Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FRENCH SENATE TO VOTE ON GENOCIDE BILL

Press TV

Jan 23 2012
Iran

The French Senate is to vote on a bill that criminalizes the denial
of the 1915 Armenian genocide, a move that Turkey has threatened to
retaliate by imposing permanent sanctions on Paris.

On Monday afternoon, the French Senate will vote on the bill that
was earlier approved by the lower house in December 2011.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday that Ankara
would impose “permanent sanctions” if the bill is passed by the French
Senate and ratified by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“There will be more sanctions and this time, the sanctions will be
permanent, until the change in French position,” Davutoglu said.

“It is time for French intellectuals, for French senators to defend
our common values, freedom of expression. These are European, French
values. This is against these values,” he added.

Before the French lower house approved the bill, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also warned that Ankara would
announce sanctions against Paris.

On Friday, the French embassy in Ankara released a “conciliatory
letter” from Sarkozy to Erdogan. Sarkozy wrote in the letter that the
French bill “is in no way aimed at any state or people in particular.”

The bill would sentence “anyone in France who publicly denies the 1915
genocide to a year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros (USD 58,000).”

Ethnic Armenian residents in France allege that up to “1.5 million”
of their ancestors were killed during World War I “by the forces of
Turkey’s former Ottoman Empire.”

OVER TURKISH PROTESTS, FRENCH LAWMAKERS TO VOTE ON BILL PENALIZING GENOCIDE DENIAL
By STEVEN ERLANGER and SOPHIE COHEN

The New York Times

Jan 23 2012

PARIS – The French Senate is scheduled to vote on Monday on a law
that would penalize those who deny genocide, taking another step
along a path that has already damaged France’s relations with Turkey.

The draft law, passed in December by the National Assembly, France’s
lower house, does not specifically mention the mass killings of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915. But those killings were formally
labeled genocide by the French Parliament in 2001, leading to an
angry reaction from the Turkish government, which insists that
there was no deliberate campaign to massacre the Armenians. About
1.5 million Armenians are estimated to have died from shootings,
exposure and starvation.

The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Friday at a news
conference in Ankara, Turkey, that the law, if passed, would “remain
as a black stain in France’s intellectual history, and we will always
remind them of this black stain.” He asked the senators to reject it.

In a letter last week to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey,
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France insisted that the bill was in
“no way aimed at any state or people in particular.” Mr. Sarkozy urged
“reason and dialogue” with Turkey on the issue.

Still, the only other mass killing legally recognized in France as
genocide is the Holocaust, and it is already a crime here to deny
the Holocaust.

After the December vote, Turkey’s ambassador to France, Tahsin
Burcuoglu, was briefly recalled to Ankara. Turkey also suspended
military cooperation and bilateral political and economic contracts
with France. Mr. Erdogan accused Mr. Sarkozy of playing politics and
fanning Islamophobia.

The law is the initiative of Valerie Boyer, a legislator from Mr.

Sarkozy’s governing party. Ms. Boyer, who is from Marseille, a city
with a sizable Armenian constituency, denies playing politics.

“Genocide is a universal problem,” she said in an interview. “It is
something that is over and above politics.”

But her draft law has annoyed the Sarkozy government, especially the
Foreign Ministry, at a time when France wants Turkish cooperation
on issues including the Arab Spring, Syrian unrest and the Iranian
nuclear program. France’s foreign minister, Alain Juppe, said in
December that the vote on the genocide law had “without doubt been
badly timed.” He said that “it is important, in the current context,
that we keep the paths of dialogue and cooperation open.”

The bill may not pass the Senate, which is controlled by the
opposition Socialist Party and its allies. On Wednesday, a Senate
committee suggested that the bill could be unconstitutional. Ms. Boyer
criticized the Socialists, saying there had been a consensus on the
bill, “right as well as left.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry applauded the committee’s suggestion,
saying in a statement that the Senate had shown “common sense and
respect for the law.”

France’s Armenian population, about 500,000 strong, generally praised
the bill. After a Sunday service filled with French Armenians of all
ages at the Sainte-Croix-de-Paris Cathedral here, the Rev. Georges
Assadourian said he was overjoyed. “My great-grandparents were
massacred in 1915,” he said. “The truth cannot be denied.”

Alexis Govciyan, director of the Coordinating Council of Armenian
Organizations of France, praised the effort to recognize victims
of genocide. “France and Armenia have enjoyed close relations for
a thousand years,” he said. “That the French wish to pass this law
shows that they understand Armenian history very well, precisely
because of this friendship.”

The 400,000 people in France’s Turkish community, by contrast, are
angry. Balci Saahip, a costume designer from Izmir, speaking at a
Turkish cafe in the 10th Arrondissement in Paris, said he was furious
about the “electoral manipulation” of history by Mr. Sarkozy’s party.

“We have had enough of people walking all over us,” said Mr. Saahip,
who has lived here for 34 years. While eligible for French citizenship,
he never finished his application because, he said, the reception he
got from the French authorities was “very hostile.”

At an independent Turkish cultural center she runs nearby, Francoise
Onger said that her husband, a Turkish cardiologist, is often mistaken
for an Armenian or a Jew. “No one can believe that a Turk can have
such a good job,” she said.

Kader Kandemir, 26, is a second-generation Turk in France. Her exposure
to Western historiography has led her to question what really happened
in 1915. But she said she would be joining other French Turks from
all over the country in Paris this weekend to demonstrate against
Monday’s Senate vote.

“I’m not saying a genocide didn’t take place,” she said. “I’m saying
that I don’t know whether it did or not, and I shouldn’t have to be
punished for wanting to find out that answer myself.”

FRENCH SENATE PASSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAW

BBC
23 January 2012

Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on Saturday
to demonstrate against the bill Continue reading the main story
The French Senate has approved a controversial bill that makes it a
criminal offence to deny that genocide was committed by Ottoman Turks
against Armenians during World War I.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman
empire split. Turkey rejects the term genocide and says the number
was much smaller.

The measure will now be sent to President Sarkozy for final approval.

The bill’s passage in the lower house caused major tensions with
Turkey.

Ankara froze ties with France after the vote last month and promised
further measures if the Senate backed the proposal.

In the event the Senate approved the bill by 127 votes to 86.

The BBC’s correspondent in Istanbul, Jonathan Head, says stronger
Turkish measures could include the withdrawal of ambassadors and
creating more barriers to French businesses in Turkey.

In the first reaction from Ankara, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin
condemned the bill.

“The decision made by the Senate is a great injustice and shows total
lack of respect for Turkey,” he told the CNN-Turk television channel.

The Turkish embassy in Paris warned that if President Sarkozy approved
the bill, the damage done to relations between the two countries
would be permanent.

“France is in the process of losing a strategic partner,” Turkish
embassy spokesman, Engin Solakoglu, told AFP news agency.

Armenia described the vote as “historic”.

“This day will be written in gold not only in the history of friendship
between the Armenian and French peoples, but also in the annals of the
history of the protection of human rights worldwide,” said Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, in a statement carried by AFP.

Free speech

The Turkish government argues that judging what happened to the
Armenian community in eastern Turkey in 1915-16 should be left to
historians, and that the French law will restrict freedom of speech.

Analysis Jonathan Head

BBC News, Istanbul

President Sarkozy has sent a letter to the Turkish prime minister
stating that the law is not aimed at any country, but only at
addressing the past suffering of Armenians.

Ironically, events in the Middle East had started to bring France
and Turkey closer together: after initially squabbling over Libya,
they have both become leading supporters of the Syrian opposition.

But Turkish emotions over the Armenian issue run very high, and will
certainly eclipse any co-operation they might have had over Syria.

Turkish officials acknowledge that atrocities were committed but argue
that there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Armenian people –
and that many innocent Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of the
events, in the middle of World War I.

France formally recognised the killings as genocide in 2001, one of
more than 20 countries which have done so.

The current bill means that anyone denying the deaths were genocide
would face a jail term and a fine of 45,000 euros (£29,000; $58,000).

The bill was put forward by President Sarkozy’s UMP party.

France has half a million citizens of Armenian descent, and
correspondents say their votes may be important in this year’s
presidential elections.

Ahead of the vote, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry called
for “calm,” saying Turkey was a partner and a very important ally
of France.

ARMENIAN COUNCIL OF AMERICA URGES CONGRESSIONAL LAWMAKERS TO REAFFIRM SUPPORT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
24.01.2012 12:42

In light of the historic legislation recently championed by the
French Senate, the Armenian Council of America is urging Congressional
leaders in the United States to honor their pledge in supporting the
Armenian-American citizenry by reaffirming recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, including support for H.R. 304.

The French bill, drafted by Valerie Boyer, a legislator from the
President Sarkozy’s party, has criminalized denial of the Armenian
Genocide with a punishable fine of 45,000 euros and one year of
incarceration. It was passed on January 23 by the French Senate with
an overwhelming majority support of 127 votes.

“As we celebrate this momentous milestone as a nation, as a people,
as proponents of human rights, we call upon our legislators in the
House of Representatives to reaffirm their support for recognition
of the Armenian Genocide,” said Sevak Khatchadorian, Chariman of the
Armenian Council of America.

“The French government has taken a stand against Turkish leaders, who
for years, have succeeded at dictating their personal interests at the
expense of violating human rights and advocating denial of genocide.

This time around, Turkey’s geopolitics and economic threats has not
been able to jeopardize doing the right thing.” said Khatchadorian.

“We also call upon President Obama to honor his pledge to support
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. With more nations supporting
legislation officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide and the
courageous step taken by the French government, it is about time that
that the leader of the free world and the members of Congress fight
for justice and represent the United States as a shining example of
democracy and good will,” added Khatchadorian.

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN/FRANCE : ANKARA DENONCE UN ACTE IRRESPONSABLE
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 24 janvier 2012

ANKARA, 24 jan 2012 – Le ministère turc des Affaires etrangères a
“condamne fermement” le vote lundi soir par le Senat francais d’une
proposition de loi penalisant la negation du genocide armenien sous
l’Empire ottoman, denoncant un “acte irresponsable” de la part de
la France.

“La Turquie n’hesitera pas a rapidement mettre en oeuvre comme bon lui
semble les mesures prevues” contre la France, souligne un communique,
dans une reference a de nouvelles sanctions contre Paris.

Le document accuse en outre la France d’avoir “transforme en victime”
les relations turco-francaises, pour des visees electoralistes.

“Il s’agit d’une initiative très malencontreuse au nom de la politique
francaise”, ajoute le communique.

Ankara accuse le president francais, Nicolas Sarkozy, qui a voulu ce
texte de loi, de tenter de seduire l’electorat d’origine armenienne,
avant l’election presidentielle du printemps.

Le ministre turc de la Justice Sadullah Ergin, dont le pays a toujours
nie ce genocide, a vu dans le vote des senateurs un “manque total de
respect” et une “grande injustice” envers la Turquie.

Il a indique sur la chaîne d’information CNN Turk que pour la Turquie
cette loi etait “nulle et non avenue”.

Le Senat a ratifie lundi soir par 127 voix contre 86 ce texte deja
adopte par l’Assemblee nationale le 22 decembre.

Pour etre mise en oeuvre, la loi doit maintenant etre promulguee par
le president Sarkozy qui dispose en principe de 15 jours pour ce faire.

La Turquie a reitere aussitôt sa menace de represailles “permanentes”
contre la France, si la loi est promulguee.

“Si la loi est promulguee (…) les consequences seront permanentes.

La France est en train de perdre un partenaire strategique”, a
declare a l’AFP le porte-parole de l’ambassade de Turquie a Paris,
Engin Solakoglu.

L’ambassadeur de Turquie, Tahsin Burcuoglu, va rester en France pour
suivre cette dernière etape du parcours legislatif de ce texte.

“L’ambassadeur reste a Paris mais, si la loi est promulguee, il
partira pour une bien longue duree”, a declare le porte-parole de
l’ambassade de Turquie.

Le diplomate a rappele que l’arsenal de represailles elabore par Ankara
prevoyait un abaissement du niveau de la representation diplomatique
de la Turquie en France.

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan doit prononcer son
discours hebdomadaire, mardi, devant ses deputes au Parlement, et on
s’attend a une violente condamnation du vote francais.

I MAY NOT GO TO FRANCE AGAIN IF ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL PASSES: ERDOGAN

Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 23 2012
Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hinted he may not visit
France again if a proposed bill that would criminalize the rejection
of Armenian genocide claims passes in the country’s Senate today.

When asked what his reaction would be in the event the bill was
approved by the French Senate, Erdogan said that he may not go to
France again if the bill is approved

Erdogan said the proposed bill was against freedom of speech and was
only a ploy for the coming elections in May.

The prime minister said he hoped that the French Senate would not
vote for a decision that conflicts with the country’s history.

The contentious bill that was approved by the French Parliament in
December penalizes the rejection of Armenian genocide claims with a
45,000-euro fine and one year in jail. The bill needs to be approved
by the Senate before it can come into effect.

TURKISH BROADCASTER TO FREEZE EURONEWS TIES IF ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL PASSES

Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 23 2012
Turkey

Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT said it will suspend its partnership
with Euronews news channel if a bill criminalizing the denial of
Armenian genocide allegations is approved by the French Senate today.

TRT became a shareholder in Lyon-based Euronews and joined its
supervisory board in 2009. TRT purchased 15.5% of the channel’s shares
and became one of its main partners.

Officials said that TRT’s suspension of its partnership would
negatively affect news television channel Euronews.

French Senate will vote today on a bill which penalizes the rejection
of Armenian genocide claims with a prison term of one year and a fine
of 45,000 euro.

THOMAS HAMMARBERG: “JOURNALISTS ARE IN PRISON BECAUSE OF THEIR WRITINGS”

BIAnet.org

Jan 23 2012
Turkey

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Hammarberg found the
decision of the Hrant Dink murder trial “disappointing” and questioned
why the forces behind the murder have not been investigated. In his
opinion, journalists in Turkey are being jailed on the grounds of
their critical writings.

Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
said that Turkey took the European lead in the ranking of “journalists
in prison” and with a high probability even to lead on a global scale.

Furthermore, Hammarberg studied allegations and indictments related
to journalists and claimed that just as the journalists say themselves
he also got the impression that they were not being imprisoned due to
“terroristic activities” but on the grounds of their writings.

“Critical writings are considered as terrorist propaganda. This is
very wrong”, Hammarberg stated.

Hammarberg closely followed the trial procedures regarding the
murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief
of the Armenian Agos newspaper, and also observed the final hearing
on 17 January. He called the result of the trial “disappointing”
and emphasized that the investigation should not have been finished
at that point but continued instead.

We talked with Hammarberg about the Uludere massacre, press freedom
and freedom of expression in Turkey, detained journalists, terror
laws and the rise of nationalism in Europe.

34 villagers were killed in a bombing by warplanes of the Turkish
Armed Forces in Uludere. The spokesperson of the government and ruling
party announced that the villagers “were killed as the result of a
mistake” and that “a mistake was made”. The investigation carried out
about the massacre is confidential. How do you assess the attitude
of the authorities regarding the Uludere massacre and the subsequent
statements?

This is a terrible tragedy and an event that cannot be accepted.

Conducting an impartial investigation is of great importance. The
investigation launched into the incident must be audited by independent
observers and institutions; an independent investigation should
be allowed.

The results of the investigation should be shared with the public in
a transparent manner. The people must know what really happened. This
is necessary in order to avoid such incidents in the future.

In addition, efforts must be taken not to ignore the traumata the
people living in Uludere experienced and to resolve these traumata.

The survivors of the bombardment and the relatives who lost their
loved ones should be given compensation.

“Guiltless people arrested and tried in KCK case” Deputies of the
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) announced that about 4000 people
were arrested in the scope of the Union of Kurdish Communities (KCK)
trial. BDP Co-Chair Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_ said that the arrest of
politicians in the course of KCK operations constituted an obstacle
before a peaceful solution [of the Kurdish question]. How do these
arrests and other oppressions affect a human rights-based solution
of the Kurdish question?

The KCK trial brings flaws in the definition of “membership in
an illegal organization” to the surface. Offences like “aiding and
abetting” or “making propaganda for an illegal organization” are being
approached in a very broad scope by the prosecutors. In my opinion,
also many innocent people are being tried and arrested.

Judges and prosecutors must interpret these concepts in accordance
with reality. This is one of the biggest problems of the KCK trial. As
long as we continue like this, the people’s distrust in the justice
system will only grow larger. Continuing tensions between the Kurds
and the state are also an important problem in terms of human rights.

We have to focus on how to reach a peaceful solution rather than
military means.

“Criticism is not terrorism but a legal right” How do you assess the
way concepts like “terrorist” and “terrorism” are being defined in
the justice system in Turkey and in the Anti-Terror Law?

As I have said in my report about the administration of justice,
the concept of terrorism is not defined precisely. Criticism can be
perceived as “terrorism” or “supporting terrorism”. On the contrary,
voicing criticism is a right in a free society. Regardless of the
harshness of the criticism it is wrong to interpret it as terrorism.

The pressure applied by the United States of America under the name of
“security measures” increased after 11 September. In many countries,
the opposition began to be called terrorists and this way it was
aimed to suppress criticism and silence the opposition.

“Why was the Dink trial finished?”

You closely observed the Dink murder trial and its result and you
attended the final hearing. All defendants were acquitted of charges
of “membership in an illegal organization” and Judge Rustem Eryılmaz
issued a press release related to the decision. Was it a fair decision?

This surprising decision was a big disappointment. My first thoughts
were ‘Why was this case closed?’, ‘Why was the investigation not
extended?’ This case can be evaluated as a real test. The forces
and organizations behind this murder should have been revealed by
deepening the investigation.

Also, the ones who knew about the murder in advance and who did
nothing to prevent it should be questioned. This bewildering and
wrong decision must be corrected by all means.

“Journalists are imprisoned because of their writings” There are
currently about one hundred journalists in prison in Turkey.

The government argues that the journalists are not in prison due
to their writings but because of “terrorist actions or supporting
terrorism”. You said that the definition of terrorism also covered
those who think critically. What about the situation of press freedom
and freedom of expression in Turkey?

Compared to European countries, Turkey is the country with the most
journalists in prison. Most likely, it is the first in the world too.

The argument that journalists are not in prison on the grounds of their
writings but because of membership in an organization or propaganda
brings us back to the definition of “terrorism”.

The relations of journalists with terrorism cannot be verified. The
impression that journalists are being imprisoned due to their
writings is being confirmed when you analyse the evidence shown. This
environment is creating pressure on journalists outside the prison;
they are afraid of being arrested. This is a serious issue to
consider. Related reactions in society show that people in Turkey
have a better sense of justice.

You devoted a large section of your book to islamophobia in Europe.

Looking at recent election results in Europe, we see an increase of
votes for nationalist parties. Is it correct to speak of an increased
hostility towards immigrants and growing nationalism?

Yes, absolutely… We can say that one of the main reasons for this is
the felt impact of the economic crisis. People are afraid of losing
their jobs, so they tend to have a more sceptical approach towards
immigrants because they think that ‘they will take their jobs’.

Radical groups are getting stronger in many countries. Some were
successful in the elections and we see them as part of the government
now. This is a worrying picture. (AS/VK)

* Click here to read the full report on “Administration of justice
and protection of human rights in Turkey”.

MEVLUT CHAVUSHOGLU: “ARMENIANS COULD AT LEAST APOLOGIZE TO ME FOR THEIR UNFAIR AND PRECONCEIVED POSITION”

APA
Jan 23 2012
Azerbaijan

Chairman of the subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh presented the report
on carried-out works to the PACE Political Bureau

Strasbourg. Fuad Gulubeyli – APA. Within the PACE winter session
President of the PACE Mevlut Chavushoglu held his last press conference
in this post. APA’s European bureau reports that speaking about his
two-year activity in this position, Mevlut Chavushoglu spoke about the
carried out works. Chairman of the PACE said that he mostly focused
attention on the parliamentary diplomacy. He also underlined that
Subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh was revived.

“Unfortunately our Armenians friends don’t tell the truth. The
organization of Subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh is the independent
decision of the Assembly and its Bureau accepted this decision
unanimously. I haven’t voted on this issue. My work is to ensure the
fulfillment of the decisions made by the Bureau. That is not my own
decision. Consequently I must say that Armenian press doesn’t tell the
truth. It is not right to say that it was initiated by me because of
my Turkish origin. The subcommittee existed before my presidency and
chaired by deceased Rassel Johnston. The Bureau decided to re-establish
this subcommittee. New chairman and members of the Subcommittee were
elected. The chairman of the subcommittee presented his report on
their recent activity at our Bureau meeting. Some people including
Armenian representatives showed unfair and preconceived positions
against me. They could apologize to me for it. Now the Bureau must
make a decision on the subcommittee’s future activity”.

NEW CHAIRMAN OF PACE: “FRANCE HAS RECOGNIZED SOME OF THE MISTAKES OCCURRED IN THE PAST AND TURKEY ALSO MUST TO THINK ABOUT THE DEMONSTRATION OF ADEQUATE POSITION AFTER YEARS”

APA
Jan 23 2012
Azerbaijan

Strasbourg. Fuad Gulubeyli – APA. “As a French parliamentarian, I
am absolutely against the adoption of this draft law which was put
forward by a group of deputies of the French National Assembly”, new
chairman of the PACE Jean Claude Mignon said at the press conference,
APA reports.

“This draft law will not solve the problem of Armenia and Turkey,
which must recognize “Armenian genocide”. Writing the history is not
a job of lawmakers and it should be researched by the historians. My
country, France has recognized some of the mistakes occurred in the
past. I wish that Turkey also must think about the demonstration of
adequate position after years”.