Author: Felekian Ara

V.OSKANIAN MEETS WITH HIS CANADIAN COLLEAGUE AND MEMBERS OF
CANADA-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP GROUP

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 19 2006

TORONTO, OCTOBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. On October 18, RA Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian, who is in Canada on a working visit, met with his
Canadian colleague, Peter Mackey.

During the meeting the Ministers positively estimated bilateral
relations mentioning that there is rather great potential for deepening
cooperation.

The Armenian community’s active role in the issue of deepening
cooperation between Canada and Armenia, as well as its role in the
Canadian public was especially emphasized.

The sides exchanged thoughts about regional problems, in particular,
touching upon Armenian-Turkish relations. In this connection Minister
Oskanian expressed gratitude to Canadian legislative and executive
powers for recognizing the Armenian Genocide highlighting that this is
manifestation of devotion to human rights protection by the Canadian
people.

The Ministers also discussed possibilities of making Armenian-Canadian
contacts more active at international organizations and conferences.

At Peter Mackey’s request, V.Oskanian spoke about regional
developments, Armenian-Turkish relations, current stage of Nagorno
Karabakh settlement negotiations. RA Foreign Minister also presented
Armenia’s position on the resolution to be presented by GUAM at the
UN General Assembly 61st sitting.

As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Foreign Ministry Press and
Information Department, the same day V.Oskanian met with members of
the newly formed Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group at the
Canadian parliament. About 40 MPs are already included in the group
headed by Gary Goodyear.

In his speech made at the meeting with participation of representatives
of various organizations of Canadian Armenian community V.Oskanian
touched upon Armenian-Canadian cooperation in various spheres, as well
as reforms being implemented in Armenia and foreign policy priorities.

Head of Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Gary Goodyear
and Parliamentary Secretary of Canadian Prime Minister, Jason Kenny
spoke at the event. Jason Kenny conveyed to the event participants
the Canadian Prime Minister’s greeting speech.

Report on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be discussed at the NATO PA autumn session

Regnum, Russia
Oct 20 2006

A report on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be submitted for
discussion at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s autumn session,
says the head of the Azeri delegation to the NATO PA Ziyat Askerov.

A source from the Azerbaijani Parliament reports Askerov to say
that the document is almost ready. Not everything is satisfactory
in it though: for example, the report says that "15% of Azerbaijan’s
territories are occupied and that there are 600,000-700,000 refugees
and internally displaced persons." That’s why the Azerbaijani side
has protested against this point and has offered its amendments. "We
have also provided them with documents proving that Nagorno-Karabakh
is Azerbaijan’s historical land and that Armenians were just resettled
there."

The draft of the report was discussed with the chairman of the
Sub-Committee on Future Security and Defense of the NATO PA Defense
and Security Committee Vahid Erdem during his visit to Baku.

TROIKA AND ANKARA POUR OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS

European Report
October 18, 2006

Marking a pause in the escalation of tension over recent weeks, the
EU and Turkey sought to calm tempers at their ministerial meeting
on 16 October in Luxembourg, though they remain unable to settle
their fundamental differences. The EU troika, led by Finland’s
Foreign Minister and acting Council President Erkki Tuomioja, and
the Turkish delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
avoided any direct attacks while sticking to their positions.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed Ankara’s open attitude at
the meeting, at which the future of accession negotiations was not on
the agenda but in everybody’s mind. A respite that contrasts with the
invective that has been plying between Europeans and Turks recently
over the slow pace of reforms in Turkey and the French initiative on
the recognition of the Armenian genocide. On the eve of the meeting,
one European source suggested that "the Turks are at present highly
irritated and very irritable".

No progress was made on sensitive dossiers poisoning Ankara’s accession
process, notably the issue of Cyprus and domestic reforms, which
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso had again described
on the eve of the meeting as too slow. The Ankara Protocol, which
Turkey has still failed to apply, in spite of demands from member
states, remains a key bone of contention. Gul reaffirmed his line
that the Cypriot issue should first be resolved by the island’s two
communities, emphasising the responsibility of Greek Cypriots for the
current deadlock. In this context, Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank
Walter Steinmeier refused to pledge to opening further chapters in
negotiations when Berlin takes up the EU Presidency for the first
half of 2007.

THE ARMENIAN QUESTION

Abdullah Gul again denounced the vote by France’s Assemblee Nationale
last week approving a law condemning denial of the Armenian genocide.

The minister insisted this dossier is not included among the Copenhagen
criteria, regretting that one of the EU’s founder members should be
undermining freedom of speech at the time when the member states are
applying pressure on his country to speed up reforms in this area. This
vote "has a negative impact on France’s image as a country where
it is possible to exchange different opinions," said the minister,
while emphasising that many European and indeed French personalities
have denounced the initiative. He urged France’s leaders to prevent
the bill, which has still to be approved by the Senate and endorsed
by the president of the Republic, from entering into force.

Minister Gul nevertheless declined on his part to commit to reforming
the controversial Article 301 of Turkey’s new penal code, which
permits the imprisonment of individuals for denigrating the state,
merely insisting that his country will not "repeat France’s errors"
regarding freedom of speech. "In Turkey today one is free to say
anything," said Gul. Though less restrictive than that contained in
the previous penal code,this article, nevertheless, remains a target
for the EU and human rights organisations like Amnesty International,
which fear it might be used by the authorities to stifle criticism of
the regime. Gul acknowledged that the new legislation has encountered
some implementation problems, but declined to commit to a modification
of the text. An inadequate approach, which is taking too long,
commented Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, again calling for the
amendment of the article.

This warning points to a possible further escalation of tensions with
Ankara, with the Commission’s eagerly-awaited report evaluating
Turkey’s progress towards EU accession due to be published on
8 November.

ARMENIA SHOULD DO ITS BEST TO HOLD TRANSPARENT DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS: LEADER OF UNITED LABOUR PARTY

ARMINFO News Agency
October 17, 2006 Tuesday

Today, at a meeting with journalists at the "Pastark" club, Leader
of the United Labour Party of Armenia, MP Gourgen Arsenyan said that
everything should be done to hold the forthcoming parliamentary and
presidential elections in a transparent and democratic way. It is the
only chance of the state structures to retrieve the trust of people.

The deputy noted that there is no need to speak of honest elections
yet, as the political forces in power still use the administrative
resource.

Answering the journalists’ questions about the electorate’s bribery
by a number of political parties, the MP pointed out that the border
between humanitarian assistance and bribery should be determined
by law enforcement agencies. Arsenyan said that, in this respect,
a number of items of the Electoral Code should be reconsidered,
and the latter should define the electoral process, its beginning
and end more distinctly. He expressed confidence that the essential
role in the pre-electoral campaign belongs to the incorruptible part
of population which makes up the greater part of people.

Speaking about the ULP’s participation in the parliamentary elections,
the ULP Leader said that the party should make efforts to receive
the majority of votes. Only this will allow them to implement the
program of the party. He concluded that participation in elections
is a part of permanent political process for any party.

TURKISH PARLIAMENT SAYS ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL HITS TIES WITH FRANCE, ARMENIA

Agence France Presse — English
October 17, 2006 Tuesday 4:07 PM GMT

A French bill making it a crime to deny Ottoman Turks committed
genocide against Armenians will damage ties with France and hit
reconciliation efforts with neighbouring Armenia, the Turkish
parliament warned Tuesday.

The warning came in a joint declaration adopted by parliament after
a debate on the bill which foresees one year in jail for anyone who
denies that the World War I massacres amounted to genocide and was
voted by the lower house of the French parliament Thursday.

"The French National Assembly has not only inflicted great damage on
bilateral ties but has also dealt a blow to efforts for a normalisation
in our ties with Armenia," the declaration said.

It said the bill, which needs to be approved by the French senate
and president to become a law, would have serious repercussions
on political, economic and military ties with France and also on
Armenia itself.

"The hostile policies Armenia employs against… the Turkish
people… will cost it dearly," it said.

Ankara has declined to establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan over
its campaign for international recognition of the genocide.

In 1993, Turkey sealed its border with its eastern neighbor in a
gesture of solidarity with close ally Azerbaijan, which was then at war
with Armenia, dealing a heavy economic blow to the impoverished nation.

Diplomats from Turkey and Armenia have been holding exploratory talks
since last year in a bid to normalise ties, but there has so far been
no word on their progress.

Speaking in the general assembly before the adoption of the
declaration, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also warned of a
deterioration in French-Turkish ties and said Ankara was considering
international legal means to combat the bill.

If the bill is adopted, "our ties will receive irreparable wounds in
politics, economics and security," Gul said, describing the draft as
a violation of freedom of expression, a basic tenet of the European
Union.

"The government will use all means provided by international law,
including resorting to judiciary means," Gul said.

Analysts have said Turkey could challenge the French bill at the
European Court of Human Rights after it has been adopted.

The bill is widely seen here as a punch below the belt by opponents
of Turkey’s European Union membership that will fan anti-Western
sentiment among Turks and make it harder for the government to push
ahead with painful EU-demanded reforms.

"France has made a definite decision to block Turkey’s full membership
in the European Union," said Sukru Elekdag, a senior MP from the
main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). "France’s aim is to
frustrate Turkey, to force it to throw in the towel."

Ankara, facing mounting EU warnings to respect freedom of speech,
charges that the French move is an example of double standards,
arguing that the bill eventually could block free debate on a
historical subject.

Ankara had warned ahead of the vote that French companies would be
barred from major economic projects in Turkey, including a nuclear
power plant whose tender process is expected to soon begin, if the
bill was adopted.

Officials, however, have sought to calm widespread calls for a boycott
of French goods on the grounds that French companies based in Turkey
and employing Turks could be harmed.

The killings are one of the most controversial episodes in Turkish
history.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917.

Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label, arguing that
300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife
when Armenians rose for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with invading Russian troops as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart.

WE LEARN THE TRUTH FROM OTHERS
James Hakobyan

Lragir.am
18 Oct 06

Unfortunately, it is a fact that very often the Armenian public
learns about events connected with Armenia from the outside rather
than its government, which is allegedly elected in free, fair and
transparent elections. For instance, we learned from the U.S. Embassy
that a package of documents on a case of corruption was delivered to
the government of Armenia. Later, of course, the government stated
that these documents are not enough for calling the minister of
environmental protection to account, nevertheless, if the U.S.

Embassy had not announced, the taxpayers would not have learned about
the accusation against the government living on their expense.

Meanwhile, it seemed that the government should be happy to announce
the first that the accusations of corruption are false.

Similarly, the public learns from foreigners that the Armenian
government is likely to sell a section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
to the Russians. And the more the Armenian officials, including the
prime minister, the minister of defense, the minister of energy
refute this information stating that there is no such decision
on the pipeline, the more Russian officials confirm it. In fact,
they obstinately confirm what the Armenian government obstinately
refutes. And it is at least amazing that the Armenian government
does not demand explanations from Russia and does not make efforts
to prevent attempts at misleading the Armenian public. It means that
the government itself is misleading the public.

And it appears that it is misleading not only the public. And
apparently the consistent efforts to refute information hiding
the sale of the gas pipeline is not determined by the reaction of
the public. The point is that Iran is against the sale of the gas
pipeline. The officials of this country have announced in Yerevan
that they are not likely to include a third part in the pipeline
project. And the Armenian government assures Iran that it takes no
steps at involving a third party. Meanwhile, it appears to be the
contrary, and the Armenian officials are lying not only to their
people but also to Iran. It is difficult to say how long the lie
will last. Maybe until the Russians announce that the gas pipeline
already belongs to them. Of course, it may be only a section and not
the whole of the pipeline. But what difference does it make how many
meters of the pipeline belong to Russia? After all, it is impossible
to transport the gas running through this section of the pipeline
via air. And as soon as Russia gets a section of the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline, it becomes pointless to speak about the diversification of
the energy security of Armenia.

Consequently, it becomes apparent that the government’s commitment
to enhancing energy security is a lie. And all we can do is to ask
Russia when official Yerevan tells the truth and when it hides it. Even
if the Russian government demanded money in return for information,
it would probably be worthwhile to give the money we pay to the state
budget and which is spent on the salaries of the government officials,
who are supposed to be frank with the citizens.

UN COUP DE TELEPHONE

La Nouvelle Republique du Centre Ouest
16 octobre 2006 lundi
Edition Informations Generales

L’Elysee a tenu hier a preciser la teneur de la conversation entre le
President francais et le Premier ministre turc. Jacques Chirac lui a
rappele sa position concernant le genocide armenien, avec a la fois
le necessaire devoir de memoire turc et l’inutilite de la loi votee
par les deputes francais.Le president francais, qui a appele Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, lui a redit ce qu’il avait dit a Erevan lors de sa
visite en Armenie achevee le 1 octobre, a souligne l’Elysee.Ce dernier
a indique samedi soir avoir recu un appel telephonique du president
Chirac lui exprimant ses " regrets " au sujet du vote en première
lecture par l’Assemblee nationale francaise d’une proposition de loi
sur le genocide armenien.

A Erevan, M. Chirac avait estime que l’initiative du PS proposant
une loi pour sanctionner tout deni du genocide armenien relevait"
plus de la polemique que de la realite juridique ", la legislation
francaise actuelle etant a ses yeux suffisante. Le chef de l’Etat
francais avait aussi estime qu’Ankara devait reconnaître le genocide
pour adherer a l’UE.

–Boundary_(ID_XpGa5cPAA4yXtG/lmM84mA)–

Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
13 Oct 06

TURKISH CONSUMERS UNION BOYCOTTS FRENCH PRODUCTS OVER GENOCIDE LAW

Istanbul, 13 October: "We start to boycott goods and services of
French origin with the products of Total company," Bulent Deniz,
Chairman of Consumers Union, said on Friday [13 October].

Deniz said: "As of today, we are going to boycott one French product
every week and show our reaction".

"By adopting the bill on making the denial of the so-called Armenian
genocide a crime, the French National Assembly expressed its
opposition to freedom of thought," Deniz said. He indicated that
"Consumers Union considered boycott as the last alternative, however
it had to be applied upon the developments".

"The boycott will continue increasingly until the law on the
so-called Armenian genocide is annulled," noted Deniz. "We will not
purchase fuel oil, lube oil, and LPG from the Total Company.

France will be the party that loses unless this unfortunate process
ends," Deniz said.

Deniz said: "A survey will be carried out on Saturday and Sunday to
assess the dimensions of the boycott and it will be made public."

National Assembly, Armenia
Oct 13 2006

With Readiness to Continue Efficient Cooperation

On October 11 the President of the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan received the delegation headed by the
Director General of Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe , Mr. Guy
De Vel. The Special Representative of the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe Boyana Urumova and the Permanent Representative,
Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Council of Europe Mr.
Christian Ter-Stepanian also attended the meeting.

During the meeting the NA President Mr. Tigran Torosyan informed
about the legislative amendments made after the referendum. He
especially noted about the abolition of the administrative custody,
which has been done at the level of the Constitution, the amendment
to the law on Constitutional Court, the broadening of the applicants’
circle to the Constitutional Court, the laws concerning the judicial
system. The adoption of laws and their sending for an expert
assessment simultaneously was explained by time issues, as
conditioned by the forthcoming general elections the National
Assembly can work more efficiently till the end of the year, and the
2007 Spring Session coincides with the period of parliamentary
pre-electoral campaign.

Director General of Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe , Mr. Guy
De Vel thanked the President of the National Assembly for the
efficient cooperation and expressed readiness to continue it. He
noted that Armenia has greatly met its obligations, adopted important
laws for democratic development, which are already exposed to expert
assessment. The two parties stressed the importance of the reforms of
the judicial system and the adoption of the Judicial Code, which will
be a document for these reforms. Mr. Guy De Vel touched upon with
contentment the debate of the Electoral Code with the experts of the
Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. Mr. Tigran Torosyan
highlighted the importance of adopting the Electoral Code till the
end of the year with first and second readings.

During the meeting draft laws that are in circulation were also
discussed, especially the draft law on Television and Radio.
Stressing the importance of adopting this draft law within the
framework of constitutional amendments Mr. Tigran Torosyan noted,
that the Parliament will try to adopt a relevant draft law before the
end of the year. The draft law on the City of Yerevan and other
issues of mutual importance were also discussed.

Q&A: ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

BBC News, UK
Oct 12 2006

Arguments have raged for decades about the Armenian deaths

French MPs have passed a bill making it a crime to deny that the
Ottoman Turkish empire committed genocide against Armenians in 1915.

The decision has delighted Armenians and infuriated Turks.

Why put "genocide" in inverted commas?

Whether or not the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during
World War I amounted to genocide is a matter for heated debate. Some
countries have declared that a genocide took place, but others have
resisted calls to do so.

What happened?

During World War I, as the Ottoman Turkish empire fought Russian
forces, some of the Armenian minority in eastern Anatolia sided with
the Russians.

Turkey took reprisals. On 24 April 1915 it rounded up and killed
hundreds of Armenian community leaders.

In May 1915, the Armenian minority, two or three million strong, was
forcefully deported and marched from the Anatolian borders towards
Syria and Mesopotamia (now Iraq). Many died en route.

What does Armenia say?

Armenia says 1.5 million Armenians were killed in this period, either
through systematic massacres or through starvation.

It alleges that a deliberate genocide was carried out by the Ottoman
Turkish empire.

What does Turkey say?

It says there was no genocide.

It acknowledges that many Armenians died, but says Turks died too,
and that massacres were committed on both sides as a result of
inter-ethnic violence and the wider World War.

What is genocide?

Article Two of the UN Convention on Genocide of December 1948 describes
genocide as carrying out acts intended "to destroy, in whole or in
part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".

What do others say?

France, Russia, Canada and Uruguay are among those countries which
have formally recognised genocide against the Armenians.

The UK, US and Israel are among those that use different terminology.

Why does the row continue?

Armenians are one of the world’s most dispersed peoples. While in
Armenia, Genocide Memorial Day is commemorated across the country,
it is the diaspora that has lobbied for recognition from the outside
world. The killings are regarded as the seminal event of modern
Armenian history, and one that binds the diaspora together.

In Turkey, the penal code makes calling "for the recognition of
the Armenian genocide" illegal. Writers and translators have been
prosecuted for attempting to stimulate debate on the subject.

Turkey has condemned countries that recognise the Armenian genocide,
and was furious when the French parliament passed a bill outlawing
denial of it.

The European Union has said that accepting the Armenian genocide is
not a condition for Turkey’s entry into the bloc. But some, including
French President Jacques Chirac, have said it should be.