ORGANIZATIONS OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN FRANCE AND GREEK AND CYPRIAN COMMUNITIES IN MARSEILLE SIGN JOINT STATEMENT

NOYAN TAPAN – ARNENIANS TODAY
JUNE 30, 2009
PARIS

PARIS, JUNE 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Council on
Coordination of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF- Le Conseil de
coordination des organisations armeniennes de France), the Cyprian
community of France (Communaute chypriote de France), the Union of
Greeks of Marseille region (Union hellenique de Marseille at de la
Region) and the Greek community of Marseille (Communaute grecue de
Marseille) signed a statement, in which they condemn the envisaged
arrival of a Turkish ship in Marseille from the city of Foca (Turkey)
– the former Greek city of Phocee, within the framework of Year of
Turkey to be celebrated in France.

The point is that on the same day 2,600 years ago a ship from the
above mentioned Greek city was moored to the area of the present-day
Marseille and its passengers founded the city of Marseille,
hayernaysor.am reported, referring to Nouvelles d’Armenie monthly
published in France. The statement says that the Turks have no right
to follow the route taken by the Greeks because it was not them that
founded the city of Marseille 2,600 years ago after having traveled on
that route. According to the statement, to receive the Turkish ship
in Marseille within the framework of Year of Turkey in France means
to consign to oblivion all those Armenians who arrived in Marseille
by ship after surviving the Armenian Genocide and also to forget the
fact that Turkey occupied part of Cyprus in 1974.

It is expected that the ship with Turkish participants in the events of
Year of Turkey will leave Foca on July 1 when these events will start.