UNION OF TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS IN EUROPE PROTESTS FRANCE
Turkish Press
Oct 30 2006
BERLIN – The Union of Turkish Associations in Europe laid black
wreaths in front of French consulates general in four German cities
–Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart– to protest the bill
criminalizing denial of so-called Armenian genocide that was approved
by French national assembly on October 12th, 2006.
Recep Yildirim, chairman of the Union of Turkish Associations in
Europe, said that France, which defended human rights and freedom of
expression, has blackened its history due to adoption of the bill.
Yildirim added, “we hope that the bill will not be approved in the
Senate.”

IS FEHRIYE STILL IN BRUSSELS?
Sabah, Turkey
Oct 30 2006
The claim that the terrorist is hiding in the country after her escape
is being discussed. The minister of foreign affairs of Belgium who will
visit Turkey today has Fehriye Erdal and Armenian bill on his agenda.
The minister of foreign affairs of Belgium, Karel de Gucht is visiting
Turkey for official contacts today. The claim that the member of
DHKP-C terrorist organization Fehriye Erdal is still hiding in the
country after her escape is being discussed. The defendant of the
assassination of Sabancý, Fehriye Erdal had made her escape one day
before the Brugge Court resolved to sentence her with 4 year jail.
–Boundary_(ID_Gu6L+Hi3wxISKYFqDf4YIw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AKCAM SAYS: “YES, HE WAS INFORMED.”
Sabah, Turkey
Oct 30 2006
Taner Akcam, having published Orhan Pamuk’s statement: “Organized
Armenian annihilation” on his book cover said: “He was informed.”
Akcam said: “my publishing house has sent this book to Pamuk. He
declared his opinion on it. However, this negotiation was before his
statement in Switzerland in February 2005.”
“Pamuk was informed”
Akcam stated that the word of Orhan Pamuk published on the cover of
his new book named “A shameful Act” was uttered two years ago and Orhan
Pamuk was informed and gave permission for publishing this statement.”
Taner Akcam said that Orhan Pamuk gave permission for publishing the
word on the back cover of his new book named “A shameful Act”. Akcam
also stated that his words: “This book is a perfect accounting of
an Ottoman Armenians oriented organized genocide.” was also uttered
before his statement: “1 million Armenian people and 30 thousand
Kurdish people were killed.” dated February 2005. Akcam said that
these words were not included in Pamuk’s personal letter to him;
but they were included in Pamuk’s letter to the publishing house.

ARMENIANS WILL DANCE IN KUBAN
A1+
[01:05 pm] 30 October, 2006
Famous Armenian choreographer Vilen Galstyan will be at the head of
a Russian dancing troupe. According to newspaper “Yerkramas”, the
troupe will be called “Young Ballet of Kuban”. The troupe consists
of both Russian and Armenian dancers.
Let us remind you that Vilen Galstyan is head of the Yerevan dance
college.

MARTIROS SARIAN, LE “FAUVE BLEU”
Le Figaro, France
30 octobre 2006
Dans la maison-musee du plus grand des peintres modernes armeniens,
Martiros Sarian (1880-1972), c’est la petite-fille de l’artiste,
Rouzane Sarian, qui recoit. Avec chaleur, elle explique la trajectoire
atypique de son aïeul, qui eut l’heur – ou le malheur – d’etre reconnu
par l’Union sovietique. “Meme si certaines de ses series, comme Reves
et contes de fees, ont ete interdites en URSS, et d’autres brûlees,
reconnaît-elle, ses bonnes relations avec Moscou expliquent peut-etre
le relatif oubli dans lequel le nouveau regime le laisse.” Ne au sud
de la Russie, dans une ville armenienne, etudiant aux Beaux-Arts de
Moscou, il travaille avec les impressionnistes, puis participe a un
groupe symboliste, rencontre Matisse, Van Gogh, Rodin, Maillol.
De chacun, il prendra un peu. De ses voyages en Egypte, il retiendra
l’obsession de l’eternite, sans pour autant adherer au mouvement
orientaliste. Fauviste, post-impressionniste, realiste pour pouvoir
survivre, son art très personnel est d’abord celui d’un coloriste non
conventionnel. “La couleur est un vrai miracle. C’est elle qui, sous
la lumière du soleil, cree l’esprit.” Ses bleus, surtout, lumineux
et purs comme dans Paysage de nuit, lui confereront le surnom de
“Fauve bleu”. Une longue et fructueuse carrière Mû par une philosophie
deiste, par un veritable culte de la nature qu’il voit “animee par le
processus du devenir”, Sarian passera sa longue et fructueuse carrière
(5 000 toiles) a chercher a restituer l’âme de l’Armenie.
Quand il peint des natures mortes où les fruits sont separes les uns
des autres, c’est son pays ecartele qu’il decrit. Sa palette a tant
de compartiments – le portrait, les scènes de genre, les paysages
caucasiens aux montagnes traitees comme des fusains multicolores
dresses vers le ciel – qu’a 91 ans, a la veille de sa mort, il
s’etait lance dans l’abstraction, avec une toile encore exposee sur
son chevalet : eclatante de couleurs, elle represente son âme partant
du soleil vers la lune, avec le grand chien roux de son enfance pour
compagnon, sans regret ni tristesse…
–Boundary_(ID_rcFHxfD6Uh+8ruTy0l1hl Q)–

THE FIRST VICTORY OF ARMENIA IN CYPRUS
A1+
[01:12 pm] 30 October, 2006
The Football national junior team of Armenia celebrated the first
victory in the qualifying round of the European championship beating
the national team of the hosts, Cyprus 1:0. In the other match of
the group Hungary beat Azerbaijan 5:0.
After the second round Hungary tops the list of the 7th group with 6
points. Armenia and Azerbaijan are in the second and third places with
3 points each. In the last round the Armenians will play with Hungary.

DEBATING NON-RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Yasmine Ryan
Scoop, New Zealand
Oct 30 2006
Les Yeux on France: Debating Non-Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
Scoop Audio (click here to listen): to this edition of Yasmine Ryan’s
Les Yeux on France.
(AIX-EN-PROVENCE) – Two different approaches by French politicians in
the past few weeks have stirred debate in France on how Turkey might
be made to recognise the Armenian Genocide that took place during
World War One. The first is President Jacques Chirac’s symbolic visit
to Armenia; the second is a move to legislate against any denial of
the Genocide in France. A large majority of the French population
want Turkey to confront its demons, as does France’s significant
Armenian minority. And the issue is becoming increasingly relevant
as the European Union debates Turkey’s membership. Image of Yasmine
Ryan by Jason Dorday.
Back in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire, a strong Turkish
nationalist ideology was forged. Although the regime had ruled
over its diverse multiethnic populations in relative harmony for
centuries, it became increasingly suspicious of its Armenian and Greek
minorities. The Armenian separatist movement Dachnak, supported by
Russia, was seen as a threat to the nation’s very survival. Rising
tensions led eventually to the drastic decision to deport, not just
those involved in the independence struggle, but all Armenians.
And whilst these people were being transported out between 1915 and
1917, a series of extensive massacres occurred. The Turkish government
claims the death toll was between 250,000 and 500,000 and that the
victims died mostly from cold, exhaustion and hunger, or else were
massacred by bandits acting in isolation. The evidence, however, puts
the number at approximately 1.5 million. And it is widely accepted
that the massacres were ordered from the top level of the Ottoman
regime and that they were part of a broad strategy of extermination.
ADVERTISEMENT This massive figure makes the Armenian Genocide, in terms
of shear scale, second only to the Holocaust. Indeed, Robert Fisk’s
account details how the Ottoman Empire’s ideology of extermination
had an influence on the Nazi regime. Yet the Armenian Genocide has
long been blatantly ignored by the international community, and
Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge its past has not been the subject of
much criticism.
It is this irony that has captured the French public’s attention
in recent years. Turkey’s desire to join the EU is seen as a unique
opportunity to pressure the state to change its attitude. In 2001, the
Armenian Genocide was officially recognised by the French parliament.
President Chirac’s visit to Armenia was another way to place indirect
pressure on Turkey to recognise the atrocity. The Head of State made a
series of meaningful public appearances in the small and impoverished
state from 29 September to 1 October this year. He stopped off at the
Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, which honours those who died in the Armenian
Genocide, and attended the inauguration of ‘La place de France’,
where he spoke of ‘the heroic and tormented history of this people’
and of ‘all the survivors of this tragedy who must take the path of
a heartbreaking exile’.
Significantly, Chirac stated in a press conference that he believes
Turkey must recognise the Armenian Genocide before it can be admitted
into the EU. He made the comparison with the importance of Germany’s
recognition of the Holocaust. This is the most forceful statement on
the Armenian Genocide that a Western Head of State has ever made. For
a people long accustomed to being overlooked, the visit was gratefully
received amidst much emotion.
In addition to this bold move by the French President, on the 12
October, Parliament voted in favour of a bill, sponsored by the
Socialist Party, which would outlaw any denial of the Armenian
Genocide. If it is to pass into law, the parliamentary initiative
must now be validated by the Senate. This will be more difficult.
Ankara’s anger at France’s zeal over what it considers to be a
private dispute with a neighbour is growing. The Turkish government
fears that its acceptance into the EU is at risk. While there was no
real vocalisation at Chirac’s more diplomatic gesture, the move to
legislate provoked a storm of outrage in Turkey.
Chirac managed to sooth things somewhat by phoning Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, telling the Turkish Prime Minister he was very sorry and
that he believes the existing legislation is sufficient. Erdogan was
appeased by Chirac’s promise to do what he can to prevent the Bill
becoming law. Consequently, the reaction against France was moderated:
there is merely a semi-boycott. France exports to Turkey were valued
at 4.7 billion euros in 2005.
In contrast to Chirac’s visit to Armenia, there have been widespread
criticisms of the proposed bill. For many it is a confrontational
approach that in fact undermines the cause of those pushing for
more honest dialogue within Turkey. It is ironically similar to the
Turkish repression of recognition of the Genocide, a point not lost
on Turkish critiques. ‘Liberte, egalite, stupidite’ was the headline
in the daily newspaper Hurriyët. PM Erdogan called it a ‘primitive
law’ pushed through by ‘a few stubborn legislators’. He stated that:
‘Thanks to a few stubborn MPs, the France we know as the nation of
liberties must live with this shame. If France doesn’t stop this bill,
it’s her that will lose and not Turkey.’ Even Nobel Prize winner
Orhan Pamuk, viewed as a traitor by many Turks for his recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, points out that ‘freedom of expression is
a French invention. This law is contrary to this culture of liberty.’
France should continue to encourage the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by Turkey, but not by compromising its principles. Pushing
too hard risks fuelling Turkish nationalists and creating conflict.
Public debate on the issue is growing within Turkey, and gentle
diplomacy, such as the example given by President Chirac, could
substantially help the nation come to terms with its past.
****** Yasmine Ryan is a graduate of the University of Auckland, in
Political Studies and French language. She is currently completing a
Masters degree in International Journalism at the Institut d’Etudes
Politiques, Aix-en-Provence.
L0610/S00430.htm
–Boundary_(ID_vHarMwqF7tCvOiVNE 7Mqig)–

LILOYAN WAS APPOINTED CONSUL
A1+
[01:22 pm] 30 October, 2006
By the decree of the RA Foreign Minister on October 30 Armen Liloyan
was appointed RA Consul General in Los Angeles.
Armen Liloyan has graduated from the Yerevan State University faculty
of oriental studies. He also studied in the London Diplomatic Academy.
Liloyan has been in the RA Foreign Ministry since 1995. He had
different posts in the European department of the structure. In
1998-2002 he has worked in the RA Embassy to Great Britain. Since
2002 he has been the head of the EU department of the European
administration of the RA Foreign Ministry.

SERGUEï PARADJANOV, HOMME ORCHESTRE DE L’ART
Le Figaro, France
30 octobre 2006
n De son vrai nom Sarkis Paradjanian, cet enfant d’Armeniens, ne a
Tbilissi, en Georgie, en 1924, n’est pas seulement le realisateur
de chefs-d’oeuvre du cinema comme Les Chevaux de feu, dans lequel
il transpose l’histoire de Romeo et Juliette dans une Ukraine de
legende, et La Couleur de la grenade, allegorie de la vie du poète
armenien Sayat-Nova, où le heros et le cineaste se confondent et
le jus rouge du fruit qui coule dessine, couleur de sang, la carte
de son pays martyrise. Cineaste qualifie de “plas ticien”, a cause
de la beaute de scènes qu’il compose comme des tableaux, cet enfant
terrible de l’Union sovietique, qui se retrouva deux fois en prison
pour homosexualite – en realite pour trafic d’objets d’art -, est
aujourd’hui devenu une icône de l’Armenie independante. Justement
a cause de ses demeles avec l’ancien regime. À Erevan, un musee a
ete installe dans la maison qu’il avait fait construire et qu’il
n’a jamais habitee. C’est le Parajdanov artiste qui y est presente,
collectionneur, auteur d’invraisemblables collages surrealistes dans
lesquels entrent photos de famille, poupees et marionnettes avec
lesquelles il preparait les scènes de ses films, et des balances,
symbole de l’impossible equilibre recherche par l’Homme.
Provocations, hommage a son heros, Pasolini, metamorphoses de
La Joconde a la Marcel Duchamp. Une grande partie de ces oeuvres
inclassables sera exposee, du 13 fevrier au 8 avril 2007 a l’Ecole
nationale superieure des beaux-arts de Paris, puis, du 20 avril au
24 juin, au Musee d’art moderne, La Terrasse, a Saint-Etienne.
–Boundary_(ID_+/j94+LmVZS8hkXGrra JWw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MODERN TURKEY HAS PLENTY OF WORK TO DO – BUT STILL SETS A WORTHY EXAMPLE
The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 30 2006
Eighty-three years after modern Turkey emerged from the ashes of the
Ottoman Empire, questions about the country’s identity continue to
divide its citizens and confuse both friend and foe alike. Buffeted
by external factors like the Cold War and internal ones like the
struggle to define democracy, the Turkish Republic has managed to
survive several periods of pronounced instability. The land envisioned
by the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, is still very much
a work in progress, but the country continues to serve as a useful
crossroads between Europe and Asia, and its experiment continues to
blaze a trail for other countries in the region.
Shortly after Ataturk established the republic in 1923, he initiated a
series of wide-ranging reforms aimed at building a modern, democratic
secular nation-state from the ruins of what had been a quintessentially
Muslim empire. Today the debate over what it means to be modern,
democratic and secular is still raging. This year’s National Day
celebrations were marred by a renewed debate over the Islamic headscarf
and the need to balance secularism with the protection of individual
and religious freedoms. The hard-line head of Turkey’s powerful
military establishment, General Yasar Buyukanit, has warned that the
existing system faces “a serious threat by reactionary movements,”
which is code for parties whose political philosophies are determined
by, or rooted in, Islam. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling
Justice and Development Party fits the latter description, and the
military has forced elected government out of office in the very
recent past, so the general’s comments are not to be taken lightly.
Turkey’s experiences with striking a balance are particularly
instructive for those Arab countries undertaking their own transitions
to democracy. The Turkish example demonstrates that the road to
irreversible change will be a long one, and that even meaningful
progress will not guarantee instant approval from some world powers. It
also illustrates that nationalist instincts can allow the actions of
one era to hinder the ambitions of the next: Modern Turkey’s continuing
failure to come to grips with the Ottomans’ slaughter of Armenians,
for instance, remains a formidable barrier to better relations
with Europe and therefore a major impediment to improved economic
performance. And as Arabs know well, Turkey’s previous status as an
imperial power still clouds its relations with former subject peoples.
Despite these and other difficulties, today’s Turkey is an increasingly
important player on the regional and even the world stage. For it to
consolidate its growing influence, however, it would be helpful if
the balancing act could be replaced by a realization that in fact,
Islam and democracy are not incompatible at all: They just haven’t
spent much time together.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress