Author: Emil Lazarian

REACTIONS TO FRENCH PARLIAMENT’S DRAFT LAW ON SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006
ANKARA – “France’s attitude towards Turkey is not friendly. We are
deeply concerned over such an attitude from France. The Turkish
parliament will respond to any step taken against Turkey,” Turkish
Speaker of Parliament Bulent Arinc said today in regard to a draft law
that makes any denial of so-called Armenian genocide a crime in France.
Another fierce reaction came from Chairman of the Turkish Union of
Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu. “If
the French parliament approves the draft law on so-called Armenian
genocide, this would be due to electoral concerns and desire to
attract voters. The reaction of the Turks will be immense if the
draft law gets approved,” noted Hisarciklioglu.,
Hak-Is Labor Union’s Chairman Salim Uslu remarked that the draft law
on so-called Armenian genocide will obstruct freedom of thought and
expression. “The French should remember the genocide they committed in
Algeria. More than 1.5 million Algerians were killed by the French,”
said Uslu.
A deputy of the Turkish Motherland Party (Anavatan) from
Afyonkarahisar, Reyhan Balandi indicated that “France’s hands won’t be
enough to close the eyes of the world. Once all archives are studied,
the reality will come to surface. French leaders should accept charges
of massacring Algerians in a planned and brutal way.
We have lived with Armenians as brothers and sisters for 900 years.
If the Armenians abandon claims of genocide, Turkey will help Armenia’s
development,” commented Balandi.
Deputy leader of the Turkish-French Interparliamentary Friendship
Group Omer Ozyilmaz stressed that “if the draft law on so-called
Armenian genocide gets approved in the French parliament, this would
be a serious blow to political and commercial relations with France.”
The Federation of Family Members of Turks Killed or Wounded by
Armenians During World War I announced that it will start a campaign
under the title of “I reject the allegations of a genocide. Put me in
jail, France!” The campaign is directed at Turkish nationals living
in France. The federation wants to make France the biggest jail of
the world. “The acceptance of the draft law on so-called Armenian
genocide will hurt Turkish-Armenian relations and damage global and
regional peace,” said the federation.
Meanwhile, Dr. Erol Kurkcuoglu of the Turkish-Armenian Relations
Research Center at the Ataturk University in eastern city of Erzurum
noted that “France wants to use the Armenia issue as a political
tool.” The approval of the bill that makes all denials of so-called
Armenian genocide a crime would be devastating for relations,
expressed Kurkcuoglu.
Kurkcuoglu added that, in the year 2005, 90 French historians presented
a statement to the French parliament clearly showing that there was
not any Armenian genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA’S FUTURE IS OUT OF NATO, SAYS ARMENIAN COMMUNIST
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 24 2006
I do not think that future of Caucasus is in integration with NATO,
Yury Manoukyan, Chair of the United Communist Party of RA, said at
the press conference today.
He added that in case Armenia joins the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) the latter will impose its policy over the
country. In the course of it the state, sooner or later, will fall
under the full dependence of the Alliance. “Would we be able to be
fulfilling somebody else’s will all our life?”, rhetorically asked Y.
Manoukyan. He said that if the states of the region start joining
NATO separately, it may cause a conflict of military interests and
will bring instability to the region.
“I think that Armenia, Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan should make a
joint decision on integration with NATO because this question serves
the interests of all the sides”, he pointed out. Speaking on the
so-called ‘profitability’ of Armenia’s integration with NATO, leader
of the Communists said that he was not aware of facts proving that
point. “We should be presented with proves that Armenia will gain
from integration with the Alliance. We are fed up with groundless
promises. It is time to go from words to business”, concluded Y.
Manoukyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“DAMNATION ISN’T A POLITICAL CATEGORY”
Margaret Yesayan
Aravot, Armenia
Oct 24 2006
NA vice chairman Vahan Hovhannisian reminds.
The Parliament was completely against parliamentarian Tatul
Manaserian’s legislative initiative to form a temporary commission
for discussing Armenian Genocide issues. Factually, the parliament
was against the government, too as the government approved the
parliamentarian’s proposal. But as it was found out, the government
didn’t express any positive opinion and the minister of justice had
said himself that the government was for that proposal. NA chairman
made an exclusive decision to discuss that issue out of package,
separately: “I share my partners’ anxiety that the formation of such
commission will give our neighbor countries an opportunity to say
that this parliament of Armenia does what they were proposing. It
is even written that the conception of Armenian Genocide must be
specified. What must we specify, the idea of this commission’s
formation is inadmissible for me.” The NA vice chairman noticed:
“As an experienced person I should say that the temporary commissions
aren’t so effective in our society because discrepancies inside it
become the public ownership, are reflected in the newspapers and
create an atmosphere from which we will only suffer.”
The discussion of refused law about “Higher Interest” was more
emotional. The NA chairman said in his speech that “irrespective of
anyone’s whish, the law makes us discuss this package during this
four-day sitting, we should simply improve the draft.” The government
brings a draft to the parliament for which the majority doesn’t vote.
It isn’t known yet why the government insists on the adoption of
that draft, this problem has become the part of show, and people
gathered in front of the parliament, who were exiled from their homes
on Buzand street not getting any valuable compensation for it, were
demanding from the parliamentarians not to adopt the draft. “Justice”
and OEP factions were against that draft as usual. Hovhannes Margarian
reminded that one of the exiled inhabitants damned those who exiled
them, represent the law and adopt it. Vahan Hovhannisian suggested;
“Don’t make damnation as a political category because the curse has
already been made.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HENRI CUNY WISHES ARMENIA ESTABLISHMENT OF NORMAL RELATIONS WITH ALL NEIGHBORS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Noyan Tapan
Oct 24 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. “I have always thought that
peace, economic development and securing a normal future for its
youth are most important for Armenia.” The French Ambassador to
Armenia Henri Cuny, who finishes his diplomatiuc mission in Armenia,
stated this at the Octoberb 24 press conference. In his opinion, all
three directions are closely related, because if there is no peace,
the country’s economic development and therefore the employment of
young people are just out of question. The ambassador dwelt upon
the issue of development of Armenian-French economic relations:
“I am glad that the number of French enterprises, as well as the
amount of French investments has increased in Armenia.” He attached
great importance to the fact that Air France started operating
Yerevan-Paris flights. H. Cuny expressed confidence that Armenia has
much potential for developing the high-tech sector. In his words,
taking into account the demographic aspect and the low purchasing
capacity of the population, “Armenia does not represent a market
in itself.” At the same time, in his view, Armenia opens windows
to other markets – Russian, Middle East, and markets of other Asian
countries. However, according to the ambassador, the arrangement of
forces would be entirely different, if the borders were open. “Leaving
Armenia, I wish it prosperity and establishment of normal relations
with all its neighbors as soon as possible,:” H. Cuny said.
According to some reliable sources, Henri Cuny will continue his
diplomatic mission in Slovakia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AND FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTERS UNDERLINE IMPORTANCE OF ACTION PLAN TO BE SIGNED AT EU-ARMENIA COOPERATION COUNCIL
Noyan Tapan
Oct 24 2006
PARIS, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. During the meeting of the French
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and the Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian in Paris on October 24, issues related
to Armenia-France bilateral relations and Year of Armenia in
France were discussed. Speaking about EU-Armenia relations,
the ministers underlined the importance of the Action Plan to be
signed at the EU-Armenia Cooperation Council on November 14, which
will open new opportunities for further deepening of the bilateral
cooperation. According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department,
the ministers exchanged ideas about the peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict and the opportunities of making progress in the
negotiations. Some regional problems and the possible impacts of the
Russian-Georgian relations on the region were addressed as well.

ROBINSON: ARMENIA HAD CONSIDERABLE ECONOMIC PROGRESS RECENTLY
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.10.2006 14:12 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian Speaker Tigran Torosyan met with
Director of the World Bank Yerevan Office Roger Robinson, who is
completing his tenure in Armenia, reports the Press Office of the
Armenian National Assembly. During the meeting Robinson said that
within 4.5 years Armenia made considerable economic progress and that
in sustainable development.
Three factors in his words are crucial for development of any country:
political, economic and social. At that he remarked that those factors
are never displayed simultaneously: economic development almost
always is ahead. The World Bank does not interfere with the policy,
however successful holding of election is crucial for sustaining the
economic development, WB Yerevan Office head said.
In his turn Tigran Torosyan stated that economic development
was highlighted in the post-soviet territory before, however the
development suggested that the social life has to be reformed as well
and a country’s success is conditioned by political-social-economic
reforms. The Speaker noted that Armenia is at an interesting phase. He
was sure that via reforms of the social life within 2-3 years success
can be attained and full opportunities for deserving life of people
can be created.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH PEOPLE DO NOT BELIEVE IN FRIENDSHIP OF NEIGHBORS
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.10.2006 17:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Most Turks do not believe in friendship of
neighboring countries, indicate the outcomes of a sociological survey
held in 32 out of 81 Turkish provinces, the Milliyet reports. “The
survey has shown that Turkish people do not believe in friendship
of their neighbors. Most Turks are convinced that European countries
are not friends for Turkey,” Milliyet writes. Turks do not trust US
and Greece most – 78.5% and 78.1% of respondents respectively. These
are followed by France, to which 76.1% of Turks mistrust. At that
sociologists highlight that the survey was conducted before adoption
of the bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the
National Assembly of France on October 12. Right after it Turkish
officials criticized France and the Union of consumers launched
boycott of French goods.
Russia is also among countries, which Turks do not trust. 64.8%
of respondents do not trust it, while only 8.7% call it “friendly,”
reports the Milliyet.
Turks have most sympathies towards Azerbaijan – 71.4%.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BODY REPRESENTING HEIRS OF ARMENIANS WHO ESCAPED GENOCIDE TO CALL ITS SESSION DECEMBER 9-10 IN SEVRES
Armenpress
Oct 24 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS: The body that will represent the heirs
of Armenians who escaped the genocide of Armenians in the historical
Western Armenia in the Ottoman Turkey will call its first session on
December 9-10 in the town of Sevres, not far from Paris. The initiative
belongs to about thirty prominent Armenian intellectuals who came out
on October 20 with an initiative to create a body that will represent
the heirs of Armenians who escaped the genocide of Armenians in the
historical Western Armenia in the Ottoman Turkey.
The initiating committee had sent messages to all heirs of Armenians
who escaped the genocide to seek their accord and based on the feedback
has decided to call a meeting on December 9-10. The group’s statement
said the meeting would elect an ad hoc National Council with its
committees which will organize and steer elections of deputies to the
National Assembly in all countries where heirs of the genocide live.
This National Assembly is supposed to elect the National Council of
Western Armenians.
The idea behind this initiative, according to the statement, is to
work out and carry out such all-Armenian projects which will promote
strengthening of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, consolidation of free
democracy and defense of Armenians’ interests globally.
Another goal is to negotiate with Turkish authorities and other
stakeholders to attain the recognition of Armenian genocide, its
condemnation and press for compensations for the property of Western
Armenians and to ensure unobstructed return of the heirs to Western
Armenia where their ancestors lived.
The initiating committee consists of prominent intellectuals Armen
Jigarkhanian, Sos Sargsian, Pertch Zeituntian, distinguished scholar
Vahagn Tatrian, Anushavan Danielian, Hayk Mikaelian, Artyom Tarasov,
Karen Mikaelian and others.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN COMMUNIST PARTY TO COMBAT IN ELECTIONS WITHOUT DISTRIBUTING POTATO
Panorama.am
13:56 24/10/06
“The upcoming parliamentary elections will be far from being free,
fair and transparent,” Ruben Tovmasyan, chairman of the Armenian
Communist Party, told a press conference today.
The chief communist thinks so because of the propaganda and “donations”
made to public under the name of benevolence. “Those parties have
no ideology.
Their ideology is expressed in distributing potatoes and grass package
strings,” the communist said naming Prosperous Armenia and People’s
Party as such.
Tovmasyan is concerned that anticommunist hysteria grows in the
country. He is concerned that the parties engaged in so called
“benevolence” are taking away their voters. Despite of everything,
Tovmasyan said, Armenian Communist party will run for elections
without distributing potato and strings for grass package. Tovmasyan
is sorry that Sanatruk Sahakyan, an ex-communist, joined Orinats
Yerkir Party.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HENRY CUNY SAYS ELECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT EXAMINATIONS IN ARMENIA
Panorama.am
17:39 24/10/06
Asked if France supports Arthur Baghdasaryan, French Ambassador to
Armenia Henry Cuny said he has reportedly said that France does not
interfere into the internal issues of any country. He admits that
Arthur Baghdasaryan is a good friend of France but said French people
are not going to vote in Armenia.
Henry Cuny wishes that the elections in Armenia be free and fair. “It
is an important examination for Armenia and we will be watchful to
elections,” the ambassador stated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress