Press Release
Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden
Box 237
SE-177 24 Järfälla
Sweden
+46 707 73 33 83
info@armeniska.se

On September 23, a letter asserting to represent the Armenian community in
Sweden was published on the subject of the Armenian-Turkish protocol. Let
it be known that this alleged letter was sent to the Armenian media by
Armenian individuals and does in no way represent the official stand of
the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, the official representative
of the Armenian community in Sweden. The organization calls on the
Armenian media to display more professionalism in their work, properly
checking their sources before publishing statements which are wrongfully
attributed to organizations or individuals.

The following, however, is the open letter which the Union of Armenian
Associations in Sweden, on behalf of the Armenian Community in Sweden, has
sent in writing to the President of Armenia, the Speaker of the Armenian
Parliament, and the President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia.

Open Letter to the President of Armenia, October 7, 2009
The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament,
The President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia

In the light of the published protocol between the Republic of Armenia and
the Republic of Turkey, regarding the normalisation of diplomatic
relations, the Union of Armenian Associations of Sweden, is highly
critical of the steps taken by the Government of Armenia, especially due
to its total lack of communication with the Armenian Diaspora in this
regard. Let it be clear that we do recognise the authority of the Armenian
Government and the rights invested with it as the official representative
of the Armenian nation, inside and outside Armenia. However, the
Government of Armenia seems to have totally neglected the role and the
situation of the Diaspora, the direct result of and the heirs to the 1915
Genocide in Turkey.

We looked forward to the meeting in Paris on October 2, 2009, hoping it
would be a dialogue. But, the meeting was rather a monologue, repeating
the same assertions regarding the protocol and its contents which we have
been hearing for the last weeks. It was said that `Armenia is ready to
normalize its ties with Turkey without preconditions’. The Union of
Armenian Associations welcomes and supports the normalisation of relations
between Armenia and Turkey, but firmly refuses to accept that the protocol
does not include preconditions. It is redundant to repeat the issues in
detail, since they are clearly known by the general public, and a short
recapitulation will suffice. While the creation of a commission to
re-evaluate `historical differences and problems’ and recognising common
borders only can refer to the Armenian Genocide and its legacy, the text
stating `non intervention in internal affairs of other states,’ does
clearly refer to the issue of Artsakh. While refuting to acknowledge the
semantics of these formulations, the Government of Armenia has failed in
total to present a viable explanation for why such sentences are included
at all. These concealed preconditions are not the basis of a sincere
rapprochement which this protocol is said to represent.

By entirely ignoring the views of the majority of the Armenian nation,
i.e. the Diaspora, the Government of Armenia is de facto losing its
eligibility as representative for the entire Armenian nation, an obvious
unwise step. The Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, strongly
recommends the Government and the Parliament of Armenia to reconsider the
contents of the drafted protocol, which if ratified, will not only
seriously damage Armenian interests, crippling it morally and politically
on the international area, it will most definitely strike a serious blow
to the relations between the current Armenian Administration and its most
strategic foreign partner and resource, the Diaspora.

Nonetheless, let it be reminded once more that the Union of Armenian
Associations in Sweden is in favour of the normalization of relations
between Turkey and Armenia, but only on the basis of a sincere dialogue,
without any preconditions, obvious or concealed, attempting to downplay
the reality of the Armenian Genocide, its legacy, or subsiding the
Armenian support of Artsakh’s right for self-determination.

The Board of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden