Author: Tambiyan Samvel

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 5 2010

Official: Adopting ‘genocide’ resolution in United States a big comedy

05.03.2010 11:48
Turkish Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee head Murat Merjan
called the approval of a resolution recognizing the so-called
"Armenian Genocide" by the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign
Affairs Committee "the greatest comedy," CNN Turk reported.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted yesterday with 23 to
22 votes a resolution recognizing the so-called "genocide."

Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed "genocide" against
Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Making greater efforts to
promote the issue internationally, Armenians have achieved its
recognition by parliaments in some countries.

Merjan called adopting the resolution "the greatest sitcom in recent
years" at a press conference held at the Turkish Embassy in
Washington.

ANCA WELCOMES PASSAGE OF RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.03.2010 01:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
welcomes passage of resolution on Armenian Genocide, ANCA spokeswoman
Elizabeth Chuljyan told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"We’re proud the Committee succeeded in opposing Turkish government’s
policy of negation of Armenian Genocide. We’ll continue working with
Congressmen and American Armenian community towards final passage of
resolution in US House of representatives.

On March 4, US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passed a resolution
recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The resolution
was passed by a vote of 23-22.

U.S. HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS APPROVES THE RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Panorama.am
00:50 05/03/2010

Politics

Minutes ago U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved the
resolution 252 recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

23 Congressmen voted in favour of the resolution while 22 rejected it.

Remind, the voting was preceded by intense discussions and speeches
between democrat and republican members of the Congress, who were
trying to present motivations for pros and cons.

Ambassadors of Armenia and Turkey to the United States as well as
a number of parliamentaries from both states were observing the
discussions at the session hall.

TURKEY PULLS ENVOY AFTER U.S. VOTE ON ‘GENOCIDE’ LABEL
By Susan Cornwell and Arshad Mohammed

Reuters
March 5 2010

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. congressional panel voted on Thursday
to label as "genocide" the World War One-era massacre of Armenians
by Turkish forces, prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador from
Washington.

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted 23-22
to approve the non-binding resolution, which calls on President
Barack Obama to ensure U.S. policy formally refers to the killings
as genocide.

The action cleared the way for the measure to be considered by the
full House but it was unclear whether it would actually come to a vote
there. The Obama administration and Turkey had pressed lawmakers to
drop the matter.

The vote triggered an immediate condemnation from Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who recalled Turkey’s ambassador to Washington
for consultations. Erdogan said he worried the measure would harm
Turkish-U.S. ties and efforts by Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia
to end a century of hostility.

The vote put Obama in a tight spot between his desire to maintain
good relations with Turkey, a Muslim but secular democracy that
plays a vital role for U.S. interests from Iran to Afghanistan to
the Middle East.

On the one side is NATO ally Turkey, which rejects calling the events
genocide. On the other side is an important U.S. Armenian-American
constituency and their backers in Congress ahead of congressional
elections in November.

ARMENIA HAILS VOTE

"We highly appreciate the decision," Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian told Reuters. "This is further proof of the devotion of
the American people to universal human values and is an important
step towards the prevention of crimes against humanity."

The price on Turkey’s 2030 benchmark Global Bond did not change after
the vote. It remained down 0.44 points in price to 160, yielding
6.465 percent.

"I don’t think there will be any reaction in the markets unless the
political response from Turkey elevates it as an issue," said A.J.

Mediratta, senior managing director at Greylock Capital Management
in New York.

"Clearly the U.S. administration didn’t want this to come to a head
and I think the Turkish government understands this. If there is a
reaction, it will come at the London open tomorrow."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned House Foreign
Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a fellow Democrat, on
Wednesday to argue the measure could harm efforts to normalize
Turkish-Armenian relations, the White House said.

Turkey and Armenia signed a protocol last year to normalize relations
but it has yet to pass through the parliament of either country. Obama
called Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday to urge quick
ratification, the White House said.

Despite Clinton’s appeal, Berman went ahead with a committee debate
and a vote. He said Turkey was a "vital" ally but "nothing justifies
Turkey’s turning a blind eye to the reality of the Armenian genocide."

Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed by Ottoman forces
but denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it amounted to
genocide — a term employed by many Western historians and some
foreign parliaments.

(Additional reporting by Daniel Bases in New York and Zerin Elci in
Ankara; Editing by Matt Spetalnick and John O’Callaghan)

ews/idINIndia-46668020100304?sp=true

WHITE HOUSE REBUFFED IN EFFORT TO KILL VOTE ON HOUSE BILL RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY TURKS

ABC News
03/white-house-rebuffed-in-effort-to-kill-vote-on- house-bill-recognizing-armenian-genocide-by-turks. html
March 4 2010

The Obama administration asked the chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee to cancel a vote scheduled for today on a bill
recognizing the Armenian genocide. The chairman of the committee, Rep.

Howard Berman, D-Calif., is going forward with the bill "mark up"
and vote regardless.

The bill, H. Res. 252, recognizes as genocide the "systematic and
deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians" as ordered by the
Turkish government from 1915 to 1923. It’s the kind of statement
then-Sen. Obama supported; as a candidate for president, he said,
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be
that President."

Turkish government officials, who are important U.S. allies, have
long objected to the description of those events as genocide.

After speaking to Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday, the
president had Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reach out to Berman.

"Secretary Clinton called Chairman Berman yesterday and in that
conversation the Secretary indicated that further Congressional action
could impede progress on normalization of relations," said National
Security Staff spokesman Mike Hammer.

The conversation took place after the president spoke with President
Gul and "expressed appreciation" for his and Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s "efforts on normalization of relations between
Turkey and Armenia."

The president also "pressed for rapid ratification of the protocols,"
Hammer said, referring to efforts at normalization between Armenia
and Turkey.

Describing himself as "very upset," Aram Hamparian, executive director
of the Armenian National Committee of America, told ABC News that
this move" represents an insult on top of injury.

The injury was the broken pledge by the president to recognize the
genocide, and he’s taken that a step further by trying to block the
Congress from doing the very thing that he pledged to do which was
recognize the genocide."

As senators, President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Vice President
Biden had all been "very outspoken" in favor of identical legislation.

"Turkey does not get a vote or a veto in the US Congress," Hamparian
said. "The secretary shouldn’t be in the business of helping Turkey
impose its gag rule on the representatives of the American people."

During his trip to Turkey last April, the president disappointed
Hamparian and other members of the Armenian-American community who
supported his campaign by refraining from using the bold talk he made
as a candidate about the genocide.

Standing with President Gul, the president was asked about his position
that the Turks need to acknowledge the up to 1.5 million Armenians
the Ottoman Empire slaughtered around the time of World War I.

"My views are on the record and I have not changed views," Mr. Obama
said. "What I have been very encouraged by is news that under President
Gul ‘s leadership, you are seeing a series of negotiations, a process,
in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole host of
longstanding issues, including this one."

At the time, Hamparian told ABC News, "We’re profoundly disappointed.

All the more so because his statements on this in his record before
he became president nailed it in terms the facts, the practical side
and the moral dimension. He repeatedly talked about this during the
campaign, and he was really harsh on President Bush, he said it was
inexcusable that Bush refused to acknowledge that this was genocide."

The president "finds himself doing exactly the thing he so sharply
criticized the Bush administration for, which is being euphemistic
and evasive. It’s a bitter thing for Armenian-Americans who really
believed him and really worked hard."

As a senator and candidate, Mr. Obama was quite forceful on the matter
and quite disdainful of the Bush administration’s tip-toeing around
the word "genocide."

In a January 2008 letter to the Armenian Reporter, Mr. Obama said he
shared "with Armenian Americans – so many of whom are descended from
genocide survivors – a principled commitment to commemorating and
ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances
of genocide in world history."

In 2006, Mr. Obama noted, "I criticized the secretary of State for the
firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly
used the term ‘genocide’ to describe Turkey’s slaughter of thousands
of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with secretary Rice my firmly
held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a
personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented
fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence."

Asserted Mr. Obama, back then: "The facts are undeniable. An official
policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an
untenable policy."

Mr. Obama also stated unequivocally that "as President I will recognize
the Armenian Genocide."

His position on the matter was so strong, the Armenian National
Committee of America had its own Obama File on Armenian Genocide
Recognition which included a Youtube clip of the President on the
campaign trail saying, "there was a genocide that did take place
against the Armenian people. It is one of these situations where we
have seen a constant denial on the part of the Turkish government."

Today Hammer reiterated that the "President’s position on the events
of 1915 is well known and his view of that history has not changed."

WHITE HOUSE URGES TURKEY AND ARMENIA TO LIVE IN PRESENT, NOT IN PAST

Today
0.html
March 3 2010
Azerbaijan

White House Official Michael Hammer voiced President Barack Obama’s
position on the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire.

White House urges Turkey and Armenia not to return to historical
events, but live for today, Hammer was quoted as saying by the Turkish
newspaper Milliyet newspaper.

U.S. Congress International Relations Commission Chairman Howard
Berman proposed to submit the issue consideration on March 4.

Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915.

Making greater efforts to promote the issue internationally, Armenians
have achieved its recognition by parliaments of some countries.

It is expected that the Armenian lobby will intensify its activities
in parliaments worldwide, particularly in the U.S. Congress, in
connection with the anniversary of "genocide" in April.

RUSSIAN PATRIARCH KIRILL I TO PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2010 11:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Patriarch Kirill I will pay a 2-day official
visit to Armenia on the invitation of Catholicos of All Armenians,
His Holiness Karekin II. The agenda of the visit was discussed at
March 2 Supreme Spiritual Council meeting.

The Russian Patriarch is expected to conclude Sergiev Posad –
Etchmiadzin collaboration agreement. He will also attend the 1826-1828
Russo-Persian War and Armenian Genocide memorials, as well as Armenian
Genocide Museum Institute.

He is scheduled to hold a meeting with Armenia’s Russian Community
representatives and to participate in YSU-hosted presentation of his
own books in Armenian translation and to attend the foundation laying
ceremony of Russian orthodox church in Yerevan.

A meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is also on the agenda.

ARMENIAN RANKS 103 IN FIFA RATING

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2010 17:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On March 3 FIFA published its latest rating of
national teams of February. Compared with the last rating, which
was submitted on February 3, the Armenian team dropped 1 line, and
with 320 points now ranks 103rd. The team of Azerbaijan (251 points)
is 109th and the team of Georgia (200 points) is 124th.

The current champion of Europe – Spain squad tops the rating with
1642 points. Five-time world champions – Brazilians are the second
(1594 points), and the Dutch team with 1,324 points is the third.

EU: ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS SHOULD BE RATIFIED WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS IN SHORTEST TERMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2010 13:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Union will speed up the talks on
conclusion of an Association Agreement with Armenia.

"The European Union will deepen relations with all countries which are
interested in signing an agreement on free trade area and relaxation
of visa regime. A subcommittee on legal issues will be formed to
that end," said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos,
whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency.

"Armenia and the EU are developing relations within the Eastern
Partnership initiative and we were glad to know about the upcoming
visit of the Armenian President to Brussels," he said during a joint
news conference with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Touching upon regional issues, Mr. Moratinos said the European Union
will continue efforts for resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

As to Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, he said the Protocols on
normalization of relations between the two countries should be ratified
"without preconditions in the shortest terms".

Minister Nalbandian, for his part, remarked that using the language
of preconditions, Turkey hampers the reconciliation process.

Commenting on the Karabakh conflict settlement, he reminded about
Azerbaijan’s warlike statements and unwillingness to withdraw snipers
from the frontline. "Yerevan and Baku regularly submit proposals on
the conflict resolution to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," he said.

The Minister also referred to the Armenian pogroms in Sumgait and Baku,
saying that the perpetrators of the massacre will be sooner or later
called to account.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation. On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to
the country’s Organic Law.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out in
1988, as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the
final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from
1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994
(when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most
of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions is
now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are
holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

TURKISH DELEGATIONS TO THE US

Arab Monitor
.php?idnews=29881&lang=en
March 1 2010

Ankara, 1 March – The Turkish parliament has sent two delegations
to visit the United States. Both delegations will seek talks with
US officials and lawmakers, especially with members of the House of
Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, to persuade them to drop
a draft resolution which, if approved by the Committee and passed
to the House for voting, would officially categorize the killing of
Armenians during the last years of the Ottoman Empire as "genocide".

Regarding the move by the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs
Committee, the Turkish government has threatened the United States
with consequences. Today the Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed its
regret about the US initiative declaring that such a move is likely to
constitute an obstacle to the normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties
and would, furthermore, harm the Turkish-US relationship. In this
context Ankara threatened it might not meet US expectations for an
enhanced Turkish engagement on the Iraqi issue and in Afghanistan,
if the US, for its part, does not heed Turkish concerns over the
historic Armenian issue.