Author: Kanayan Tamar

AFTER GENOCIDE BILL’S PASSING IN FRENCH SENATE, ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WILL BE MORE RIGID – POLITICAL ANALYST

news.am
January 24, 2012 | 12:53

YEREVAN. – The French Senate’s passing of the bill that criminalizes
the denial of genocides, including the Armenian Genocide, will have
a huge significance for the decisions of other EU countries, and the
European countries and EU organizations could follow France’s example,
Caucasus Institute Deputy Director, political analyst Sergey Minasyan
stated during a press conference on Tuesday, and stressed that this
bill expresses the anti-Islamic attitude of the French society.

“If it continues in this way, the Genocide issue will become a
precondition for EU-Turkey relations,” Minasyan said.

The analyst also predicted that Turkey’s reaction will be heated and
rigid, which Europe will look upon negatively. “If Turkey’s denialist
policy continues, several years later France could pass another bill
against the denial of the Genocide, but moreover with the principle
of paying a fine,” Sergey Minasyan argued.

In his words, with this step both the Jewish Holocaust and the
Armenian Genocide are on the same level. “At the same time it was
understandable that this bill would not have passed if there had not
been French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s political will,” the political
analyst maintained.

To note, with a vote of 127 in favor and 86 against, France’s Senate
passed Monday the bill that criminalizes the denial of the genocides
which this country has formally recognized. And these are the Armenian
Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. This bill sets a one-year prison
sentence plus a 45-thousand-Euro fine for anyone who denies these
genocides. According to the regulations, the French President will
ratify it within fifteen days. And Turkey had announced earlier
that if the bill were to pass, it will impose a number of sanctions
against France.

ANKARA DENONCE UN ACTE IRRESPONSABLE
Ara

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.

ARMENIE : VOTE HISTORIQUE DE LA FRANCE SUR LE GENOCIDE
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 24 janvier 2012

Le vote par le Senat francais d’une loi condamnant la negation du
genocide armenien est une “initiative historique qui contribuera a
prevenir d’autres crimes contre l’humanite”, a declare mardi Edouard
Nalbandian, ministre armenien des Affaires etrangères.

“Ce jour sera ecrit en lettres d’or non seulement dans l’histoire de
l’amitie entre les peuples armenien et francais, mais egalement dans
les annales de la protection des droits de l’Homme a travers le monde”,
a assure le ministre dans un communique.

Ce vote “va en plus consolider les mecanismes existants de prevention
des crimes contre l’humanite”, poursuit le communique.

L’Armenie et la diaspora armenienne font campagne depuis longtemps pour
obtenir une qualification internationale de genocide des massacres
d’Armeniens perpetres pendant la Première guerre mondiale malgre les
denegations de la Turquie.

Cette question a empoisonne les relations des deux pays voisins dont
les frontières restent fermees et continue a passionner les Armeniens
a travers le monde.

M. Nalbandian a souligne que le vote francais etait “la suite logique”
de la reconnaissance par la France en 2001 du fait que les massacres
des Armeniens constituaient un genocide.

“La France a reaffirme son rôle pivot comme defenseur authentique
des valeurs humaines universelles”, affirme encore le communique.

Les Armeniens soutiennent que près d’un million et demi des leurs ont
ete victimes de ce genocide perpetre sous l’empire ottoman alors que la
Turquie affirme que les Armeniens ont eu entre 300.000 a 500.000 morts.

Toujours selon Ankara, il ne s’agissait pas d’un genocide puisque
les troubles et les affrontements de cette “guerre civile” ont fait
presque autant de morts du côte turc.

DINK GUNMAN’S PLEAD FOR RELEASE REJECTED

Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 24 2012
Turkey

Ogun Samast was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for
murder. AA photo The Supreme Court of Appeals yesterday rejected a
plea by a defendant lawyer in the case of murdered Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink to release convicted triggerman Ogun Samast.

Samast’s lawyer, Levent Yıldırım, petitioned the Supreme Court of
Appeals for his client’s release on the grounds that Samast’s arrest
pending trial would exceed five years by the end of January, breaching
reasonable time limits according to the Law of Criminal Procedure.

The court, however, indicated in its ruling that Samast had been
arrested pending trial for a total of four years six months and
five days and that his arrest was thus not in breach of reasonable
time limits.

The appeals court based its decision on a local court’s ruling on July
25, 2011, according to which Samast’s arrest pending trial began on
Jan. 20, 2007.

Ogun Samast was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison on the
charges of “premeditated murder” and “carrying an unlicensed weapon”
by a juvenile court in Istanbul for Dink’s murder.

Hrant Dink, the chief editor for weekly Agos, a paper published in
both Turkish and Armenian, was shot dead in front of his office on
Jan. 19, 2007.

FRENCH SENATE REJECTED AMENDMENTS TO “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” BILL

Trend
Jan 23 2012
Azerbaijan

French Senate with 167 votes has rejected amendments to the bill
criminalising denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”, CNN Turk
channel reported on Monday.

Discussion of the bill will be continued.

The Lower House of the French Parliament adopted a bill criminalising
the denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

Some 45 out of 577 French MPs voted with 38 voting for and seven
against the adoption of the bill.

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

In response to this decision Turkey announced it has frozen all
diplomatic relations with France.

MPs from the French President’s Union for Popular Movement (UMP)
party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed the bill which
aims at criminalising denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide” to
the legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of the Turkey
– Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the Armenians
living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the “Armenian Genocide”
by the parliaments of several countries.

FRANCE’S ADOPTION OF “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” BILL TO DAMAGE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

Trend
Jan 23 2012
Azerbaijan

If the French Senate adopts a bill criminalising denial of the
so-called “Armenian genocide” relations with Turkey will be seriously
damaged, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters
at the press-conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) on Monday, expressing his attitude toward bill which
is being discussed at present in the French Senate.

He said Turkey considers France to be exemplary country.

“Level of cooperation between the two countries was at good level.

Unfortunately, today’s wrong decisions contribute to worsening of
these relations. Bill which is being considered in the French Senate
hits freedom of speech. This bill also contradicts regulations of the
European convention on human rights and decisions of the European
court. The Armenian diaspora made claims on “genocide” and we do
not understand desire of the French parliament to rewrite history,”
he said.

He said it is historians who should deal with history.

“However this issue is used in France for domestic purposes. All
this doesn’t correspond to the France’s history, to its past. We hope
this mistake will be corrected during the consideration of this bill
in the French Senate. In case the bill is adopted relations between
Turkey and France will be seriously damaged,” he said.

PACE EX-CHAIRMAN: SUBCOMMITTEE ON NAGORNO KARABAKH IS SUCCESSFUL

Trend
Azerbaijan
Jan 23 2012

Armenian colleagues’ opinion that the activities of the PACE
subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh are unsuccessful is not true, former
PACE Chairman Mevlut Chavushoglu told reporters on Monday.

“Unfortunately, the Armenian side doesn’t tell all the truth about
activities of the Nagorno Karabakh subcommittee. My task as PACE
chairman is to support decision and its agenda unanimously approved
in the bureau. Decision on restoring activity of the subcommittee is
taken not by a Turkish politician but it is an initiative of the PACE
bureau. The bureau appointed its chairman and members. Unfortunately,
in the end of my term of office attitude of the Armenian officials,
including the Armenian president toward me became biased and unjust.

The bureau will decide on the future activity of the above mentioned
committee,” Mr Chavushoglu said.

EXPERT: OSCE MG CO-CHAIR COUNTRIES TRY TO CONTROL KARABAKH PROCESS INSTEAD OF RESOLVING CONFLICT

Trend
Jan 23 2012
Azerbaijan

There is almost no chance of progress on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
resolution this year, Thomas de Waal, expert at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, British journalist and author of the book
“Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War”, believes.

“Neither side seems prepared to change its position on the draft
agreement that was rejected in Kazan last June,” Thomas de Waal said.

He said there are a number of 20th anniversaries this year which will
increase skepticism about the peace process around Nagorno Karabakh
and the value of making peace with the other side in the conflict.

“I am thinking for example of the 20th anniversary of the Khojali
killings and of the formation of the Minsk Group in 1992. Moreover,
all of the three co-chair countries have presidential elections and
the political elite will be distracted by that process,” he said.

“That means that 2012 will be a year when the mediators will hope
to manage the conflict but will not hope to solve it,” Thomas de
Waal said.

A trilateral meeting between Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian
presidents will be held in Sochi on Jan.23.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno- Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

BULENT ARINC: “IT IS DISHONESTY TO INTRODUCE THE WORLD WAR ONE EVENTS AS GENOCIDE”

APA
Jan 23 2012
Azerbaijan

Strasbourg. Fuad Gulubeyli – APA. Turkish Vice Prime Minister
Bulent Arinc, who is on a visit to Strasbourg, made comments on the
discussions in the French Senate.

APA’s European bureau reports that Bulent Arinc said Turkey saw France
as an example country and the two countries had good relations.

“Unfortunately the wrong decisions today are damaging these relations.

The draft law discussed in the French Senate is seriously damaging
the freedom of speech. It is contradictory to the European Convention
on Human Right and European Court’s resolutions as well. Armenian
diaspora abroad created the “Armenian genocide” claims. We don’t
understand the desire of French parliamentarians to write a history.

This issue should be researched by the historians. But today France
uses these issues for its domestic political purposes. It doesn’t
become French history and past. We hope that this misunderstanding will
be resolved in the French Senate today. If the draft law is adopted,
it will seriously damage the French-Turkish relations”.

Bulent Arinc said history should be left to the historians to
be researched. “Five years ago, Turkey proposed to establish the
commission of historians to investigate the “genocide” claims, but
Armenia rejected this proposal. Turkey is attributed to its past and
is ready to face with history. It is wrong and dishonesty to introduce
the World War One events as genocide”.

Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani Leaders to Discuss Karabakh

© RIA Novosti. Sergei Guneev02:22 23/01/2012MOSCOW/YEREVAN, January 23
(RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with his Armenian and
Azerbaijani counterparts in the southern Russian city of Sochi to
discuss the Nagorny Karabakh settlement on Monday, the Kremlin
reported.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev will visit the Black Sea resort on Medvedev’s invitation. A
trilateral meeting and bilateral meetings will be held.

Sargsyan and Aliyev voiced their intention to meet again to discuss
the Karabakh settlement in early December 2011. Nine three-party
meetings have been held since 2008, two of them in the Russian cities
of Sochi and Kazan in 2011.

At the Kazan summit, the countries reached rapprochement on disputable
issues of a draft settlement document that will underlie a peace
agreement.

Medvedev said recently the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh, a breakaway
region on Azerbaijani territory with a predominantly ethnic Armenian
population, can be settled any day if the two conflicting Caucasus
states agree to compromise.

The conflict between the two Caucasus states erupted in the late
1980s, when Nagorny Karabakh claimed independence from Azerbaijan. It
is estimated to have left more than 30,000 people dead on both sides
between 1988 and 1994. The region has since remained under Armenian
control.

Russia has been mediating peace talks for nearly two decades.