Author: Antranik Varosian

Germany’s foreign ministry on Tuesday asked in the Turkish charge d’affaires over the row sparked by a German parliamentary vote declaring the Ottomans’ World War I massacre of Armenians a genocide, Agence Prance Presse reports.

German parliamentarians of Turkish origin have received death threats over the vote, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused them of backing “terrorism”.

He added that they should undergo blood tests to see “what kind of Turks they are”.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that these comments were met with “incomprehension” in Berlin.

A German foreign ministry source said that, with the Turkish ambassador currently recalled to Ankara, “today the Turkish charge d’affaires was invited to the foreign ministry for a talk about the events of recent days and the reactions to the Armenian resolution in the Bundestag”.

The talks with the high-ranking diplomat “focused on the traditionally close and trusting relations between Germany and Turkey and made clear that the most recent statements made to German MPs are at odds with this and were met with incomprehension”, the source added.

Erdogan had angrily condemned last week’s vote, charging that the 11 German MPs with Turkish roots who backed it supported “terrorism” by the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).

The June 2 vote further darkened Turkey’s ties with Germany, following recent disputes about press freedom in Turkey and a German TV satirist who insulted Erdogan, at a time when the EU is relying on Ankara to block the flow of migrants into Europe.

Ankara does not want to see relations with Berlin damaged, as the German parliament prepares to vote on a resolution aimed at recognizing the deaths of Armenians in 1915 as ‘genocide’, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Yildirim’s remarks were delivered to reporters at Esenboga Airport in the Turkish capital ahead of his first official visit to the Northern Cyprus.

“We do not have anything secret or hidden…Let the past and history of all countries be investigated. But, let historians do this,” he said.

Yildirim warned that history was being made an “instrument of politics”.

Referring to Germany’s large Turkish community, Yildirim added: “I hope that the German parliament and decision makers will not turn a deaf ear to 3.5 million voters. Therefore, we do not desire that such a resolution be passed,” Yildirim said.

“This is null and void for us but we do not want [it] passed,” he added.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip by phone to share Ankara’s sensitivities over the resolution.

Following a visit to Yerevan, the co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Alan Meale (United Kingdom, SOC) and Guiseppe Galati (Italy, EPP/CD), have urged all political forces in Armenia to continue their dialogue on the new electoral code, and to seek compromise in order achieve as wide a consensus as possible.

“The new election system and electoral code, if implemented properly, could usher in an important new phase in Armenia’s democratic development,” they said. “At the same time we fully concur with the Venice Commission’s concerns about the complexity of the code, which could have an impact on public trust in the electoral system,” which they said was a key requirement for the conduct of genuinely democratic elections. “We therefore welcome the clearly expressed willingness of the authorities to continue co-operating closely with the Venice Commission in order to address its recommendations and concerns, as was the case during the adoption of the Constitutional amendments.”

In the view of the co-rapporteurs, the introduction of the new political system in Armenia could potentially reward parties that are willing to co-operate and enter into political coalitions, which could counteract the zero-sum mentality that has regrettably been prevalent in Armenia’s political environment, often at the cost of its democratic consolidation. In that respect, the co-rapporteurs expressed their concern at provisions in the draft electoral code that would prohibit coalitions of more than three parties from forming a government after the first round of voting, and which give very little time for parties to form a governing coalition before a second round of elections is called. They therefore welcomed indications that the period to form a coalition would be extended and called upon the ruling majority to consider dropping the three-party limit to form a government after the first round.

With regard to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the rapporteurs expressed their concern at the ongoing tension along the line of contact following the escalation of military hostilities in April. They welcomed the announcement of the OSCE Minsk Co-chairs that the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to the establishment of an incident investigation mechanism under the aegis of the OSCE, which would be important for strengthening the ceasefire regime. In addition, they stated: “We were informed of allegations of atrocities and possible war crimes having been committed during the recent outbreak of hostilities. These reports need to be fully and independently investigated, preferably in the framework of the Minsk Group, and if proven, those responsible should be held fully accountable and prosecuted under national and international humanitarian and human rights law. If left without investigation, these reports will continue to be a source of mistrust and tension between the parties to the conflict.”

During the visit the co-rapporteurs also held talks about the ongoing fight against corruption, which continues to be a serious problem in Armenia. They welcomed the fact that a new law is being drafted that would allow the Commission for Ethics of High Ranking Officials to impose sanctions on any high officials, including MPs and members of the government, that fail to register, or intentionally incorrectly register, any assets, gifts or conflicts of interest, in line with GRECO recommendations. At the same time, the co-rapporteurs called on the authorities to enlarge the number of officials that would be covered by the provisions on ethics, assets and conflicts of interest in the civil service and related laws.

The co-rapporteurs will present an information note regarding this visit to the Monitoring Committee in June. They expect to visit the country again in the autumn of 2016.

“The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan committed themselves to respect the ceasefire, to put in place important confidence-building measures, and to begin negotiations next month that can lead to a comprehensive settlement,”  Spokesperson for the US Department of State John Kirby told a daily briefing.

“They demonstrated what we believe to be political will to move beyond the status quo and to take steps that can benefit all the people in the region. And so as the Secretary made clear, the United States, for our part, will stand ready to assist them in that regard in whatever way they can,” he said.

The Spokesman said “it was a positive meeting and a step in the right direction. And now everybody has to do the hard work of implementing the things that they committed to.”

The Spanish cities of Carcaixent, Alaquas and Elda officially recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide on April 27-28.

All political forces represented in the City Council of Carcaixent unanimously adopted an institutional statement.

Representatives of the People’s Party and Ciudadanos abstained during the voting at Alaquas City Hall.

In Elda the Ciudadanos Party was the only force opposing the resolution.

The sittings in the three cities were attended by representatives of the Armenian community, who expressed their gratitude to the City Councils.

The National Association of Armenian Veterans and Resistance Movement Participants (ANACRA), and many elected officials of the French Republic, along with the Ambassador of Armenia in France, paid tribute to the dead Armenians in France, and commemorated the 101th anniversary the genocide of Armenians in 1915.

 has raised the market value of Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The 27-year-old Armenian international, who currently plays for Borussia Dortmund, now costs €30 million (up from €28 million).

Mkhitaryan moved to Dortmund from Shakhtar Donetsk for €27.5.

The Armenian has scored 21 goals and provided 28 assists in all competitions this season.