Author: Kafian Jirair

LDP: ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS FROZEN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.03.2010 16:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The protocols on normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations are frozen, according to Cem Toker, the
leader of Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) of Turkey.

"Ankara is unlikely to ratify the protocols. Linkage to the Karabakh
process, Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling and the resolutions
adopted recently by the US House panel and Swedish parliament almost
nullified the possibility of ratification," the Turkish politician
said, adding that despite possible failure of the protocols, the
process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations should not
be suspended.

"The border between the two countries should be opened," he said.

Commenting on adoption of the Armenian genocide resolution by the
US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Toker said it will hardly
be put on the House floor. He said he acknowledges the "atrocities"
committed in 1915 but he has not shaped his opinion on "whether they
constituted a genocide". Nevertheless, the Turkish politician attended
the Armenian Genocide Memorial to commemorate the innocent victims.

As to Turkey’s aspiration to mediate for Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement process, he said he doesn’t rule out that "after the
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Turkey may act as an
intermediary."

Asked to comment on Turkish Prime Minister’s recent statement on
deportation of illegal Armenian workers, Mr. Token labeled it as
inadmissible.

ARMENIAN DIASPORA MINISTER TO VISIT LEBANON

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.03.2010 17:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian delegation led by President Serzh Sargsyan
is on official visit to Syria March 22-24. The delegation includes
Armenian Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobyan, who plans a visit to
Lebanon to meet with Aijar Mayor, educators and heads of Armenian
organizations.

Meetings with Lebanese Foreign Minister, Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilicia Aram I, political parties’ leaders and Armenian-language
media editors are also on Hranush Hakobyan’s visit agenda, RA Diaspora
Ministry press service reported.

EDITOR’S DIARY: TURKISH PRESIDENCY’S ARMENIAN HISTORY
by Emil Sanamyan

3-19-editor-s-diary-turkish-presidency-s-armenian- history
Friday March 19, 2010

Ankara, Turkey – For the past two days our group of nine – experts,
commentators, writers from Washington, New York and Boston – has
shuttled from one end of Ankara to another for meeting after meeting.

Eleven meetings in all so far: six yesterday and five today – the
latest with President Abdullah Gul, from which we just came back
having admired, among other things, two large marine paintings by
Ivan Aivazovsky on display in the presidential palace.

Compared to abrasive Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been
making all the news lately, Mr. Gul is a soft-spoken, mild-mannered
man and I appreciate him taking the time to meet our group.

In that meeting I had an opportunity to ask Mr. Gul to treat Armenian
Genocide with due sensitivity and not to dismiss the expression of a
deeply felt connection Armenians have to a part of our homeland that
is now in Turkey as mere lobbying campaign.

All Mr. Gul could afford is to express sympathy for all those who
lost their lives, while emphasizing the fate of Turks who suffered
in the Balkans.

Turkey is becoming a much more open country. It is a dynamic country,
growing in power and confidence. But the history of the Genocide
still weighs heavy here.

Even the Turkish president’s residence at Cankaya is said to be located
on land confiscated from an Armenian family during the Genocide.

And more obviously, one of Ankara’s main boulevards is named after
Talaat Pasha, one of the Young Turk architects of the Genocide later
assassinated by Armenians.

95 years on the legacy of the Genocide – along with America’s
present-day worries over Iran – dominated nearly all of our meetings
here with officials and politicians. This is of course thanks to the
resolution that recently passed the House Committee.

Turkey has since recalled its Ambassador to U.S. Namik Tan and,
according to officials here, is unlikely to return him to Washington
before President Barack Obama’s April 24 statement.

Our group’s most senior member former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
(1989-91) Morton Abramowitz is certainly best known and appreciated
here, in particular for his advocacy against Genocide resolutions. His
presence in our group probably opened many doors for us.

Another group member my colleague from The Armenian Weekly Khatchig
Mouradian earned special recognition for his fluent Istanbul Turkish.

We are guided here by a very capable young lady named Sinem Uluturk,
who is with TEPAV foundation that invited us. (Among other distinctions
Sinem shares the name of my great-great-grandmother from whom my
family name originates.)

To be frank coming here I expected to be brainwashed about Turkey’s
greatness by both U.S. and Turkish officials. This is what normally
one hears at Turkey policy events in Washington.

Instead, there have been a series of frank exchanges – particularly
with U.S. Ambassador here James Jeffrey who is now managing a very
troubled relationship.

With all the weight of history and officialdom Ankara has been at
once a very familiar and pleasant place to be.

AAE calls on European countries to condemn Turkey

20.03.2010 11:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Assembly of Armenians of Europe (AAE) has
slammed Turkish Prime Minister’s recent statement on possible
deportation of 100 thousand illegal Armenian migrants.

`This fact proves that Turkey exercises xenophobia and intolerant
attitude towards Armenians. It’s surprising that the head of a country
whose illegal immigrants live across Europe dares to make such a
statement. We call on the European community to condemn it and take
action to clarify the situation with human rights in Turkey. We also
call on all European states to recognize and condemn the Armenian
Genocide,’ the AAE said.

`There are 170 thousand Armenians living in Turkey. 70 thousand of
them are Turkish citizens. If necessary, I will tell the remaining 100
thousand to leave. I can do so because they are not Turkish citizens
and I’m not obliged to keep them in my country,’ Turkish PM Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week.

The fierce reaction of the Turkish PM came after the adoption of the
Armenian Genocide resolution, H.Res.252, by the US House Foreign
Affairs Committee on March 4 and passage of a resolution recognizing
the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians/Syrians/Chaldeans and Pontic
Greeks y the Swedish parliament on March 11.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN THREATENS TO EXPEL 100,000 ILLEGAL ARMENIANS
Suna Erdem

The Times
europe/article7066218.ece
March 18, 2010
UK

Many Armenians took refuge in Turkey after their homes were wrecked
in the devastating 1988 earthquake Turkey’s Prime Minister has raised
the stakes in an international row over the mass killing of Armenians
in Ottoman Turkey by threatening to expel 100,000 Armenians living
in the country.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that action could be taken if foreign
parliaments continued to increase the pressure by recognising the
massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.

"In my country there are 170,000 Armenians; 70,000 of them are
citizens. We tolerate 100,000 more. So, what am I going to do
tomorrow? If necessary I will tell the 100,000: okay, time to go back
to your country. Why? They are not my citizens. I am not obliged to
keep them in my country," he said, during a visit to London this week.

He also warned the Armenian diaspora that its campaign to have the
genocide recognised by foreign parliaments would jeopardise improved
ties between Turkey and Armenia.

Related Links Armenian resolution may push Turkey to Iran Bad things
happen when empires fall apart US in bid to limit ‘genocide’ vote
fallout Mr Erdogan was to have travelled on to Sweden but he cancelled
the visit at the last moment and recalled Turkey’s Ambassador to
Stockholm. The protest moves were taken after Sweden’s Parliament
voted to join the list of nearly 20 countries that accuses Ottoman
Turks of genocide over the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians
during the First World War.

Ankara also recalled its ambassador to Washington this month after a
US Foreign Affairs Committee passed a genocide resolution . Armenia
condemned Mr Erdogan’s comments, saying that it revived memories of
the original killings – many of which happened during mass deportations
of Armenians accused of supporting the invading Russian army.

"These kinds of statements do not help to improve relations between
our two states. When the Turkish Prime Minister allows himself to
make such statements it brings up memories of the events of 1915,"
Tigran Sarkisian, the Armenian Prime Minister, said.

Turkey rejects the accusations. Ankara insists that hundreds of
thousands of Armenians and Muslim Turks died during civil strife in
the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

Although Mr Erdogan made his remarks in London, the matter was not
raised during his meeting with Gordon Brown. Britain has kept out of
the row, calling only on the two countries to work to normalise their
relationship. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday:
"Terrible suffering was inflicted on Armenians living in the Ottoman
Empire in the early 20th Century. But the main concern of this
Government is not what we call such horrific events but ensuring that
the lessons are learnt, and relationships are re-built to ensure a
peaceful and secure future for everyone living the region."

Pressure on Ankaras is, however, mounting. Other countries are expected
to pass genocide resolutions before the centenary of the killings in
2015. Many members of the European Union, which Turkey wishes to join,
including France, Germany and Italy, already recognise the events
as genocide. Even in Britain, which Mr Erdogan’s aides say is "too
smart" to get involved, Parliament is expected to debate a genocide
Bill next month.

The number of illegal Armenians in Turkey is a matter of debate, with
a study conducted last year claiming that the figure could be as low
as 10,000. Around half slipped into Turkey in 1988 in the aftermath
of the devastating earthquake that hit Armenia. Others are exiles
from Armenia’s ailing post-Soviet economy.

Turkish politicians have in the past threatened to throw out these
Armenians in retaliation for international recognition of the genocide
but this is the first time that the threat has come from the country’s
leader.

His outburst probably had more to do with domestic political pressure
than foreign policy. Having defied domestic opinion to champion a
policy of reconciliation with Armenia Mr Erdogan finds himself accused
at home of enfeebling Turkey on the international stage.Elections
are due by July 2011 and Mr Erdogan is fighting a rear-guard action
against nationalist parties on the left and the right.

RA PRESIDENT MEETS WITH SLOVAKIAN FM

news.am
March 18 2010
Armenia

Armenia appreciates Slovakia’s balanced approach to the problems of
the South Caucasus, RA President Serzh Sargsyan stated at a meeting
with a Slovakian delegation led by Foreign Minister Miroslav LajÄ~Mák
on March 18.

The RA presidential press office informed NEWS.am that the Armenian
leader pointed out a high level of bilateral relations. President
Sargsyan stated Armenia is interested in developing cooperation
with Slovakia.

The Armenian leader expressed his gratitude to the Slovakian Parliament
for adopting an Armenian Genocide resolution in 2004.

President Serzh Sagsyan conveyed his invitation to his Slovakian
counterpart to visit Armenia.

President Sargsyan and Minister LajÄ~Mák discussed issues of
intensifying political, economic and cultural cooperation, pointing
out the importance of expanding the legal framework. The sides
exchanged views on the Armenia-EU cooperation and on the relevant
steps in this field. The sides were also of the unanimous opinion
that the EU Eastern Partnership program opens up new opportunities
for developing the Armenian-Slovakian relations.

President Serzh Sargsyan briefed the Slovakian delegation on the
latest developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and on
official Yerevan’s position. The Armenian leader also addressed the
regional and international problems of mutual interest.

TURKISH PM UNDER FIRE FOR ARMENIAN THREATS

The Swedish Wire
March 18 2010
Sweden

ANKARA (AFP) – Swedish vote "adversely affects" Turkey’s attitude
towards illegal Armenians.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came under fire Thursday
for his threat to deport thousands of illegal Armenian workers, with
critics saying it damages the country’s prestige and overshadows a
limping peace process with Armenia.

In comments late Tuesday, Erdogan said such action could be taken if
foreign parliaments continue to pass votes branding the massacres of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Resolutions voted recently in the United States and Sweden to that
affect "adversely affect our sincere attitude" towards illegal
Armenians, Erdogan told the BBC Turkish service.

"There are 170,000 Armenians in my country. Of these, 70,000 are
citizens, but we are tolerating the remaining 100,000… If necessary,
I may have to tell them to go back to their country… I am not
obliged to keep them here," he charged.

Erdogan’s outburst is an attempt to "blackmail" foreign countries into
rejecting Armenian allegations of a genocide, using illegal Armenians
in Turkey as pawns, commentator Can Dundar wrote in the Milliyet daily.

"Treating innocent Armenian workers as bargaining chips as if they
were hostages is grave enough to add a new example to the centuries-old
accusations against Turkey," he added.

Armenians charge that up to 1.5 million of their kin perished in a
systematic extermination campaign during 1915-1918 as the Ottoman
Empire fell apart.

Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label, arguing that up to
500,000 Armenians were killed in civil strife and forcible deportations
for rising up against Ottoman rule and siding with invading Russian
forces.

"These kinds of political statements do not help to improve relations
between our two states…. When the Turkish prime minister allows
himself to make such statements it immediately for us brings up
memories of the events of 1915," Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian said Wednesday.

In a bid to overcome decades of enmity, Turkey and Armenia in October
signed a historic deal to establish diplomatic ties and open their
shared border.

But the process has already hit the rocks, with both countries
accusing each other of trying to rewrite the accord and withholding
their parliaments from ratifying the deal.

Erdogan’s threat — which comes in stark contrast to Ankara’s vow to
pursue reconciliation efforts with Armenia — is likely to further
strain the process, Hadi Uluengin wrote in the Hurriyet daily.

"Neither Armenia nor its influential diaspora will leave such a
Turkish threat unaswered… Erdogan’s threat has harmed our diplomatic
prestige," he said.

To limit the fallout, Suat Kiniklioglu, the foreign affairs spokesman
for the ruling party, played down Erdogan’s words, saying the prime
minister was merely underlining the tolerance shown to illegal
Armenian workers.

Erdogan was "not talking about something that would happen today or
tomorrow," he said in a written statement Wednesday.

Most analysts do not believe Turkey will ever follow through with
the threat as it would be too costly.

"It would be absolutely unthinkable to see dozens, hundreds or
thousands of Armenians gathered by police and expelled back to
Armenia. That would be a deadly blow to the image of Turkey abroad,"
said Fabio Salomoni, an Italian sociologist from Istanbul’s Koc
University who has researched Armenian immigrants in Turkey.

Turkish authorities have long been aware of the presence of the illegal
Armenians, most of them women working as nannies or cleaning ladies
and mainly in Istanbul.

Their exact numbers are unknown, but analysts say Turkish authorities
have a tendency to inflate the figures — starting with 40,000 and
going up to 100,000 — to put pressure on Armenia.

Salomoni put their numbers at between 10,000 to 20,000 while
Alin Ozinian, the author of recent research on the subject for the
Armenia-based Eurasia Partnership Foundation, says there are between
13,000 and 15,000 illegal Armenians in Turkey.

Last Updated (Thursday, 18 March 2010 16:57)
t/article/2:politics/3381:turkish-pm-under-fire-fo r-armenian-threats-

EBRD PROVIDES $4 MILLION SYNTHETIC LOAN TO FINCA UCO

ARKA
March 19, 2010

YEREVAN, March 19, /ARKA/. The EBRD is boosting the availability of
local currency financing in Armenia with a synthetic loan in Armenian
Drams (AMD) worth $4 million to FINCA UCO CJSC for on-lending to
local micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

An agreement to that end was signed in Yerevan March 18 by EBRD
president Thomas Mirow and FINCA executive director Yervand Barseghyan.

Wholly-owned by U.S. based FINCA International, FINCA UCO CJSC is the
third largest non-bank credit organization in Armenia by its assets
size, servicing MSEs, with a special focus on the smallest borrowers
in rural areas.

The proceeds of the EBRD loan will enable FINCA UCO CJSC to meet the
growing demand for local currency financing and increase its outreach
to entrepreneurs in remote areas.

The synthetic local currency loan, the first one provided by the
EBRD to a microfinance institution in Armenia, will help FINCA UCO
CJSC increase the term of its local currency funding, and expand
its portfolio of loans in AMD. This will enable FINCA UCO CJSC’s
clients to repay their loans in the same currency as they earn from
their operations.

The EBRD loan is complemented by a technical assistance grant from
the EBRD’s Early Transition Countries Multi Donor Fund, which will
be used to strengthen risk management practices at FINCA UCO CJSC
and to help the institution develop new products.

"Through this transaction, the EBRD is boosting its support for the
development of the private sector in Armenia which is dominated by
micro and small enterprises. The local currency loan will enable
FINCA UCO CJSC and its clients to reduce foreign exchange risks",
said EBRD President, Thomas Mirow.

"FINCA UCO CJSC is very happy to count the EBRD as a strategic
partner. I’m confident that we will continue to help the lowest income
entrepreneurs in Armenia and, in turn, the development of the country,"
said FINCA UCO CJSC CEO, Yervand Barseghyan.

Overall, since the beginning of its operations in Armenia, the EBRD
has committed over ~@393 million in 77 projects in the financial,
corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors.

ARA PAPIAN: TURKEY HASN’T CHANGED

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.03.2010 16:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of the Modus Vivendi Centre Ara Papian offered
comments on the recent statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.

"Any claim of a hundred thousand citizens of Armenia living illegally
in Turkey is baseless. One can at the most speak of 12 to 14 thousand
citizens of Armenia living in Turkey today, of which a significant
part is legally resident in that country. But they are not the subject
under discussion, but the conduct of Turkey towards them and, in
particular, the response of the international community. Or rather,
the lack of one," he said.

"When the leader of the Party for Freedom of the Netherlands –
merely the head of a party, a member of parliament – Geert Wilders
declared that it was necessary to deport all illegal immigrants from
the country, the world went into a flurry. How could we allow ourselves
to do such a thing? Whatever happened to human rights? A very correct
response indeed. So why is the world so silent today in the face of
the head of the executive branch of Turkey’s government, in hearing
Prime Minister Erdogan’s similar statement against Armenians? What,
are you afraid of riling up Turkey? Where are your principles and
human rights now?

Ten to 12 million illegal immigrants from Latin America currently
live in the United States. These people are not only present in the
country illegally, but many also entered America in an illegal manner.

Nevertheless – as opposed to the citizens of Armenia living in Turkey –
their children have the right to attend school, and they receive major
social benefits from the government. In countries of the European
Union, towards which Turkey is tirelessly striving, there are 8
to 10 million illegal immigrants. There are a few hundred thousand
immigrants from Turkey among them. A part of them – as opposed to
the citizens of Armenia living in Turkey – eat their daily bread at
the expense of local taxpayers.

Various sources indicate that 1.5 to 3 million Arabs live in the US
today, whether by origin or citizenship. The data is unclear and very
disparate, as a considerable part of them are illegally present in the
country. When, on September 11th, 2001, the United States came under
attack by Arabs, no American official made any mention of running any
illegal Arabs out of the US. Society in America was reeling under
pain, violation and sadness, but the attack organized and carried
out by Arabs caused no-one to think of deporting the illegal Arabs
living in the country.

Now let us imagine the response of the international community if
Bush had suddenly decided, as a result of the attack on his country,
to exile the illegal Arabs in the US. Certainly, "all of progressive
humanity" would come together in anti-American demonstrations,
protests and speeches. And it would have been right to do so. Each
is responsible for his or her actions. The era of group punishments
has passed.

To fully appreciate the absurdity of Erdogan’s threat, let us consider
our circumstances. Armenia has not attacked Turkey. Armenians have
not crashed a plane into the Blue Mosque or the Ataturk Mausoleum.

Armenians have not killed three and a half thousand Turks in downtown
Istanbul, as some did in downtown New York. It just so happens that
a group of citizens of the United States and Sweden, the majority
of which in this case are Armenians by origin, have managed to
achieve, through completely legal and civilised means, the passage
of certain resolutions at different levels of the US and Swedish
legislatures. I do not wish to even refer to the contents or nature of
those resolutions. That isn’t of any significance at this point. What
is important is Turkey’s response and the lack of a condemnation of
it by Europe or the US. Armenia, unfortunately, did not even have
any part to play in the passage of those resolutions, but Turkey is
gnashing its teeth in Armenia’s direction. If Turkey is upset at those
resolutions, although getting upset at the reaffirmation of the truth
would be mindless, let Turkey deport its Americans and Swedes. What,
doesn’t the shoe fit? Or do they only know how to thumb their nose
at us? And this is how the Turks wish to be members of the European
Union, to live in the same household with the Germans? A medieval
and vindictive stench reeks from Erdogan’s words.

Just as we were saying, Turkey hasn’t changed."

ERDOGAN : L’ARMENIE DOIT SE DEBARASSER DE LA DIASPORA
par Jean Eckian/armenews

TURQUIE
mercredi17 mars 2010

Lors de sa visite au Royaume Uni, le premier ministre turc, commentant
les adoptions parlementaires des Etats Unis et de Suède, a declare a la
BBC " La politique etrangère de la Turquie connaît des difficultes en
rapport avec les projets de loi armenienne qui sapent les efforts de
paix avec l’Armenie ", a-t-il dit. Ajoutant "Ces mesures (resolutions
sur le genocide) ont malheureusement un impact negatif sur notre
attitude sincère ".

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, comme a l’habitude a menace en affirmant que " La
Turquie continuera la politique du " zero problème avec les voisins. "
Toutefois, si, en reponse a la main, tendue on nous montre le poing,
il n’y aura plus rien a faire. Dans mon pays il ya 170 mille Armeniens,
dont 70 mille citoyens turcs. Demain, si necessaire, je dirai aux cent
mille que nous pouvons gerer, de quitter notre pays. Si necessaire
je le ferai parce qu’ils ne sont pas mes citoyens, et je ne suis pas
oblige de les garder dans mon pays ".

En outre, il a lance un appel aux pays qui se considèrent comme des
allies des Armeniens, " pour aider au processus de normalisation des
relations entre la Turquie et l’Armenie. " " L’Armenie devrait adopter
une decision très importante. L’Armenie devrait se debarrasser de la
diaspora. Les pays qui se considèrent comme des amis de l’Armenie, en
particulier les Etats-Unis, la France et la Russie, devrait l’aider
dans cette voix " – a declare le premier ministre turc. Un premier
ministre qui blâme les pays ayant reconnu le genocide des armeniens,
martelant que son gouvernement ne se pliera jamais aux pressions
exterieures, tandis que très " naturellement " et sans l’ombre d’une
equivoque passe le plus clair de son temps a menacer de retorsions
de tous ordres ces memes pays.