Author: Tamamian Anna

FOUNDATION OF SHUSHI OUTLINED RECONSTRUCTION POLICY
Laura Grigorian

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Oct 17 2006

On October 4 the board of trustees of Shushi Revival Foundation set
up in spring 2006 met at the Narekatsi Cultural Center in Shushi. The
chief executive of the foundation G. Hovanissian presented a report
on the work of the foundation over the past few months. The priority
of the foundation is to work out the strategy of reconstruction
of Shushi for 5-10 years. There are both short-term and long-term
projects. According to G. Hovanissian, it is estimated that the
population of Shushi will grow to 10 thousand by 2015. Yerevan Project
is already working out the project of the water supply system of the
city. According to the short-term policy, besides its contribution
during the upcoming six months the Shushi foundation will facilitate
the engagement of other investors. The investment and urban planning
projects will be presented to the government and investors, the
social and economic state of the population of Shushi must be made
sustainable, 100-150 jobs must be created, mostly in the spheres of
service and building, it is necessary to promote connections between
the settlements of NKR and Armenia by setting up infrastructures of
superior quality, upgrade the qualification of the local labor. Prime
Minister Anoushavan Danielian said since Shushi is growing, it is
necessary to have a policy of overall reconstruction and a coordinating
body. "The reconstruction of a town like Shushi is very complicated
and requires responsibility. We have to restore everything that
used to exist in Shushi," said the prime minister. At the same time,
Anoushavan Danielian said the government will support the foundation
and added that the allocations from the state budget to the region
increase annually. The board of trustees decided to hold a Shushi –
Yerevan – Moscow – Paris telethon on May 7 on the 15th anniversary
of liberation of Shushi.

FRANCO-TURKISH RELATIONS STRAINED

ISN, Switzerland
Oct 17 2006

A bill to penalize Armenian genocide denial has put tension on
relations between France and Turkey, as the latter attempts to shore
up support for its quest to join the EU.

Commentary by Federico Bordonaro in Rome for ISN Security Watch
(17/10/06)

The French National Assembly on 13 October passed a bill, which,
if approved by the Senate and signed by President Jacques Chirac,
would penalize anyone denying the Armenian genocide at the hands of
the Ottoman Turks with a fine of up to ~@45,000 (US$56,000) and one
year in prison.

The bill was proposed by the Socialist Party.

The French decision infuriated Turkey, whose government accuses Paris
of using the memory of the Turkish-Armenian clash in a demagogic way
and for domestic political reasons, as France prepares for the 2007
general elections.

Presidential candidates, according to an official in Ankara, are
trying to win the votes of those citizens opposed to Turkey’s EU
accession bid. Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
administration believes that France is "permanently hostile" to
Ankara’s EU integration.

Armenia claims that between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Empire
systematically murdered 1.5 million ethnic Armenians when Ankara
forced them out of its eastern regions. Turkey, however, says that
Armenian casualties were between 250,000 and 500,000, and denies that
any systematic genocide took place.

Chirac expressed his view during a phone conversation with Erdogan
on 14 October, reportedly saying that although France recognized the
Armenian tragedy as a genocide, the proposed law was "useless." The
French president’s attempt to appease Ankara came after Turkey
threatened the possibility of economic retaliation.

However, the controversy is far from over, and its economic and
political fallout is already spreading.

Turkish citizens protested against France over the weekend, while
Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan told media that although
the Erdogan government would not start a boycott campaign, other
organizations in Turkey might.

In fact, on 16 October, the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Bulent
Deniz, president of the Turkish Consumers’ Federation, as saying
that "a boycott against French products has already resulted in an
observed 30 percent drop in sales of goods for […] Total," a French
oil company and one of Paris’ top players in Turkey.

Moreover, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in an official
statement on 14 October that Ankara had warned Paris that "if such a
bill were passed by its parliament, the loser would be France. Paris
will always be embarrassed by this."

France’s strategic and commercial relations with Turkey may be damaged
in such a way that large industrial interests, as well as defense
and energy-related cooperation projects, could be hindered.

Frederic Saint-Geours, CEO of Peugeot Automobiles, said last week
that economic retaliation by Turkey against French goods was "almost
certain," and would likely be painful for Peugeot, which holds between
5 and 6 percent of Turkey’s automobile market.

The Franco-German defense giant Eurocopter, which is owned by the
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, competes with other
big groups to provide Ankara with some 52 civilian and military
helicopters. The company could also suffer from the deteriorating
bilateral relations.

Lucrative contracts for civilian nuclear power plants and the massive
infrastructure of the fast-growing Turkish economy are also being eyed
by big French corporations. Should Ankara decide to boycott Paris,
the economic damage for France could be substantial.

However, the dispute is a politically thorny issue for Paris and
the EU. The French Parliament’s move comes at a time of increasing
difficulties in Euro-Turkish relations.

Prominent politicians in France, Germany and the Netherlands have
taken a hostile stance to Turkey’s EU integration, and now openly
speak in favor of a mere "special relationship" between the EU and
Ankara as opposed to its accession.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Erdogan on 5 October that "Turkey
must fully recognize [Greek-controlled] Cyprus" if it were to join the
EU. Since Germany will take the helm of the EU’s rotating presidency
next January, the announcement was a sign that Merkel would again
put pressure on Ankara.

Although Turkey remains crucial for European security, including in the
area of energy, Western European leaders appear increasingly sensitive
to cultural aspects of the integration issue, as the intellectual
debate over the political and social aspects of Islam is heats up
in Europe.

While Chirac may work to annul the bill, his chances of success are
not high, and the short-term outlook for Franco-Turkish relations is
bleak. Nicolas Sarkozy, the Union for a Popular Movement’s candidate
for the French presidency next year, is wagering on his electorate’s
opposition to Ankara’s accession, while the Socialists do not show
any enthusiasm for it, either. More generally, Euro-Turkish relations
appear to be deteriorating even as Ankara remains determined to join
the EU.

Federico Bordonaro, based in Italy, is an analyst of international
relations and geopolitics with the Power and Interest News Report
and Strategic-Road.com. He is an expert on the new structure of the
international system after the Cold War, the European integration
process, security and defense issues and political realism.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only,
not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).

TURKEY CONTINUES BOYCOTT OF FRENCH GOODS
Isa Sezen, Yahya Cark, Ercan Baysal, Mehmet Guler, Besir Sozer, Omer Sari

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 15 2006

Turkish consumers are launching a boycott of French goods following
the French parliament’s decision to pass the Armenian bill, which
foresees punishment of those denying an Armenian genocide. Some Turkish
citizens are refusing to buy products upon learning they are French.

Consumers associations called on consumers to boycott French goods
while some chain stores are putting labels on French goods to inform
consumers of their French origin.

Kiler, a leading retailer, has decided not to sell French goods. Afra
Shopping Center, a supermarket chain operating in Konya, is putting
labels on approximately 100 French products that read, "This is a
French product."

The French store Carrefour, a partnership in Turkey with Sabanci
Holdings, has been the most affected by the protests. The number of
cars parked at the shopping center has been declining daily. Fewer
customers are coming to the shopping center with every passing day.

There has been a 30 percent decrease in the sales of Total oil,
which is on top of the Consumers Association’s list.

French Goods Removed from Stores Kiler Retail Chain, which has 130
stores in Turkey, suspended sales of French products. The retailer
chain cancelled its contracts with Danone and French cosmetics
companies and also removed other French goods from their shelves.

Kiler, which means cellar in Turkish, will put posters criticizing the
bill approved by the French parliament on the shelves left empty by the
absent French products. Officials of the chain asserted that reactions
from their customers were highly influential in making this decision.

LC Waikiki: We are a Turkish Company

Clothing company LC Waikiki announced that it was not a French company
as presented to the public, but a Turkish company. The company issued
a full page announcement in daily newspapers in Turkey after its name
was mentioned on the list of products to be boycotted.

The company’s announcement asserted that they needed to explain
their origin after some Internet forums claimed they were French. The
announcement read, "LC Waikiki was purchased from French DDKA Company
by Tema Textile Corporation in 1997 and became a Turkish company."

Carrefour Parking Lot Empty

The number of customers at the French Carrefour in Turkey has decreased
dramatically. Some executives suggested that the decrease in the number
of visitors could be due to Ramadan, in addition to the protests. An
official from the Istanbul center said: "Normally, on Saturdays it
was impossible to find empty places in the parking lot and parking
garage. Yesterday our parking garage was almost empty."

Danone Products Returned

Onur Hypermarkets Beylikduzu location Manager Ekrem Yilmaz said that
people who bought Danone products were beginning to return them after
learning that Danone was a French company.

"There is no strong reaction yet. Some of our customers brought back
Danone products they had previously purchased. Some of them returned
them claiming the product had expired," said Yilmaz.

ABHaber, Belgium
EU-Turkey News Network
Oct 14 2006

Andrew Duff:" "France has done huge damage to freedom of speech

FRENCH PARLIAMENT DENIES FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ –
DUFF

Reacting to this morning’s decision of the French National Assembly
on Armenian ‘genocide’, Andrew Duff MEP, Vice-President of the
European Parliament’s delegation to Turkey and Liberal Democrat
Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson, said:

"This is a sad day for liberalism in France. The Assemblée Nationale
has rejected the fundamental right of freedom of speech. It has acted
in direct contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights on
which basis the European Union is founded. For friends of France,
this is a poignant moment.

"Who would have thought that it would be French deputies who would be
the first in the 21st Century to reject the spirit of the
Enlightenment. Voltaire must be spinning in his grave.

"France has done huge damage to EU-Turkey relations and, in passing,
to Turkish relations with Armenia. Progressive forces in Turkey have
been given a gratuitous blow. How can the EU expect Turkey to develop
its laws and practice on freedom of speech when France, one of its
founding members, is going in the opposite direction?

"Europe’s friends in Turkey should not despair. The French Sénat
should throw out this Bill. But the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights
should get ready to review the measure should it, unfortunately,
pass."

ABHaber 13.10.2006 Brussels

Agence France Presse — English
October 13, 2006 Friday

Turkish army reports shooting incident at Armenian border

Armenian soldiers fired two shots into Turkish territory at the
sealed border between the two troubled neighbors earlier this week,
the Turkish general staff said Friday.

"Soldiers from Armenian border units committed a violation by firing
two shots into Turkish territory," said a brief statement on the
army’s web site.

It said the incident occurred Wednesday, a day before the lower
chamber of the French parliament voted a bill that would make it a
crime to deny that Ottoman Turks commited genocide against Aremenians
during World War I, a move that infuriated Ankara and won applause in
Yerevan.

"The foreign ministry has been informed about the incident in order
to undertake what is required," the statement said.

There were no casualties or damage in the incident, it added, without
giving other details.

Turkey has declined to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia over
its campaign for international recognition of the 1915-17 massacres
as genocide.

In 1993, it closed its border with the small Caucasian nation, a move
which was also a gesture of solidarity with close ally Azerbaijan,
which fought a war with Armenia over the disputed enclave of
Nagorny-Karabakh.

ARMENIAN PM THANKS ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR FOR CONTRIBUTION TO BILATERAL RELATIONS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2006

YEREVAN, October 11. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan has held a meeting with outgoing Romanian Ambassador to
Armenia Nikolay Yordake. Characterizing the Ambassador’s three-year
activities as efficient, the RA Premier thanked him for his efforts
toward developing the bilateral friendly relations.

Speaking of bilateral relations, Margaryan pointed out that the
Romanian President’s recent visit to Armenia will give a new impetus
to Armenian-Romanian mutually advantageous cooperation. During the
visit, the Armenian-Romanian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade,
Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation held its fourth meeting.

In his turn, Ambassador Yordake thanked the RA Premier and the
country’s Government for their support. He pointed out that he is
leaving Armenia and its hospitable people with the best memories and
friendly feelings. Ambassador Yordake expressed the confidence that
the appointment of a new Romanian ambassador will expand bilateral
cooperation, and Armenian-Romanian economic relations will reach the
high level of political relations.

TURKISH PM ERDOGAN SLAMS FM SARKOZY’S ARMENIAN CONDITIONS
By Mihriban Kibar (JTW)

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Oct 11 2006

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan blasted conditions French
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy laid down in return for voting down
a controversial bill penalizing any denial of the Armenian claims.

Presidential hopeful Sarkozy said on France-Inter radio that he had
spoken with Turkish PM Erdogan on the telephone twice with regard
to the French Armenian bill, which will be debated at the National
Assembly tomorrow, and told him that they could oppose the bill if
Turkey opens its border gate with neighboring Armenia, scrap Article
301, which the European Union says is restrictive of freedom of
expression, from its penal code, and establish a joint commission
between Turkey and Armenia to study the claims allegations.

In response to Sarkozy’s conditions, Turkish PM Erdogan said it
was the Turkish side which proposed the establishment of a joint
commission for academic debates on genocide allegations and made
clear that Turkey’s good intentions were not welcomed by Armenia,
which rejected the proposal. Erdogan called last year to establish
a commission between two sides, yet Yerevan strongly rejected the
offer claiming "there is nothing to be discussed".

On Article 301, Erdogan said the French suggestion on that issue
had nothing to do with the issue, stressing that France was not in a
position to demand something from Turkey. "First of all France should
take a look at itself," Erdogan said.

On opening the border gate, Erdoðan said Armenia should first act
with good will toward Turkey’s approach. The territorial border gate
between Turkey and Armenia has been closed for more than a decade.

Turkey closed the gate and severed its diplomatic relations with
Armenia after Armenian troops occupied about 20 percent of Azeri
territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh region and several other Azeri
towns. Armenia also does not recognize Turkey’s national borders and
name Turkey’s Eastern provinces ‘Western Armenia’.

Ankara now says normalization of ties depends on Armenian withdrawal
from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as on progress in resolution of a
series of bilateral disagreements, including Armenia stopping to
support Armenian diaspora efforts to get international recognition
for the alleged genocide.

* "FRANCE IS NOT SINCERE"

JTW asked Sarkozy’s 3 conditions to the Turkish academicians. Dr.
Sedat laciner from USAK said "Sarkozy is not sincere in Armenian
issue. If he believes in the Armenian so-called genocide, how can he
trade it with any condition? If Turkey opens the territorial borders
with Armenia, how can it affect the ‘genocide’ claims. If it is
genocide, you can not make any bargain on it. What is the connection
between the 301 article and 1915 events. There are 301-like articles
in many EU states, like Italy. And this article I think does not
prevent any free discussion on Armenian issue. Turkey is not the most
free country on Armenian issue. There are many pro-Armenian Turkish
academicians and authors in Turkey and they can freely challenge the
official position. Also there are more than 100,000 Turkish Armenians
in Istanbul.".

* "GENOCIDE IS GENOCIDE, LIES ARE LIES"

Similarly Dr. Mehmet Ozcan, another Turkish EU expert, said "Sarkozy
is not the best Turkey expert. He is actually ignorant on Turkey and
Armenian issue". Ozcan explained why he thinks "Sarkozy is ignorant":

"In one his speech he said that Turkey is a 100 million people country,
which not true. Turkey’s population is about 70 million. In another
speech, Mr. Sarkozy implied that Turkey is an Arab country, which is of
course not true. Now he is speaking about Armenia and he calls Turkey’s
Anatolia territories Armenia. If someone calls Turkey as Armenia,
I question his Turkey knowledge. And 3 conditions, if it is genocide,
you cannot put any condition. Genocide is genocide, and lies are lies."

–Boundary_(ID_78qOGSBBrFkvQRsPJYq4LA )–

EU’S LAGENDIJK: NETHERLANDS’ AND FRANCE’S ARMENIAN MOVES WOULD TARNISH THE EU’S CREDIBILITY TOWARDS TURKEY
By Meryem Tuzcu

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Oct 11 2006

* EU Commissioner Rehn : French Armenian Bill Will Serious Impact on
Turkish-EU Relations

By Meryem TUZCU (JTW) – European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn expressed concerns over possible adoption of a French bill that
criminalizes any denial of the claimed genocide of Armenians under
the Ottoman Empire and warned France of the repercussions if the bill
is voted for at the National Assembly tomorrow.

Rehn called on French parliamentarians to "take responsibility" and to
"take into account the possible outcome of the bill."

"Our goal is the assessment of the problem through serious
discussions. I believe French parliamentarians will act responsibly,"
he added.

The EU commissioner said the bill in question was a problem of France
and French lawmakers but stressed that it would have a serious impact
on Turkish-EU relations, instead of reviving dialogue between the
two sides.

Rehn warned that the adoption of the bill would block debates over
the Armenian allegations in Turkey, a move which would harm Turkish
steps in the area of freedom of expression.

Faced with increasing warnings from the EU criticizing Ankara for
restricting freedom of expression under an infamous article in its
penal code (301) that has landed a string of intellectuals into court,
Turkey has accused the bloc of applying double standards, arguing
that France itself was blocking free debate on a historical subject
by criminalizing denial of the alleged genocide. Dr. Nilgun Gulcan
told the JTW that "it becomes impossible to discuss the Armenian
historical claims in France. You have to accept what the Armenians
impose on you. The only place you can freely discuss the Turkish and
Armenian claims is Turkey now".

Turkish officials questioned Rehn, who was in Turkey last week on
the occasion of the first anniversary of EU accession talks, over the
French attempt, complaining that the EU attitude was hurting Turkey’s
aspirations to join the 25-nation bloc.

Joost Lagendijk, head of the Turkish-EU joint parliamentary commission,
also criticized recent developments in both France and the Netherlands,
which removed the names of Dutch candidates of Turkish origin from
its electoral list due to their denial of the Armenian allegations.

Lagendijk warned such moves would tarnish the EU’s credibility
towards Turkey.

Armenians claim that the 1915 events was genocide while Turkey rejects
the Armenians claims. According to Turkey, the Armenians wanted to be
independent and they failed. Turkey accepts that many Armenians died
in 1915 as a result of communal clashes, war circumstances, epidemic
diseases and famine. Turks also add that more than 520,000 Turkish
people were massacred by the armed Armenian groups. After the First
World War, the Armenians argued that they fought against the Ottoman
Empire, and they should be on the negotiations table against the Turks.

SABINA FREIZER: "OSCE HAS PROPOSALS TO SATISFY BOTH AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA"

Azeri Press Agency
Oct 10 2006

"Georgia and Russia broke off the relations with each other half
a year ago. The crisis had reached to its peak now. I think both
sides should make concessions," said Sabina Freizer, the director of
International Crisis Group South Caucasus Project.

"Russia should remove the sanctions and Georgian president Mikhail
Saakashvili and the presidential administration should stop their
severe statements against Russia. Russia’s sanctions on Georgia are
not economical, but political."

She said Georgia’s intensive dialogues with NATO and probability of
stationing NATO military bases in the country worry Russia.

Sabina Freizer also said that EU hopes it can play a great role
in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict solution. "I am informed about the
problem and can say that OSCE has proposals able to satisfy both
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The sides can come to agreement only after
thorough discussion of proposals," she said.

FRENCH FM SEEKS TO CALM ROW OVER ARMENIA ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL

Agence France Presse — English
October 9, 2006 Monday 5:19 PM GMT

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy telephoned his Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul Monday to try to defuse a looming row over
a bill before the National Assembly making it a punishable offence
to deny the Armenian "genocide".

Foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said Douste-Blazy was
at pains to stress that the French government does not back the bill,
which was tabled by the opposition Socialist Party (PS).

The minister "noted our attachment to the long-term future of relations
between Turkey and France … and the support brought by France for
Turkey’s European perspective."

The bill — which was originally brought before the French parliament
in May — is to be debated again on Thursday, amid considerable
uncertainty over its chances and outraged threats from Ankara over
damage to Franco-Turkish trade links.

Though the PS commands fewer than a third of seats in the Assembly,
several members of the ruling Union for a Poular Movement (UMP)
are thought to back the measure and the government has promised a
free vote.

Around 400,000 people of Armenian origin are estimated to live
in France.

The Socialist bill would make it punishable by up to five years in
prison and a fine of 45,000 euros (57,000 dollars) to deny that Turkish
troops committed genocide against the Armenians between 1915 and 1917.

A 2001 French law officially recognises the massacres of Armenians
as genocide.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million were slaughtered in orchestrated
killings between 1915 and 1917 by Turks, as the Ottoman Empire was
falling apart.

Turkey rejects the claims, saying 300,000 Armenians and at least as
many Turks died in civil strife when the Armenians took up arms for
independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with invading Russian
troops.

On a visit to Armenia 10 days ago, President Jacques Chirac said Turkey
should recognise the Armenian genocide as a condition for joining
the EU. However he also said the opposition bill was "deliberately
controversial".