"Half The Countries In The World Today Would Not Exist"

"HALF THE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TODAY WOULD NOT EXIST"

A1+
[01:27 pm] 25 September, 2006

Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian participated in the 10th Bertelsmann
Forum, held in Berlin, Germany, on September 22, 23.

The one and a half day conference convened on Saturday afternoon with
opening remarks by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime
Minister Dominique de Villepin, EU Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. The audience of
100+ political leaders, which included former German Foreign Minister
Hans-Dietrich Genscher and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,
heard perspectives on Europe’s Strategic Responses, as the conference
is entitled.

Following the opening session, Minister Oskanian participated in a
panel on The Balkans and the Black Sea – a Litmus Test for Europe. The
panel also included the presidents of Bulgaria, Romania and Azerbaijan,
and the Prime Minister of Montenegro.

Throughout the discussion, Oskanian affirmed that the region’s litmus
test for Europe would be an effective European Neighborhood Policy,
the functionality and integrity of the Black Sea region, and practical
approaches to conflicts.

During a lively discussion on Kosovo, Minister Oskanian cautioned
against denying peoples their right to self-determination, simply
out of political expediency. If the world were guided by a fear of
setting precedents, he said, half the countries in the world today
would not exist. But there has to be strict criteria, he said, and
the chief principle should be whether the state can claim the moral
authority to rule.

The Bertelsmann Foundation is sponsored by the Bertelsmann Group,
the world’s largest publishing company.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS