Author: Kanayan Tamar

FRENCH LAWMAKERS CHALLENGE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF GENOCIDE BILL

Monsters and Critics
Jan 31 2012

Paris – A group of French senators on Tuesday launched a constitutional
challenge to a bill adopted by the French parliament that bans people
from denying genocides.

The RDSE, a group of mainly left-wing senators, petitioned the
Constitutional Council, the country’s highest court on constitutional
matters, to vet the bill.

The RDSE told dpa 77 senators drawn from all parties represented
in the Senate had signed the petition – more than the 60 signatures
required for the court to examine the legislation.

The court said it had also received a similar petition from a group
of at least 60 parliamentarians.

On January 23, parliament definitively adopted a bill making it a
crime punishable by a year in prison and 45,000 euros (57,000 dollars)
to deny or ‘outrageously minimize’ a genocide officially recognized
by France. President Nicolas Sarkozy has yet to sign it into law.

The bill caused anger in Turkey, because it punishes those who deny
that the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century
ago constituted genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the bill
as ‘racist.’ His government has threatened sanctions if Sarkozy
promulgates it.

The RDSE said in a statement that its intention was ‘not to question
in any way the existence of the Armenian genocide.’

At the same time, the senators considered that the bill trampled
the principle of freedom of expression as well as constitutional
provisions on the legality of offences and sentences.

The nine-member Constitutional Council issues rulings on the
constitutionality of bills before they become law. The court has one
month in which to issue the ruling.

Its members are appointed by the president and heads of the two
houses of parliament and are mainly senior civil servants, legal
experts and former politicians. Former presidents Jacques Chiracs
and Valery Giscaird d’Estaing are currently members.

France officially recognizes only two genocides: the Nazi Holocaust
of Jews during World War II and the deaths of hundreds of thousands
of Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1917.

Armenians say around 1.5 million people were either killed or died
during forced deportations in eastern Turkey in 1915, at the height
of World War I.

Turkey estimates between 300,000 and 500,000 people died but denies
there was a systematic policy to destroy the Armenian community.

FRENCH COUNCIL ASKED TO BLOCK GENOCIDE LAW

Dawn

Jan 31 2012
Pakistan

PARIS: A group of French senators on Tuesday asked the country’s
constitutional council to block a new law that bans and punishes
denial of the Armenian genocide.

The Senate last week approved the measure which threatens with jail
anyone in France who denies that the 1915 massacre of Armenians by
Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.

Earlier, the French National Assembly voted to back a law that would
make it illegal for anyone in France to deny that the 1915 killings
of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during World War I amounted
to genocide. France recognised mass killings of Armenians in the
Ottoman empire as genocide a decade ago, a bold step that pressure
from Turkey has prevented in countries with a large Armenian diaspora
such as the United States.

Turkey had already recalled its ambassador from France and threatened
a broader raft of diplomatic and trade sanctions.

Turkey says those killed were the victims of war, and has downgraded
relations with nations that disagreed.

SANDS: LOW-KEY ARONIAN SOARS HIGH IN WIJK AAN ZEE CHESS TOURNAMENT
By David R. Sands and David R. Sands

Washington Times

Jan 31 2012

Armenian GM Levon Aronian has added another chapter to a career that
has been both illustrious and somewhat under the radar, capturing
the 74th Tata Steel Grandmaster “A” Tournament in Wijk aan Zee,
Netherlands, Sunday by a full point over Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and
Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov. Despite a loss to Carlsen during the
Category 21 event, Aronian won going away, notching a quick last-round
draw to finish at a very impressive 9-4.

The genial 29-year-old Aronian, ranked second in the world behind
Carlsen, led his small country to gold in the 2006 and 2008 Olympiads
and to a World Team Chess title last year. He also has racked up a
slew of firsts in elite events over the past decade, and he’s the
reigning world blitz champion, to boot.

Yet despite a solid and at times spectacular style at the board,
he has at times been overlooked among the small class of the world’s
elite players, overshadowed by rivals such as Carlsen and reigning
world champion Viswanathan Anand – over whom Aronian has a 5-1 edge
in classical chess games.

Playing a few more games like this win from Tata would only help
Aronian’s Q rating. He schools young Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri from
the Black side of a Queen’s Gambit Declined, first with a powerful
exchange sacrifice to seize the initiative and then with a combination
featuring a queen sacrifice to wrap up the point.

Black’s 9. Qc2 Nh5!?, in a QGD line Aronian has played often as White
is the sharpest variation, inviting the complications that follow: 10.

Be5 f6 11. Ng5!? fxg5 (g6? 12. Nxh7 Kxh7 13. Bxh5 is strong for
White) 12. Bxh5 Bd7 13. Bf3. White’s bishops appear to be superior,
but Black’s next move completely changes the dynamic of the game.

Thus: 13. … Rxf3! 14. gxf3 Bd6 15. Qe4?! (Aronian was critical of
this idea, holding back the White pawn center while relocating the
queen to the king side) Bc6 16. Qg4 Qe7 17. Bxd6 cxd6 18. Ne4 h6
19. Qg3 d5.

Black’s last move (temporarily) closes in his own bishop but also
deprives White of any outlets for his rooks; Black’s rook, by contrast,
will find a powerful perch on the half-open f-file.

Very attractive is Black’s deft repositioning of his rook, knight (from
b6 to h4 in four consecutive moves) and bishop, all while depriving
White of any counterchances. The Black rook relocates to the d-file
to support Aronian’s pawn center in the final fireworks display.

There is a string of neat tactical touches in the finale: 36. a4 Rd8!

(all the pieces are now literally in place in preparation for the
coming e6-e5 breakthrough) 37. Ne2 e5 38. Qg4 (Rd1 exd4 39. Nxd4 Ne5
is painful for White) exd4 39. exd4 (Black also wins on 39. Nxd4
Ne5 40. Qe6+ Qxe6 41. Nxe6 Nd3+ 42. Kd2 Rd6, gaining material)
Re8 40. Qd7 c3! 41. Ra2 (see diagram; on 41. Nxc3, Black mates with
41. … Qf4+ 42.

Kd1 Qxd4+ 43. Kc1 Re1+ 44. Rxe1 Qxc3+ 45. Rc2 [Kd1 Qxe1 mate] Qa1 mate)
Ne1!! (threat: 42. … Nd3+ 43. Kc2 Nc5+, winning the queen) 42.

Rxe1 (Nxf4 Rxe1 is mate) Qe4, and there’s no good defense to 43. …

Qd3+ 45. Kc1 Qb1 mate. Giri resigned.

–

Aronian’s low profile is all the more curious because he has been
producing brilliancies like the Giri win from a very young age. He
learned the game at the age of 9 and just three years later took
the World Youth Chess Under-12 Championship title ahead of a slew of
future grandmasters.

In the FIDE world-championship knockout tournament in Las Vegas in
1999, the 16-year-old Aronian made a splash with a 2-0 dismissal of
Lithuanian GM Eduardas Rozentalis in the first round, including a
brilliant demolition job in the second game to advance.

The play is extremely double-edged in this King’s Indian Attack, with
Rozentalis’ rooks driving the White king to a very precarious perch on
h3. But it is White that lands the first telling blow with 30. Raf1
Bd6 31. Rxg7!, when 31. … Kxg7? loses to 32. Qf7+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Kh7
(Kg8 34. Qg6+ Kh8 35. Qxh6+ Kg8 36. Be6 mate) 34. Bf5+ Kg8 35. Qg6+
Kf8 36. Qxh6+ Ke8 37. Re1+, leading to mate.

But the game remains in balance until 33. Rxf2 Qxf2 34. Rg6! Qf5+ 35.

Kg2 Qxh5? (unwisely taking the bait, though Black only draws at best
after 35. … Qc2+ 36. Qe2 Qxe2+ 37. Bxe2 Bf8 38. Bc4 Kh7 39. Rf6) 36.

Qd4+ Qe5 37. Rxd6!!, a neat geometrical trick that leads to a won
ending.

After 37. … Qxd4 38. Rxd5 Re8 39. Rd6, Black’s resignation may be
a tad premature, but the win for White is a straightforward matter
of technique.

FRANCE’S ARMENIA GENOCIDE LAW PUT ON HOLD
By Suzette Bloch

Agence France Presse
Jan 31 2012

PARIS – France’s new law punishing denial of the Armenian genocide
was put on hold Tuesday after politicians opposed to the legislation
demanded that its constitutionality be examined.

Turkey reacted furiously last week when the Senate approved the law
which threatens with jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915
massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office brushed off angry threats of
retaliation by Turkey and vowed to enforce the law within a fortnight.

But on Tuesday two separate groups of French politicians who oppose the
legislation — from both the Senate and the lower house of parliament
— said they had formally requested the constitutional council to
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.

“This is an atomic bomb for the Elysee (Sarkozy’s office) which didn’t
see it coming,” said deputy Lionel Tardy, who said that most of the
65 signatories from the lower house were, like him, from Sarkozy’s
UMP party.

The council is obliged to deliver its judgement within a month,
but this can be reduced to eight days if the government deems the
matter urgent.

Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan immediately welcomed the development.

“I hope the constitutional council will do what is necessary,” said
Erdogan, while Gul said he was “not expecting the French from the very
beginning to let their country be overshadowed” by the genocide law.

France has already officially recognised the killings as a genocide,
but the new law would go further by punishing anyone who denies this
with up to a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed in
1915 and 1916 by the forces of Turkey’s former Ottoman Empire.

Turkey disputes the figure, arguing that 500,000 died, and denies this
was genocide, ascribing the toll to fighting and starvation during
World War I and accusing the Armenians of siding with Russian invaders.

Erdogan last week denounced the law as “tantamount to discrimination
and racism” and warned that his Islamist-rooted government would
punish Paris with unspecified retaliatory measures if Sarkozy signed
it into law.

Ankara has already halted political and military cooperation with
France and was threatening to cut off economic and cultural ties.

Trade between the two states was worth 12 billion euros ($15.5 billion)
in 2010, with several hundred French businesses operating in Turkey.

Armenia hailed the passage of the bill through the French Senate,
with President Serzh Sarkisian writing in a letter to Sarkozy:
“France has reaffirmed its greatness and power, its devotion to
universal human values.”

Around 20 countries have officially recognised the killings as
genocide.

Amnesty International has criticised the French law, saying it would
violate freedom of expression.

EASTERN ANATOLIA: WHERE PAST MEETS PRESENT
Ali Tahmizian

Al-Masry Al-Youm

Jan 31 2012
Egypt

A backwater border town, Kars is far off the grid of Turkish tourism.

But the setting of Orhan Pamuk’s novel Snow had captured my
imagination, and was the first destination on a tri-country backpacking
trip through Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. Hoping to catch a glimpse
of Pamuk’s subversive references to Kars’ past as a crossroads of
Caucasian culture, my fellow traveler and I arrived prepared for the
bleak, homogenous present, hardly expecting what we would find.

It was difficult to tell when our cab had arrived in downtown Kars,
which seemed to consist of a single street, dutifully named for
Ataturk. Cars were newish and women walked past with salon-styled
hair, but the atmosphere was hardly upbeat; the Soviet-looking city
felt run-down and isolated, far removed from Istanbul’s shimmer.

Medieval Kars, a flourishing Armenian capital, was impossible to
envision.

The time was 3 pm, and the sky was already dimming over the drab
buildings, their chimneys emitting light wisps of smoke in the frigid
air. As Yilmaz, our Couchsurfing host approached, we breathed a sigh
of relief. Without a local, Kars would be obscure at best.

Yilmaz led us to a sparse, but well heated apartment, shared with
three other students at the conservatory. The roommates were all
Kurds – a group that, according to our host, composes half the city’s
population. Yilmaz was intent on conveying government suppression of
their culture. The Kurdish language, banned in schools and discouraged
in public, makes the apartment a refuge.

But it is impossible to shut out big brother completely. When I
asked Yilmaz why I could not access their Internet, he explained that
residents are required to register laptops with the local authorities.

I used his, wondering if my activity was being monitored.

Dawn brought a feast of warm baguettes, fresh jam and bowls of honey,
for which Kars is famous. We set out with Yilmaz and his roommate
Firat in sub-zero weather for our destination: Ani.

The medieval Armenian capital succeeding Kars, Ani boasted a population
of over 100,000 inhabitants at its height, rivaling Constantinople,
Cairo and Baghdad. A commercial hub on the Silk Road, Ani traded
with the Arabs, Byzantines and Persians. Shifting trade routes,
Mongol raids in the 13th century and a destructive earthquake a
century later sent the city into decline. Today, Ani is a ghost city.

We entered through the towering Lion Gate, flanked by enormous walls,
which once encircled the city. Distant mountains create a dramatic
backdrop over the tundra-like winter landscape. The brick red and
black volcanic basalt stones unify the architecture of the scattered
buildings, which require three hours to explore. A sign describing
Ani’s history made no reference to its Armenian founders.

Ani’s present condition is both breathtaking and alarming; those
structures that survived earthquakes over the centuries have been
no less threatened in the modern age. Under Turkish authority, the
buildings have suffered vandalism, neglect and deliberate damage,
while recent blasting in neighboring Armenia further shook the city.

Lacking security guards or restrictive barriers, visitors are free
to scrawl as they please.

Nevertheless, Ani’s handful of enduring structures – with their
resilient stone masonry, detailed inscriptions and paintings – offer
a window to the former magnificence of the “City of 1,001 Churches.”

The Church of the Redeemer is an eerie edifice. From one vantage,
it appears a perfect rotunda; 90 degrees left or right, its jagged
profile is revealed – one-half collapsed during a storm in 1957. Its
murals have been whitewashed with a film of industrial paint, while
the fallen walls, whose inscriptions provide the keys to its past,
lie in rubble.

Situated on the ledge of the ravine dividing Turkey and Armenia, the
Church of Saint Gregory is easy to miss, but a must-see for its vivid,
floor-to-ceiling frescoes. Among the biblical scenes depicted, is a
small panel featuring four simurgh – the lion-headed bird of Persian
legend – a testament to Ani’s place at the crossroads of empires.

On opposite sides of the river below, abutments of a medieval bridge
remain. A mere stone’s throw from Armenia, a detour through Georgia
or Iran is required to reach the land of Ani’s builders.

Returning to Kars, about 45 km away, we stopped at the foot of the
looming Kars Castle, or citadel. With frozen toes, we skipped the hike,
observing the ancient fortifications from afar.

Instead, we circled the 10th century Holy Apostles Church, constructed
under Armenian rule. More fascinating than the relief carvings of
the apostles, is the church’s identity – converted from church to
mosque and back multiple times, it mirrors the centuries of political
tug-of-war over the city. Modern Turkey settled on its function as
a museum in the 1960s, but with the early nineties came war between
neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan – the building, whether for politics
or prayer, once again became a mosque.

At the suggestion of entering, Firat – the Marxist of the bunch –
gave us a stern no with a flick of his eyes. Observing it was closed,
we followed our hosts to their prized eatery: Ka-Mer.

Ka-Mer (Women’s Center) is part of a nationwide organization,
whose mission is to help survivors of domestic abuse gain financial
independence through employment and training.

Simple, yet elegant, the single-room restaurant, which employs local
women, features a floor of ornate tiles and is cozily heated by an
antique wood-burning stove. The daily menu is written on a chalkboard,
and the modern kitchen is open to the dining area.

The boureg, an appetizer of cheese, delicately wrapped in thin dough,
was the best I have had. Our lentil and chicken soups were hearty and
steaming hot – the perfect antidote to the winter chill. Alongside
chai, Ka-Mer serves wine and beer.

Our last night in Kars warranted an outing with our hosts. At 9 pm
the streets were lifeless. We walked past the imposing Azerbaijani
Consulate and the house of its ambassador on our way to a cafe.

Seated among plasma TVs playing Turkish pop videos, we settled into a
game of backgammon, surrounded by tables of young women and men trying
to pass the time. It is easy to comprehend why classical music studies
thrive here – there is little else to do. Firat made a throat-slitting
gesture and warned us not to mention being Armenian in front of the
cafe’s Azeri owners. A seemingly sleepy and irrelevant city, Kars is
poisoned by regional disputes and ethnic tensions.

In 2011, a monument dedicated to Turkish-Armenian friendship was
torn down after visiting Prime Minister Erdogan dubbed the structure
a monstrosity. The former mayor, who commissioned the statue five
years earlier, collected 50,000 signatures in support of opening the
border with Armenia, closed since 1993 when Turkey backed Azerbaijan
in its conflict with Armenia. Not even potential tourism and trade
has tempered this political standoff.

Yet, behind seemingly intractable tensions are complex narratives,
and even artistic bridges. That evening, Yilmaz discussed his
collaborative project with fellow Turks and Armenians from Gyumri,
a city once connected to Kars by rail. It is a documentary about a
nearby Kurdish village and an orphan boy.

That boy was Armenian, his family either deported or killed as part
of a larger campaign against his people – the classification of which
remains hotly debated in Turkey. Devoid of politics, the villagers
took him in to be raised among them, preserving his life story through
song. Representing a small but significant piece of the past, his
life will be documented by Armenians, Kurds and Turks of the present,
a sign of progress in a region of open wounds.

A note to the traveler: It is advisable to visit Kars during the warm
summer, when the city is livelier and Ani’s fields are in full bloom.

To experience Pamuk’s raw portrayal, visit during the winter.

ANTRANIK UNLUCKY AGAIN AS BEJJEH WALTZES TO SOUND OF VICTORY
By Kenny Laurie

The Daily Star

Jan 31 2012
Lebanon

BEIRUT: Antranik’s sorry season continued Monday after they were
thrashed 92-66 by newly promoted Bejjeh in the Lebanese Basketball
League.The Armenian side have won just one game all season, losing 11
games so far in a torrid season, although they can rest easy knowing
that Chabab Zahle’s decision to drop out of the league will spare
Antranik a season in the second division next year.

The club’s sense of resignation to a collapsed and pointless season
was plain to see in the first quarter when Bejjeh steamrollered a
moribund Antranik, running out to 30-13 inside the first 10 minutes,
effectively killing off the game before it started.

The home side bucked up their ideas but they were still unable to stop
pouring in points with Arthur Lee particularly influential for the
Jbeil side. Bejjeh were only able to slowly tack points onto the lead.

After opening a 17-point lead at 47-30 8 minutes into the quarter,
Bejjeh conceded three late baskets to go into the half at 50-36.

Bejjeh quickly ripped out into a 57-40 lead 3 minutes into the quarter
before the two sides traded baskets for the rest of the quarter,
eventually finishing 71-53. Bejjeh continued to mount on the pain,
going ahead into a 26-point lead as Antranik’s offense fell apart 5
minutes into the final quarter at 56-82.

The scoring slowed down from both sides until the game petered out at
92-66. Bejjeh’s win move them into fourth place, a stunningly high
position considering they have been in the top flight for just four
months with a limited budget.

Wednesday sees Anibal Zahle and league champions Riyadi in Zahle
while Hoops Club travel to Ghazir to take on Sagesse.

STAIBDANCE’S NAME DAY TAKES MODERN LOOK AT ARMENIAN TRADITION

Creative Loafing Atlanta

Jan 30 2012

Choreographer George Staib’s personal heritage comes to life in dance
by Andrew Alexander

When choreographer George Staib was growing up, he’d ask the adults
around him how old his grandfather was. “Nobody would know,” he says.

“That’s because in the Armenian tradition, children are named after
a saint, and the saint’s day is celebrated. It obscures the birthday
and even the birth year. The Name Day is just a much bigger deal.”

Staib will explore Name Day and other aspects of his mixed heritage in
the new show Name Day, premiering this weekend at Emory’s Schwartz
Center for the Performing Arts. Staib’s American father met his
Armenian mother when he was stationed in Iran with the military. Staib
lived in Iran until he was 10, when his family returned to the States.

“Wherever we lived, there was always this blending of American culture
and Armenian tradition,” he says. “We tried to cling to both.”

The Armenian way of celebrating, of mourning, of rearing children, and
of dancing were all part of the Staib household. “When we had parties,
my sister and I were just thrown into the middle of a circle and we’d
have to dance together. If you went to someone’s house for dinner
and music was played, you’d have to get up and dance. It’s very much
a part of life,” says Staib, who has been a member of Emory’s dance
faculty since 2001.

A visit to Israel last year inspired Staib to create a show on
his family history. There, he was immersed in traditional Armenian
communities in Jerusalem and witnessed innovative modern choreography
in Tel Aviv that incorporated elements of traditional folk dance. “I
dropped into a really old version of Armenian culture in Jerusalem,”
says Staib. “I felt it was an interesting challenge for me to work
with something really old in a contemporary way.”

Name Day is comprised of lively folk-driven group dances interspersed
by more contemplative and introspective solos. The costumes capture
the look of the clothing Staib remembers from his childhood, Western
clothes of the ’60s and ’70s, and the music represents a diverse
soundscape: traditional Armenian music, electronica, Israeli folk,
choral music, and Bach.

The work also prominently features dancer Helen Hale, who has become
a central figure on Atlanta’s independent dance scene. Her recent work
ANTI-MANNERS also blended elements of folk and contemporary movement.

“She really gets this piece,” says Staib. “If I want to do something
that’s a little strange or obscure or highly theatrical, she is the
one to give those moments to because she indulges so fully in that.”

And Staib is determined to dig in: “There’s so much of my family
history that no one would ever talk about,” he says. “You’re expected
to know the traditions, but they’re never explained. You do it ‘just
because’ without knowing why.” With Name Day, Staib may finally
uncover some of the why.

TURKEY HAILS AS ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL IN FRANCE PUT ON HOLD

Hurriyet Daily News
Feb 1 2012
Turkey

Michel Diefenbacher spearheaded the appeal in the Lower House of
Parliament. Turkey has hailed a motion by French legislators to
halt a bill criminalizing denials of Armenian genocide claims after
they produced the 60 signatures required to stop the draft from
becoming law.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended “wholehearted thanks”
to the French senators who appealed the law and voiced hope France’s
Constitutional Council would quash the legislation.

“I have no doubt the Constitutional Council will eventually make an
appropriate decision,” President Abdullah Gul said, adding that he
was “not expecting the French from the very beginning to let their
country be overshadowed” by the resolution.

Ankara had reacted furiously last week when the French Senate approved
the law that penalizes anyone in France who denies the 1915 killings
of Armenians amounted to genocide with jail time and a fine.

On Jan. 24 President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office brushed off angry threats
of retaliation by Turkey and vowed to sign the bill into law within
a fortnight.

But a left-wing group of senators said yesterday that they had gathered
76 signatures from colleagues opposed to the law. A group from the
Lower House of Parliament had also gathered 65 signatures yesterday and
had formally requested that the Constitutional Council examine the law.

The move raises the possibility that the law will be dismissed as
unconstitutional. The appeal was spearheaded by Jacques Mezard at
the Senate and Michel Diefenbacher, the head of the Turkish-French
Parliamentary Friendship Group. The groups said they each had
gathered more than the minimum 60 signatures required to ask the
council to test the law’s constitutionality. If the court finds the
law unconstitutional, the legislation will be rejected.

“This is an atomic bomb for the Elysee [Sarkozy’s office], which
didn’t see it coming,” said deputy Lionel Tardy, who said most of the
65 signatories from the Lower House were, like him, from Sarkozy’s
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party. The council is obliged to
deliver its judgment within a month, but the period could be reduced
to eight days if the government deems the matter urgent.

Turkey welcomes move

Turkish officials were universal in welcoming the development. “The
fact that the application was made with over 60 signatures from both
houses [of the French Parliament] is a significant development. I
extend my wholehearted thanks to those French parliamentarians on
behalf of myself and my nation. They did what they were supposed to
do. I hope that the Constitutional Council will rectify this unjust
process and bring it in line with the values of France,” Erdogan said.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also hailed the French senators’
move, saying that with this step France embraced its own values.

Turkish EU Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_, meanwhile, said yesterday that
“freedom of expression is one of the most important features in the
EU acquis.” BagıÅ~_ also noted European Commissioner for Enlargement
Stefan Fule’s remarks about the French resolution in which Fule said
illuminating history was the business of historians, not politicians.

France has already officially recognized the killings as genocide,
but the new law would go further by punishing anyone who denies
this with up to a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros. Around 20
countries have officially recognized the killings as genocide. Amnesty
International has criticized the French law, saying it would violate
freedom of expression.

Compiled from AFP, AA and Reuters stories by the Daily News staff.

THE FRENCH STRESS TEST

Today’s Zaman
Jan 31 2012
Turkey

The news that France’s new law punishing denial of the Armenian claims
of genocide was put on hold on Tuesday after politicians opposed to
the legislation demanded that its constitutionality be examined will
have come as a big relief to Ankara.

In the same way the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously
ruled that the recognition of the Armenian genocide cannot be
criminalized in Turkey, as it constitutes a violation of Article 10
(freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights,
the French move is also a violation of the exact same article. Indeed,
if a candidate looking to join the EU adopted such a law, the EU
would condemn it and make its removal a precondition for entry. It is
shameful that a founding member of the EU can so effortlessly violate
such an important European value, particularly when they continue
to chastise other states for doing the exact same thing. And while
Turkey needs to deal with its past, this is not the way to do it.

Stress levels had hit the ceiling in recent days, with Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claiming the French tried to “Nazify”
Turkey and to push it out of Europe, while earlier this week Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an address to the nation, declared
France a state leading the rise of a dark medieval mindset, using
language of separatism and racism. No doubt Turkey’s leadership
feels emboldened following the support offered by US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton. Clinton stated her disapproval of the French
bill, saying that the US would never follow a path that criminalizes
freedom of expression, warning against using governmental force in
order to resolve historical issues. On the other hand Turkey has been
disappointed by the approach of the EU. Turkey expected Brussels to
have a louder response to Paris. However, Davutoglu’s suggestion that
the EU place sanctions on France was just silly. Rather than following
the example of the US, the EU has not spoken out strongly against
France. Many in the EU may be far from happy with French President
Nicolas Sarkozy, for after all what happens in France also risk
damaging the reputation of the EU as a whole. EU member states have
their plates full with the eurozone crisis. However, the EU will not
want this quarrel to be a long and drawn-out affair, fearing it may
undermine efforts to build a unified approach by the EU and Turkey
on key Middle East issues such as Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the
unrest in Syria. While I doubt warm and friendly relations will be
restored as long as Sarkozy is in office, I also believe that Turkey
would not be so foolish as to base its approach towards EU-Turkish
cooperation in the Middle East region through the prism of Paris. Turks
(and others) have branded President Sarkozy racist. Looking back over
Sarkozy’s term in office, there have been several occasions when he
has acted in a way that has characterized him as such. Sarkozy is no
stranger to virulent and racist scaremongering. He has repeatedly used
the idea of a feral and alien “racaille” (scum) to scare voters into
backing him. While a number of these efforts have targeted France’s
Muslim community, including banning the burqa in 2010, other groups
have also been affected, including the Roma. In 2010 Sarkozy adopted
harsh measures against the Roma, expelling many from France, which
was severally criticized, including by his EU colleagues.

Since and prior to being elected, Sarkozy has pursued a policy aimed
at increasing support from those that traditionally back the National
Front of Marie Le Pen. Rather than dealing with France’s socioeconomic
problems head-on, he has preferred to blame them on certain immigrant
communities. While Sarkozy hopes to scoop up far-right voters, his
actions are more likely to strengthen and legitimize the National
Front.

I would also hope that France’s half a million Armenians will
take other factors into consideration when heading off to vote,
including Sarkozy’s failure to deliver on many of his election
promises, including putting more money in people’s pockets, making
significant tax cuts and making France more competitive. Ankara
continues to fume and to talk about further measures. However, those
already in place have done nothing to deter Paris. Indeed Turkey has
been taking measures (in particular regarding the defense sector)
against France since 2001, when the French National Assembly approved
a bill describing the Armenian killings as genocide, yet today France
remains one of Turkey’s biggest trading partners. Turkey has already
“nuanced” its approach and no longer talks about sanctions against
French companies. Turkey does not want to do anything that would
damage its own economic interests, and last week Economy Minister
Zafer Caglayan stated that measures will not be taken against
French companies operating in Turkey and which employ thousands of
Turks. However, just because the bill has been put on hold, it will
not change anything regarding Turkey’s relationship with its bête
noir, Sarkozy. Indeed President Sarkozy’s office had brushed off
Turkey’s recent talk of new sanctions and had vowed to enforce the
law within a fortnight. So it would seem that whatever happens next,
Turkey’s relations with France are going to remain in an extremely
precarious situation. If Sarkozy is re-elected, the situation will
become even tougher.

PRESIDENTIAL BODY TO SHED LIGHT ON DINK MURDER CASE

Hurriyet Daily News

Jan 28 2012
Turkey

Certain documents went missing while others were tampered with in
the case of murdered journalist Hrant Dink, an upcoming report by
Turkish Presidency is about to reveal.

Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of weekly
Agos, was commemorated on Jan 19 2012, the fifth anniversary of his
murder. More than 30,000 people gathered together to mark the day
and held a protest in Istanbul.

The State Audit Board (DDK) of the Turkish Presidency has determined
that certain documents went missing while others were tampered with
in the case of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist murdered
in 2007 in front of his newspaper office in Istanbul.

The DDK will be bringing up a number of contentious issues in an
upcoming report, including a notice provided to the gendarmerie by
instigator Yasin Hayal’s brother-in-law, CoÅ~_kun Ä°gci, in July 2006,
which indicated that Hayal would make an attempt on Dink’s life.

Gendarmerie officials, however, had claimed the intelligence in
question was only provided to them after Dink’s assassination.

Claims Another claim that is expected to make its way into the report
concerns an SMS message sent by Tuncay Uzundal to Erhan Tuncel, which
was also brought up in court by Prosecutor Hikmet Usta, allegedly
indicating that Hayal was asking for 7.65 mm caliber shells.

The SMS message was altered at the police headquarters in the Black
Sea province of Trabzon and the part where Hayal was asking for shells
was deleted, according to allegations.

An investigation may subsequently be launched against certain public
servants once the report gets published, according to the daily
Cumhuriyet.

Former claims were directed at former Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler
as well as the Istanbul Police Department’s Intelligence Director
Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler.

Accordingly, the Trabzon chief of police sent a report to the Istanbul
Police Department to warn of an assassination against Dink, but the
intelligence head Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler did not take it seriously.

Attempts to investigate Guler after the murder have been blocked.

The DDK’s report will also include sections about other administrative
proceedings pertaining to the trial, as well as a series of objections
that were raised by Turkey’s Telecommunications Directorate (TÄ°B)
regarding phone and camera records from the crime scene.

Meanwhile, Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Huseyin
Celik said Dink was the victim of a murder but the real target was
the AKP.

“Dink was the victim of the murder, he was bait, but the real target
was the AKP. The mindset that executed Sept. 6 to 7 is the same
mindset that organized the Dink murder. They wanted to create chaos
in Turkey. They wanted to damage the political stability of Turkey,”
Celik said at a press meeting Jan. 27.