PRESS RELEASE
ARMENPAC, The Armenian-American Political Action Committee
421 E. Airport Freeway, Suite 201
Irving, Texas 75220
Contact: Jason P. Capizzi, Esq.
Tel: (972) 635-5347
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: <; ARMENPAC ISSUES ITS ENDORSEMENTS IN THE 2006 MIDTERM ELECTIONS Be sure to visit <; to view your candidates' responses to the 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate Questionnaire before voting on Election Day Irving, TX - On Tuesday, November 7, 2006, citizens across the nation will cast their votes in the United States Congressional midterm elections. One third of the seats in the United States Senate (i.e., thirty-three (33) Class 1 seats), and all of the seats in the United States House of Representatives (i.e., four hundred thirty-five (435) seats) are up for election. Members of the United States Senate hold six-year terms, and if elected in the upcoming elections, will serve from January 3, 2007 through January 3, 2013. Members of the United States House of Representatives hold two-year terms, and if elected in the upcoming elections, will serve in the 110th Congress from January 3, 2007 through January 3, 2009. To execute Armenian goals, a legislative body comprised of leaders devoted to facilitating and supporting initiatives that benefit Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh is imperative. Of equal importance, ARMENPAC requires a strong foundation of Armenian-American supporters in order to maintain and advance a beneficial relationship between the United States and the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. In order to ensure a bright future for the people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, ARMENPAC holds true to the belief that knowledge is power, setting forth all efforts to educate itself, congressional candidates, and the Armenian-American community at large. Through its 2006 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire initiative, ARMENPAC was the first Armenian-American advocacy organization to educate all federal candidates who may otherwise be unfamiliar with the pressing issues that are important to Armenian-Americans, while simultaneously providing them with a forum to share their opinions on these fundamental issues. In its continued effort to raise awareness of, and advocate for, policies that help create peace, security and stability in the Caucasus region, ARMENPAC investigated the positions of all 1,944 candidates for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives on current issues of importance to the Armenian-American community. The results of this investigation serve to empower Armenian-American voters with the fundamental knowledge necessary to make an informed decision on Election Day. Armenian-American unity, despite bipartisan political beliefs, is guaranteed to assist the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Upon review of the positions of the nearly 400 survey respondents, as well as the established voting records of incumbent candidates, ARMENPAC has made an informed decision in considering which federal candidates have earned its endorsement in the upcoming elections. Notably, ARMENPAC received approximately 209 pledges to join the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in the United States House of Representatives, of which eight (8) were from nonmember incumbent candidates, i.e., Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), John Barrow (D-GA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Roscoe Bartlett, Jr. (R-MD), Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Chris Owens (D-NY), John Carter (R-TX), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). "ARMENPAC's advocacy initiatives, which are yielding positive results, are integral in building a bipartisan majority in support of Armenian-American issues, and must be supported by all members of the Armenian-American community," said ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah and Edgar Hagopian. ARMENPAC is pleased to endorse the campaigns of the following candidates for the Unites States Senate: CALIFORNIA: Rick Renzi (R-1); MAIN: Olympia Snow (R); MARYLAND: Ben Cardin (D); MASSACHUSETTS: Edward Kennedy (D); MICHIGAN: Debbie Stabenow (D); NEW JERSEY: Robert Menendez (D); NEW YORK: Hillary Rodham Clinton (D); OHIO: Sherrod Brown (D); PENNSYLVANIA: Rick Santorum (R); RHODE ISLAND: Lincoln Chafee (R); VIRGINIA: George Allen (R); WASHINGTON: Maria Cantwell (D); WISCONSIN: Herb Kohl (D). ARMENPAC is pleased to endorse the campaigns of the following candidates for the Unites States House of Representatives: ARIZONA: Rick Renzi (R-1), Raul Grijalva (D-7); CALIFORNIA: Mike Thompson (D-1), Doris Matsui (D-5), Lynn Woolsey (D-6), George Miller (D-7), Nancy Pelosi (D-8), Barbara Lee (D-9), Ellen Tauscher (D-10), Fortney Pete Stark (D-13), Anna Eshoo (D-14), Michael Honda (D-15), Zoe Lofgren (D-16), Dennis Cardoza (D-18), George Radanovich (R-19), Jim Costa (D-20), Devin Nunes (R-21), William Thomas (R-22), Lois Capps (D-23), Elton Gallegly (R-24), Howard McKeon (R-25), David Dreier (R-26), Brad Sherman (D-27), Howard Berman (D-28), Adam Schiff (D-29), Henry Waxman (D-30), Xavier Becerra (D-31), Hilda Solis (D-32), Diane Watson (D-33), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-34), Grace Napolitano (D-38), Linda Sanchez (D-39), Edward Royce (R-40), Gary Miller (R-42), Joseph Baca (D-43), Loretta Sanchez (D-47), Darrell Issa (R-49), Bob Filner (D-51), Duncan Hunter (R-52), Susan Davis (D-53); COLORADO: Mark Udall (D-2); CONNECTICUT: John Larson (D-1), Robert Simmons (R-2), Rosa DeLauro (D-3), Christopher Shays (R-4), Nancy Johnson (R-5); DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Eleanor Norton (D-DL); FLORIDA: Michael Bilirakis (R-9), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-21), Clay Shaw (R-22), Tom Feeney (R-24); GEORGIA: Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-2), John Barrow (D-12); ILLINOIS: Bobby Rush (D-1), Jesse Jackson (D-2), Dan Lipinski (D-3), Luis Gutierrez (D-4), Danny Davis (D-7), Janice Schakowsky (D-9), Mark Steven Kirk (R-10), Jerry Weller (R-11), Jerry Costello (D-12), John Shimkus (R-19); INDIANA: Peter Visclosky (D-1), Mark Souder (R-3); KANSAS: Jerry Moran (R-1), Dennis Moore (D-3), Todd Tiahrt (R-4); KENTUCKY: Ben Chandler (D-6); LOUISIANA: Bobby Jindal (R-1); MAINE: Thomas Allen (D-1); MARYLAND: John Sarbanes (D-3), Albert Russell Wynn (D-4), Steny Hoyer (D-5), Roscoe Bartlett, Jr. (R-6), Christopher Van Hollen (D-8); MASSACHUSETTS: John Olver (D-1), Richard Neal (D-2), James McGovern (D-3), Barney Frank (D-4), Martin Meehan (D-5), John Tierney (D-6), Edward Markey (D-7), Michael Capuano (D-8), Stephen Lynch (D-9), William Delahunt (D-10); MICHIGAN: Vernon Ehlers (R-3), Dave Camp (R-4), Dale Kildee (D-5), Fred Upton (R-6), Michael Rogers (R-8), Joe Knollenberg (R-9), Candice Miller (R-10), Thaddeus McCotter (R-11), Sander Levin (D-12), Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-13), John Conyers (D-14), John Dingell (D-15); MINNESOTA: Gil Gutknecht (R-1), Betty McCollum (D-4), Mark Kennedy (R-6), Collin Peterson (D-7); NEVADA: Shelley Berkley (D-1), Jon Porter (R-3); NEW HAMPSHIRE: Jeb Bradley (R-1), Charles Bass (R-2); NEW JERSEY: Robert Andrews (D-1), Frank LoBiondo (R-2), Jim Saxton (R-3), Christopher Smith (R-4), Scott Garrett (R-5), Frank Pallone (D-6), Mike Ferguson (R-7), Bill Pascrell (D-8), Steven Rothman (D-9), Donald Payne (D-10), Rush Holt (D-12), Albio Sires (D-13); NEW YORK: Timothy H. Bishop (D-1), Steve Israel (D-2), Carolyn McCarthy (D-4), Gary Ackerman (D-5), Joseph Crowley (D-7), Anthony Weiner (D-9), Chris Owens (D-11), Nydia Velazquez (D-12), Carolyn Maloney (D-14), Charles Rangel (D-15), Eliot Engel (D-17), Nita Lowey (D-18), Michael McNulty (D-21), Maurice Hinchey (D-22); OHIO: Ted Strickland (D-6), Marcy Kaptur (D-9), Dennis Kucinich (D-10), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-11), Steven LaTourette (R-14); OREGON: Earl Blumenauer (D-3), Darlene Hooley (D-5); PENNSYLVANIA: Chaka Fattah (D-2), Phil English (R-3), Melissa Hart (R-4), Jim Gerlach (R-6), Curt Weldon (R-7), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-8), Allyson Schwartz (D-13), Michael Doyle (D-14), Charles Dent (R-15), Joseph Pitts (R-16), Tim Holden (D-17); RHODE ISLAND: Patrick Kennedy (D-1), James Langevin (D-2); SOUTH CAROLINA: Joe Wilson (R-2); SOUTH DAKOTA: Stephanie Herseth (D-At Large); TEXAS: Kenny Marchant (R-24), Lloyd Doggett (D-25), Eddie Johnson (D-30), John Carter (R-31); VIRGINIA: Eric Cantor (R-7), James Moran (D-8); WASHINGTON: Jim McDermott (D-7), Adam Smith (D-9); WISCONSIN: Paul Ryan (R-1), Tammy Baldwin (D-2). "It is imperative to the success of ARMENPAC's advocacy efforts that every eligible member of the Armenian-American community exercises his/her right to vote. The right to vote is a primary aspect of democratic governments, and ARMENPAC urges all Armenian-American's visit <; before doing so on November 7, 2006 to review their candidates' responses to the 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate Questionnaire," said ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah and Edgar Hagopian. ARMENPAC is an independent, bipartisan political action committee with a nationwide membership. ARMENPAC raises awareness of, and advocates for, policies that help create peace, security and stability in the Caucasus region, while providing financial support to federal officeholders, candidates, political action committees and organizations that actively support issues of importance to Armenian-Americans. For more information and how to join ARMENPAC, please call (877) 286-1046 or visit <; . ###

AZERI, ARMENIA FMS TO WORK OUT BASIS FOR KARABAKH PEACE TREATY
by Dmitry Gorokhov
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
October 24, 2006 Tuesday 03:42 PM EST
The Paris negotiations on the Karabakh settlement are aimed at the
elaboration of “main principles of the drafting of a peace treaty
acceptable for the both sides,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman
Jean-Baptiste Mattei told Itar-Tass commenting on Tuesday’s meeting
between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers.
The two ministers met in Paris under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk
Group.
The diplomat stressed that the principles should be “balanced, fair
and workable.”
Mattei reaffirmed that the October 6 meeting between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Moscow, which also was held under
the OSCE auspices, gave the start to the present-day round of talks.
France, jointly with Russia and the United States, is one of the
countries co-chairing the Minsk Group, created by the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to promote progress in
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EVOLVING INTO A SOCIETY TOLERANT OF DISSENTING VIEWS WILL TAKE TIME IN TURKEY
by Harry Sterling, Freelance
Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
October 24, 2006 Tuesday
Final Edition
Novel for dissident writer may focus world attention, and help this
process along
OTTAWA — His own government was determined to imprison him for
denigrating his country.
Paradoxically, this month he found himself the recipient of the much
coveted Nobel Prize for Literature.
It’s an honour which some in Turkey clearly would rather ignore,
regarding Turkey’s internationally respected author, Orhan Pamuk, as
almost a traitor for daring to publicly refer to claims 1.5 million
Armenians living in Ottomon Turkey were victims of genocide carried out
by the Turks during the First World War, and for also criticizing the
denial of fundamental human rights to Turkey’s large Kurdish minority.
While many would agree that Orhan Pamuk richly deserved the Nobel
Prize for his many memorable novels and works of non-fiction,
as exemplified by My Name is Red, Istanbul, and Snow, his selection
this year may have been based as much on his determination to express
his right to freedom of speech as on his writings, notwithstanding
their obvious merits. However, that commitment to speak the truth
was not appreciated by everyone in his homeland, particularly not
Islamists and ultra-nationalists who regard his references to the
massive deaths of Armenians nine decades ago and the oppression of
Kurdish human rights as deliberate slandering of Turkey.
His critics, including successive Turkish governments, have always
insisted the large-scale deaths of Armenians during the First World
War occurred when the then-Ottoman government was trying to put down
Armenian nationalists aligned with invading Russian forces and was
not an act of premeditated genocide.
They also insist the figure of 1.5 million deaths is inflated.
Feelings against Orhan Pamuk reached a fever pitch after he was
quoted in a Swiss interview saying few in Turkey were prepared to
look honestly at what befell the Armenians and Kurds.
His outspokenness led to his being charged with “insulting
Turkishness,” a crime carrying a sentence of three years in prison.
Pamuk was subjected to widespread criticism and physical threats.
It was only after an international outcry and pressure, particularly
from the European Union — which Turkey wants to join — did the
Turkish authorities drop the charges.
But Orhan Pamuk’s experience was far from unique. It’s symptomatic of
a never-ending struggle by Turkish writers, intellectuals, human rights
activists, and others, to ensure that freedom of speech and respect for
other fundamental human rights are fully honoured in Turkey, a goal
frequently blocked by those who believe western concepts of freedom
of speech without controls can undermine the sanctity of the state.
(Under Turkish law, it is forbidden to criticize the nation, the
president and prime minister, as well as the military.)
Scores of Turkish writers and journalists are regularly harassed
or imprisoned for allegedly denigrating the nation. One authoress
was recently charged with insulting Turkishness because one of her
characters in a work of fiction was critical of Turkey. As Elif Shafak
explained when charged with insulting Turkishness in her recent novel,
“If there’s a thief in a novel, it doesn’t make the novelist a thief.”
But, as the controversy surrounding Orhan Pamuk made clear, the issue
of freedom of speech in Turkey is very much about a nation’s ability
to look objectively at its own history and practices.
Until very recently, the Armenian genocide issue was a taboo subject in
Turkey. Anyone daring to suggest that Turkey’s Armenian subjects were
victims of possible genocide would find themselves prosecuted in court.
Similarly, anyone reporting on violence inflicted on Turkey’s Kurdish
population could expect to feel the authorities’ wrath. In one bizarre
case, a Turkish journalist was charged with violating the law because
he filmed a military tank dragging the body of a dead Kurd.
Despite the unwillingness of some in Turkey to accept that questioning
aspects of Turkish life and past history should be tolerated in a
democratic society, such views are no longer as prevalent or deeply
felt as previously.
There are two reasons for this. First, Turkey has been steadily
evolving into a modern industrial state in recent years. Although the
Turkish economy has experienced its ups and downs, living standards
have improved for many Turks, resulting in a better educated population
no longer as prepared to accept uncritically restrictions on freedom
of speech and basic human rights.
Second, the European Union has made it unequivocally clear that
if Turkey is to stand any realistic chance of joining the EU, they
must end legal and other restrictions on fundamental human rights,
including the rights of minorities, such as the Kurds.
To its credit, the current government of Prime Minister Erdogan has
implemented several changes improving human rights legislation. It’s
also permitted the use of the Kurdish language in certain schools for
the first time, along with broadcasts in Kurdish, previously banned.
These are welcome developments. However, as the recent experience of
Orhan Pamuk and other Turkish writers and journalists has demonstrated,
Turkey’s evolution into a society tolerant of dissenting views remains
a work in progress. Hopefully, the honour of having a Turkish Nobel
laureate could assist that process.
Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator.
He served in Turkey.

CHANNELS OF RAGE
Translated by A. Ignatkin
Source: Vedomosti, October 24, 2006, p. A4
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
October 24, 2006 Tuesday
Editorial
Immigration ranks 25th on the list of concerns for Russian citizens;
The ethnic conflict in Kondopoga will be remembered for a long time
to come. St. Petersburg and Voronezh are on the way to becoming
cities dangerous for foreign students. Pollsters maintain that ethnic
intolerance, once concealed, is surfacing. Why would it do so? And
why now?
BODY:
The ethnic conflict in Kondopoga will be remembered for a long time to
come. St. Petersburg and Voronezh are on the way to becoming cities
dangerous for foreign students. Russians and Armenians are at each
others’ throats in the town of Bogandinsky in the Tyumen region.
Pollsters maintain that ethnic intolerance, once concealed, is
surfacing. Why would it do so? And why now?
The State Statistics Committee claims that real incomes in September
2006 were 10.1% greater than in September 2005, averaging 10,077
rubles a month. However, Russia’s richest 10% end up with 26% of all
income and the poorest 10% with 1%.
Russian citizens are dissatisfied with the existing system of health
care and education, the quality of housing and communal services,
corruption in local government structures and the police. The data
compiled by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) indicate the public
is concerned about the following issues (in descending order): high
tariffs for housing and communal services (46%), alcohol abuse (37%),
inflation (36%), medical services and medicines they cannot afford
(32%), shortage of money for food and commodities (28%), difficulty
finding a good job (28%), bureaucracy and civil servants’ tyranny
(25%), drug abuse (25%), housing shortages (21%), unemployment (20%),
corruption (19%), low quality of medical and social services (16%),
and so on. Problems of immigration were mentioned by only 5% of
respondents, ranking 25th on the list of concerns for Russian citizens.

NAGORNY-KARABAKH: PAS DE PROGRèS A PARIS, PROCHAINE RENCONTRE LE 14 NOVEMBRE
Agence France Presse
24 octobre 2006 mardi 7:23 PM GMT
Les ministres armenien et azerbaïdjanais des Affaires etrangères ont
decide de se retrouver le 14 novembre a Bruxelles pour poursuivre
leurs discussions sur la region disputee du Nagorny-Karabakh, a-t-on
appris a l’issue d’une rencontre mardi a Paris où aucune avancee n’a
ete signalee.
Le chef de la diplomatie armenienne Vartan Oskanian et son homologue
azerbaïdjanais Elmar Mammediarov ont eu mardi une “rencontre
constructive, dans une atmosphère franche et ouverte”, ont indique
dans un communique conjoint les mediateurs internationaux (France,
Etats-Unis, Russie).
Les deux ministres ont “examine en profondeur” des “elements
complementaires” a des “principes de base” d’un règlement negocie
avances par les mediateurs le 6 octobre a Moscou, “qui ouvrent de
nouvelles perspectives aux negociations mais demandent encore a etre
clarifies”, ajoute ce communique, sans donner plus de details sur
les elements en discussion.
“Ils ont accepte de se rencontrer a nouveau le 14 novembre a Bruxelles
afin de poursuivre les discussions sur ces clarifications”, ajoute
le communique conjoint.
Le ministre des Affaires etrangères, Philippe Douste-Blazy, a par
ailleurs recu mardi Vartan Oskanian, et lui a exprime “sa satisfaction
quant au developpement des relations bilaterales”, après le voyage
du president Jacques Chirac en Armenie en septembre, a indique le
porte-parole du ministère dans un communique.
M. Douste-Blazy s’est en outre “rejoui” que la reunion entre
M. Oskanian et son homologue armenien “ait permis des echanges
approfondis entre les parties”, souligne le communique.
Les hauts diplomates francais, americain et russe charges du suivi
des negociations comptent se rendre dans la region fin novembre
afin d’evaluer la possibilite d’une nouvelle rencontre, d’ici la
fin de l’annee, entre les presidents armenien Robert Kotcharian et
azerbaïdjanais Ilham Aliev.
Le Nagorny-Karabakh est une enclave habitee en majorite par une
population armenienne et qui a fait secession de l’Azerbaïdjan après
un conflit meurtrier au debut des annees 1990. Un cessez-le-feu est
intervenu en 1994, mais la situation reste tendue.
Paris, Washington et Moscou ont ete charges de la mediation de ce
dossier au sein du “groupe de Minsk”, une emanation de l’Organisation
pour la securite et la cooperation en Europe (OSCE).
–Boundary_(ID_oJOTWlAGy91s/oNxwJuD6g)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSKANIAN: NO GROUND FOR MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.10.2006 13:40 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There are no grounds for a meeting of the Armenian
and Azeri Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev, Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian
told RFE/RL. In his words, the question of the meeting of the two
Presidents will be decided only after the meeting with E. Mammadyarov
in Brussels November 14 and the regional visit of the co-chairs of
the OSCE MG.
Oskanian called the Prague meeting “normal and constructive.” “I
cannot say that there are specific points of contact, but there is
an opportunity to make positions of the parties closer. There are
no final results yet, but this meeting was the continuation of the
Moscow one, where new ideas over the issues, over which the parties
had differences, were voiced,” the Armenian FM said. He also reported
that those principles were discussed during his latest visit to Nagorno
Karabakh. “The Karabakh party is familiar with the documents on the
bargaining table. Of course it does not mean they agree with all its
items. We agree wit the principles, but the document is something
more than mere principles. We have differences over details in the
document and with the OSCE MG co-chairs,” Oskanian added.

COMBATING POVERTY TOGETHER WITH THE DIASPORA
A1+
[02:14 pm] 25 October, 2006
The UNDP and fund “Armenia” signed a memorandum of mutual understanding
today in order to combat poverty in Armenian villages. The two
organizations agreed to combat poverty with joint efforts.
“A number of projects are being realized for the development of about
30 villages near the borders of Armenia. At present we are working
on financial support of the projects”, said UN Resident Coordinator
in Armenia, Consuelo Vidal.
According to head of pan-Armenian fund “Armenia” Naira Melqoumyan,
rural poverty will be reduced only if the peasants are given the
possibility to get rich. And this is possible provided the community
structures support them. “We need not build a house for them; we must
show them ways to earn money”, Naira Melqoumyan underlined.

FINED FOR NOT GIVING INFORMATION
A1+
[02:31 pm] 25 October, 2006
The sitting of the RA Economic Competition Protection State Committee
took place today. During the sitting issues about ways of punishment
of several companies were discussed.
By the decision of the Committee companies importing furniture
“I. Haroutyunyan”, “Isarme” and “Arspi” were fined for 500 000 AMD
each for not giving information about their activity. In case they
hide information a second time, the punishment will be more severe –
2 million AMD.

ANOTHER FRUITLESS MEETING BETWEEN OSKANYAN AND MAMMADYAROV
A1+
[01:25 pm] 25 October, 2006
The OSCE Minsk group co-chairs have made a joint statement which
characterizes the Paris meeting of the Armenian and Azeri Foreign
Ministers as “a constructive meeting in an atmosphere of frankness”.
The statement mentions that the Ministers “have deeply investigated the
additional elements of the main principles of the peaceful settlement
of the conflict”. Nevertheless, it does not go into details of those
elements. According to Russian Mass Media, they were put forward by
the co-chairs during the Moscow meeting on October 6.
The statement says that the principles create new possibilities in
the negotiation process but they need clarification.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Brussels
on November 14.
According to French diplomatic sources, the Minsk group co-chairs
intend to send their representatives to Couth Caucasus at the end of
November in order to investigate the possibilities of organizing a
meeting between Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliev.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

La Turquie confrontée à son déni
Le génocide arménien de 1915
Guy Taillefer
Le Devoir
Édition du samedi 14 et du dimanche 15 octobre 2006
Dans la controverse, l’Assemblée nationale française a voté,
jeudi, une loi criminalisant le déni du génocide arménien de 1915.
Le même jour, le prix Nobel de littérature était attribué à
l’écrivain turc Orhan Pamuk, honni en Turquie par les
ultranationalistes pour avoir pris la défense des minorités kurde et
arménienne. Une «convergence constructive», plaide l’historien
Frank Chalk, de l’université Concordia, prenant le contre-pied du
tollé ambiant.
=0DImmense malaise autour de la proposition de loi française
pénalisant la négation du génocide arménien, considérée de
tous bords comme une atteinte à la liberté d’expression et un pavé
dans la mare de l’épineux débat autour de la démocratisation de la
Turquie et des conditions de son adhésion à l’Union européenne.
S’agissant d’épingler la Turquie pour avoir toujours refusé de
reconnaître la nature génocidaire des massacres commis contre les
Arméniens, qui auraient fait 1,5 millions de morts pendant la
Première Guerre mondiale, le texte a été qualifié par plusieurs
de «contre-productive» en ce qu’il risque surtout d’attiser la
réaction de l’opposition ultranationaliste et anti-européenne parmi
les Turcs.
Une vingtaine de pays, dont le Canada, ont à ce jour officiellement
reconnu que les événements de 1915 constituaient un génocide. La
proposition de loi française fait un pas de plus en criminalisant la
négation de ce génocide, de la même manière que nier l’existence
de l’Holocauste constitue un crime en France.
Une initiative «inopportune», a déploré le gouvernement
français. Un sentiment relayé par l’UE, dont le commissaire à
l’élargissement Olli Rehn avait mis en garde Paris, lundi dernier,
contre l’adoption d’une loi aux «effets contraires à ceux
recherchés» et qui, nuisible au dialogue, «mettrait en danger les
efforts de tous ceux qui, en Turquie, veulent ouvrir un débat
sérieux et honnête, sans tabous, sur cette question».
Le malaise est d’autant plus grand que la proposition de loi, qui vise
à rendre les négationnistes passibles d’un an de prison et d’une
amende de 45 000 euros, répond en France à des considérations
électorales à l’horizon des scrutins du printemps 2007. La
proposition de loi, qui a du reste peu de chances d’être entérinée
par le Sénat, est le fait du Parti socialiste, défenseur historique
de la diaspora arménienne du pays, mais a également reçu l’appui
de ceux, à droite, qui cherchent à faire dérailler la candidature
turque à l’UE.
=0D«En instrumentalisant une question grave à des fins petitement
électoralistes, déplore André Lecours, politologue à
l’université Concordia, une partie de la classe politique française
cherche ainsi à se mettre au diapason des réticences de l’opinion
publique à l’égard de la Turquie musulmane et du processus
d’élargissement européen.» Ajouté aux froideurs allemandes, cela
n’augure rien de bon, à son avis, pour l’avenir des négociations
d’intégration.
Atteinte à la liberté d’expression
C’est dans les milieux libéraux de la Turquie que les réactions ont
été les plus torturées, y compris parmi des intellectuels,
journalistes et écrivains qui ont pourtant été poursuivis par la
justice en vertu de l’article 301 du code pénal turc — considérant
comme une «insulte à l’identité turque» l’usage des mots
«génocide arménien».
«Si cette loi passe, j’irai en France et, bien que ce soit contraire
à mes convictions, je dirai que non, il n’y a pas eu de génocide»,
a notamment déclaré Hrant Dink, journaliste arménien de Turquie
où il est poursuivi pour avoir affirmé la réalité du génocide.
Réaction semblable de l’écrivaine Elif Shafak, acquittée fin
septembre d’accusations portées en vertu de l’article 301 pour avoir
évoqué le génocide dans son roman Le Père et le Btard et fait
tenir par ses personnages des propos désobligeants envers les Turcs.
«Je crois à la liberté d’expression, écrivait-elle récemment
dans un commentaire publié par le Turkish Daily News, après son
acquittement. Pas seulement en Turquie, mais partout et tout le temps.
C’est pourquoi il m’est impossible de ne pas m’inquiéter de ce qui se
passe […] en France. Sa “loi du génocide” va tout à fait à
l’encontre de l’esprit […] d’une démocratie ouverte.» Elle nuira,
écrivait-elle, aux efforts pour développer le dialogue entre Turcs
et Arméniens.
Le même article 301 avait également servi, début 2006, au
dépôt de poursuites, finalement abandonnées, contre Orhan Pamuk
qui avait déclaré à un journal suisse que «30 000 Kurdes et un
million d’Arméniens ont été tués dans ces terres». M. Pamuk
n’a pas, sauf erreur, réagi au projet français. Mais il avait
déclaré en 2005 en Allemagne : «L’huile qu’on jette sur le feu
du sentiment anti-turc en Europe donne lieu à un nationalisme
anti-européen aveugle en Turquie.»
Or, estime le journaliste français Gérard Menachemoff, observateur
de la scène turque depuis les années 60, le gouvernement musulman
modéré et pro-européen du premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
qui a chassé les nationalistes du pouvoir en 2002, «a créé des
ouvertures dans la société turque et a réussi à dépasser le
blocage vis-à-vis des Kurdes et des Arméniens», malgré
l’influence militaire et politique ancienne de l’establishment fidèle
à l’idéal républicain de Mustafa Kemal.
Si la législation française «provocatrice» met le gouvernement
Erdogan dans l’embarras, M. Menachemoff croit cependant que cet
establishment nationaliste «mène au fond un combat
d’arrière-garde» et que «la Turquie actuelle est mûre pour
reconnaître le génocide arménien».
Aussi, la loi votée par l’Assemblée nationale, dit-il, est une
«réponse brutale à une attitude absurde de négation» des
dimensions de la tragédie arménienne, mais aussi, par extension, des
droits culturels des Kurdes.
L’historien de Concordia, Frank Chalk, l’un des auteurs de Encyclopedia
of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, opine : «Que cette loi ait
des incidences électorales ne la discrédite pas. Le déni a été
si vigoureux au cours de l’histoire de la part des autorités turques
qu’elles ont fini par inviter ce genre de réaction.»
Ainsi en va-t-il de la nobélisation de M. Pamuk, estime M. Chalk.
«Le choix du jury traduit le sentiment dans plusieurs parties du monde
que la Turquie est allée trop loin dans la négation de la
réalité historique de l’annihilation intentionnelle du peuple
arménien.»
De l’un à l’autre, croit M. Chalk, il y a «convergence
constructive».