic broadcast stations in the United States
and their times in respective local time zones.

H1-Armenian Public Television will also air the live program in Armenia,
as well as on satellite in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the United
States. Viewers with a Globecast World TV satellite may tune in to
H1-Armenian Public Television and view the live 12 hour program. In
addition, Horizon Armenian Television, the largest Diaspora based
Armenian cable and satellite network outside of Armenia will air the
telethon on its channel as well. Viewers in North America may watch the
Telethon on Horizon’s satellite channels. The Telethon will also be
webcasted live for 12 hours on from 8am-8pm PST. For
detailed broadcast information, please log on to

Boston, Massachusetts
WBPX 68; WDPX 58; WPXG 21
12pm – 6pm EST

Chicago, Illinois
WCPX 38
11am – 5pm CST

Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
KPXD 68
Charter Ch. 28; Time Warner Ch. 26
11am – 5pm CST

Detroit, Michigan
WPXD 31
12pm – 6pm EST

Fresno and Central California
KJEO Ch. 32
Comcast Ch. 14
8am – 8pm PST

Houston, Texas
KPXB 49
Time Warner Ch. 7; Phonoscope Ch. 49
11am – 5pm CST

Las Vegas, Nevada
KFBT 33
Cox Ch. 6
12pm – 8pm PST

Greater Los Angeles Area
KSCI 18
All Cable Sys. Ch. 18
8am – 8pm PST

Miami, Florida
WPXM 35
12pm – 6pm EST

New York, New York
WPXN 31
12pm – 6pm EST

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WPPX 61
12pm – 6pm EST

Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe, Arizona
KPPX 51
Cox Ch. 17; Qwest Ch. 17
11am – 5pm MST

Providence, Rhode Island
WPXQ 69
12pm – 6pm EST

San Francisco & Bay Area
KTSF Ch. 26; Comcast Ch. 8
12pm – 6pm PST

Salt Lake City, Utah
KUPX 16
Comcast Ch. 16
11am – 5pm MST

Seattle, Vancouver, Western WA
KBCB 24
Comcast Ch. 14
8am – 8pm PST

St. Louis and Jefferson County, Missouri
Charter Ch. 8
10am – 10pm CST

Washington, DC
WPXW 66
12pm – 6pm EST

Armenia Fund, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation
established in 1994 to facilitate large-scale humanitarian and
infrastructure development assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Since 1991, Armenia Fund has rendered more than $160 million in
development aid to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia Fund, Inc. is
the U.S. Western Region affiliate of `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund. Tax
ID# 95-4485698

GOOD FAKING OF BRAND-NAME CLOTHING IS COSTLY PLEASURE

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. There is no sense in faking of
brand-name clothing, because "high-quality" faking of production and
lables of famous companiies is a costly pleasure, while a low-quality
fake does not escape the byuer’s attention. Nazaret Grboyan,
Director of the Armenian Office of the Italian company Girotti,
expressed this opinion during a talk with NT correspondent. According
to him and Susanna Muradian, Director of the Armenian Office of the
clothing-manufacturing company Giordano (Honq Kong), they have no
informatoon about any case of revealing a faked product of their
companies in Armenia. It was mentioned that it is not a function of
the Armenian offices of their companies to implement control in order
to prevent faking of their production in Armenia and its unofficial
import into the country. According to a study conducted jointly by
the DAI ASME program on development on small and medium business
markets in Armenia and the consulting company Ameria in 2004, about
two thirds of underwear and clothing sold on the domestic retail
market was produced in Armenia, and most of it was sold as foreign
goods. The volume of the domestic market of underwear and clothing
made about 300 million drams (about 750 thousand USD) in 2004.

TURKISH PEACEKEEPERS ARRIVE FOR MISSION IN SOUTH
by Daily Star staff

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 21 2006

Deployment comes despite vocal opposition from armenian community

Around 260 Turkish soldiers arrived in Lebanon on Friday, the first
Muslim land forces to join UN peacekeepers monitoring a cease-fire
between Israel and Lebanon. Two ships carrying 95 personnel and 46
vehicles docked at Beirut Port, officials said. Some 160 more troops
flew to Beirut’s airport a short time later.

The first Turkish deployment in Lebanon since the Ottomans left in
1918, shortly before their empire collapsed at the end of World War I,
the troops will be stationed in the village of Shaatit, 7.5 kilometers
from the Southern port of Tyre.

But their arrival comes despite vocal opposition from Lebanon’s
Armenian community, which accuses the Turks’ Ottoman ancestors of
genocide.

Turkey, a key regional ally of Israel, is the first Muslim country
to contribute troops to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
that will eventually number 15,000 men.

Muslim nations Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Qatar have also
pledged soldiers to the planned 15,000-strong force, but they have
yet to arrive.

A small advance team of engineers, who are due to work mostly on the
reconstruction of roads and bridges as well as de-mining, arrived on
October 10 but Turkey is not expected to contribute any more ground
troops to the UN force.

The Turkish government has said it will contribute a total of 681
troops.

A Turkish frigate is already serving in the German-led naval task
force patrolling the Lebanese coast to prevent arms being smuggled
to Hizbullah, and the navy has said it will also send two corvettes.

Members of Lebanon’s 140,000-strong Armenian community have staged
several demonstrations in protest at the troop deployment because
Turkey refuses to recognize the 1915-17 massacres of Armenians by
the Ottomans as genocide.

But the Armenians are not expected to mount further protests, despite
accusations Turkey is seeking to establish a "new Ottoman empire."

"Their return is for economic reasons and to revive their dream of
a new Ottoman empire in the Middle East," said Armenian-Lebanese
MP Hagop Pakradounian. "We don’t understand why the government is
enthusiastic for the Turks to come."

But a fellow Armenian-Lebanese MP, Hagop Kassarjian, said the community
had to accept the facts on the ground.

"Even though we’re Armenian and we’ve protested, we’re Lebanese after
all. We did what we have to do but the Lebanese government has taken
a decision and so has the international community," he said.

FRANCE AND ARMENIAN ISSUE: TURKEY SHOULD REMAIN CALM
Prof. Dr. Beril Dedeoglu

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 23 2006

If the bill in France that makes it a crime to deny the so-called
Armenian genocide passes in the Senate and is approved by the
president, it will become an effective law.

Although it is probable that it won’t pass, the Senate and the
president won’t approve it, the heart of the matter doesn’t change.

In fact, perhaps the law’s waiting before the Senate, which is known
to be comprised of intelligent men who aren’t worried about elections,
and a president who doesn’t show much of a tendency to go beyond the
demands of society, can spark further serious tensions.

The probability of the law passing can become more important than
the law itself. In this state it can be used more consciously as a
vehicle for imposing action, and from Turkey’s perspective it will
serve as Democles’ sword.

First, we shouldn’t make the mistake of asking France questions as
long as the bill doesn’t become law.

The opposition Socialist Party is the architect of the bill and is
responsible for it. It is as meaningless to criticize all French
citizens for this bill as it is to leave all Turkish citizens under
genocide suspicion.

There is benefit in discussing the probabilities of what is happening
in France. It can be claimed that the bill is a tactic that will
cause Turkey to break off from the EU negotiations process. Perhaps
there are members of parliament from both the party in power and
the opposition who would approve such an understanding. In fact,
if the law leads to ending Turkey’s EU negotiations, there may be
others who would be very happy about it.

However, the tactic to drive Turkey away from the table can only
succeed if Turkey actually chooses to do this. In other words,
this points to a process tied to Turkey, not France. Actually, this
strengthens the hands of those in Turkey who, seeing it as their duty,
defend abandoning developments on the EU road and support efforts
for democratization. However, it is difficult to say that French
representatives had planned this. If France wants to drive Turkey
away from the European Union, it is already doing it with the Cyprus
problem. Besides, France will have several more opportunities to push
Turkey away during the negotiation process.

For the Votes of 400,000 Citizens

Another possibility that can be considered is barring the way of
any improvements in Turkish-Armenian relations. It can be said that
as long as Armenia’s isolation continues in the region and tensions
with Russia are increased, France remains Armenia’s only hope for
political breakthrough and France will protect Armenia because it is
its only avenue for activity in the Caucasus. The biggest weakness
of this possibility lies under the question of whom the tensions
between these countries harm the most. Just as preventing Armenia
from opening to the world will increase its political and economic
weakness, it will bring the problem of taking on more responsibility
before the Armenian Diaspora in France (it can’t be claimed that
there are serious contributions to the root country). In addition,
this kind of implementation that points to Armenia would nurture
radical movements that are fed by enemy politics, which, in turn,
support authoritarian structures. In this situation, those who don’t
want to be authoritarian would be negatively affected, rather than
authoritarians. This process would not benefit Armenian citizens and
would prevent Turkey from taking any possible steps toward Armenia.

We can assume the kind of results the Armenian Diaspora’s expectations
will yield. Armenians are continuing to organize in many regions of the
world. We know that genocide claims form the basis of the Diaspora’s
ethnic references and that it sometimes becomes more important than
those of the citizens of the country they live in.

While such a claim can sometimes have a positive effect on the status
of the people and a negative one, it also gives them political power.

It helps them to receive direct decisions and obtain the capacity to
influence processes. The Diaspora largely uses the positions they
have gained in the country to meet its expectations. The Armenian
Diaspora in France mainly supports the Socialist Party. Situations
like the Socialist Party being an opposition party, their loss to
an ultra-nationalist party in the last elections, and not being sure
about the vote potential of Segolene Royal, the female candidate they
brought out to oppose Sarkozy who is in the party in power as the
presidential elections approach, have led the party to increasingly
lean toward more aggressive policies.

It’s is unknown if there are still people who are surprised at the
socialist parties coming to the point of acting along the same lines
as the ultra-nationalist parties. However, as a result it is obvious
that the Socialist Party needs the votes of the estimated 400,000
Armenians living in France. In a similar way, the parties in power
need every vote they can get, strengthening the nationalist game.

Consequently, the administration doesn’t verbalize the meaninglessness
of the bill; on the contrary, it is said that if this policy gains
votes. If so, why should it fail? One of the reasons why certain
parties want these votes could be to turn the raison d’etre of the
Armenian Diaspora, which supports it, into law. Moreover, this effort
is a matter of urgency for the Diaspora, because Turkey has opened
a different door to approach the issue.

Turkey has announced that it is ready to "officially" open this issue
for discussion on an international level outside of state players and
has made progress to some extent. It is clear that the beginning of
discussion of the issue on an international basis in the fields of
science, politics or law will lead to the watering down of the claim
that genocide was perpetrated and the posing of the proposition in
many places throughout the world that maybe there was no genocide. In
this situation, there can be a weakening of the raw material within
the genocide claim from which it feeds.

For certain, the law related to the benefits of exploitation, which
was passed previously and is still being discussed, and the law
that counts the denial of genocide as a crime will continue to be
debated in France. It is also evident that even if this type of law
is a result of a political party presenting it to the parliament,
these subjects are not that contrary to general perceptions in France.

There is a broad, wide-spread and deep belief in France that there
was an Armenian genocide. When the Socialist Party puts this on the
agenda, there’s no great uproar. As communication increases among
societies, it’s possible for fixed opinions to change. There are
lessons here for Turkey. Instead of producing policies based on pushing
possibilities for communication among societies and drawing closer
through cooperation, looking for counterattack policies that encourage
introversion hasn’t provided Turkey with any permanent benefits
to date. If Turkey is a country that trusts its theses, documents,
philosophy and, most importantly, its system, it shouldn’t rush to
take harsh actions that can be seen as expressions of helplessness.

Professor Beril Dedeoglu – Galatasaray University Faculty Member

ARARAT ZURABIAN: MOST OF ALL THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN RALLIES IN
1988 WILL GIVE THEIR VOTES FOR ARMENIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The purpose of the current ruling
regime in Armenia is its reproduction, while the opposition’s main
objective is not to allow such reproduction – be it in the version
of Vartan Oskanian or Serge Sargsian. Ararat Zurabian, Chairman of
the Armenian National Movement (ANM) Board, expressed this opinion
at a press conference on October 20. "I think that if in 2003 the
opposition had taken a more resolute steps, everything would have had
a normal outcome," he said. According to him, in order to participate
in the parliamentary elections, the party will try to form an alliance
with several political forces. He indicated the Republic Party and
the Liberal Progressive Party as possible allies. A. Zurabian said
that the ANM will not unite with the Aylntrank (Alternative) social
political initiative that has the same ideological principles. In his
words, there are no serious disagreements between the two bodies, but
some problems exist. That is why some members left the ANM and formed
the organization Armat later reorganized into Aylntrank. A. Zurabian
noted that the current authorities never received more than 10-15%
of votes at elections – the rest was added. According to him, at the
time when ANM was in power, elections were never rigged, and if such
a thing happened, it was done by people like the defence minister
Serge Sargsian and the prime minister Andranik Margarian who were
in power at that time too. As regards the current rating of ANM,
in A. Zurabian’s words, the party’s electorate are those who were
participating in rallies in 1988. Some of them who left Armenia or
changed their views will be replaced by those who did not yet have
the right to vote at that time. Noting that many people boycotted the
referendum on Constutitional amendments in response to the ANM’s calls,
A. Zurabian added: "I think that in Armenia there is an environment
where we have our votes."