Author: Kanayan Tamar

JERUSALEM’S ARMENIANS OUTRAGED AS CITY APPROVES JEWS-ONLY PARKING LOT
By Nir Hasson

HETQ
14:13, February 3, 2012

Armenian residents of Jerusalem’s Old City are protesting a municipal
decision to designate a parking lot in the area solely for Jews,
although part of it stands on land belonging to the Armenian
Patriarchate.

Parking is a major problem in the Old City, and some residents of
the Jewish Quarter claim it is one reason secular families have been
moving out. One of the parking lots serving this quarter is adjacent
to the Armenian Quarter and is partially built on land owned by the
Patriarchate, though the land has been leased by the Jewish Quarter
Development Company since the 1970s.

For decades, the parking lot was open to all, though Jewish Quarter
residents paid far less for a parking sticker than their Armenian
neighbors. But around two years ago, Armenians were forbidden to
park there.

One day I came home from work and the lot was closed,” said Mussa
Marizian, an Armenian Quarter resident whose windows overlook the
parking lot. “The quarter’s management decided we shouldn’t park
there; they just got rid of us. Jews who live in the Muslim Quarter
are allowed to park there, but I, who live right on top of the parking
lot, am not allowed.”

The development company subsequently asked the municipality for a
waiver to enable the lot to be permanently used for parking, even
though it is zoned as open public land under Jerusalem’s master plan
of 1978.

On Thursday, the city’s planning and building committee approved
the waiver, over the protests of both Armenian residents and the
Patriarchate’s representative, attorney Mazen Qupty, who argued that
most of the land was owned by the church.

“It was hard to hear the very inconsiderate arguments made by the
people of the Jewish Quarter about the needs of their Armenian
neighbors,” said Yosef “Pepe” Alalu, the Meretz deputy mayor, who
voted against the waiver. “How can it be that the parking lot used
to be open to all but now Armenians cannot enter?”

The Jerusalem Development Company said that less that 10 percent of
the parking lot’s land was leased from the Patriarchate, and that
the lease was for 99 years.

“The Armenians have a roomy parking lot 150 meters from that spot,”
the company said. “The request for exceptional use was a procedural
issue to renew the parking lot’s operating license and the objections
were legally rejected.”

SARKOZY SLAMS HIS FM FOR OPPOSING GENOCIDE BILL

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 3, 2012 – 12:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – French President Nilocas Sarkozy and his Foreign
Minister Alain Juppe differ on the genocide denial bill that recently
passed the French Senate.

As CNN Turk reported, citing French media, Sarkozy criticized Juppe
for his position, making the latter keep silent on the matter.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the
Armenian Genocide denial with 127 votes for and 86 against. Expected
to be signed into law by President within 14 days, the bill will
impose a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France
who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire.

Two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the legislation
– from both the Senate and the lower house – said they had formally
requested the constitutional council examine the law. The groups said
they each had gathered more than the minimum 60 signatures required
to ask the council to test the law’s constitutionality. The council
is obliged to deliver its judgment within a month, but this can be
reduced to eight days if the government deems the matter urgent.

TURKISH PRIME MINISTRY RULES OUT RENAULT AS SERVICE CARS

Hurriyet Daily News
Feb 3 2012
Turkey

Turkish Prime Ministry shifts is service cars from French Renault to
US Ford amid the tensions with the eurozone’s second biggest economy
over a debated bill on punishing the denial of ‘Armenian Genocide,’
a daily claims

An employee of the French car manufacturer Renault working on
an assembly line at a plant in Douai, northern France. The French
carmaker’s local partner Oyak-Renault is considers boosting investments
to broaden its portfolio. AFP photo The Turkish Prime Ministry has
ruled out the French automobile maker Renault’s Latitude for its
civil servants following the passage of the “Armenian Genocide Bill”
in the French senate, according to the daily HaberTurk.

Akmercan, a firm which had won the tender of the renewal of the
rental cars in service for the public servants who work for the
Prime Ministry, was planning to purchase 130 Latitude’s. But the firm
opted for the Mondeo after the Prime Ministry asked Akmercan not to
buy Renault.

The fleet will be renewed gradually and 20 Mondeo cars were purchased
in the first phase, the HaberTurk said.

Also a Renault Fluence Z.E. electric car, a gift to be presented
to the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is on hold as the Prime
Ministry has not issued an approval. The Ministry of Science, Industry
and Technology has also suspended an order of 10 Renault electric cars.

All these decisions were taken before a sufficient number of senators
challenged the bill in the Constitutional Council, the paper reported.

Turkish government declared to announce sanctions against France once
the judgment is delivered.

The so called “Armenian Genocide Bill” criminalizes denials of the
1915 events as genocide. French parliament had previously passed a
resolution, which purports that the killing of Armenians in 1915 at
the end of the Ottoman Empire qualifies as genocide.

Renault may invest in Turkey

Meanwhile Renault’s Turkish unit, which makes seven models of passenger
cars, may consider van production, said Tarık Tunalıoglu, chief
executive of the joint venture Oyak-Renault Otomobil Fabrikalari,
at a press conference, according to Bloomberg.

“There are good examples in Turkey for the production of light
commercial vehicles, such as Ford and Tofas,” Tunalioglu said in an
interview in Istanbul today. “So we may consider that.”

Renault Group, consisted of Renault and Dacia automobile brands,
became a market leader with a 13.8 percent share last year selling
140,827 vehicles, according to a company press release. Renault
maintained its market leadership in private cars for the thirteenth
time, the press release said.

SUR LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN, JUPPE “FERME SA GUEULE…”

L’Express

2 fev 2012
France

Par LEXPRESS.fr, publie le 02/02/2012 a 12:58, mis a jour a 17:49

Le ministre des Affaires etrangères a fait sienne la maxime de
Jean-Pierre Chevènement et repète ces temps-ci qu’il prefère se taire
plutôt que de critiquer la loi reprimant la negation du genocide
armenien.

Interroge sur des divergences au sein du gouvernement sur la question
du genocide armenien, Alain Juppe a une nouvelle fois cite Jean-Pierre
Chevènement: “Un ministre, ca ferme sa gueule ou ca s’en va”, maxime
que le ministre des Affaires etrangères a “fait sienne”.

“Je suis donc dans une situation où je ferme ma gueule”, a-t-il
precise, lors d’un petit dejeuner de la Fondation France-Israël,
ce jeudi, au Quai d’Orsay.

Alain Juppe cite a l’envi cette phrase de l’ancien ministre
socialiste. C’etait deja le cas mercredi soir, devant les etudiants
de Sciences-Po, ou quelques semaines plus tôt devant les deputes.

Jean-Pierre Chevènement, qui a demissionne a trois reprises (1983,
1991, 2000) des gouvernements socialistes auxquels il participait,
est l’inventeur de cette phrase rentree dans l’histoire: “Un ministre,
ca ferme sa gueule. Si ca veut l’ouvrir, ca demissionne”.

Selon des participants, lors du Conseil des ministres, mercredi,
Nicolas Sarkozy, promettant un nouveau texte punissant la negation du
genocide armenien en cas de censure constitutionnelle de la loi votee
le 23 janvier, a reproche aux ministres en desaccord avec la loi –
Alain Juppe et Bruno Le Maire (Agriculture) – de “ne pas voir plus
loin que le bout de leur nez”.

“Il n’y a pas de divergences au sein du gouvernement puisque, de
toute facon, quand il y a des divergences, c’est le president qui
preside et le Premier ministre qui decide”, a rappele Alain Juppe
devant l’ambassadeur d’Israël a Paris et Nicole Guedj, la presidente
de l’association France-Israël.

Partisan d’un renforcement des liens avec la Turquie, acteur
international “incontournable”, Alain Juppe a redit les “liens très
etroits” de la France avec ce pays: “J’espère que ces liens, au-dela
des turbulences actuelles, se maintiendront et se renforceront”.

La Turquie, qui ne reconnaît pas l’existence du genocide armenien, a
vivement reagi a l’adoption en France de la loi punissant la negation
du genocide armenien.

FORMER CONGRESSMAN: RECALL OF US AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN “ANOTHER MISSTEP”

Trend
Feb 2 2012
Azerbaijan

The recent recall of the American Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mathew
Bryza, is just another mis-step in the US relations with “a very
important ally”, a former Democrat Representative Michael McMahon
wrote in the Congress blog.

President Barack Obama in late 2010 appointed a career diplomat,
former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Bryza as ambassador to
Azerbaijan bypassing the Senate, which for several months was blocking
his nomination under pressure of pro-Armenian senators Barbara Boxer
and Robert Menendez. In late December, 2011 Bryza ended his mission
in Azerbaijan and left for the U.S, after the Senate failed to confirm
his nomination.

“Azerbaijan is a proven ally, and forging a good relationship with
this emerging power in the South Caucasus is clearly in America’s
best interest. There is no room for partisanship when we conduct
our country’s foreign policy”, McMahon, a former member of the House
Committee of Foreign Affairs stressed.

He pointed out that Azerbaijan has sought to align itself with the
United States since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The former congressman noted that a resolution of the strife
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh must be found and the United States must
continue to champion this process within the Minsk Group of the OSCE.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” LAW ADOPTED BY FRENCH SENATE

Trend
Feb 1 2012
Azerbaijan

Today, Feb 1, at the first spring meeting session, the Azerbaijani
Parliament discussed the law criminalising the denial of the so-called
“Armenian genocide”.

Though Azerbaijan quite clearly demonstrated its position on this
issue, some mass media outlets try to ignore it, the MP from the ruling
New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) Siyavush Novruzov said at the meeting. He
decidedly condemned these actions.

“There shouldn’t be differences in this issue between power and
opposition. All should make a common cause. The Azerbaijani state
and Azerbaijani parliament will take steps in connection with this
French law. We have always been with Turkey. We observe the situation
and logically, in legal form, express and as required will state our
position,” Mr Novruzov stressed.

Parliamentary chairman Oqtay Asadov supported him and said the support
of Turkey is a heartfelt step.

“We have to wait and see what decision concerning the new law the
French Constitutional Council will make. However we will take all
the necessary steps after this happens as well,” the chairman said.

Azerbaijani MPs repeatedly expressed their position on this issue,
MP Ganira Pashayeva said.

“On the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenians
against Azerbaijanis it is necessary to send an address to Turkey so
that it will officially recognise this genocide, “she suggested.

“It will be evidence of our brotherhood with Turkey and the
world will see against whom in fact the genocide was committed. I
believe the parliament of fraternal Turkey will positively meet
and appreciate this suggestion. It’s necessary to organise a rally
in the centre of Istanbul under the slogan ‘We are all Khojalians,
we are all-Karabakhis!’,” Ms Pashayeva stressed.

Co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Joseph Debono Grech and
Pedro Agramunt also addressed the parliament.

On Jan.23, after eight hours of discussion, the Senate (upper chamber
of the French parliament) voted for adoption of the law criminalizing
denial of the so called “Armenian genocide”. Some 127 senators voted
for, while 86 were against.

The bill demands about a year’s imprisonment and a fine of 45,000
euros for denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

FARCICAL FRENCH MOVE ON ARMENIAN VOTES OVER TURKS
by Murat Yetkin

Hurriyet Daily News
Feb 2 2012
Turkey

Generally speaking the Turkish media was in a joyous mood yesterday,
following a motion by a group of French legislators to annul the
French Senate’s approval of a law criminalizing denial that the
Armenian killings of 1915 in the last years of the Ottoman Empire
was a genocide.

77 members of the French Senate and 65 members of the Parliament
signed letters to the Constitutional Council claiming that the law,
supported by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was against the
French Constitution, as such a law would violate freedom of expression.

One headline went as far as to say the motion represented “142 slaps
on Sarkozy’s face.” Others had even lower tones, as if the motion
constituted a victory for Turkish thesis on the Armenian problem;
which currently stands at a shy acknowledgement of “mutual massacres.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was chic enough to say he was
happy to see that there were those in Paris to correct the mistakes,
and that one should wait for the court decision in the meantime.

President Sarkozy’s statement was a piece of political art as well;
framed as if he wasn’t expecting such a knife in his back, since many
of the opposing legislators were actually from his ruling Union for
a Popular Movement (UMP) party.

It was as if Sarkozy had not sent a message to Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan right after the Senate approved the bill to
say he had 15 days to approve it. This message effectively said:
“I give you a chance to convince French politicians to try their
chance to annul it and you have 15 days for that, but you have to
stop your campaign to discredit me.” It was after that message that
Turkish fury against the French President was toned down, with leaks
to Turkish media that a chance should be given to diplomacy.

Another statement, by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following
the French vote, was interesting too; effectively, Clinton asked
everybody to leave the issue to historians, as if the Armenian question
was not the annual Turkey-bashing festival in Washington DC.

One might argue that this is not hypocrisy, but realpolitik in a
populist fashion.

Now the Constitutional Council will reportedly give a decision within
30 days, starting from Jan. 31, the day the appeal was lodged.

In the meantime France is approaching its Presidential elections. The
first round will be held on April 22nd; two days before the 97th
anniversary of the infamous Ottoman decree for the forced deportation
of Armenian population from the Eastern provinces under Russian
occupation during the World War I. The second round will be held on
May 6th.

Polls show Sarkozy behind his main rival Francois Hollande of the
Socialist Party; he desperately needs votes in packages, like those
of the French-Armenians, whose roots are in Turkey.

If the bill is turned down, also allowing the possibility of annuling
the recognition of 1915 killings as genocide, nothing will change for
the Armenian community in France, other than the broken and manipulated
hopes they invested in Sarkozy in the form of votes. That is why this
business-as-usual looks farcical as well.

DENIAL BILL RUNS UP 356 MILLION DOLLAR COST MONTHLY

Sabah
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

The protest of the Armenian bill has resulted in a 34.4% drop in
French imports compared to the same period of the year prior. The
increasing reactions have at present resulted in a monthly detriment
to Sarkozy of 356 million dollars.

The draft passed by the French Parliament which deems criminalizing
the Armenian allegations of a so-called ‘genocide’ has slowly begun
to result in an increasing financial bill incurred by France. Import
figures from France for December, 2011 regressed to 678,946,000
dollars, which is a 34.4% drop compared to figures from the same
period the year prior.

As a result, Nicolas Sarkozy’s ‘Armenian bill’, which he put forth
in order to gain favor in the upcoming elections, has resulted in
costing France 356 million dollars in one month alone. According to
foreign trade figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUÄ°K),
in 2011, Turkey’s exports to France increased by 12.5%, surpassing 6.8
billion dollars. Export figures from December of last year decreased
by 12 percent, compared to the same time period from the year prior,
and regressed to 543,387,000 dollars.

ELEVENTH LARGEST MARKET According to figures from the Foreign Economic
Relations Board (DEÄ°K), during the 2011 January to November period,
Turkey was the top 11th country to export goods to France, and the
top 16th country to receive French imports. During the same time
period, Turkey consisted of 1.64 percent of France’s total exports,
while Turkey provided for 1.17 percent of France’s total imports.

FRENCH FIRMS ARE TRYING NOT TO DRAW ATTENTION

According to information obtained, following France’s approval of
the ‘denial’ bill, French firms operating in Turkey received an
order to ‘not draw attention’. According to an article in France’s
Le Monde, businessmen are concerned that the joint trade volume,
which had reached 12 billion euros in 2011, would incur harm due to
the tension which has surfaced in diplomatic relations over recent
years. A high-level official at TEB, BNP Paribas’ Turkish partners,
relayed to Le Monde that they had received an order to ‘not draw
attention!’ At present, there are 400 French-based firms operating
in Turkey with over 100,000 employees.

TURKISH FM THANKS FRENCH MPS AND SENATORS REJECTING ARMENIAN BILL

Anadolu Agency
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu thanked French
parliamentarians and senators who appealed the law on Armenian
allegations at French Constitutional Council.

Davutoglu, who is currently holding meetings in Belgrade, told AA
on Tuesday that the parliamentarians and senators claimed freedom of
thought, and he wished Turkish-French friendship would win in the end.

Now what we have to do is to wait for the decision of French
Constitutional Council, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, French senators appealed the law penalizing denial
of the Armenian allegations on the Ottoman era incidents of 1915 that
was adopted at the French Senate.

65 MPs and 72 senators signed to appeal the law at the French
Constitutional Council.

The council is expected to make public its decision within a month.

The French Parliament and Senate enacted the bill last week.

The law penalizes denial of the Armenian allegations with a prison
term of one year and a fine of 45,000 euro.

LA REACTION DE CHRISTOPHE MASSE
Aurelie Ohanian

armenews.com
jeudi 2 fevrier 2012

Reaction de Christophe Masse sur la Saisine du Conseil Constitutionnel
pour tenter de faire annuler le vote de la Loi penalisant la negation
des genocides Rapporteur a l’assemblee nationale de la loi de
penalisation du genocide armenien le 12 octobre 2006

Vice President du CG13 -Conseiller municipal ville de Marseille

Les parlementaires qui viennent de saisir le conseil constitutionnel
pour faire annuler le vote de la loi penalisant le negationnisme
des genocides, tentent de voler une victoire acquise sur le
terrain democratique. Ce qui ressemble desormais a un acharnement
incomprehensible doit cesser.

Le debat entame en 2006 au moment où j’ai rapporte avec succès une
première loi sur cette question, a suffisamment dure. Il a certes ete
riche et passionne mais il a trouve son terme le 23 janvier 2012 par
le vote conforme de la loi au Senat.

Je m’indigne donc contre la pratique de ces parlementaires, qui ayant
perdu sur le terrain des valeurs, espèrent une victoire sur ” tapis
vert “.

Je regrette que le president de la Republique M. Nicolas Sarkozy,
qui avait la possibilite de promulguer cette loi rapidement, ne l’ait
pas fait.

Il a ainsi ouvert la porte, a une manoeuvre procedurière de saisine
constitutionnelle dont il connaissait parfaitement le risque.

Ne l’ayant pas fait, la promulgation de la loi est desormais suspendue
a l’avis du conseil constitutionnel.

Desormais j’invite les sages du CC a respecter le vote de cette loi,
et a ne pas creer un precedent qui pourrait remettre en cause y
compris la loi Gayssot.

J’en appelle a la raison. 2006-2012, 6 ans de tergiversation, ca
suffit !!

Le negationnisme est un delit et pour le punir il faut une loi.

La France ne peut pas impunement laisser fleurir sur son sol une
propagande devastatrice negationniste outrancière et grossière.

Nier un genocide, c’est tuer une deuxième fois, disait Elie Wiesel.

La France s’est honoree le 23 janvier dernier en adoptant cette loi.

La France s’est elevee au dessus des clivages politiques et au dessus
du chantage economique de la Turquie.

Le conseil constitutionnel ne doit pas empecher la promulgation de
cette loi.