MINISTER OSKANIAN PARTICIPATED AT 116TH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE CE

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[08:35 pm] 19 May, 2006

more images Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian is in
Strasbourg to participate in the 116th session of the Council of
Ministers of the Council of Europe.

This marks the fifth year of Armenia’s Council of Europe membership,
and the first since the passage of the Constitutional Referendum which
has made possible the signing of the 13th Protocol of the European
Convention of Human Rights on abolition of the death penalty in all
circumstances.

Minister Oskanian addressed the Council in French and spoke about
democratic processes, democratic reforms and in that context, he
raised three issues:

He said, “First, even as there is a momentum the world over toward
adopting democratic processes which assure the development of free
societies where freedom of expression is an essential component of
life, the Turkish government has become more and more aggressive in
denying the Armenian Genocide abroad and criminalizing its discussion
at home. As a result, there is a natural response to such denial in
some of our member countries, to attempt to legislate against all
denialist efforts. The irony is that the Turkish government considers
this a travesty of freedom of speech and expression while sustaining
their own right to punish their own citizens who use the term.”

The Armenian Foreign Minister also addressed issues of human rights. “I
can only wish that the ideas and ideals of Europe came automatically
with membership.

Perhaps then I would not be here today to mourn the irreversible,
irrational, intentional destruction of a medieval Armenian cemetery
on the territory of Azerbaijan. Thousands of massive, unique stone
sculptures which had survived through centuries are no longer there. A
cemetery has been wiped out and the hillside has been turned into
a shooting range. This destruction is a blatant attempt to wipe out
traces of Armenian presence on those lands.”

Finally, in addressing the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution,
the Minister said, “Upon membership, Armenia and Azerbaijan made
a commitment to see a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict.

There are positive elements in the negotiations process in which we
have been involved over these last several years, but that can produce
results only if the parties understand – and clearly declare – that
they don’t have a military option here. Europe offers a new context for
negotiation, regional cooperation and post-war reconciliation. This
is the Europe – the place of peace and cooperation – to which our
two countries belong.”

In the framework of the Ministerial, Minister Oskanian met with Thomas
Hammarberg, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.

On the evening preceding the Ministerial meeting, a special informal
gathering, hosted by Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of
Europe, featured former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, Special
Envoy of the UN SG for the Future Status Process for Kosovo.