Author: Toganian Liana

TORBEN HOLCE IS PLEASED WITH ARMENIA

A1+
[07:16 pm] 18 October, 2006

For the last five years the relations of Armenia with the EU have
developed considerably. This was the opinion of Torben Holce, the head
of the European Committee delegation to Georgia and Armenia. Today
was the last day of Torben Holce in this post. Pierre Ilgand will
replace him in this post.

In 2004 Armenia was included into the EU New Neighborhood Policy
program. The national action plan for Armenia has been confirmed
lately. According to Holce, the visits of many European officials to
Armenia and Armenian officials to Europe within the framework of the
program give us grounds to hope that the cooperation between Armenia
and the EU will be enhanced.

"The national action plan organizes a number of events which will
hold the economy of Armenia and a number of political structures up
to European standards", Mr. Holce said.

Asked the question if he is pleased with his mission, the diplomat
gave a purely diplomatic answer, "Yes, I’m very pleased. I have
cooperated with the authorities of Armenia and it is rather sad to
leave this country".

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN: L’OSCE CRITIQUE LE VOTE DES DEPUTES FRANCAIS

Agence France Presse
18 octobre 2006 mercredi 5:31 PM GMT

Un responsable de l’OSCE a critique, au nom de "la liberte
d’expression", le vote des deputes francais d’un texte sur le genocide
armenien en Turquie et demande aux senateurs de le rejeter.

Miklos Haraszti, representant pour la liberte des medias a
l’Organisation pour la securite et la cooperation en Europe (OSCE),
a indique dans un communique recu jeudi, avoir envoye une lettre en
ce sens au president du Senat francais, Christian Poncelet.

"Je prends note des intentions humanitaires des deputes ayant soutenu
la proposition. Cependant, l’adoption de cet amendement soulève de
graves questions concernant les normes internationales de la liberte
d’expression", relève M. Haraszti, un ancien dissident anti-communiste
en Hongrie.

Au nom des memes principes, il "demande a nouveau a la Turquie
d’abroger l’article 301 du Code penal sur +l’insulte a l’identite
turque+, que les procureurs turcs ont utilise a maintes reprises dans
le cadre du debat sur le genocide armenien".

L’OSCE est un forum Est-Ouest, regroupant 56 pays de l’Amerique du
Nord a l’Amerique centrale, qui tente de promouvoir la democratie et
les droits de l’Homme et de desamorcer les conflits – en particulier
dans les Etats issus de l’ex-URSS.

L’Assemblee nationale francaise a recemment adopte en première lecture
une proposition de loi de l’opposition socialiste sanctionnant la
negation du "genocide armenien" dans l’Empire ottoman entre 1915
et 1917, de peines allant jusqu’a un an de prison et 45.000 euros
d’amende. La France avait reconnu ce genocide en 2001.

Le vote a souleve une tempete de protestations en Turquie, où la
realite du genocide est niee.

"Le fait de criminaliser des declarations et la severite des sanctions
empièteraient sur la liberte editoriale en France. Et l’adoption de
cet amendement dans une nation ayant une tradition ancienne de liberte
d’expression pourrait creer un precedent pour d’autres pays de l’OSCE",
ajoute Miklos Haraszti.

–Boundary_(ID_2wcM2eMnlJ3m9w9NgfRNVQ)- –

FIDE PRESIDENT APPRECIATES ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES EFFORTS ‘TOWARD CHESS DEVELOPMENT’

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 18 2006

YEREVAN, October 17. /ARKA/. President of the Federation Internationale
des Echecs (International Chess Federation – FIDE), President of
Kalmykia Kyrsan Ilumzhinov appreciates the Armenian authorities’
efforts toward the development of chess. At his meeting with RA
President Robert Kocharyan and President of the Chess Federation
of Armenia, RA Minister of Defense Serge Sargsyan he stated that
serious attention on the part of the country’s authorities produces
good results – Armenian chess-players’ achievements. Ilumzhinov said
that in FIDE rating Armenia ranks 4th among 165 countries.

In his turn, President Robert Kocharyan pointed out that the Armenian
chess-players’ great achievements have recently inspired many people
and added to the popularity of chess.

During the meeting, Ilumzhinov, Kocharyan and Sargsyan exchanged
views on further development of chess in Armenia, addressing the
possibility of optional training in schools.

Kyrsan Ilumzhinov is in Yerevan to take part in the world junior
championship held in Armenia on October 2-16, 2006. 17-year-old Zaven
Andreasyan (Armenia) won the championship.

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Oct 13 2006

Special Session of the National Assembly to Be Convened at 12:00 on
October 13, 2006

Mr. Aghvan Hovsepyan, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia,
submitted a petition to Mr. Tigran Torosyan, President of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on obtaining his consent
for the MP Hakob Rafik Hakobyan to be involved as one of the accused.

Mr. Torosyan signed a decision, by which, according to Article 70 of
RA Constitution, by the initiative of the Government of the Republic
of Armenia at 12:00 on October 13 a special session of the National
Assembly will be convened by the initiator’s defined agenda: on
giving consent to the petition of Aghvan Hovsepyan, Prosecutor
General of the Republic of Armenia for the MP Hakob Rafik Hakobyan to
be involved as one of the accused.

Regnum, Russia
Oct 13 2006

Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vartan Oskanyan
on the French National Assembly vote

Today’s approval of the bill by the French National Assembly is a
natural continuation of France’s principled and consistent defense of
human and historic rights and values.

This decision is also a natural reaction to the intensive, aggressive
and official denialism of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish state.
They have undertaken a premeditated, planned assault on the truth.

To adopt such a decision is the French Parliament’s sovereign right
and is understandable. What we don’t understand is the Turkish
government’s instigation of extremist public reactions, especially
while Turkey itself has a law that does exactly the same thing and
punishes those who even use the term genocide or venture to discuss
those events.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Oct 13 2006

Turkey considers action against France
Friday 13 October 2006, 18:52 Makka Time, 15:52 GMT

Erdogan said Turkey would take the necessary steps
The Turkish prime minister has said Ankara is studying retaliatory
measures against France following the approval of a law making it a
crime to deny the Armenian genocide.

Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the government would take measures
within Turkey and abroad.

"Turkey’s foreign trade volume with France is $10 billion and this is
equal to 1.5 per cent of France’s whole foreign trade volume.

"We’re going to make the proper calculations and then take necessary
steps," Erdogan said.

Turkey denies claims that Armenians suffered genocide in Turkey
during World War One, arguing that large numbers of both Muslim Turks
and Christian Armenians died in a partisan conflict that accompanied
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

The EU also reiterated its criticism of the French move.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said: "We
don’t think that this decision at this moment is helpful in the
context of the European Union’s relations with Turkey."

The Armenian government welcomed the French vote, saying that Turkey
had carried out a "intensive, aggressive and official" campaign to
stop the killings being recognised as genocide.

France’s lower house of parliament voted for the bill on Thursday,
despite warnings from French firms that it would create repercussions
for their business in Turkey, a fast-growing market which imported
4.7 billion euros’ worth of French goods in 2005.

"There are no real threats in current trade, though perhaps [there
could be] with some big contracts," a French Foreign Ministry
spokesman said.

The bill still needs approval from the upper house, the Senate, and
Jacques Chirac, the president, to take effect.

Hundreds of French firms such as Renault and Carrefour have large
investments in Turkey, employing thousands of Turkish workers.

This week Turkish consumer groups and some trade unions called for
boycotts of French products.

FOREIGN MINISTER OF RA TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: MP FORECASTS

ARMINFO News Agency
October 11, 2006 Wednesday

Shavarsh Kocharyan, MP, says that Vardan Oskanyan, Foreign Minister
of RA, may participate in the Presidential Election in Armenia in
2008. Sh. Kocharyan told ArmInfo correspondent that Government will
try to play out two scenarios of the Presidential Election.

According to the first, ‘a certain power’ gains parliamentary majority
and promotes their candidate to the Presidential position.

This candidate "known to everyone" will guarantee the Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan personal security after the Election and
will also guarantee a secure conditions for him to leave the country.

There is no space for Vardan Oskanyan in this scenario.

In the second scenario, Robert Kocharyan takes the position of the
Prime Minister. Then he would certainly need an obedient and manageable
President. Vardan Oskanyan is a perfect match to take up this role.

EURONEWS: WOMEN AND CHILDREN KILLED IN 1915 DON’T LOOK LIKE GUERILLAS

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.10.2006 13:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish parliament may pass a law on the genocide
perpetrated by the French in Algeria if the French parliament adopts
the bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide denial, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated, reports Euronews.

Earlier Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned French businessmen
that in case of passing the bill the economic relations between the two
states will be blocked. Ankara also called on the European Commission
to exert pressure on Paris and dissuade France from adopting the
bill. EU Commissioner for Enlargement also attended to the problem
on Tuesday and called on the French lawmakers to weigh the possible
consequences of the motion.

The discussion of the bill is due in the French parliament October
12. If adopted it will provide for a 45 000 euros fine up to a year
in prison for denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey warns that if this happens Turkish courts will set a 3-year
imprisonment for a phrase "France did not perpetrate a genocide
in Algeria." Despite the existing evidence Turkey insists that the
number of the killed Armenians was exaggerated and the majority of
those killed were guerillas.

Euronews showed the photos of killed women and children saying these
hardly could be guerillas.

Meanwhile, according to Zaman daily, chairman of the Algerian
parliamentary committee on foreign relations thanked the Turkish
parliament for the bill on "the genocide the French committed against
Algerians."

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
October 11, 2006
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: [email protected]

CONGRESSMAN RENZI JOINS THE ARMENIAN CAUCUS
Cosponsors Bill Prohibiting Aid for Bypass Rail Link

Washington, DC – At the urging of the Armenian Assembly of America,
Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) joined the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues and signed on as a cosponsor of H. R. 3361, a bill that
would prohibit funding for a rail link connecting Turkey, Georgia and
Azerbaijan while bypassing Armenia.

"The Armenian Assembly appreciates Congressman Renzi’s support of the
rail legislation and welcomes him to the Armenian Caucus," said Assembly
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "We look forward to working with him
to strengthen the U.S.-Armenia relationship."

The South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act, introduced by
Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), along with Co-Chair
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Caucus Member George Radanovich (R-CA), is
supported by nearly 100 lawmakers to date. Last month, the House
approved the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006, which
included an amendment which was strongly supported by the Assembly and
sponsored by Representatives Joseph Crowley (D-NY), together with
Congressmen Edward Royce (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA). The provision
ensures that no Export-Import funding is used for a costly and
unnecessary rail line that would exclude Armenia from economic and
regional transportation opportunities.

The amendment, adopted by the House Financial Services Committee, states
that "The [Export-Import] Bank shall not guarantee, insure, extend
credit, or participate in an extension of credit in connection with the
development or promotion of any rail connections or railway-related
connections that do not traverse or connect with Armenia, and do
traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Kars,
Turkey."

Renzi is the second member from the state of Arizona to join the
Armenian Caucus. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee,
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Resources
Committee.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###
NR#2006-089

Photograph available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following link:

/2006-089-1.jpg

Caption: Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) flanked by Assembly Executive
Director Bryan Ardouny (left) and Kevin Borland of Roundtable
Strategies, LLC.

EU ENLARGEMENT CHIEF WARNS ON FRENCH ARMENIA VOTE
By Paul Taylor

Reuters
San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Oct 9 2006

BRUSSELS – France’s parliament could do serious harm to EU-Turkey
relations if it votes to make it a crime to deny Armenians suffered
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks, the EU’s enlargement chief
said on Monday.

Adopting the Socialist opposition bill would also deal a blow to
efforts by Turkish intellectuals to re-examine a painful and sensitive
episode in their country’s history, Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He said he would be in contact with the French government before
Thursday’s vote to point out the consequences.

‘The French law on the Armenian genocide is of course a matter for
French lawmakers, but there is a lot at stake for the European Union
as well, and the decision may have very serious consequences for
EU-Turkey relations,’ said Rehn, who is in charge of Turkey’s EU
membership negotiations.

‘Such a law would have counter-productive consequences because it would
say to the Turks that there is nothing to discuss. Here you have the
final truth and if you happen to deny it you end up in prison in an
EU member state,’ he said.

‘This would put in danger the efforts of all those in Turkey –
intellectuals, historians, academics, authors – who truly want to
develop an open and serious debate without taboos and for the sake
of freedom of expression,’ Rehn added.

Ankara strongly denies estimates that 1.5 million Armenians perished at
the hands of Ottoman Turkey between 1915 and 1921 or that there was a
systematic genocide. It says large numbers of both Christian Armenians
and Muslim Turks died in partisan conflict raging at that time.

HISTORIANS’ COMMISSION

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has proposed that Turkey and
Armenia establish a joint historians’ commission to examine the
evidence, but Armenia has rejected the idea.

Rehn said creating such a commission would be an important step
forward that could help reconciliation and promote an overall political
settlement between Turkey and Armenia.

French President Jacques Chirac suggested on a visit to Yerevan
last month that recognition of the Armenian ‘genocide’ should be a
condition of Turkish EU entry.

The 400,000-strong Armenian diaspora is politically influential in
France ahead of next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Earlier on Monday, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy set three
conditions to avoid adoption of the bill, including a joint historians’
commission, the reopening of Turkey’s closed borders with Armenia
and that Turkey repeal a law used to prosecute people who speak of
an Armenian ‘genocide’.

Sarkozy, conservative front-runner for president and leader of the
ruling Union for a Popular Movement, said he had set the conditions in
a telephone call with Erdogan, who has threatened economic reprisals
against France if the measure passes.

Opinion polls show a majority of voters oppose admitting Turkey to
the EU, so an estrangement with Ankara over the Armenian issue might
not be unwelcome to Paris.