Author: nina hovnanian

ATP STARTS FALL TREE PLANTING SEASON WITH PARTNERS ENGAGED IN CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP AND COMMUNITY BUILDING

hetq
11:05, October 27, 2011

Armenia Tree Project (ATP) started its fall planting season partnering
with Synopsys Armenia, local branch of the world leader in software
and IP used in the design, verification, and manufacture of electronic
components and systems. ATP staff joined approximately 600 employees
of Synopsys Armenia CJSC, their families, and students to plant more
than 600 thuya (arborvitae) evergreen trees in the area surrounding
theEuropeanRegionalEducationalAcademyand the Chess Academy of Armenia.

“Armenia Tree Project has been planting trees with Synopsys for almost
seven years now. We started our partnership in 2005 and annual tree
planting events became a unique tradition of the two organizations,”
noted Arthur Harutyunyan, manager of ATP’s Community Tree Planting
(CTP) program.

The arborvitae trees were grown in ATP’s nurseries in the refugee
villages of Karin and Khachpar. Before the ceremonial event the
planting plots were prepared by ATP, and the trees will be constantly
monitored to ensure the highest possible survival rate.

“As a global company, Synopsys recognizes the responsibilities that US
businesses have abroad. We were humbled to be among the 12 companies
selected by the US Department of State for our corporate citizenship,
innovation, and exemplary business practices inArmenia. We continue
to partner with and give back to the local community by voluntarily
planting trees inYerevanand contributing to the prosperity ofArmenia,”
stated Chi-Foon Chan, Synopsys President and Chief Operating Officer.

“On behalf of ATP, I sincerely thank Dr. Chi-Foon Chan and the
employees of Synopsys for their remarkable leadership in demonstrating
corporate social responsibility inArmenia. As part of our ongoing
collaboration, more than 600 participants planted trees and greenery
at theChessAcademy, honoringArmeniaas 2011 World Chess Champions,”
said Jeff Masarjian, ATP Executive Director. “In addition, we planted
trees together at theEuropeanAcademyto mark its 10 year anniversary. I
cannot think of a more fitting tribute to these institutions.”

“Synopsys employees view tree planting as a way to give back to our
community by reducing air pollution and helping to renew Yerevan’s
commitment to a healthy environment,” said Rich Goldman, Synopsys
Armenia CEO. “It’s heartening to see our employees plant trees with
their families. It helps cultivate a lasting culture of taking care
of the environment in which we live and work.”

ATP and Synopsys have planted thousands of trees in the different
communities of Yerevan, including Viasphere Technopark, Victory Park,
Tsitsernakaberd Park, on a hillside of Nor Nork district, near the
Holy Trinity Church in the Malatia Sebastia community, and along one
of the main routes leading to the Genocide Museum and in the public
park next to the Pyunic Association for the Disabled.

In November, ATP is partnering with KPMG, a network of member firms
offering audit, tax, and advisory services, to plant 300 trees and
shrubs in Musaler. The site is a shelter and support center for
abused women operated by the Paros Lighthouse Charitable Foundation
inPtghunqVillage.

All around the world, KPMG member firms are committed to the
communities in which they operate and corporate citizenship is at the
heart of each member firm’s values. According to KPMG, people in their
member firms get involved in local projects and initiatives which have
a positive impact on their community. The tree planting with the Paros
Charitable Foundation is an example of applying their values to life.

More than 50 managers from CIS countries will take part in the event
organized within the framework of the New Managers Conference held
by KPMG Armenia.

ATP’s mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees
to improve their standard of living and protect the environment,
guided by the need to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the
fewest resources first, and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s
three major programs are tree planting, environmental education,
and sustainable development initiatives.

FULL SLATE OF EVENTS PLANNED FOR FOURTH MONCTON ARMENIAN FESTIVAL
By Shannon MacLeod

CanadaEast.com

Oct 27 2011

The Moncton Armenian Festival is back for its fourth year and this
year being the 20th anniversary of Armenian independence, there is
a lot to celebrate from today to next Sunday, Nov. 6.

Things kick off today with a meet and greet with an Armenian pianist,
Tigran Hamasyan, who’s a virtuoso on the rise.

“We will go see him and then in two years, we’ll be able to say, ‘I saw
him in Moncton,'” said Suzanne Cyr, media relations for the festival.

At 11:30 a.m., in collaboration with the Department of Music at the
Universite de Moncton, Tigran Hamasyan will meet with music students
and anyone from the public who’s interested in meeting this up and
coming artist, said Cyr.

“He’s playing everywhere around the world,” she said.

The 23-year-old pianist will participate in a discussion about his
journey, his technique, the characteristics and uniqueness of his
improvisational process as well as his inspiration. The meeting will
be held in room 001-B in the Faculty of Arts at UdeM.

Then tonight, Hamasyan will perform at 8 p.m. for regular admission of
$28 and $18 for students at La Caserne in the Dieppe Arts and Culture
Centre. Hamasyan mesmerizes audiences by drawing on traditional
Armenian music and fables to create a very innovative jazz, giving
it a unique sound.

There’s a girl who works with Cyr, who was ecstatic when she found
out Hamasyan was coming to Moncton, because he is incredible, said Cyr.

“She was in Montreal at the jazz festival last summer and she saw
that he was coming here, she almost had a heart attack. He’s quite
something.”

On Friday, Nov. 4 at the Galerie d’art de Louise et Reuben Cohen at
UdeM, there will be a grand opening of an art exhibit featuring works
of art by Armenian artist Sergei Parajanov. Admission is free.

“He became sort of a figure of protestation. The government was trying
to silence him and he was always creating,” Cyr said.

Parajanov was also a filmmaker who passed away in 1990. He was
considered a genius, said Cyr.

“Armenia was part of the Soviet Union and he was one of the protestors
and was in prison a lot. The five years of confinement made Parajanov
powerful without ever breaking him.”

The exhibit, titled Sergei Parajanov: le reel imagine, brings together
over 40 works shipped from the Parajanov Museum in the Armenian
capital city of Yerevan. The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 16.

“His masterpieces are more like collages and I guess they’re really
quite something,” Cyr said.

At the grand opening of the exhibit, there will also be other
Armenian cultural acts such as the Choeur Beausejour directed by
Monique Richard, Hampic Djabourian, from Montreal on the duduk,
Rouben Hampartsoumian, from France on the cithara and song. There
will also be Lee Saunders, Edmond Habetien, from France and Sylvia
Kasparian for the dance performance.

“For the Armenian festival, this was quite an amazing feat to get
these paintings from the museum in Armenia,” Cyr said.

Next weekend, on Nov. 5 and 6, there will be four Armenian films
shown. All four were produced by Parajanov and will take place at
the Galerie d’art de Louise et Reuben Cohen at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday. Tickets will be sold at the door and are $10 for
regular admission and $7 for students. All movies will be subtitled
into English.

—-

Thursday, Oct. 27: 11:30 a.m.: discussion with virtuoso pianist Tigran
Hamasyan at Universite de Moncton, Faculty of Arts room 001-B.

8 p.m.: jazz-rock-piano concert featuring Tigran Hamasyan at La
Caserne in the Dieppe arts and culture centre. Admission fee

Friday, Nov. 4: 7 p.m.: grand opening of Sergei Parajanov: le reel
imagine art exhibit. Admission is free.

Saturday, Nov. 5. film presentations: 3 p.m.: Shadows of Forgotten
Ancestors (1964) 7 p.m.: The Legend of Suram Fortress (1984)

Sunday, Nov. 5. film presentations: 3 p.m.: Achik Kerib (1988) 7 p.m.:
The Color of Pomegranates – Sayat Nova (1971) Admission fee

GEORGE CLOONEY’S AUNT ROSIE’S BIGGEST HIT

Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Oct 27 2011

Rosemary Clooney, who died in 2002, was George Clooney’s Aunt and
Miguel Ferrer’s mom. She’d sung with her sister Betty as part of
the Clooney Sisters and she had a few problems when she signed with
Columbia Records: namely pop A&R director (in other words, head
producer) Mitch Miller, who looked for catchy but often crappy songs
he could record that would sell a lot of product even if the tunes
weren’t very good. Tony Bennett had to deal with the same thing.

Mitch was smart enough to recognize the American public’s taste then
(and not much has changed in 60 years). He even admitted at the time
that a lot of the stuff was junk (his own tastes ran to classical
and jazz).

So Mitch laid a seemingly forgettable ditty on Rosie: a faux-Armenian
song based on a real Armenian folk tune, was written by two authentic
Armenian-Americans: the celebrated playwright William Saroyan,
creator of The Time of Your Life and The Human Comedy, and his cousin,
singer-songwriter Ross Bagdasarian. The song had all the import of
any bad, throwaway pop tune.

Clooney wanted no parts of it. A singer named Kay Armen had recorded
it with no success at all. Why should Clooney have to record something
that one singer had already failed with? She was on the rise with the
label. Her previous Mitch-produced single, “Beautiful Brown Eyes”
was a significant hit, with country roots. It was written by Alton
Delmore of the Delmore Brohters, first recorded by the Arthur Smith
Trio (a pre-war country act) in 1937.

Clooney’s hit version of “Brown Eyes”:

On June 5, the day before the session, Clooney argued with Mitch,
who listened for a while and then put it in language she understood
clearly: don’t show for the session and you’re fired (in other words
Columbia cancels the contract). That simple. Mitch wanted to use a
jazzy harpsichord on it, so the arrangement would at least kick some.

On June 6, 1951, with Stan Freeman tearing it up on harpsichord,
Clooney recorded this:

Mitch was right. It was at # 1 eight weeks that summer. It wasn’t the
worst song he ever produced (that dubious honor goes to Frank Sinatra’s
“Mama Will Bark”).

Other artists quickly recorded (“covered” the song themselves including
the co-writers, Saroyan and Bagdasarian. Their version appeared on
Coral Records, Bagdasarian doing the vocal, Saroyan providing some
spoken context with a hot little trio backing them. The record’s
barely known today.

Does the vocal sound familiar? Well…Ross Bagdasarian would make
records for Liberty Records under the name David Seville, including
“Witch Doctor” and with the sped-up voice, opened the door to the
Chipmunks.

As for Rosie, she sang it up to the end and here, she tells the story
I recounted above. I gotta admit, as much as I liked the arrangement
on the original, it sounds pretty good with a big band, too.

TURKEY HAS NOT APPLIED TO ARMENIA WITH HELP REQUEST

ARMENPRESS
11:25, 26 October, 2011

The official Ankara has not yet applied to Armenia with the request
to help in the elimination of consequences of the earthquake, deputy
head of the rescue service of the Emergency Situations Ministry Nikolay
Grigoryan told Armenpress. A number of countries, including Armenia,
expressed readiness to assist Turkey in the search and rescue works
in the earthquake zone.

By the way, today Ankara has officially asked assistance of Israel
but the nature of the assistance is not clear yet.

It is remarkable that though Turkey and Israel were allies during a
long period of time, recently their relations have become very tensed
connected with the attack against the Turkish flotilla in the neutral
zone of Gaza as a result of which nine citizens of Turkey were killed.

Israel refused to officially apologize to Turkey.

FRANCOPHONE MAYORS VISIT TSITSERNAKABERD MEMORIAL

ARMENPRESS
October 26, 2011
YEREVAN

The delegation of International Association of Francophone Mayors
(AIMF) visited today Tsitsernakaberd memorial. Press service of the
Yerevan City Hall reported that members of the delegation put a wreath
at the memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide and flowers
at the eternal fire. Afterward, the delegates toured in the Genocide
Museum-Institute, got acquainted with the exhibited materials, put
notes at the Commemoration Book.

CONCERT OF WORLD FAMOUS VIOLINIST PINCHAS ZUKERMAN IN YEREVAN

ARMENPRESS
October 26, 2011
YEREVAN

Concert of world famous violinist Pinchas Zukerman will take place
today at the Aram Khachatryan concert hall with Armenia’s State
Philharmonic Orchetsra. Though the musician was in Armenia half
and a year ago but it is the first time he will perform with the
Philharmonic Orchestra.

Speaking to reporters today, head of the “Yerevan Prospects” festival
Stepan Rustumyan said that it is the last 12th concert within the
framework of the festival.

“I am very happy that the festival is being closed by Zukerman’s
performance. It is impossible to describe this musician by words. We
may describe this concert as the biggest achievement of this festival,”
the head of the festival said.

“I am happy to be in Armenia again, I see that the town has become
more beautiful and alive,” Zukerman said.

WB APPROVES US$18 MILLION LOAN FOR IRRIGATION PROJECT IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 26, 2011 – 13:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors
approved a US$18 million loan for the Additional Financing of the
Irrigation Rehabilitation Emergency Project (IREP) for Armenia.

The scale up and restructuring of this project will improve water
use efficiency in the selected irrigation schemes, as well as foster
immediate rural employment in seven regions of Armenia.

Rehabilitation works will include 50 km of main and secondary canals
serving around 52,000 hectares (ha) in Aragastotn, Kotayk, Shirak,
Lori, Ararat, and Armavir regions, which will allow reducing water
losses by an estimated 34.4 million cubic meters and will potentially
restore irrigation on about 4,700 ha. In addition, rehabilitation of
another 63 km of tertiary networks in 19 communities of Lori, Shirak,
Gegharkunik, and Armavir regions will reduce water losses by 9.9
million cubic meters, will improve existing irrigation water services
on over 2,500 ha, and potentially restore irrigation on 1,760 ha.

Annual water savings (44.2 million cubic meters) equivalent to US$1.4
million of the financial price of water will enable some 6,500 ha of
previously irrigated lands to be restored.

“The irrigation rehabilitation will also generate about 7,000
person-months of temporary employment, and potentially may add about
2,100 permanent jobs in agriculture,” said Mr. Jean-Michel Happi,
the World Bank Country Manager for Armenia. “Job creation is an
important dimension of this project.”

Under the original IREP, some 89.4 km were rehabilitated, including
57.7 km in Talin and 31.7 km in Armavir main canals. Water losses
declined by about 96.9 million cubic meters from around 114. Temporary
jobs created during construction equaled to about 11,379 person/months
(of the targeted 9,000 person/months), of which 67 percent was
unskilled labor, primarily benefiting poorer households. Longer
term development impacts include an estimated 8,000 ha returned to
irrigation to the benefit of small-scale farmers in surrounding areas.

Over time this is expected to provide incentives for cultivation of
higher value crops, which should result in additional long-term job
creation and improved livelihoods for poorer households.

The Project was prepared in close cooperation with the Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC) Program, which prepared the preliminary
designs for construction works.

Total financing of the Project is US$ 21.6 million, of which the
Government of Armenia will finance US$3.4 million and US$0.2 million
will be provided by beneficiaries (already collected under the MCC
Program funds). The IBRD loan carries a maturity of 25 years including
a grace period of 10 years.

Since joining the World Bank in 1992 and IDA in 1993, the total IDA
and IBRD commitments to Armenia amount to US$1, 506 million.

REVUE DE PRESSE NO1 – 26/10/11 – COLLECTIF VAN

Publie le : 26-10-2011

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN [Vigilance
Armenienne contre le Negationnisme] vous propose une revue de presse
des informations parues dans la presse francophone, sur les thèmes
concernant la Turquie, le genocide armenien, la Shoah, le genocide
des Tutsi, le Darfour, le negationnisme, l’Union europeenne, Chypre,
etc… Nous vous suggerons egalement de prendre le temps de lire ou
de relire les informations et traductions mises en ligne dans notre
rubrique

Par ailleurs, certains articles en anglais, allemand, turc, etc,
ne sont disponibles que dans la newsletter Word que nous generons
chaque jour. Pour la recevoir, abonnez-vous a la Veille-Media : c’est
gratuit ! Vous recevrez le document du lundi au vendredi dans votre
boîte email. Bonne lecture.

CEDH : la Turquie viole la liberte d’expression sur le genocide
armenien Info Collectif VAN – – “Dans son arret
de chambre rendu dans l’affaire Taner Akcam c. Turquie (requete no
27520/07) la Cour europeenne des droits de l’homme dit, a l’unanimite,
qu’il y a eu violation de l’article 10 (liberte d’expression)
de la Convention europeenne des droits de l’homme. Le requerant,
M. Taner Akcam, alleguait que la crainte d’etre poursuivi pour ses
opinions sur la question armenienne le soumettait a une tension et a
une angoisse telles qu’il avait arrete d’ecrire sur ce sujet. Taner
Akcam, possède la double nationalite turque et allemande. Professeur
d’histoire, il a pour domaine de recherche les evenements historiques
de 1915 concernant la population armenienne dans l’empire ottoman,
sur lesquels il a publie de nombreux articles. Pour la Republique de
Turquie, l’un des Etats successeurs de l’empire ottoman, le terme ”
genocide ” est impropre a decrire les evenements en question. Associer
le terme ” genocide ” a la question armenienne revient pour certains
(notamment les groupes extremistes et ultranationalistes) a denigrer
” la turcite ” (Turkluk), delit reprime par l’article 301 du code
penal turc et passible d’une peine de six mois a deux ou trois ans
d’emprisonnement.” Le Collectif VAN diffuse ici le communique de presse
de la Cour europeenne des droits de l’homme, en date du 25.10.2011 et
se rejouit de voir l’historien turc Taner Akcam, soutenu par la CEDH.

Une delegation armeno-americaine en Turquie Info Collectif VAN
– – Le Collectif VAN vous invite a lire une
traduction de Gilbert Beguian d’un article en anglais mise en ligne sur
le site de NAM (Nouvelles d’Armenie Magazine) le 23 octobre 2011. “Une
delegation de membres en vue de la communaute armenienne americaine
est attendue en Turquie vendredi pour une visite sans precedent a
divers sites religieux a travers le pays.

La delegation de 25 personnes, a laquelle se sont joints des hommes
d’affaires influents et des personnalites religieuses de la communaute
armenienne des Etats-Unis forte de 1,2 million de personnes, engage
une tournee des sites religieux essentiels d’Istanbul, Diyarbekir et
Van qui durera six jours”.

Armenie : le maire de Montreal a Erevan Info Collectif VAN –
– Le maire de Montreal, M.

Gerald Tremblay, est a Erevan, en Armenie, du 24 au 28 octobre, afin
de participer a la 31e Assemblee generale annuelle de l’Association
des maires francophones (AIMF) dans le cadre de ses fonctions de
vice-president et membre du Bureau de l’executif de cette association.

Le maire profite de la tenue de cet evenement dans la capitale
armenienne pour participer a diverses rencontres et activites
protocolaires visant a renforcer les liens privilegies d’amitie qui
unissent Montreal a la capitale armenienne depuis 2001. ” Montreal
et Erevan etant jumelees depuis maintenant 10 ans, il importe de
maintenir et consolider les relations que nous avons entrepris.

Montreal abrite l’une des plus importantes communautes armeniennes
d’Amerique, avec plus de 30 000 membres, et nous nous rejouissons du
fait qu’Erevan s’affirme de plus en plus sur la scène internationale,
comme en fait foi le choix de l’AIMF d’y tenir son assemblee generale
cette annee “, a declare le maire de Montreal. Le Collectif VAN vous
propose cette information publiee sur le site de la ville de Montreal
le 24 octobre 2011.

Printemps arabe: Un islam politique varie emerge des revolutions
Suivant les pays ayant connu “le printemps arabe”, des formes
politiques issues des principes de la religion islamique sont en
train d’etre installees. La democratie naissante dans les pays du
“printemps arabe” fait emerger un islam politique aux contours
varies, sans que l’on puisse tirer de consequences des declarations
de certains dirigeants sur la charia ou la place de la religion dans
les affaires publiques.

L’interview de Jacky Mamou, president du Collectif Urgence Darfour
Jacky Mamou : ” C’est notre petite association fonctionnant avec des
bouts de ficelle qui a amene le Darfour a la connaissance d’un large
public. Pas les grosses machines humanitaires ou de droits de l’homme
“.

Manifestation turque: un bar-tabac pris pour cible A Saint-Etienne,
un commercant francais d’origine Kurde a porte plainte contre X. La
vitrine de son bar-tabac a ete brisee par quelques dizaines de
manifestants brandissant des drapeaux turcs samedi après-midi. Son
employee enceinte a ete victime d’un malaise. A l’origine de ces
incidents, le rassemblement d’une soixantaine de membres de la
communaute turque afin de protester contre les attaques sanglantes
du PKK visant des militaires turcs. Les attaques ont fait 26 morts
dans la province de Hakkari. Le foyer culturel turc de Saint-Etienne
a appele a une prière pour les victimes. Mais aucune association
n’avait appele a descendre dans la rue. Le rassemblement n’avait pas
ete declare en prefecture.

Holocauste: l’Estonie refuse de traduire en justice les responsables
Le Centre Simon Wiesenthal qui traque les criminels nazis a sevèrement
critique Tallin pour avoir classe l’affaire de l’Estonien Mikhaïl
Gorchkov, 88 ans, soupconne d’etre implique dans le massacre en 1943
de plus de 3.000 Juifs a Sloutsk (Bielorussie), rapporte mardi la
TV estonienne.

Une procedure judiciaire relancee contre Rio Tinto pour crimes de
guerre Une procedure judiciaire vieille de dix ans dans laquelle le
groupe minier Rio Tinto est accuse de violations des droits de l’homme
a ete relancee mardi par une cour d’appel federale americaine, qui a
invalide une partie des non-lieux prononces en première instance. Les
faits dont le groupe est accuse sont lies a ses activites en Papouasie
Nouvelle Guinee, où Rio Tinto disposait de gigantesques mines d’or
et de cuivre.

Environ 550 personnes hier dans les rues contre le PKK Initialement,
il devait s’agir d’une marche silencieuse, toleree par la prefecture,
pour ” partager la souffrance des familles des victimes “. Ainsi, hier
matin, 550 personnes issues de la communaute turque de agglomeration
roussillonnaise sont descendues dans la rue. Après la mort mardi
dernier de 24 soldats turcs tues par des rebelles du PKK, le parti
des travailleurs du Kurdistan, il s’agissait pour une partie de la
communaute turque d’exprimer son emotion.

Egypte: Mesures de pacification des chretiens Mesures de pacification
des chretiens en Egypte après les emeutes meurtrières. L’Egypte veut
adopter une loi qui va faciliter aux chretiens l’ouverture d’eglises,
tout en accordant des autorisations officielles a celles qui existent
deja, cette mesure visant a rassurer les chretiens, suite aux recentes
violences inter-religieuses dans ce pays d’Afrique du Nord.

Retour a la rubrique

ECTHR SAYS AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 301 STILL GIVES WAY TO PERSECUTION

Today’s Zaman

Oct 25 2011
Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that a violation
was committed against freedom of expression in the case of a Turkish
professor who has drawn attention for his writings that support the
Armenian claims of genocide and has criticized the latest amendments
made to Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) as being insufficient.

The court ruled that academic Taner Akcam still faces the risk of a
case being brought against him, despite amendments having been made to
the infamous Article 301, which makes it a crime to insult Turkishness
and has been used as an excuse to persecute writers and intellectuals
for decades in Turkey. The European court on Tuesday commented on
the final decision and said the article could be instrumental in
turning people like Akcam, who study the Armenian mass killings,
into targets for “extreme nationalist groups” in Turkey, a press
release issued by the court registrar said on Tuesday.

Although the ECtHR decided in favor of Akcam’s case and ruled that
his freedom of expression had been abused, it did not compensate the
professor with the requested sum of close to 90,000 euroes.

The EU wants the article to be scrapped to secure basic freedoms and
rights, while the ECtHR has fined the Turkish state enormous amounts
in compensation in similar cases. Although a security clause was
introduced to Article 301 in 2008, which stipulates that authorization
from the Ministry of Justice must be sought before and investigation
can be opened, the court said it was not sufficient, and that “the
safeguards put in place to prevent Article 301 from being abused by
the judiciary did not provide a guarantee of non-prosecution because
any change of political will or of government policy could affect the
Ministry of Justice’s interpretation of the law and open the way for
arbitrary prosecutions.”

The decision in the Akcam case is also significant in the sense that
it was in a way the first comment from the human rights court on
the amended article, which could still cause people to be convicted
in connection to any “strong statement or sentence” that attracts
attention. “The measures adopted to provide a safeguard against
arbitrary or unjustified prosecutions under Article 301 is not
sufficient,” the press release stated. Armenian claims of genocide
have worked both ways for Turkey in its relations with the EU,
since the country has been able to persecute people for supporting
the Armenian theory on the issue, but at the same time has received
pressure from European countries which threatened to make it a crime
to deny the Armenian claims.

TURKEY-FRANCE: FOREIGN MINISTER JUPPE TO VISIT ANKARA

ANSAmed – English
October 24, 2011 Monday 11:58 AM CET

(ANSAmed) French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’ will pay a visit to
Turkey as formal guest of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, as
Anatolia news agency reported. Juppe’s visit is of special importance
for Ankara after remarks made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy
over the incidents of 1915 regarding the Armenian community in Turkey
during the Ottoman empire. French FM Juppe’ will arrive in Turkey
on October 26. Preparations for G-20 Summit set to be held in Cannes
on November 2 and 3 are expected to be taken up during Juppe’s visit
to Turkey. Juppe and Davutoglu are expected to discuss developments
regarding “Arab Spring” and Middle East peace process during their
meeting. Turkey’s EU accession process and Cyprus issue are the other
topics to be discussed by the two foreign ministers.