Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

PARLIAMENT URGES PACE TO WARN TURKEY ON ERDOGAN DEPORTATION COMMENTS

Asbarez
Apr 15th, 2010

YEREVAN–The Chairman of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe Thursday sent a letter to the
chairman of the Council of Europe and the president of PACE regarding
recent threats by the Turkish prime minister on deportation of
Armenians.

The letter, signed by chairman Davit Harutunyan, urges the Council
of Europe and PACE to, among other actions, warn Turkey about Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threats to deport Armenians if a
Congressional resolution recognizing the Genocide is passed.

"The Council of Europe should, therefore issue a clear and unambiguous
warning to the Government of Turkey about the nature and content of
statements made by its Prime Minister and impermissibility of using
this issue for making pressure on foreign countries by discriminatory
application of migration policies towards a particular national group.

The Council should also remind strongly the Government of Turkey of
its obligations and responsibilities under international human rights
law to safeguard and protect migrants against illegal or violent acts,"
said the letter.

Harutunyan also addressed a written question to PACE chairman Mevlut
Cavusoglu on a double standard by the Assembly regarding recognition
of the Genocide.

"Recently you have referred to the commemoration of the Katyn massacre
as an event "about seeking historical justice and bringing about
reconciliation". This is most commendable indeed, especially hearing
it from the President of PACE, but above all from a Founding Member
and elected representative of Turkey’s ruling AK party. Incidentally
on this occasion you do not insist that history should be left
to historians. I hope you could live up to your views and join the
Armenian people in commemorating the historical injustice perpetrated
against them by the Ottoman rulers 95 years ago and defy the denialists
of the Armenian genocide in Turkey," said Harutunyan in his letter.

Below is the complete text of Harutunyan’s letter to the Council of
Europe and PACE leadership regarding Erdogan’s comments.

MR. THORBJÃ~XRN JAGLAND SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

MR. MEVLUT CAVUÅ~^OÄ~^LU PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF
THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

CC: Members of PACE National delegations

Dear colleagues, Over the past two weeks the Prime Minister of
Turkey has twice explicitly stated his intention to deport Armenians
who allegedly reside in Turkey illegally. Immediately after the US
Congress Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution specifying
"the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians
[in Ottoman Empire] as genocide" Recep Tayyip Erdogan told to BBC
"We are turning a blind eye to the remaining 100,000 [Armenians,
who are not citizens of Turkey].

Tomorrow, I may tell these 100,000 to go back to their country,
if it becomes necessary".

After the Swedish Parliament passed a decision recognising the Genocide
of Armenians in 1915, the Prime Minister of Turkey in his interview to
"Spiegel" told: "We turn to Armenian Diaspora and those countries that
support the diaspora: there are Armenians in Turkey who are Turkish
citizens, and there are those who live in our country illegally. So far
we have not considered the question of deportation, but if the diaspora
continues to exert pressure [to recognise the Armenian Genocide in
Ottoman Empire], we could imagine ourselves capable of doing that."

These statements raised a wave of criticism even in Turkey.

Nevertheless the Prime Minister of Turkey refused to apologise and
to correct his mistake claiming only that he was misinterpreted and
misunderstood. But later events clearly showed that the Prime Minister
continues the same discriminatory approach.

These statements raise serious concerns in that a person who bears the
responsibility for the policy of the Republic of Turkey singles out
a particular group of national origin in a context totally unrelated
to any objective of addressing the issue of illegal migration. They
imply application of Turkey’s immigration laws and policies selectively
and inconsistently, targeting a specific national group.

Such irresponsible statements flagrantly violate every international
treaty and convention in the field of racism and discrimination and
require urgent attention and prompt reaction by the Council of Europe
and its Parliamentary Assembly in particular. It is regrettable that
up to now neither the Secretary General of the Council of Europe nor
the President of the PACE reacted to such irresponsible statements,
which violate the principles and values of the Organization.

Particularly, the Prime Minister of Turkey must be reminded without
ambiguity that persecution against any identifiable group on racial,
national, ethnic or other grounds that are universally recognized as
impermissible under international law constitutes serious violations of
human rights and, in some cases, qualifies as crimes against humanity.

It is particularly striking that such statements have been made by
a high official representing a country of origin for millions of
migrants, including illegal migrants in most parts of Europe.

Furthermore, the words uttered by the Prime Minister in his statements
manifest negative stereotyping of a particular group, namely migrants
of Armenian origin, and abuse a situation of vulnerability in which
these migrants find themselves.

The Council of Europe should, therefore issue a clear and unambiguous
warning to the Government of Turkey about the nature and content of
statements made by its Prime Minister and impermissibility of using
this issue for making pressure on foreign countries by discriminatory
application of migration policies towards a particular national group.

The Council should also remind strongly the Government of Turkey of
its obligations and responsibilities under international human rights
law to safeguard and protect migrants against illegal or violent acts.

It is noticeable that recognition and condemnation of the genocide
by the international community is not only a tribute to the victims
of the genocides, but also an important step towards prevention of
the crime of genocide in the future. Yet, the statement of the Prime
Minister of Turkey amounts to clear manifestation of hate speech and
humiliation of a particular minority group, which may give rise to
genocidal tendencies in Turkey. In this connection, it is important
to consider what steps need to be taken to prevent development of
such tendencies in Turkey as well as any manifestations of racism
and discrimination in respect of any national or ethnic group.

It’s worth drawing attention to the fact that to date Turkey has
not ratified Protocol N12 to the ECHR, which provides for a general
prohibition of discrimination and has not signed and ratified the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities,
the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Based on his visit to Turkey in 2009, the Commissioner for Human
Rights of the Council of Europe initiated a dialogue on the human
rights of minorities and subsequently published his report on this
issue. The Commissioner focused on and provided recommendations on
a number of major issues, namely, he recommended the creation and
implementation of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation,
the ratification of Protocol N12 to ECHR and Turkey’s accession to
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

In its third Report on Turkey (adopted on 25 June 2004) the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) emphasised the need
to reinforce respect for the rights of immigrants, irrespective of
their legal status, asylum seekers and refugees.

ECRI also recommends that the Turkish authorities ratify Protocol
N12 to the ECHR as soon as possible. It recommended to the Turkish
authorities to:

1. make the declaration under Article 14 of the International
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination,
empowering the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
to receive individual communications,

2. consider withdrawing their reservations in respect of Article 27 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 13
of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

3. sign and ratify UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in
Education, Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at
Local Level and the European Convention on Nationality, 4. sign and
ratify Convention on Cybercrime and its Additional Protocol on the
criminalisation of acts of a racist or xenophobic nature committed
through computer networks.

I believe that the Council of Europe should immediately take adequate
steps to influence the Government of Turkey to abstain from public
threats or actions of racist or discriminatory nature. For your
information I’ve attached to this letter appendix, which contains the
declarations and reservations of the Republic of Turkey to some of
the most important international treaties dealing with the elimination
of all forms of racial discrimination and rights of migrants.

DR. DEATH INVITES AL PACINO TO PLAY POKER

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 16, 2010 – 16:58 AMT 11:58 GMT

Al Pacino’s got a high-stakes poker game coming up – with Jack
Kevorkian.

"He’s invited me to Detroit to play poker. For Jack, I think I’ll go
do it," Al told Access Hollywood at the premiere of HBO’s "You Don’t
Know Jack".

In the television original movie, Al Pacino transforms uncannily into
the doctor, without having ever even having met the real-life Jack.

The pair finally came face to face on Tuesday, just before the
premiere.

"I spent time just absorbing him," Al said of his preparation for the
role, which illuminates the private life of the physician once dubbed
"Dr. Death" for his role in a number of physician-assisted suicides.

"It just shows you sometimes how … some people don’t understand how
to be in the public eye, how to deal with media and cameras, but [in
this film], with a guy like Jack, you know him longer, you get a sense
of who he is. He’s totally funny and self-deprecating. Big-time smart."

And a big-time poker player, as the doc himself told Access.

"Anybody who plays poker can’t be all bad," Dr. Kevorkian said of Al,
noting that they’d be playing soon. "We will, in the future!"

As for Al’s performance, Jack Kevorkian was impressed. "It’s
unbelievable, I was shocked," he said.

"You Don’t Know Jack" premieres on HBO on April 24.

APA
April 14 2010
Azerbaijan

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV CALLS ON THE COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN PEACE NEGOTIATIONS TO GIVE UP SUPPORTING ARMENIA AND INCREASE PRESSURE ON IT

Baku – APA. "Azerbaijan is committed to international legal norms in
the solution to Armenia – Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh",
said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the Cabinet’s meeting
dedicated to outcomes of socio-economic development of the republic
during the 1st quarter of 2010.

The head of state noted the importance of invader country’s concrete
position towards proposals based on updated Madrid principles and it
was unacceptable to lengthen the negotiation process artificially. The
President called on the countries participating in peace negotiations
to give up supporting Armenia, to take a fair position in the solution
to the conflict and increase pressure on Armenia from this point
of view.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: "THOUGH AT SARGSYAN-ERDOGAN MEETING THE TURKISH SIDE ATTEMPTED TO DISCUSS NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE, OUR ANSWER WAS THE SAME"

APA
April 14 2010
Azerbaijan

Armenia will never concede in Karabakh issue for the sake of
Turkey-Armenia process

Yerevan – APA. "The normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations can
not be linked to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian said, APA reports.

"At the meeting between President Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the Turkish side attempted to discuss
the issue on Nagorno Karabakh. But the answer was the same – the
normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations can not be linked to the
Karabakh problem. I do not see a reason to discuss this issue with
Turkey," he said.

Edward Nalbandian said Turkey could not be the mediator in the
settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"Moreover, Armenia will never concede in Karabakh issue for the sake
of Turkey-Armenia process. Linking of the two processes damage both
of them. This is also the position of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,"
he said.

Foreign Minister said Sargsyan-Erdogan meeting gave an opportunity
to the Armenian side to realize Turkey’s position more properly.

"Again we are sure that our assessment of Armenia-Turkey relations
is right. Our ideas concerning the following steps and approaches
were also strengthened. President will inform the public when it is
necessary to pass a relevant decision," he said.

According to Nalbandian, if Turkey does not want the normalization
process to fail, it should immediately demonstrate its willingness
to ratify the protocols and start normalizing the relations.

TURKEY SHOULD MOVE TO DIPLOMATIC ATTACKS ON ARMENIA – AZERBAIJANI DEPUTY

news.az
April 14, 2010
Azerbaijan

Elman Mammadov News.Az interviews Elman Mammadov, a deputy of the
Azerbaijani parliament and former chief of executive powers of Khojaly.

Are you satisfied with Turkey’s position in the issue of confrontation
to fictional "Armenian genocide"?

Turkey is a big and a strong country. But the policy conducted by
the current authorities of Turkey has weakened its importance in
the world. Armenia will pursue Turkey unless Turkey starts to run
away from Armenia. Turkey must not go on a leash of Armenia, it must
put pressure on Armenia. Turkey must not shelter more than 100,000
Armenian citizens, feed them and provide them with the opportunity to
earn money. Unfortunately, the Turkish premier (Recep Tayyip Erdogan)
speaks about it with a pride. Why does Turkey need to shelter more
than 100,000 illegal Armenians, feed them, establish four air flights
a week between Istanbul and Yerevan?

How can Azerbaijan and Turkey confront the claims of the Armenian
party about fictional "genocide" on the international arena?

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey must recognize the Khojaly
genocide. Turkey should do this to create a balance in the world
against mythical "Armenian genocide". The rest Turkic speaking
countries and other Muslim states must follow Turkey’s example to
create a definite balance between Christian and Muslim states. In
fact, different Christian clubs, either EU or the Council of Europe
are in a state of the Crusade against the Muslim countries. We should
resist this and this requires the unity of the Muslim world. Despite
existence of the Organization of Islamic Conference, there is no
Muslim unity there and this organization does not have any influence
on the international arena.

Which steps can Turkey take in case the US Congress adopts a resolution
on "Armenian genocide"?

Turkey has great opportunities in this issue. It can prohibit the
US military base on its territory. Turkey is NATO’s key to the East
and the overall control over the East. Therefore, Turkey can close
this door for NATO. Turkey may say to the West that such actions may
result in Turkey’s unwillingness to see Armenia as its neighbor. Thus,
Turkey can inform the West and they oblige it to take this step on
Armenia. It should be brought to the attention of the West that its
willingness to create the Armenian state in Turkey in the early last
century has resulted in 1915 events and the repetition of such acts
can prompt the same events.

Which effective steps should Azerbaijan authorities take for the
international recognition of the Khojaly genocide?

The Azerbaijani parliament has started to adopt political acts on the
recognition of the Khojaly genocide since 1992. Among these facts, it
is necessary to stress the resolution of Milli Medjlis of 24 February
1994 envisioning recognition of the Khojaly genocide. The work in
this direction continues both on the level of Milli Medjlis and the
government. But we should not stop and we must take more effective
means for the international recognition of the Khojaly genocide and
liberation of the occupied lands.

It is high time to pass from theoretical issues to practical actions,
especially in the direction of liberation of the occupied lands. In
other words, we must demonstrate our strength to the enemy. We
have this strength. By demonstrating this strength, we will show
the world that we are able to liberate the occupied lands and just
do not do it so far. How long will these negotiations last? These
negotiations have been held for more than 18 years and how long will
they continue? We are so far listening to the recommendations of the
UN, Council of Europe, OSCE, superpowers, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
about the inadmissibility of war. But not a single part of our lands
have been liberated through these negotiations.

What is your opinion about establishment of terms by Azerbaijan for
holding peace talks on the Karabakh conflict settlement?

It is time for Azerbaijan, in particular, for Milli Medjlis to adopt
the statements to UN, OSCE, OSCE co-chairing states and the Council of
Europe. These statements must be prepared in the norm of notification
that these organizations will be responsible for the launch of war. We
must set the term in these documents that in case the occupied lands
are not liberated within, for example, a month or a year, Azerbaijan
will take effective measures in line with the international law,
in particular, it will use the forced way of the liberation of the
occupied lands.

RED CROSS COMMITTEE: ARMENIA HOLDS AN AZERBAIJANI PRISONER OF WAR AND A CIVILIAN

Today
6035.html
April 13 2010
Azerbaijan

"Currently, there is one Azerbaijani prisoner of war and one civilian
in Armenia," representative of the red Cross Committee Yerevan Office
Ashot Astabatsyan said.

He said there are six Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan.

Spokesperson for the Red Cross Committee Baku Office Gulnaz Guliyeva
confirmed the information.

"There are one Azerbaijani soldier and a civilian in Armenia while
there are six Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan," she said.

JOINT STATEMENT WELCOMING THE PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA ON THE OCCASION OF HIS OFFICIAL VISIT TO WASHINGTON

armradio.am
13.04.2010 10:47

The visit to Washington, DC for the Nuclear Security Summit affords
President Serzh Sargsyan an important opportunity to meet directly
with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Armenia-U.S. relations need to be strengthened across a broad range
of issues. Of special importance is America’s role regarding the
Protocols to facilitate the normalization of relations between
Armenia and Turkey without preconditions and the obligation of the
Obama administration to reaffirm the U.S. record acknowledging the
Armenian Genocide if we are to prevent future genocides and maintain
credibility. Rather than employ the Armenian term for the Armenian
Genocide – Metz Yeghern – we urge President Obama in his April 24
statement to use the English term, and to be true to his words and
promises in developing U.S.-Armenia ties.

We welcome and congratulate President Sargsyan, and we believe that
the Republic of Armenia and its President deserve our support in
this critical work. This is an extension of Armenia’s policy since
independence, and the efforts of the President toward a breakthrough
in Turkish-Armenian normalization represent major steps toward peace
and justice.

The participation of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and his delegation
in the Summit also offer an opportunity for the Turkish government
to live up to its words by ratifying the Protocols immediately and
as signed.

We also encourage the Republic of Turkey to utilize this opportunity
to make a bold step forward and signal its willingness to come to
terms with its past.

We have supported and continue to support reconciliation between
Armenia and Turkey. The Erdogan government’s behavior since the
signing of the Protocols last year, however, indicates that it has
breached and will continue to breach both the letter and the spirit
of those documents. The examples of these breaches include not only
the failure to ratify the protocols in a reasonable period, but also
the condemnable threat of deportation with respect to Armenians living
in Turkey by Prime Minister Erdogan.

We, therefore, anticipate that a frank and sober assessment of the
current status of Armenia-Turkey rapprochement and future prospects
will take place this week. Regardless of the outcome, President Obama’s
reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide can only help to heal the wounds
of denial, and bring Turkey one step closer toward true reconciliation.

We recognize that the path forward will not be easy, especially
this month of April when Armenians worldwide commemorate the 95th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

We pray that all participants in this process approach the issues
with great wisdom and courage.

TURKISH MEDIA RESPONSE TO SARGSYAN-ERDOGAN MEETING

Tert.am
13.04.10

Turkish media has widely covered Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s visit to Washington and his meeting with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan over the Armenia-Turkey normalization.

According to local daily Turkish Sabah Sargsyan demanded Erdogan to
avoid making statements that link the Armenia-Turkey normalization
to the Nagorno Karabakh issue. Erdogan has responded saying Turkey
does not link these two processes.

"Our objective is establishing stability in the region. There has
been progress in the Minsk Group mediating process," Erdogan was
quoted as saying.

Turkish local daily Hurriyet writes that Erdogan reaffirmed Ankara’s
stance of backing Azerbaijan’s viewpoints till the end.

"While Yerevan declared that the Karabakh conflict, not mentioned in
the Protocols, cannot be a pre-condition. With that regard Erdogan has
stressed that they want to see positive steps in the Karabakh issue,
and that Ankara is not going to make any concessions over that issue,"
writes Hurriyet.

Hurriyet also mentioned that Sargsyan and Erdogan discussed the details
of the letters Erdogan’s special delegate Feridun Sinirlioglu handed to
the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents during his visits to Yerevan
and Baku, as well as the US congressional resolution recognizing the
Armenian Genocide.

In reference to Sargsyan’s speech delivered at the tomb of US former
President Woodrow Wilson, the newspaper furthermore writes that is
has roused serious worries among Turkish diplomats.

Trend, Azerbaijan
April 8 2010

Israel is main danger on peace in Mideast, region – Turkish PM

Israel is the main danger on peace in the Middle East and the whole
region, Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyep Erdogan said in Paris on
Wednesday, Yemeni Saba News Agency reported according to Kuwait News
Agency (KUNA).

Erdogan said in a statement to reporters before a lunch hosted by
French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Israel had used excessive force
in Gaza Strip that includes phosphorus bombs that killed about 1,500
people under "unjustified pretexts and lies."

The so-called Judge Richard Goldstone report on Gaza, he said, was
clear in blaming Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.

He said that Turkey’s accession negotiations with EU which began in
2005 would continue despite some opposition. He did not elaborate.

Erdogan reiterated that Turkey would not be a burden on the EU but
will help to interlink the West and the Islamic world.

The Turkish Prime Minister began his visit yesterday by attending the
closing ceremony of the "Year of Turkey" in France. Erdogan and
Sarkozy have a full agenda for talks, which will include bilateral,
international and especially security issues.

Erdogan will address the issue of the PKK Kurdish militants and their
presence in France and Europe and he will purportedly be pushing for
faster responses on extradition requests.

Other issues to be discussed include Iran, Iraq, the Middle East peace
process and regional relations, like Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and
others.

Turkey’s demands to adhere to the European Union are a bone of
contention because Sarkozy has made it clear he opposes Turkey joining
the EU.

For his part, Sarkozy indicated that the EU question will not be at
the heart of the discussions but Turkish sources said that Erdogan
will be bringing it up in Wednesday’s discussions.

Both nations, which had a trade volume of close to USD 14.0 billion in
2009, are also eager to boost trade and France says it hopes to
increase the above figure by 50 percent by 2012.

France is the second-largest foreign investor in Turkey and employs
100,000 people there in 300 companies.

France has become the sixth supplier of goods and services to Turkey
and is the second client for Turkish exports in a trade relationship
that officials here said was ‘balanced.’ New projects are under study
and should be discussed during Erdogan’s visit. They include projects
in the energy, transport and infrastructure sectors.

ARMENIAN HAIRDRESSERS, STYLISTS TO TAKE PART IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PARIS

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 7, 2010 – 18:15 AMT 13:15 GMT

Armenia will take part in the world hairdressing championships in
November 2010 in Paris, Maria Arakelyan, head of Sergei Zverev salon
told journalists in Yerevan on April 7.

"These competitions are good opportunities to show culture, style
and vision of the fashion," she said.

According to Maria Arakelyan, the national team has already started
preparations for participation in the forthcoming championships,
participation of Armenian hairdressers in the European Championship
in February 2010 became a good preparation for them.

The eighth Armenian championship in hairdressing and decorative
cosmetics will be held in May 2011.