Author: Emil Lazarian

Le Figaro, France
23 avril 2005

Responsabilité historique;
Éditorial

par Pierre Rousselin

Le quatre-vingt-dixième anniversaire du génocide arménien doit être
l’occasion de rappeler à la Turquie qu’il lui faudra reconnaître
pleinement sa responsabilité dans les événements de 1915, si elle
veut, un jour, être acceptée en Europe. Forte de quelque 350 000
membres, la communauté arménienne de France est la plus nombreuse à
l’étranger après celle établie aux Etats-Unis. Elle est aussi un
modèle d’intégration réussie. Constituée pour l’essentiel de rescapés
du génocide et de leurs descendants, elle a toujours été aux
avant-postes du combat pour que le devoir de mémoire soit effectué en
Turquie, comme il l’a été en France et en Allemagne à propos des
drames de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. La visite à Paris du président
Robert Kotcharian, en ce jour anniversaire, et la gerbe qu’il a
déposée avec Jacques Chirac pour honorer les victimes du génocide ont
une forte valeur symbolique. Ces événements montrent que notre
diplomatie, longtemps réticente à indisposer Ankara, se conforme
pleinement au vote du Parlement qui, en 2001, a reconnu le génocide.
Quatre-vingt-dix ans après, le devoir de mémoire est d’autant plus
urgent que l’Union européenne entamera le 3 octobre avec la Turquie
des négociations d’adhésion. Ces pourparlers s’ouvriront sans que les
critères de Copenhague aient retenu la reconnaissance du génocide
arménien comme une condition préalable. La France est dans son rôle
lorsqu’elle insiste pour qu’Ankara veille à refermer définitivement
les blessures de l’Histoire.

Confronté à un nationalisme très vif, le gouvernement proeuropéen
d’Erdogan est peu pressé de le faire, même si de timides avancées ont
été tentées. Le Parlement turc a entamé un débat sans précédent sur
l’attitude à adopter face aux exigences arméniennes. Ankara a proposé
à Erevan la création d’une commission conjointe afin d’enquêter sur
les massacres de 1915. Des historiens et des intellectuels turcs
commencent à mettre en doute le dogme officiel qui veut que
l’administration ottomane n’ait jamais ordonné une extermination des
populations arméniennes, accusées d’avoir rejoint l’ennemi russe. En
France, l’anniversaire du génocide est l’occasion pour la communauté
arménienne de se faire entendre. C’est bien normal. Comme il est
normal que cette communauté encore meurtrie soit très majoritairement
opposée à l’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne. En cette
période de confusion dans le débat politique autour du référendum du
29 mai, il ne faudrait pas que les commémorations soient détournées
de leur objet. Il ne faudrait pas que la souffrance passée des
victimes du génocide ne serve qu’à alimenter les calculs de ceux qui
font campagne pour le non à la Constitution européenne.

Pan Armenian News

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS COMMEMORATED IN KARABAKH

24.04.2005 08:15

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The victims of the Armenian Genocide were commemorated in
Nagorno Karabakh. Many thousands of people moved to the Stepanakert Memorial
Complex from the morning. 11 a.m. NKR leaders headed by President Arkady
Ghukasian came to lay flowers to the Memorial of the Victims of the Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. Priests of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church offered a liturgy for the peace of the souls of the victims
of the tragedy. April 23 a number of youth organizations of Nagorno Karabakh
with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and
Stepanakert Administration arranged planting of trees around the Memorial.
The number of the trees planed totaled 90. Each of them has a label with the
name of the inhabited area, where the Armenian Genocide was held, Regnum
news agency reported.

Troy Record, NY
April 24 2005

Armenians mark painful anniverary
By: Steven S. Couse, The Record04/24/2005

TROY – Today, Armenians around the world will commemorate Armenian
Martyrs Day to remember the 1½ million Armenians put to death by the
Ottoman Turkish government from 1915 to 1923.

On April 24, 1915, 90 years ago, 200 Armenian dignitaries, clergymen
and intellectuals were rounded up and killed. This date is considered
the official start of the Armenian Genocide.
The killings had begun earlier and would continue until 1923,
according to Rafi Topalian, of the Capital District Armenian Genocide
Committee.
The CDAGC was founded in 2000 to increase awareness of the genocide
and remember the Armenians whose lives were cut short.
Today, members will be heading for Times Square in New York for a
Milestone Commemoration. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham
Clinton will be among the speakers.
After a Mass at St. Vartan Cathedral in Manhattan, more than 5,000
people are expected to gather at noon in Times Square for the
commemoration. A memorial service will follow at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral. Many religious and political leaders are participating.
For many Armenians, it is very important to educate the world about
the genocide because they feel the present-day Turkish government is
trying to rewrite history in their favor.
“How can we talk about this if they dispute us?” Topalian said.
He calls the Armenian Genocide the “template” for other genocides in
the 20th Century and suggests that if the world had had a better
understanding of what happened to them, other genocides might have
been prevented.
He said the Jewish Holocaust during World War II is more familiar to
people because many of the perpetrators were brought to justice at
the Nuremburg Trials and because news gathering – especially movie
footage – was more sophisticated later in the century.
According to Topalian, Armenia “has been around for over 3,000
years.” In 301 AD Armenians adopted Christianity as a nation, a
decade before the Roman Empire.
In 404 AD the Armenians developed an alphabet so the Bible could be
read by more people.
Throughout the centuries, he said, Armenians fought off invaders. “We
fought hard to maintain our Christian faith.
“Armenians advanced in intellect and commerce, and others around were
jealous,” he said.
>From 1894 to 1896, 300,000 Armenians were massacred under the order
of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
Hamid’s reign ended in 1908, when a coalition known as the Young
Turks came to power. By 1914, a triumvirate of Young Turk dictators
set out to rid the country of minorities, beginning with Armenians.
Between 1915 and 1923, 1½ million Armenians perished and more than
500,000 were exiled.
>From 1918 to 1920, Armenia enjoyed a brief period of self-rule before
becoming part of the Soviet Union. Armenia declared independence on
Sept. 21, 1991.
Members of the CDAGC meet once a month or every other month and give
lectures at high schools and colleges. They work with other groups to
get the word out.
One of the major goals of the group, and others like it around the
world, is to get the present-day Turkish government to acknowledge
the genocide.
The committee will host an event at the state Assembly on May 16,
when lawmakers will formally recognize the genocide with a resolution
and proclaimation.
New York is one of only 30 states to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
The U.S. government does not.
According to Topalian, there are 2,500 Armenians in the Capital
District. There are three local churches, St. Peter Armenian
Apostolic Church in Watervliet, Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church
in Troy, and United Armenian Calvary Congregational Church, also in
Troy.
One of those Armenians is Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian. He learned
about the genocide from his grandmother and other family members and
traveled to Armenia in 1997 with a select group of young Armenian
professionals.
He met the president and other dignitaries, and saw monuments to the
genocide.
Tutunjian pointed out that in 1899, Troy established the second
Armenian parish in the country after Worcester, Mass.
That parish, St. Peter, moved to Watervliet in 1970.

Pan Armenian News

MEMORIAL TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS FIRED UPON IN SAN PAOLO

24.04.2005 06:23

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The monument to victims of the Armenian Genocide,
established in Santos Dumod St. that crosses Armenia Square in San Paolo,
was attacked April 23 at about 3 a.m. As reported by the State Commission
for Organization of Events marking the 90-th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, getting out of a car, unknown people fired upon the monument. The
city police investigate the case in compliance with the suit of Armenia’s
Consul General A. Eghiazarian and Armenian National Committee local office
head S. Kerimian. Experts, who arrived at the scene, determined that 5
bullets of average diameter hit the monument. Upon a demand of Armenia’s
Consulate General the military police has put intensified guard at site of
the occurrence, where events marking the anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide had been planned on 23-24 April.

The New Anatolian
April 23 2005

Turkish Armed Forces plans to modenize and reorganize by reducing
numbers

Evren Deger

Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok says four brigades to be
eliminated under Turkish Armed Forces’ modernization and
reorganization project

The brigades abolished are the 10th Infantry Brigade (Van-Ercis), the
Ninth Armored Brigade (Cankiri), the Seventh Mechanized Brigade
(Kars-Kagizman) and the 33rd Mechanized Brigade (Kirklareli). The
28th Division Corps in the town Sarikamis in Kars will also be
disbanded, reducing the number of brigades to 46, and corps to three

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is continuing efforts to reform its
vintage Cold War-era structure into a more flexible and efficient
military by abolishing four brigadesand a corps.

In his speech at the Turkish War College on Wednesday, Chief of
General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok indicated that the reorganization of
the TSK was being carried out under a project called Force-2014. The
brigades and division corps set to be abolished under Force-2014 are
the 10th Infantry Brigade (Van-Ercis), the Ninth Armored Brigade
(Cankiri), the Seventh Mechanized Brigade (Kars-Kagizman), and the
33th Mechanized Brigade (Kirklareli). The number of Turkish military
brigades will thus fall to 46. The 28th Division Corps in the town
Sarikamis in Kars will also be disbanded. Therefore, the number of
corps will fall to three, with two in Cyprus and a training corps in
Isparta.

Reasons for reorganization

Military officials stress that the modernization and reorganization
of the army will continue. “The goal of the Turkish military is to
reorganize our military units, which are dispersed around a wide area
according to the requirements of the Cold War, and to prepare them
for immediate mobilizations to crisis areas,” said one official.

The officials also indicated that further restructuring will follow
the abolition of the brigades and the division corps.

Defense officials underlined that eliminating the two brigades based
in Van and Kars reflect a change in Turkey’s perception of the threat
from Armenia.

Gen. Ozkok’s speech

General Ozkok’s speech touched on the status of the Force-2014
project, saying that the project had been prepared with recent
regional developments and the shift in Turkey’s perception of its
threats in mind. “Under the reorganization, the army shrunk these
four brigades last year. This year, we will abolish the brigades
outright and also reduce the size of our division corps’ forces,”
said Ozkok.

He stressed that force reduction in the military could only be
achieved as part of a carefully planned modernization program.
“Unplanned reordering could cause disasters, thus our goal is not
only to abolish the division corps and brigades, but also to increase
our remaining units’ preparation and combat capabilities,” he said.
“The abandoned barracks will be used by universities and other bodies
for educational purposes.”

ARMENIAN POLITOLOGIST PROPOSES TO STUDY REASONS FOR BELLICOSITY OF
TURKISH CIVILIZATION

YEREVAN, APRIL 22. ARMINFO. Head of Armenian nongovernmental
organization “Academy of political researches” Alexander Manasian
proposes to carry out investigation of the reasons for the bellicosity
of the Turkish civilization.

During the news conference the head of the Academy expressed an
opinion that the 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide must become
sending point for deeper scientific comprehension of the reasons for
the genocide as a phenomenon. According to him, today there are no
answers for numerous questions, in particular, what reasons made the
Turkish civilization “genocide generative”. As the politologist
stressed, the not only Armenians became the victims of the Turkish
aggression – Greeks, Bulgarians, Udins, Serbs, Kurds, Talish, Lezgins
to some extent felt the influence of that policy. That’s why not only
Armenians, but the whole humanity should study the reasons for the
aggressiveness of Turkey’s civilization.

As the expert mentioned, the Big Genocide On April 24, 1915, is a part
of Armenian Genocide, started in the 19th and continued in the 20th
century, finished by the slaughter of Armenians in Sumgait and Baku.

Moldova supports Azerbaijan on Garabagh conflict

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 22 2005

Baku, April 21, AssA-Irada — Moldova supports Azerbaijan’s position
on the Upper Garabagh conflict.

The issue was in focus at a meeting of President Ilham Aliyev with
his Moldovan counterpart Vladimir Voronin in Kishinev on Thursday.
Voronin said Moldova supports all steps by Baku at restoring its
territorial integrity within international organizations.

The two presidents also exchanged views on putting the Upper Garabagh
and Dnestr conflicts on discussion at the UN General Assembly and
the GUUAM summit due on Friday.

GUUAM is a regional organization comprising Georgia, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova.

The two presidents said they hope the summit will be important for
the organization’s activity, expressing confidence that it will
become a strong regional organization in the future. The integration
of Azerbaijan and Moldova into the European Union will further
accelerate. Suitable environment has been created for the economic
and trade relations between the two countries, they said.*

ANSA English Media Service
April 21, 2005

TURKEY: MILITARY TO BOYCOTT EU IF PRESSURE CONTINUES

ANKARA

By Lucio Leante

(ANSA) – ANKARA, April 21 – The Turkish military threatened
to withdraw its support for the country’s accession to the
European Union (EU), if European pressure for further Turkish
concessions on sensitive issues result in actions that are
unacceptable and outrageous for the Turkish people.

Issues mentioned by the military, the guardian of democracy
and the legacy of modern Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
included the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group, Cyprus
and the so-called Armenian genocide of 1915.

The Turkish military general staff, headed by General Hilmi
Ozkok, has never been very supportive of Turkey’s bid to join
the 25-nation union.

That was the gist of a lengthy speech Gen. Ozkok delivered to
students at the Istanbul Military Academy on Wednesday.

“Not only the EU has the right to say Yes or No. Turkey can
do that as well,” Ozkok said in a crucial point of his address
in which he criticised the U.S. for not keeping its promise to
stop PKK’s activity in north Iraq.

Ozkok also expressed dissatisfaction with the EU for acting
as mediator to PKK’s requests hidden under the disguise of human
rights and although the U.S. and the EU had included PKK in
their list of terrorist organisations.

Ozkok criticised European countries for demanding from Turkey
new steps after having failed to keep their promise to end the
international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) as a reward for the Turkish Cypriots’ support for
the Annan plan for the reunification of the island.

The Turkish military general staff called on Armenia to give
up its demand for Ankara to admit the Ottoman massacres of
Armenians were genocide. Armenia’s request is openly backed by
the European Parliament (EP) and more cautiously supported by
the European Commission (EC) and the Council of Ministers.

Referring to the recent recommendations on behalf of European
Commission chairman Jose Manuel Barroso that Turkey had to
maintain good relations with Athens, Ozkok determinedly claimed
the Greek defence policy was mainly aimed at thwarting a
presumed “Turkish menace” and that Greek military costs were
still to high.

The political meaning of Ozkok’s speech is clear, according
to analysts: the Turkish army is striving to demonstrate it is
still capable of relying upon the great decisions made in the
country and of better synchronising with the nation’s opinion
than the government. According to many people, the latter seems
ready to pay any price for reaching by October its goal for a
start of accession talks with the EU.

A renowned analyst said Ozkok had been sage enough to assume
such a position after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stated last
week there were European circles, trying to divide Turkey and
accused those “circles” of fomenting the spiral between Kurdish
and Turksih nationalism in order to debilitate the requests of
Turkey for EU integration. With this regard, Ozkok is most
probably trying to prove the strategic unity of the Turkish
leadership, also in order to avoid the usual European
accusations of an excessive influence of the army on Turkish
policy. (ANSA).

REPUBLIC PARTY CONDEMNS

A1plus
| 17:35:09 | 21-04-2005 | Politics |

During the meetings of the opposition parties with the Armenian
citizens unknown people provoke incidents to prevent the political
forces from meeting the population. The latest incident of the kind
took place at the meeting of New Times party members with the residents
of Sevan.

Condemning the restrictions of free political activities the Republic
party assesses the instigations as an obvious demonstration of agony
of the administration, which does not enjoy the population’s support
and as desperate attempts to prevent inevitable democratization of
Armenia. “We reiterate that democratic revolution in Armenia has no
alternative and all the attempts of the authorities to impede the
process are doomed to failure”, the statement says.

PHONE CONVERSATION WITH FERDINANDO CASINI

A1plus

| 19:09:22 | 21-04-2005 | Official |

Today Armenian Parliament Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan had a phone
conversation with Pier Ferdinando Casini, the President of the Italian
Chamber of Deputies. The parties discussed the development of the
Armenian-Italian relations and political cooperation.

At the suggestion of Arthur Baghdasaryan the two parliament heads
touched upon the possibility of discussing the Armenian Genocide issue
in the Italian parliament. They also agreed on Ferdinando Casini’s
formal visit to Armenia and conduction of the festival of Italian art.