Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

US TO VOTE ON ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS

WorldBulletin.net
March 4 2010
Turkey

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs will
vote a draft resolution on Armenian allegations on Thursday.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs will
vote a draft resolution on Armenian allegations on Thursday, outcome
of which is critical for not only Turkey-U.S. relations but also the
recent rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia.

The draft which will be voted at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
with 46 members chaired by Californian legislator Howard Berman calls
on U.S. President Barack Obama to recognise the tragic events of 1915
–which took place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Sate– as
"genocide".

The draft resolution was proposed by Democrats Adam Schiff and Frank
Pallone and Republicans George Radanovich and Mark Kirk, all important
figures for the Armenian lobby in the U.S.

Turkey strongly rejects the genocide allegations and regards the
events as civil strife in wartime which claimed lives of many Turks
and Armenians.

Every year between March 4 and April 24 alarm bells ring for relations
between Turkey and U.S., two close allies for decades.

The Armenian lobbies in the U.S. pressure the U.S. legislators to
pass a resolution urging the President to recognise the events as
"genocide".

Turkish legislators and officials pay visits to U.S. House and hold
meetings with senior U.S. officials and businessmen to prevent the
resolution from being adopted.

If the resolution is adopted then it is sent to the House of
Representatives.

A similar resolution was adopted with 27 seven votes against 21 in
2007 but as a result of former President George W. Bush’s intervention,
the resolution was not brought to the House floor.

Even if the resolution is adopted both in the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and the House floor, it is not binding for the Obama
administration, however it will show that legislators are sensitive
about the issue.

Delegation of Turkish legislators who are lobbying against the
resolution say it will be a close call. They say the resolution will
be adopted or rejected with only a few votes.

With only a couple of hours left before the voting, the Obama
administration has not taken a clear stance regarding the resolution.

U.S. Department of State spokesman, Philip Crowley, urged the two
countries to look forward to the future rather than dwelling in the
past while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Turkey and Armenia
should review their own history together as part of their efforts to
normalise relations.

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew attention to the promising
process of normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia which
began with the signing of two protocols in Switzerland, warning that
adoption of the resolution on March 4, or a statement by U.S.

President Obama on April 24 that will please the Armenian lobby would
cast a serious blow to the normalisation process.

Murat Mercan, chair of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Relations
Committee, who has been lobbying in the U.S. Congress against the
resolution, said neither Turkey, the U.S. nor Armenia would benefit
from adoption of the resolution, noting that it would only satisfy
the ego of the Armenian lobby.

OBAMA LAWYER RECOGNIZED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: RA COUNCIL OF BAR ASSOCIATION

news.am
March 4 2010
Armenia

The Council of the Bar Association of the Republic of Armenia in
view of the U.S. President Barack Obama’s Statement on April 24,
2009 and the forthcoming voting on Armenian Genocide Resolution in
the U.S. Congress states as follows:

In the conclusive paragraph of his Statement, right after using the
term "Meds Yeghern" for the second time, President Obama clearly
stated that there was an attempt to destroy the Armenian people:

"Nothing can bring back those who were lost in the Meds Yeghern. But
the contributions that Armenians have made over the last ninety-four
years stand as a testament to the talent, dynamism and resilience of
the Armenian people, and as the ultimate rebuke to those who tried
to destroy them."

It is necessary to utterly obliterate the international public
misconceptions that President Obama has not acknowledged the Armenian
Genocide because the term "genocide" was not spelled out. The
Bar Association of the Republic of Armenia hereby gives its legal
assessment to the Statement of President Obama.

1. The term "genocide" is relatively new. It was coined in 1944 by
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish legal scholar of Jewish descent. Prior to
that, each people subjected to genocide, had its own way of referring
to it. The Jewish people called it "Holocaust," and we, Armenian,
called it "Meds Yeghern."

2. Article 2 of the United Nations’ Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was adopted in 1948 and
came into effect in 1951, defines genocide as "… acts committed
with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial or religious group…"

President Obama used the historical Armenian term "Meds Yeghern", which
is synonymous to "genocide", a more contemporary term. The term "Meds
Yeghern" was used by President Obama twice, and was clearly described
as an attempt to destroy the Armenian people. It is obvious that "Meds
Yeghern" term was referred to by President Obama in exactly the same
meaning, as we, Armenians, refer to it. The terms "Meds Yeghern,"
"Hayots Tseghaspanutiun," and "Armenian Genocide" have been always
absolutely identical. From the legal point of view President Obama
has described a genocide, because an attempt to destroy a people is,
by definition, a genocide.

Even though Obama the politician did not use the term "genocide,"
Obama the lawyer, the graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law
School, has already clearly acknowledged the events of the Armenian
Genocide. On behalf of the Bar Association of the Republic of Armenia
we would like to express our gratitude to President Obama for his
historic Statement.

Taking into account the significance of international recognition
of genocide for purposes of preventing of the crime of genocide in
the future, we believe that it is the time to call things by their
proper names and to condemn the Meds Yeghern defining it as genocide
in unequivocal terms. In this respect we should greatly appreciate
the initiative of the US Congress and call upon it to approve the
Resolution.

US TO VOTE ON ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

BBC NEWS
s/8549117.stm
2010/03/04 11:29:02 GMT

A US Congressional committee is set to vote later on a resolution to
label as genocide the killing of Armenians by Turkish forces during
World War I.

The resolution is not binding, but if it is passed, it can go forward
for a vote in the House of Representatives.

In 2007, a similar resolution passed the committee stage, but
was shelved before a House vote after pressure from the Bush
administration.

Turkey has warned of consequences for US-Turkey ties if it is passed.

A Turkish parliamentary delegation has gone to Washington to try to
persuade members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee not to vote for
a resolution calling for the recognition of "the Armenian genocide".

The non-binding resolution calls on US President Barack Obama to ensure
that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the "genocide"
and to label the World War I killings as such in his annual statement
on the issue.

In 2007, the same committee passed a similar resolution on the issue,
and even though the Bush administration had lobbied hard against it,
Turkey was still furious, says the BBC’s Kim Ghattas in Washington.

Tukey, a key Nato ally, recalled its ambassador from Washington and
threatened to withdraw its support for the war in Iraq.

This time, the government in Ankara is even more worried because
the Obama administration has not publicly come out against the move,
our correspondent says.

Both Mr Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have in the
past supported the resolution as senators.

Nationalist sentiment is intense in Turkey, and if the resolution
passes, there will be an emotional reaction, even by those who have
been arguing for reconciliation with Armenia, says the BBC’s Jonathan
Head in Istanbul.

There will certainly be a gesture of disapproval by the Turkish
government, or maybe something stronger – a worrying possibility for
the Obama administration, which sees Turkey as a vital moderate Muslim
ally, our correspondent adds.

Historic deal

In October last year, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord
normalising relations between them after a century of hostility.

Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide,
but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were
deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They
were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.

Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised
internationally as genocide – and more than 20 countries have done so.

Turkish officials accept that atrocities were committed but argue
they were part of the war and that there was no systematic attempt
to destroy the Christian Armenian people.

STABILITY POSSIBLE ONLY AFTER WITHDRAWAL OF ARMENIAN TROOPS FROM KARABAKH

news.az
March 3 2010
Azerbaijan

Wilfried Martens Azerbaijan develops intensive relations with EU.

Azerbaijan develops intensive relations with EU and the Eastern
Partnership initiative play a special role here, Azerbaijani FM Elmar
Mammadyarov told a meeting with head of the European popular party
Wilfrid Martens.

According to the news service for the foreign ministry, at the
meeting in Baku on Tuesday the minister informed the visitor about the
processes in Azerbaijan and the region including of the negotiation
process on the Karabakh conflict.

Mammadyarov noted that the basic provisions of the conflict settlement
and ensuring of peace and stability in the region includes the
withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan, return of the citizens
driven away from these lands and restoration of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan.

130-YEAR OLD HOUSE COLLAPSED

2/house
01:16 pm | March 02, 2010 | Social

On March 1 at 11:30 the roof of the house on 29 Rustaveli Street of
Gyumri collapsed.

A rescue team left for the scene. It turned out that the house had been
constructed in 1881, was prone to damage, the walls of the entrance
were destroyed and a part of the ground cover and the remaining sector
had collapsed the night before.

Rescuers explained to residents the rules of security and informed
the Gyumri municipality of the incident.

GEORGIAN OPPOSITION GROUPS SLAM GOVERNMENT OVER REOPENING OF RUSSIAN BORDER

Kavkasia TV
March 1 2010
Georgia

Georgian opposition politicians have expressed concern and outrage
over the government’s decision to reopen the Qazbegi-Verkhniy Lars
crossing on the border with Russia, saying the move will put the
residents of Georgia’s Qazbegi District at risk. The crossing –
closed by Russia unilaterally in July 2006 – was opened on 1 March
to limited traffic and Georgian officials have said the move aimed to
provide Armenia with a land route to its main trading partner, Russia.

Tbilisi’s local Kavkasia TV broadcast the following remarks by
opposition politicians at briefings at their respective party
headquarters on 1 March:

Gubaz Sanikidze of the People’s Forum said: "Qazbegi District is
on the opposite side of the watershed [north of the main ridge
of the Caucasus Mountains]. Let me remind you that the watershed
of the mountain range is the Jvari pass. Qazbegi District may end
up absolutely occupied without so much as a gun being fired. The
People’s Forum states that the opening of the Verkhniy Lars and
Qazbegi checkpoint[s] is an anti-state and anti-Georgian act."

Giorgi Gugava of the Labour Party said: "[Opening the crossing]
Is not targeted at serving people’s interests so that they can move
back and forth and make a living – rather it serves the interests
of Russia and another country while our country remains in its great
geopolitical trap."

MP Nikoloz Laliashvili of the Christian Democratic Party said: "We
think that in the course of diplomatic manoeuvring there should not
have an exchange at the expense of the interests of the people of
Georgia, particularly the people of Khevi [Qazbegi District]. The
Georgian government has failed to provide additional security
guarantees to the local population."

ARMENIA NEEDS HEDGING INSTRUMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2010 18:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Provided a small monetary base in Armenian commercial
banks, a certain hedging instrument is reqiured for Armenia, Chief
Executive Officer of ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK Stepan Gishyan said.

According to him, international hedge funds experienced difficulties
during the crisis and 2009 was not the best year for establishing such
a fund in Armenia. "Armenia’s monetary base is not sufficient yet,
and banks are forced to attract cash in foreign currency to meet the
credit needs of its customers," he said.

GUL NOMINATED FOR CHATHAM HOUSE PRIZE 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2010 14:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International
Affairs, London, has announced nominees for the Prize 2010. The
award ceremony will take place in the autumn. Voting will close on
March 15, 2010. The nominees are Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey,
Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister of France and Stjepan Mesic,
President of Croatia.

As said in the nominee’s details, "Abdullah Gul has been a
significant figure for reconciliation and moderation within Turkey
and internationally, and a driving force behind many of the positive
steps that Turkey has taken in recent years."

ARMENIANS CALL IT GENOCIDE – TURKEY & US REBUKE MASSACRE CLAIMS
By Donald Griffith

America’s News Online
-call-it-genocide-turkey-us-rebuke-massacre-claims -902/
Feb 28 2010

The 1915 massacre or genocide, in April of that year, of over
1 million Armenians and other groups by the Turkish regime is
well-documented. The Turks like the Nazis kept extensive records and
there is no doubt that a genocide occurred (if the word genocide is
allowed to be used apart from the Jewish experience).

Politics Trumps Morality To this day the Turks deny this genocide. The
U.S. in need of allies, especially with the problems in that part of
the world, sidesteps the issue. In addition, the Jews and their home
state of Israel, also stay clear of condemning Turkey even though at
the present Israel and Turkey have strained relations.

Israel And The Turkish Massacre Genocide is only important if it
plays into the foreign policy of a nation. Israel, though it claims
had suffered a Holocaust, refuses to condemn the Turkish massacre of
the Armenians. Israel goes a step beyond. Israel’s Holocaust Museum
in Washington, D.C., and their similar museums that seem to crop up
everywhere, praise righteous Gentiles at the holocaust centers. They
not only never condemn Turkey, but do not have exhibits at the
holocaust memorials, concerning U.S.

companies that were complicit in the Holocaust. General Motors and
Ford subsidiaries supplied the German war machine. There was an
agreement about Israel and the Jews never condemning U.S. companies,
and their part in making the holocaust run smoothly.

IBM (International Business Machines) made sure its subsidiaries in
occupied Europe had their famous punch cards that facilitated the
roundup and extermination of Jews and others. This punch card system
not only had the trains running on time, but had personal information
about the Jews, making their roundup throughout Europe an easy task.

Genocide Is A Relative Concept Genocide will only be condemned by
Turkey, the U.S. and for that matter any country, when it is in their
national interest to do so.

The fact remains that as far as Turkey, the United States and Israel
are concerned, the Turkish massacre of the Armenians is to be swept
under the rug.

OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS HOLD RALLY IN YEREVAN

news.am
March 1 2010
Armenia

March 1, at 7:30 p.m. the rally of Armenian National Congress
(ANC) ended in Yerevan. RA Former President and ANC leader Levon
Ter-Petrosyan delivered a 50-minute long speech at the meeting.

He referred to 2008 post-presidential events, as well as touched
upon Armenia-Turkey reconciliation and the current stage of Karabakh
peace process.

The opposition representatives declared the next republican rally
will be held on April 6-on the day of the opening of Human Rights
Protection Congress in Armenia.

Presently, thousands of opposition supporters are marching down the
Mashtots Avenue escorted by the police, chanting anti-governmental
slogans. They visited the places where bloody events took place two
years ago. The demonstrators laid flowers to Myasnikyan monument and
paid tribute to March 1 victims. No incident between the oppositionists
and law enforcement agents was reported.