Author: Zargarian Hambik

Orinats Yerkir party assesses the parliamentary election in Armenia as
shameful

Arminfo
2007-05-13 15:17:00

Orinats Yerkir party is displeased with the course of the
parliamentary election and thinks their results are shameful.

As deputy chairwoman of the party Hegine Bisharyan told Arminfo
correspondent, there was no objective background for such a great
victory of the RPA. The results of the election were rigged. She also
added that mass and glaring violations of the Election Legislation
were fixed over the election. ballot stations. There were other cases
of violation as well. I myself video recorded all these facts. The
same situation was all over the territory of the republic. I applied
to the police regarding all the fixed facts>,- Bisharyan
complained. She also informed that she applied to the CIS monitoring
mission, which promised to visit the 11th district, but did stand by
their promise. ,- she said and added that she is going to appeal
against the results of the parliamentary election at the 11th
district.

To note, businessman Grigor Margaryan supported by the RPA gained a
victory in the 11th district under the first-pasty-the-post election
system. According to the preliminary result, Orinats Yerkir party
gained 7% votes instead of 12,60% in 2003.

May 12 parliamentary election in Armenia were free and transparent:
CIS observers

Arminfo
2007-05-13 11:04:00

The international observers from CIS consider the May 12 parliamentary
election have been held in line with the norms of the Electoral
Legislation, Head of CIS monitoring mission, Executive Secretary of
CIS Executive Committee Vladimir Rushailo said at today’s press-
conference.

According to him, the CIS observers recognize the parliamentary
election open, free and transparent. According to them, these election
have become the most important factor of stable development and
further democratization in Armenia’s life. Moreover, V. Rushailo said,
the country’s state agencies implemented specific practical measures
to assure the voter’s right to make a free choice the voting day, to
develop the freedom of belief expression and pluralism of
opinions. "No elections in the world can be absolutely sterile,
however, we follow for the fixed violations, which could affect the
voting result, not to have mass character", V. Rushailo said.

He also noted that the CIS observers offer the other international
observers, who share the conclusions and estimations of CIS monitoring
mission, to join this statement. Vladimir Rushailo also said that the
separate violations and omissions during the election campaign were
mainly of technical character and did not affect much the free will of
the Armenian voters.

V. Rushailo also said that in the opinion of CIS experts, these
election were held at higher organizational level in many aspects, as
compared with the previous 2003 election. Asked how much the
estimation of CIS observers may differ from that of the European
observers, V. Rushailo said no serious remarks and differences are
observed in estimations. He proposed to wait for the official
conclusion of OSCE mission to be promulgated 2 hours later.

Ruling party leads Armenia vote

Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/6650789.stm

Published: 2007/05/13 06:46:49 GMT

The ruling Republican Party and other pro-government parties are set to win
Armenia’s parliamentary election, amid allegations of fraud by the
opposition.
Results from two-thirds of polling stations showed Prime Minister Serzh
Sarksyan’s party was well ahead with 288,431 votes, election officials said.
Opposition groups said Saturday’s vote was falsified and have called for mass
demonstrations in the capital, Yerevan.
Armenian officials have insisted the election was calm, positive and lawful.

This is Armenia’s fourth election since it gained independence in 1991.
Foreign monitors said the last poll, in 2003, did not meet democratic
standards.
Ahead of the vote, Western countries warned of serious consequences if
Armenia did not improve this record.
More than $200m of US development aid and the prospect of closer links with
the European Union could be at risk if the polls are condemned as unfair.
‘Grossly falsified’
Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission announced on Sunday turnout had been
almost 60%, higher than in the country’s last election.

This has been one of the worst elections possible
Law-Governed Country Party spokesman

Preliminary results from 1,274 out of 1,923 polling stations showed Mr
Sarksyan’s Republican Party was in the lead.
The pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party was second with 129,683 votes,
followed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a former member of the
ruling coalition, with 115,410.
Opposition groups were far behind, with the Law-Governed Country Party of
former parliamentary speaker Artur Baghdasaryan winning 53,599 votes and the
Heritage Party gaining 31,678.
A spokesman for the Law-Governed Country Party said the results reflected the
widespread electoral fraud his party had witnessed.
"I fear these elections were grossly falsified," Tigran Lazarian told the
AFP news agency.
"This has been one of the worst elections possible."
"Some pro-government parties were giving bribes of between 4,000 and 20,000
drams ($11-56) right in front of polling stations."

Mr Lazarian said the opposition would organise mass demonstrations in
Yerevan on Sunday to attempt to overturn the results.
Large protests after the country’s last disputed election were broken up by
police and the authorities have already warned they will not tolerate unrest.
The chairman of the electoral commission, Garegin Azaryan, denied the
allegations of fraud.
"We can say that we had a positive election," Mr Azaryan said.
"The election was held in a calm atmosphere and in compliance with the law."
International observers, including the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, will issue a report on the election later on Sunday.

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
May 12 2007

TV-channels `Armenia’ and `Shant’ are broadcasting live the vote
counting process at the polling stations

Yerevan, May 12. /Mediamax/. Armenian TV-channels `Armenia’ and
`Shant’ are broadcasting live the vote counting process at the
polling stations.

Mediamax reports that cameras of `Armenia’ and `Shant’ are working on
the polling stations in Yerevan and the regions of Armenia.

The live broadcast of the vote counting process takes place for the
first time in the history of Armenia. –0–

Regnum, Russia
May 12 2007

Armenia’s elections: Society is awaken, politicians dazzled

If one tries to summarize results of election campaigns of political
forces and certain politicians running for the National Assembly, the
following picture emerges. The situation of mass rallying activity
emerged on the threshold of the May 12 voting. Society that had been
in apathy and passiveness suddenly showed increased interest I the
elections and became actively involved into various mass events. Most
activity has been registered in the republican capital Yerevan.

It can be said that the population was equally active both in
opposition rallies and all mass events of the pro-governmental
parties. Activity of opposition rallies increased during the last
week of the election campaign. During the same period, confrontation
increased in the relations of the government and the opposition.
However, even sharper confrontation was shown in the relations of the
pro-governmental parties Dashnaktsutyun, the Republican Party and the
Prosperous Armenia Party. If only one incident, when protesters and
police clashed, took place between the government and the opposition
(a rally near the National Security Service headquarters was
dispersed on May 9), the contradictions in the pro-governmental camp
resulted in beating people, exploding election campaign headquarters,
shelling and even killings. Nevertheless, the confrontation in all
directions of the relations was mainly concentrated in public
polemics.

Noteworthy, almost all officials are saying in unison that Armenia’s
history has not seen such `calm and civilized’ elections before. The
statements do not agree with almost weekly killings of various
authoritative persons, beatings, arrests and other forms of abuse.
Nevertheless, the mood for victory and expectation of election
outcome is so dazzling for all political forces that the abuses fade
into the background. None of the political forces was deprived of
airtime on television. However, the current election campaign has
been taking place under total information control of the Republican
Party leader, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan. Choosing the tactics of
personal control over the election campaign of the party, the prime
minister unwillingly became the driving force for increasing activity
of major rivals of the ruling party.

Most of all this reflected upon activity of the pro-presidential
Prosperous Armenia, which acquired mass rallies and events with
cultural programs as its favorite tool. As for the other
pro-governmental party, Dashnaktsutyun, by the end of its election
campaign its behavior started resembling behavior of an opposition
party. At some moment it seemed that the whole election campaign
would come to a competition and polemics of the three mentioned
forces.

Meanwhile, the last week of the election race was marked by drastic
increase in numbers of opposition mass events, first of all, by the
Impeachment Bloc and Orinats Yerkir Party. A scandal around Orinats
Yerkir leader Artur Bagdassaryan as well as arrest of former foreign
minister, member of the Armenian National Movement Alexander
Arzumanyan became stimulants to the sudden change. Eyes of society
turned to opposition parties again, changing the psychological
climate in the country suddenly.

The idea of the post-election mass opposition protests and `velvet
revolution’ was reanimated again in public speeches of opposition
leaders. On May 9, leaders of the Impeachment Bloc announced their
intention to take people to the streets on the election day, May 12.
On May 10, Artur Bagdassaryan announced that he would be in the first
rows of those protesting in case election fraud takes place. Anyway,
forecasts that peace in the country will restore right after election
outcomes are announced look premature. Clashes of protesters and
police on May 9 to some extent became a litmus paper to potential
moods of the opposition. Moreover, specific of the current elections
is that threats to denounce elections outcomes in case of fraud come
from the pro-government parties as well, first of all from
Dashnaktsutyun. Armenia has not seen such incidents before.

In any case, all key participants say that they are aimed at victory,
and one political force, the Republican Party even announced its
intention to receive absolute majority of mandates in the future
parliament. It is hard to say unambiguously how much they believe in
their own words. It is easier to suppose how the events will develop
further. It is evident that the pro-governmental parties can secure
ponderable membership in the parliament. But how each
pro-governmental force will like the outcomes will be clear from
their actions after the election day. At least, nobody is willing to
forecast on further cooperation of the future coalition. Claims and
quiet threats are more heard addressed to each other. Member of the
pro-governmental Dashnaktsutyun Armen Rustamyan even said he did not
rule out that his party would cooperate with the opposition.

Undoubtedly, Orinats Yerkir Party would have weighty representation
in the new parliament. This thing is not denied even by
pro-governmental sociologists. The same concerns the National Unity
Party by Artashes Geghamyan. As for other forces, which have always
been surrounded by intrigue, any forecasts are senseless here.
Whether the now coalition United Labor Party or Samvel Babayan’s
Dashink Party will come to the parliament, only leaders of the forces
know and those on whom it depends.

No matter how much officials and party leaders are speaking at length
about the `vox populi’, everyone comprehends that there is another
factor in Armenia apart from it – agreement and political bargaining.
The fact that such things are practiced widely is evident. Example of
it is consistent rumors about a deal between Stepan Demirchyan’s
People’s Party and the government.

It is noteworthy, that members of the radical opposition Impeachment
Movement, The Republic Party and The New Times Party that have become
increasingly popular recently started feeling sorry about their
fragmentation. There even was a call to two forces to renounce their
participation in the elections in favor of the third one. However, as
they say, the insight came too late: there are concerns now that
separately those political forces would not be able to overcome the
5% barrier. But time does not wait: those willing to cooperate can do
it after the election day. Who will be whose friend or enemy it will
be clear after today’s voting.

NO ONE CANCELLED SEVRE TREATY ON ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.05.2007 17:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "After conclusion of the Sevre Treaty on August
10, 1920 borders with independent Armenia had to be set by a neutral
mediator – the United States. In this view, representatives of UK,
France and Italy appealed to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for an
arbitration award on the Armenian-Turkish border. Mr Wilson outlined
Armenia’s territory of 110 square km," Ara Papyan, orientalist,
specialist in international law and Armenia’s former Ambassador to
Canada told a news conference in Yerevan.

"The arbitration award on the Armenian-Turkish border is
an international agreement which is not subject to appeal and
restriction of time. The big Parisian Four addressed a joint note to
the U.S. President in order to determine Armenian and Turkish borders
on the territory of Van, Bitlis, Erzrum and Trapezund," Papyan said.

The fate of the arbitration award is not bound with the ratification of
the Sevre treaty, according to him. "Westerman’s committee responsible
for determination of borders was formed in the U.S.

Congress. The map and award affixed by the state seal marking
the significance of the documents are kept in the U.S. Congress
Library. Another committee dealing with the demarcation of borders
at the site was headed by Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador to
Turkey in the times of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire,"
the Armenian diplomat said.

However, Papyan noted, November 29 the 11th Red Army entered
Armenia and the First Republic stopped existence as an international
element. "That is why the conditions of the Sevre and Lausanne treaties
were not fulfilled. The USSR was not the assignee of the Republic of
Armenia," he said.

NOBEL WINNER PAMUK SAYS NEW NOVEL OUT IN FALL

CBC News, Canada
May 8, 2007 Tuesday 4:45 PM GMT

Five years after his last novel and a year after winning the Nobel
Prize for literature, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has announced a
publishing date for his new novel.

Speaking in Stuttgart, Germany, where he is on a lecture tour, Pamuk
said the book, The Museum of Innocence, would be published in October
in Turkey.

Pamuk said the novel is the story of a love affair set in Turkey’s
high society and described it as both sad and ironic, according to
Agence France-Press.

His last book, Snow, was published in 2002 and his previous book,
My Name is Red, won the IMPAC Dublin Award.

Pamuk has been under fire in Turkey over his criticism of the treatment
of the Kurds and his discussion of Turkey’s role in the deaths of
Armenians early in the 20th century.

He was said to have received death threats and cancelled a lecture
tour of Germany earlier this year after the murder of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink.

However, he is scheduled to return to Turkey May 15 as a keynote
speaker for the International Press Institute’s World Congress.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Free University of Berlin
last Friday.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, speaking at the ceremony, said that
Pamuk’s enemies "are all our enemies, and also the enemies of Turkish
European Union membership."

Turkey has applied for EU membership but EU countries have criticized
its laws restricting free speech, including the law that makes it a
crime to "insult Turkishness."

This law was used to prosecute Pamuk over remarks he made to a German
newspaper in 2005 about the Armenian killings.

ARMENIA AND RUSSIA AGREE: FOREIGN POLICY CHANGE UNLIKELY AFTER ELECTIONS
Haroutiun Khachatrian

EurasiaNet, NY
May 10 2007

Changes may come after Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary vote,
but don’t look for them in the country’s close bilateral ties with
Russia, a group of Armenian and Russian experts concluded at a May
10 government-sponsored conference in Yerevan.

"I am often asked: What will happen after the elections? The answer
is: nothing will happen in terms of foreign policy," said political
scientist Alexander Iskandarian, head of Yerevan’s Caucauss Media
Institute. "Because there are no forces in Armenia which are striving
to come to power with the purpose of spoiling its relations either
with Russia or the West."

The most outspoken members of Armenia’s opposition are largely
pro-Western; pro-government parties, billed as the frontrunners in
the parliamentary race, take a more measured stance; or, in the case
of pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party, an avowedly pro-Russian
stance.

Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian recently told one
Russian media outlet that 90 percent of Armenia’s foreign relations
should be focused on Russia and only 10 percent on the West. A party
representative, however, confirmed Prosperous Armenia’s support for the
current official government policy of attempting to balance Armenia’s
ties with both.

No doubt with such considerations in mind, Russian parliamentarian
Konstantin Zatulin, director of the Moscow-based Institute of
Commonwealth of Independent States, noted that the timing of the
conference was deliberate. The gathering was organized by Zatulin’s
institute, which recently opened a Yerevan branch office, and supported
by the Armenian government.

"It is extremely important for us in Russia to know what will be the
situation in Armenia, in a country which is of great importance for
Russia," Zatulin said. Zatulin is one of more than 40 Russian Duma
deputies who are observing the May 12 parliamentary vote.

Competition between Russia and the West was among the main topics
discussed at the event.

In a nod to Armenia’s existing foreign policy, Armenian Justice
Minister David Haroutiunian, a leading member of the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia, assured conference participants that the country
wants to preserve its ties with both Russia and other outside powers
interested in the South Caucasus, a veiled reference to the United
States and other Western states.

Both Russia and the West want stability in the region, he continued,
but differ on tactics. "[E]ach side believes that the best way of
keep stability is by establishing its own dominance. Armenia does
not share this vision, and this is why it will oppose efforts to push
Russia out of the region," the minister said.

Haroutiunian named Armenia and Russia’s joint membership in the CIS
Collective Security Treaty as the most important aspect of relations
between the two states, noting that he preferred the term "alliance"
to "partnership."

In turn, Aleksei Gvinianin, a Russian foreign ministry department head
who represented the ministry at the conference, hailed Armenia for
providing "a good source of security, given Russia’s problems in both
the North and South Caucasus." In an apparent tit-for-tat overture,
Gvinianin did not exclude the possibility that Moscow could join
Western countries in encouraging Turkey to reopen its borders with
Armenia. Policy-planning cooperation on this front with Yerevan was
also proposed.

Sympathy for Armenia’s own sensitive areas in its relations with
the West was made clear. Gvinianin went so far as to recommend that
Armenians not take recommendations about the parliamentary elections
from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) as "truth of the
last instance." Moscow has a long history of conflicts with the OSCE
about the organization’s various activities in the former Soviet Union.

Russian political scientist Vitaly Tretyakov, editor of the Moscow
News weekly, added that former Soviet republics might not have any
other choice but to ally with Russia on various issues, as the "EU
or NATO cannot grow infinitely." Tretyakov went on to predict that
further incentive for strong Armenia-Russia ties could lie in the
creation of a new organization of former Soviet republics, in which
Russian President Vladimir Putin, would play a leading role.

Tretyakov put the timeline for such an event at "less than a year," but
did not provide further details or cite sources for his information.

Nonetheless, as shown at the conference, ties between Moscow and
Yerevan are far from trouble-free. Russian representatives did
not answer questions from Republican Party parliamentarian Armen
Ashotian on whether signatories of the 1992 CIS Collective Security
Treaty would help Armenia in case of "possible aggression" from
Azerbaijan, nor whether Russia might recognize the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh if Western states recognize the breakaway territory
of Kosovo in the Balkans.

Other problems were also raised. Political scientist Iskandarian
noted that Russia is losing its traditional influence in Armenia
since Moscow "works only with the state and not with [Armenian]
citizens." Among more than 30 think tanks in Armenia, he added, only
two or three are supported by Russians. At the same time, he noted,
Russian is losing ground to English as a second-language for Armenians.

Moscow-based political scientist Andranik Migranian had a simple
explanation: Russia is still recovering from the economic collapse
of the 1990s, he claimed. Assistance to Armenian civil society will
"increase rapidly," he predicted.

Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

ELECTION PREPARATIONS CONTINUE ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE AND ARE PROCEEDING IN AN ORDERLY MANNER: OSCE/ODIHR REPORT

Arminfo News Agency
2007-05-08 17:26:00

Election preparations continue according to schedule and are
proceeding in an orderly manner, says OSCE/ODIHR interim report Apr
18-May 2. Most Territorial Election Commissions (TECs) are working
effectively, and are open in their dealings with OSCE/ODIHR EOM
long-term observers. OSCE/ODIHR EOM observers noted that influence
of local self-government over the work of TEC 17 (Artashat) and TEC
39 (Vayots Dzor) appears to breach the provisions for independence
stated in Article 32.1 of the Election Code.

The reports gives special attention to the incident over recorded
conversation between Orinats Yerkir party leader Artur Bagdasaryan
and a British embassy official: "The Russian-language newspaper Golos
Armenii on 21 and 26 April published two editorials that drew upon an
allegedly clandestinely recorded conversation between Orinats Yerkir
party chairman Artur Bagdasaryan and a British embassy official.

Golos Armenii stated that a recording of the conversation, of unknown
origin, had been delivered to its office anonymously. The newspaper
contended that the published excerpts revealed that Mr. Bagdasaryan
was seeking a negative assessment of the parliamentary elections by
the international community. The matter has since become known as the
"Marco Polo affair" after the Yerevan restaurant where the meeting
took place.

At this writing it is not clear whether an investigation has been
initiated into how the recording was made, and by whom. The OSCE/ODIHR
EOM requested a meeting on the matter with the National Security
Service (NSS), but this was declined with the explanation that
"this case was not initiated by the state, and therefore we have no
comments on it at this stage". In an address to students at Yerevan
State University on 27 April, extensively reported in the media,
President Kocharyan indicated that in response to the publication
of the newspaper articles, he had immediately ordered "my security
service" (presumably the NSS) to contact Golos Armenii’s editorial
office and determine the circumstances of the recording. Mr. Kocharyan
also expressed his opinion that the articles portrayed matters
truthfully and that Mr. Bagdasaryan had committed an act of treason.

The British Embassy condemned the way in which the conversation was
recorded and presented, and confirmed its commitment to promoting
effective democratic institutions and processes in Armenia. Orinats
Yerkir stated that Artur Bagdasaryan underlines the importance of
elections being conducted according to international standards in
all his conversations, public and private."

Concerning Vartan Malkhazyan’s detention, the report says:
"A court of first instance on 5 April extended the pre-trial
detention of Vartan Malkhazyan, a majoritarian candidate in TEC 14
(Ashtarak). The Election Code includes provisions allowing a person
in pre-trial detention to be nominated and registered as a candidate
(as in Mr. Malkhazyan’s case), and that a candidate for election to
the National Assembly may be detained or brought to court only with
6 the Central Election Commission’s (CEC’s) consent. Both the CEC
and a court official confirmed to the OSCE/ODIHR EOM that the CEC was
neither consulted nor informed about Mr. Malkhazyan`s detention being
extended. At present a challenge on the basis of the Election Code
to the legality of the extension is pending in the Court of Appeal,
and a related complaint was made to the CEC."

The report continues: The OSCE/ODIHR EOM is aware of widely
circulating anecdotes and apparently speculative comments about
activities that members of the public characterize as preparation
for election fraud. One of the most frequent is the allegation of
"passport collection" – representatives of political parties either
taking down passport details, or collecting copies of passports or
actual passports. Whether the allegations have any basis in fact
has proved unverifiable, but their circulation could be taken as an
illustration of mistrust and cynicism among part of the electorate.

There are no provisions in the Election Code regarding gender
representation in the election administration. Two out of the nine CEC
members are women (Interim Report No.1 stated that three 10 women were
in the CEC, but the woman listed by the CEC as the member representing
the judiciary had in fact been replaced by a man in February 2007).

In the TECs the representation of women in the membership is even
lower – 15 per cent; 11 of the 41 TECs have no female members at
all. Only three TECs have a female chair, and in three TECs women
serve as deputy chairs.

Along with wide poster placement activity, the commercial billboard
space in the center of Yerevan is dominated by campaign posters of
the Republican Party and Prosperous Armenia, and to a lesser extent
20 the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutiun. The
OSCE/ODIHR EOM received copies of four letters sent by the Heritage
party to three advertising agencies in March and April 2007 asking for
billboard space, all of which got a negative response. The OSCE/ODIHR
EOM attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to arrange meetings with some
of the agencies and clarify rules for commercial poster authorization
and placement.

Concerning TV coverage of the electoral campaign, the report says: "A
number of media outlets appeared to cover a broader range of political
23 subjects, and thus to comply with legal provisions requiring fair
and equal conditions. However, the monitored television channels
devoted the highest portion of their politically-related information
in newscasts to three governmental and pro-presidential parties. The
substantial attention in the media (particularly television) to
government activities included a strong focus on Prime Minister
Serge Sargsyan. The way in which Mr. Sargsyan’s public appearances
around the country were presented by television reports, not clearly
distinguishing his roles as prime minister and as leader of the
Republican Party, would appear to reflect a broader issue that legal
provisions concerning political campaigning by 24 officials or use
of state resources for campaigning are difficult to apply. In the
news programmes of all four nationwide TV channels (public TV H1,
and the private channels H2, Armenia TV and ALM TV) the government
was given the highest share of the monitored political content (H2
gave 31 percent of almost exclusively positive and neutral coverage,
for example). All channels have so far presented the government in
overwhelmingly positive or neutral tones. Apart from coverage of the
authorities, the monitored TV channels dedicated the largest part of
their political party-related newscast information to the Republican
Party (in Armenia TV and ALM TV), to ARF Dashnaktsutiun (in Yerkir
Media) and to Prosperous Armenia (in H2, Shant TV and Kentron TV);
negative coverage of these parties was almost completely absent."

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMPULSORY SUBJECT IN GERMAN SCHOOLS
By A. Hovsepian, Germany

AZG Armenian Daily
09/05/2007

We demand all the Federative Lands to include the Armenian Genocide,
perpetrated by Ottoman Turkey during the First World War, as a
compulsory subject in the school education programs, says the April
24 address of Markus Merkel, vice-spokesman for foreign policy of
the German Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary faction.

"Idea" news agency reports that an evangelist priest, former Foreign
Minister of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) Markus Merkel reminds
in his address that the Detutsch Reich was the ally of the Ottoman
Empire through the World War I, and therefore Germany’s recognition
of the Genocide very important.

It will considerably contribute the process of recognition of the
Armenian Genocide worldwide. The German Parliament, the Bundestag,
condemned the Armenian Genocide already in 2005, phrasing it as
"deportation and massacres ("Massaker" in German) in 1915".

In his message Merkel also emphasizes the construction of J. Lepsius’
house in Potsdam, "which is dedicated to refill the spaces of
forgetfulness and improve the relations between the Armenian, German
and Turkish peoples". He says he is very disappointed that some are
advocating reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, in the meanwhile
falsifying the history and strengthening the positions of the policy of
denial of the Genocide. Merkel adds that the scandalous murder of Hrant
Dink revealed that certain powers in Turkey still impede the process
of its integration with Europe and hamper establishment of democracy.

Inclusion of the topic of the Armenian Genocide in the education
programs of German schools was also mentioned in Matthias Meisner’s
article, published in "Der Tagesspiegel" on April 25. The article
says that the German-Armenian Company has submitted a correspondent
petition to Chancellor Angela Merkel.