Switzerland – Armenia Association (SAA)
P.O. Box 497, CH – 3000 Bern 14
Switzerland

PRESS RELEASE
Bern, 24 April 2009

The following statement is a declaration of disaccord whereby the
Switzerland-Armenia Association (SAA) expresses its deep concern over
the perfunctory joint statement issued by the Foreign Ministries of
Armenia, Turkey and Switzerland late on the evening of April 22nd, 2009.
The undue haste with which the statement was drafted, and its lack of
transparency, can only be met with grevious reservation and skepticism.

The vague nature of the alleged "agreed basis", and the disadvantaged
position from which the Armenian government was obliged to negotiate
from, leaves no alternative but to immediately renounce any agreement
which relinquishes the fundamental rights of Armenians world-wide.

The April 22, 2009 Armenian – Turkey – Switzerland joint statement is
unacceptable for the following reasons:

1. The statement’s timing is grossly inopportune as it falls just two
days before April 24 – the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide: on
this day, Armenians worldwide commemorate the Genocide perpetrated by
the government of Young Turks in 1915 against the unarmed, civilian
population of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire.

2. The urgency in announcing said joint statement, feeds further suspect
that Armenia has been pressured to make concessions which could
compromise the Armenian Republic’s national security. Such concessions
are unacceptable, most especially with regards to the process of
recognizing the right of Karabakh’s self-determination.

3. The government of Armenia was put under pressure by major powers
seeking to advance their own (narrow) interests; presently Armenia’s
leadership is struggling to establish its legitimacy at a time of
political, economic and financial crisis.

The Switzerland – Armenia Association is in full favor of normalization
of ties between Armenia and Turkey, but, along with other Armenian
communities within the Diaspora, Republic of Armenia and Karabakh,
unequivocally rejects any agreement that compromises the fundamental
rights of the Armenian nation. This is a formal declaration to the
officials of the Republic of Armenia who engage in the alarming and
undeniably questionable settlements leading to the mentioned joint
statement.

Contact:

Sarkis Shahinian, President of the SAA; Mobile: 076 399 16 25;
shahinian@armenian.ch;

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress