Author: Nahapetian Lilit

Buenos Aires Herald , Argentina
Oct 13 2006

Denying genocide a crime in France?

PARIS – France’s Lower House of Parliament approved a bill yesterday
making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of
the Ottoman Turks, provoking anger in Turkey and raising fresh doubts
about its EU ambitions.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the vote would hurt ties between
the two NATO allies.
Analysts warn more is at stake than just bilateral ties, arguing that
the vote will encourage Turkish nationalists and undermine pro-EU
liberals by exposing the depth of anti-Turkey feelings in a founding
member of the European Union.
The bill might never become law, however, because it still needs the
approval of the Senate. The French government did not support the
motion and promised yesterday to oppose it when it gets to the
Senate, but Turkey said the damage had already been done.
Turkey denies accusations of a genocide of some 1.5 million Armenians
during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in World War One,
arguing that Armenian deaths were a part of general partisan fighting
in which both sides suffered.
However, France’s Armenian community, which at about 500,000-strong
is one of the largest in Europe, had pushed hard for the bill.
Yesterday’s motion was carried by 106 votes to 19. But it was a thin
turnout of lawmakers in the 557-seat House.
The legislation establishes a one-year prison term and 56,570-dollar
fine for anyone denying the genocide – the same sanction as for
denying the Nazi genocide of Jews.

People’s Daily, China
Oct 13 2006

French parliament passes bill on Armenian genocide

The French lower house of parliament on Thursday adopted a bill that
would make it a crime to deny that the World War I massacre of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

According to the legislation that was carried by 106 votes to 19,
anyone denying the genocide would be sentenced to one year in prison
and ordered to pay a 45,000-euro (56,570 U.S. dollars) fine.

To become law, the bill still needs the approval of both the upper
house Senate and the French president.

But Turkey has warned that the bill would damage ties between the two
countries, and threatened economic revenge against France if the bill
become law.

"If this draft law is approved, Turkey will lose nothing but France
will … lose Turkey," Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in
televised comments late on Wednesday.

Ankara denied it was to blame for the genocide of around 1.5 million
Armenians during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in World
War I, arguing that it was part of general fighting in which both
sides suffered.

Although the French government considered that it was up to
historians not parliament to judge the past, the ruling Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) gave its lawmakers a free hand in the vote,
which ensured the passing of the bill.

Later in the day, the European Commission criticized the bill, saying
it could harm reconciliation efforts.

GEORGIAN AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CONCERNED OVER REPATRIATION OF MESKHETIAN TURKS TO SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI

ARMINFO News Agency
October 10, 2006 Tuesday

Georgian and international human rights activists are concerned over
the inadequate actions of the Georgian authorities to repatriate
Meskhetian Turks to Georgia’s mostly-Armenian Samtskhe-Javakheti
region. They say that this may aggravate the complicated ethnic
situation in the country.

During the working session of the 11th OSCE Human Dimension
Implementation meeting in Warsaw, Deputy Director of the Humanitarian
Cooperation and Human Rights Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry
S. Tolkalin invited the attention of the OSCE to the violation of the
rights of ethnic minorities, particularly, Armenians and Azeris, in
Georgia. He said that those two communities are constantly complaining
of their deteriorating state.

The press service of the Russian Embassy in Yerevan reports Tolkanlin
to say: "We know well how the OSCE and its member states react to
such events and we are expecting the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, ODIHR,
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and High Commissioner for
National Minorities to give an appropriate assessment of the human
rights situation in Georgia."

GEORGIA: RUSTAVI-2 TV-CHANNEL WAS IN ADVANCE INVITED TO OBSERVE ASSAULT OF AKHALKALAKI DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF

Regnum, Russia
Oct 11 2006

Opposition Industry Will Save Georgia Party’s wish to protect rights of
Georgian Armenians and to bring up a question of the national language
legalization will exacerbate tension between ethnic Armenians and
Georgians, Javakh Countrymen Union Chairman Shirak Torosyan stated
during a news conference in Yerevan.

He is quoted by a REGNUM correspondent as stating that the opposition
Industry Will Save Georgia Party is unaware of Javakheti residents’
interests; it fulfills somebody’s order, aiming at destabilizing the
situation in Armenian-populated Georgian Samtskhe-Javakheti region.

"The party’s actions are unacceptable and even criminal concerning
Armenians, who live in Javakh," Mr. Torosyan believes.

Also, he stated that opposition’s action, covered by one of Georgian
central TV-Channels, proves "criminal intentions of opposition,
supported by Democratic Alliance ‘United Javakh’ NGO. According to
Mr. Torosyan, incident, connected with assault and buttery of police
chief of Akhalkalaki area Samvel Petrosyan was masterminded. "The
incident itself was recorded by representatives of Rustavi-2
TV-Channel. How could TV cameras be placed in advance at needed time
and in needed place? They knew, what would happen; they were informed
about that," Shirak Torosyan believes.

CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY CRITICIZES ANTI-CRIMINAL MOVEMENT

Panorama.am
15:19 10/10/06

"Anticriminal movement cannot become an underlying question for
the whole political process and unify political forces," Khosrov
Harutunyan, chairman of Christian-democratic party, said. The
movement joins 16 political parties, mainly from opposition. However,
Harutunyan believes it may serve a negative aim. "The movement may
turn into persecution of witches with its unclear definitions,
i.e., if you are not in my political team, you are criminal,"
Harutunyan said also saying it may cause extra tension at the doors
of elections.

BAKU-KARS-AKHALKALAKI RAILWAY PROJECT TO COST $400 MILLION

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.10.2006 16:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan and Turkey will assign joint funds for
the Baku-Kars-Akhalkalaki railway construction, Turkish Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Turan Morali told reporters October 11. He remarked that
the construction will cost some $400 million. "A Turkish delegation
has arrived today to discuss the issue. The construction of this
railway will promote the development of political, strategic and
economic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan," Morali said.

According to the Ambassador, transportation of cargo by the railway
will cost three times cheaper than by other kinds of transport,
reported Trend news agency.

ARMENIAN MANEUVER: LET HISTORIANS BE EXEMPTED
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paris

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 9 2006

The Armenian Diaspora continues to take action in an effort to prevent
opposition to the draft law pending at the French parliament that
would penalize denial of the alleged Armenian genocide.

In an attempt to convince those who oppose the draft that it will
restrict the academic freedoms of historians, Armenians proposed
exempting researchers and historians from the scope of the draft law.

To this end, a leading figure from the ruling People’s Majority Unity
Party French Armenian, Patrick Devedjian, proposed an amendment to
the draft. The single-sentenced proposal reads "These regulations do
not apply to academic and scientific researches and studies."

The Committee on Defending the Armenian Cause, an important player
behind the draft bill, called on the parliamentarians to approve the
draft for the sake of "the dignity of humanity," and in a manner that
goes beyond the routine discussions of historians.

The draft submitted by the opposition Socialist Party stipulates those
who deny the alleged Armenian genocide be imprisoned up to five years
and fined 45,000 euros.

In a statement annexed to the amendment proposal, Devedjian,
in reference to Turkey, noted that the bill should prevent any
provocations and political demonstrations organized by a foreign
country. With the proposal, Devedjian seeks to prevent those
conducting historical research from prosecution and punishment under
the draft law.

This unexpected attempt by the Armenians, who have consistently
criticized historians critical of the genocide allegations, seeks to
prevent opposition from French historians.

Not long before, leading French historians had issued a declaration
demanding the abolition of laws encompassing historical subjects,
including the law that recognizes the alleged Armenian genocide.

The same historians are expected to issue another declaration in the
days ahead. French President Jacques Chirac also stated his opposition
to the draft.

The Armenian Diaspora, which now seeks exemption for historians,
had previously ensured the conviction of the renowned historian
Bernard Lewis simply because he did not fully reflect "the Armenian
genocide" in an article. Likewise, following the application of
Armenian associations, the Paris Court convicted Quid Encyclopedia
on the grounds that it mentioned Turkey’s view with regard to the
1915 incidents.

RUSSIA COULD PLAY KEY ROLE IN BUILDING CONFIDENCE BETWEEN YEREVAN AND BAKU

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.10.2006 13:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Rather intense talks were held in Moscow, a number
of ideas proposed by co-chairs within the context of problems, which
aroused within the talks, were discussed, Azeri FM Elmar Mammadyarov
stated. "In principle a very constructive and productive exchange of
views was held over the basic principles of settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. During the talks an agreement is reached that each
party takes a pause up to October 24 to analyze the ideas discussed,"
he said.

Answering a question whether the conflict may be settled before the
end of 2006, as G8 countries suppose, the Azeri FM noted, "one should
not get fixed on some terms as it is a very serious issue."

"The main subject to talks is the issue on basic settlement principles
and proposals of the co-chairs are based on already worked out
principles, discussed within the Prague process for many years. Our
task is to find the fragile balance, on the basis of which we can
move further. We have agreed upon the basic principles of conflict
settlement however there are two principles we are working on. Exactly
these were discussed," Mammadyarov noted.

"We believe that Russia is our political and economic partner and our
neighbor. Undoubtedly, it should play a key role in the settlement
context. We see it wants Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a common ground
to turn to the first phase of the settlement. A complex conflict cannot
be solved at once, it should be solved step by step. The final element,
which will be brought in the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia,
is the element of confidence, which is of high importance and in
that respect Russia could play a key role," the Azeri FM underscored,
reports Day.az.

UWP URGES PARLIAMENTARIANS TO SERIOUSLY ENGAGE IN LEGISLATIVE WORK

Panorama.am
18:10 06/10/06

Gurgen Arsenyan, leader of United Working Party (UWP) block, told a
briefing today that the government has submitted amendments to the Law
on Budget according to which 5% inflation is envisaged instead of 3%
(plus, minus 1.5 %)

"The government wants to make this amendment because the cost of life
has gone up by two," UWP thinks.

Grigor Ghonjeyan, UWP block member, said inflation is more important
that the exchange rate.

Ghonjeyan said the government wants to set maximum 6.5% and minimum
3.5% inflation rate. He said the parliamentarians are going to be
very active in this discussion because the currency exchange rate
has been an issue for a long time.

Arsenyan called upon the parliamentarians to seriously engage in
legislative work in order to make timely discussions of next year
budget.

Arsenyan confessed that they sometimes vote instead of their colleagues
from UWP if they leave the hall for 1 minute and ask them to vote
instead of them.

/Panorama.am/

SERJ TANKIAN WELCOMES HOAGLAND "HOLD"

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 6 2006

Serj Tankian, lead singer for the Grammy Award-winning band System of a
Down, has welcomed the "hold" placed by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
on the confirmation of Richard Hoagland as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
until the Bush Administration ends its denial of the Armenian Genocide.

According to the information DE FACTO Information-Analytics agency
received at the ANCA, Serj Tankian stated, "I respect U.S. Senator
Bob Menendez’s decision to block the President’s nominee for U.S.

Ambassador to Armenia until the Bush Administration ends its cover-up
of the Armenian Genocide’~R. "His principled stand represents a
powerful contribution to the worldwide effort to end the denial
of justice for this crime, and break forever the worldwide cycle
of genocide."

This April, Tankian was joined by fellow System member John Dolmayan in
a three-day Armenian Genocide recognition advocacy tour of Washington,
DC, featuring meetings with Members of Congress, an anti-denial rally
outside the Turkish Embassy, and a Capitol Hill screening of the new
Genocide documentary "Screamers."

In announcing his decision last month to block the Hoagland nomination,
Sen. Menendez stressed that, "as a leader and defender of democracy,
it is our nation’s responsibility to speak out against injustice and
support equality and human rights. But if the Bush Administration
continues to refuse to acknowledge the atrocities of the Armenian
Genocide, then there is certainly cause for great alarm, which is
why I am placing a hold on this nominee."

He added that, "I will continue to work with my colleagues in the
United States Senate to make strides toward ensuring that all people,
regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity, receive protection from
policies of discrimination and hate that lead to genocide."

On September 7th, after more than forty minutes of intense debate,
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Ambassador-Designate
Hoagland’s nomination. Following the vote, the ANCA announced that
it would continue to urge Senators to place a hold on the Hoagland
nomination. On two previous occasions, June 28th and August 1st, the
panel delayed its consideration of the nomination due to bipartisan
concerns over a series of controversies. Among these points of
contention were the nominee’s written responses to Senator Boxer’s
inquiry, in which he questioned the genocidal intent of the Ottoman
Turkish government.

Also of concern to members of the panel was the State Department’s
firing of the current U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshal Evans.

His early recall from Yerevan is widely seen as retribution for his
public statements, in February of 2005, calling for an end to "word
games" by the U.S. government in avoiding the proper recognition of
the Armenian Genocide. Despite dozens of Congressional inquiries, the
Administration has yet to explain its reasons for firing Amb. Evans or
to reveal the communications it received from the Turkish government
on this matter.

In a September 1st letter, the ANCA urged Members of the Committee to
block the Hoagland nomination until: 1) Ambassador-designate Hoagland
provides a responsible and unambiguous public statement affirming
that he does not question the clear genocidal intent of the Ottoman
Turkish government against its Armenian population.

2) The State Department provides a full, honest, and public explanation
regarding the reasons for the controversial firing of the current
Ambassador, John Marshall Evans.

3) The Administration explains any and all communications, directly
or indirectly, between the U.S. government and the Turkish government
concerning Ambassador Evans.

Since February of this year, the ANCA has led nationwide efforts to
demand answers concerning the recall of Ambassador Evans and, later,
to educate Senators about the adverse impact of sending an envoy
to Armenia that has called into question the genocidal character of
Ottoman Turkey’s systematic destruction of its Armenian population.