Author: Zakarian Garnik

Edicom, Suisse
31 Juillet 2005

Le politicien turc Perincek continue de nier le génocide arménien

Et estime qu’il faudrait abolir la norme pénale contre le racisme –
Critiques également de la part de l’ambassadeur de Turquie en Suisse
–
Zurich (AP) L’enquête ouverte en Suisse contre le politicien turc
Dogu Perinçek parce qu’il a nié publiquement le génocide arménien
continue de faire des vagues. Dans une interview au »SonntagsBlick»,
il a réitéré ses propos négationnistes, estimant par ailleurs que la
loi suisse contre le racisme devrait être abolie. L’ambassadeur de
Turquie à Berne a aussi émis des critiques à l’égard de la Suisse.
Dogu Perinçek, le chef du Parti des travailleurs – parti d’extrême
gauche marginal en Turquie – a nié le génocide arménien de 1915
notamment à l’occasion, il y a une semaine, de la commémoration du
Traité de Lausanne, qui a délimité les frontières de la Turquie
moderne en 1923.
Dans l’interview publiée dimanche, il a réaffirmé qu’il n’y avait
»jamais eu de génocide arménien», que c’était un «mensonge
historique», de la propagande alimentée par «les impérialistes
américains et européens». Quant à la norme pénale suisse qui punit
notamment tout propos public niant, minimisant ou tentant de
justifier un génocide ou autres crimes contre l’humanité, il
connaissait son existence avant de s’exprimer. Il considère qu’il
s’agit là d’une «loi d’inquisition du Moyen-Age» qu’il conviendrait
de supprimer.

Critiques de l’ambassadeur turc
Alev Kilic, ambassadeur de Turquie à Berne, critique également
l’attitude de la Suisse dans cette affaire. Dans une interview parue
dans la «NZZ am Sonntag», il qualifie l’enquête ouverte contre Dogu
Perinçek et l’historien Yusuf Halacoglu de «signe lourd de
conséquences» à l’égard des Turcs vivant en Suisse. «Cela signifie
qu’ils doivent se taire».
La Suisse, qui auparavant en Turquie était citée comme un exemple du
respect de la liberté d’opinion, ne la respecte pas dans cette
affaire.
L’ambassadeur turc n’exclut pas que cela entraîne des conséquences
diplomatiques. Il ne peut pas garantir que le prochain voyage en
Turquie du conseiller fédéral Joseph Deiss ne sera pas différé, voire
annulé.

Swissinfo, Switzerland
July 31 2005

Perinçek once more denies Armenian genocide

Turkish politician Doðu Perinçek, under investigation in
Switzerland for denying Armenian genocide, has compared Swiss law
with that of the Inquisition.

In a newspaper interview published on Sunday, Perinçek repeated his
revisionist views and called for Swiss anti-racism legislation to be
scrapped.

The head of Turkey’s Workers’ Party told the SonntagsBlick that the
legislation went against fundamental rights and the freedom of
speech.

He added that as a result, Switzerland was losing Turkish friendship
and respect from the rest of the world.

Under Swiss law, any act of denying, belittling or justifying
genocide is a violation of the country’s anti-racism laws.

Perinçek’s party obtained 0.51 per cent of the vote in Turkey’s last
legislative elections in November 2002. There is therefore no party
member in Turkey’s Grand National Assembly.

Treaty of Lausanne

“There was no Armenian genocide,” he told the SonntagsBlick. Perinçek
had also expressed his revisionist views last weekend at celebrations
in western Switzerland marking the anniversary of the 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne, which defined the borders of modern-day Turkey.

Perinçek said he knew that Switzerland had anti-racism laws but did
not believe his remarks amounted to provocation. He felt “duty-bound”
to express them.

The politician compared the threat of a conviction with his
experiences in Turkish jails.

“Switzerland is worse than Turkey,” he said.

Perinçek is the subject of two investigations into suspected
violation of Swiss anti-racism laws. A similar investigation has been
opened in the case of Turkish historian Yusuf Halaçoðlu.

Strong criticism

The Turkish government in Ankara has strongly criticised the Swiss
action.

Switzerland’s ambassador to Turkey, Walter Gyger, was summoned to the
Turkish foreign ministry on Wednesday, while Turkey’s envoy to Bern,
Alev Kiliç was called to the Swiss foreign ministry the following
day.

On Sunday, Kiliç warned against limiting the freedom of speech.

“The fact that the Swiss authorities open such investigations is a
serious signal to Turks who live or come to Switzerland. It means
they have to keep their mouths shut,” he told the NZZ am Sonntag
newspaper.

A Swiss foreign ministry communiqué on Thursday said that the
government had always “regretted and condemned the tragic
deportations and massacres of Armenians” in the final phase of the
Ottoman Empire.

The government also welcomed a suggestion from Ankara to create a
commission of Turkish and Armenian historians to study the issue.

The House of Representatives is the only federal institution that has
officially recognised the Armenian genocide.

The Globe and Mail, Canada
July 29 2005

Turks and Armenians: Is reconciliation possible?

By OZAY MEHMET
Special to Globe and Mail Update

On Oct. 3, Turkey will start accession talks for European Union
membership. These talks will be long and hard because Ankara will
have to settle, in addition to far-reaching economic, social and
political reforms, some difficult questions relating to Cyprus, Kurds
and the Aegean, as well as Armenian claims of genocide in 1915.

Of all the issues facing Ankara, the most sensitive is the Armenian
one. Until recently, the Turkish government has taken a narrow
perspective, saying this matter should be left to historians to
settle. This is no longer adequate. Realizing this, Ankara is now
taking cautious steps that may well bring about Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation. Ankara should be encouraged in this direction.

The new element is that Ankara wants to normalize its relations with
Armenia. It has already opened an air corridor between Istanbul and
Yerevan, and appears willing to open a border gate for movement of
goods and people.

But, in return, Ankara has a number of demands of Yerevan. It wishes
to see: (1) progress in talks with Azerbaijan over the thorny issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azeri territory now under Armenian
occupation; (2) Armenia’s endorsement of a joint historical
commission to settle the dispute over 1915; (3) suspension of
“genocide” claims pending the work of the proposed joint commission;
and (4) recognition of current borders and renouncement of implied
territorial claims by Armenia.

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The Europeans have given initial support to Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal for a joint historical commission,
but the future of Turkish-Armenian relations is indexed to the issue
of “genocide” claims. This is an exceedingly sensitive matter
precisely because it is interwoven with national pride and
self-identity on both sides.

Modern Turkish identity, as much as the Armenian one, is the product
of the same historical circumstances. It is a case of competing
nationalism: the Turkish nation, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,
capping the successful war of independence (1919-23) with the peace
treaty at Lausanne that replaced the stillborn Sèvres Treaty that
promised a Greater Armenia in eastern Turkey (an area heavily
Kurdish, by the way).

By contrast, the Armenian nation ended up as a tiny country outside
Turkish borders, and became a victim of the 1917 Bolshevik
Revolution. Landlocked, next door to Georgia and Azerbaijan, Armenia
was, until 1991, a country under Soviet occupation. It needs Turkish
co-operation to open to the rest of the world. It has one of the
poorest, stagnant economies in the Caucasus, shut out of the pipeline
from the Azeri capital of Baku to the Turkish port of Ceyhan as a
result of its adversarial relations with Ankara and Baku.

Where does the future of Turkish-Armenian relations lie? The
initiative remains primarily in Ankara’s hands. It is the dominant
regional power and, as it inches toward full EU membership (expected
around 2015), it must normalize ties with all of its neighbours. The
main obstacle is division in Turkey itself. Nationalist extremism is
not only on the side of Armenians or in Turkey’s other neighbours.
There are, sadly, extremists within Turkey as well, some carrying
influence in high places. Anti-Turkish camps in the EU only serve to
strengthen these extremist forces.

Just weeks ago in Istanbul, there was the case of a cancelled
alternative conference of academics to discuss the history of Ottoman
Armenians. The justice minister, a member of the nationalist faction
of the ruling Justice and Development Party and evidently out of step
with Mr. Erdogan’s open-door policy, harshly criticized this academic
event, obliging the hosting university to drop it. By his action, the
minister weakened his government’s Armenia policy and provided
ammunition for Turkey’s opponents in Europe and beyond.

This regressive step conflicts with the ideal of Turkey as a full
democracy, one that respects freedom of speech. Showing intolerance
for alternative views, whether by academics on the Armenian question
or by novelists such as Orhan Pamuk on controversial topics, is
incompatible with the democratic freedoms and rule of law that
Turkey, as a future EU member, must embrace.

As far as the Armenian “genocide” claims go, Turkey must stay the
course outlined by Mr. Erdogan to face history and promote
reconciliation. Buried in the tragic history of 1915, there is too
much suffering for Turks and Armenians alike. The way to
reconciliation is for both sides to acknowledge that too many lives
were lost in this war period and that the memory of the dead, whether
Turk or Armenian, deserves respect. The time for mutual mourning has
come.

Ozay Mehmet is professor emeritus of international affairs at
Carleton University in Ottawa.

I-Newswire.com (press release)
July 28 2005

Genocide forum tolerates deniers

In April of 2005, genocide.com, a public forum for genocide
discussion, was hacked by the Turkish deniers of the Armenian
Genocide. By the 24th of April, the website was liberated from the
deniers. The academic forum is being moderated currently by the
administration of genocide.com.

(I-Newswire) – The forum currently contains two major sections:
Genocide Related Topics and Politics influencing genocide. Specific
cases of genocides discussed are as followed: Aboriginal, Armenian,
Bosnian, Cambodian, Gypsy, Jewish, Kosovo and Rwanda.

Though the administration of officially recognizes
the above listed genocides, genocide deniers are tolerated on the
forum, as far as these users do not break the general.

In the past, the forum was not being moderated at all. This fact was
especially exploited by some Turkish deniers of the Armenian
Genocide, who posted a number of offensive and racist threads. When
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was approaching, these
Turkish users did their best to hack the forum. The forum was hacked
and the English language threads were distorted ( for instance, the
section `Armenian Genocide’ became `So-called Armenian Genocide’ );
threads in Turkish were added.

The Armenian Genocide was committed between 1915 and 1923 by the
Ottoman-Turkish government. As a result of the Genocide, more than a
million Armenians were annihilated and the entire Armenian population
of the western part of historic Armenia was wiped off from her
motherland. The cultural losses constituted more than 2000 Armenian
cathedrals, some of them as old as 1700 years. Armenia was the first
country to adopt Christianity as the state religion.

The Republic of Turkey and its agents have contributed a lot of
efforts in denying the Armenian Genocide. It has been done by
falsification of historical facts, destruction of Armenian cultural
monuments, distortion of Armenian geographical names ( such as Mount
Ararat, which was converted into Agri Dagh ) and other various forms.
The attempt to hack was another form of genocide
denial.

Administration of will do its best to avoid future
attacks.

A DIRTY GAME TO COMPROMISE ARMENIA AND RUSSIA BY DINT OF GEORGIA

Azg/arm
27 July 05

Though Punishable, Changing a ‘Terrorist’s’ Name Is Within the Game
Rules

The West, the United States in particular, have been recently playing
a dirty game of compromising Russia and Armenia through Georgia. As
the recent developments suggest, the primary task is to compromise
Russia in the SouthCaucasus and to terrify Armenia to keep it back
from military cooperation with Moscow. As a means of compromising and
terrifying they choose fighting terrorism — so loved by the Americans
— which serves a good veil to establish US authority in zones of
traditionally Russian influence.

On March 15 of the current year, the US authorities arrested a group
of 18 people on charge of an attempt to illegally import weapons of
Russian vintage to USA. The US press headed by The New York Times has
been writing that the leader of the group was Armenian citizen Artur
Solomonian, adding that the weapons were supposed to serve Al
Qaeda. Even the Russian mafia and Russian military bases in Armenia
and Georgia figured in these embellished stories.

Only a few days later, when Armenia had already its name undermined in
the world press, FBI agent Brain Parman said in Yerevan that no kind
of arms has ever left Armenia for the US. On June 23, the trial over
18 suspects in this arms deal was postponed till October as the state
prosecutor failed to present evidence against them.

27-year-old Vladimir Arutyunov charged with attempting US President’s
life on May 10 was arrested a few days ago. The first press releases
by Georgian authorities that followed his arrest made a “blunder” of
transmitting his surname in Russianised transcription, as it was in
fact. A few hours later Arutyunov turned into Harutyunian to stress
his Armenian origin.

Though punishable, changing a “terrorist’s” name in this case fitted
the rules of the game very well. The US and Georgian releases of May
11-13 though did not mention the name of the “terrorist”, they clearly
hinted that the unexploded hand grenade might well be made in Armenia
or obtained in the Russian base of Akhalkalak. Today, Georgia’s
law-enforcers suggest that Arutyunov might have had accomplices out of
Georgia.

Not long ago, when the Georgian press used to call opposition leader
Mikheil Saakashvili an Armenian, the latter published his genealogy
table to prove the contrary. But one note by late prime minister Zurab
Zhvania about his Armenian mother was enough to launch anti-Armenian
propaganda in Georgian mass media. Today, the Armenian origin of
Vladimir Arutyunov is playing into Georgian authorities’ hands. They
forget that the long-cherished European Union doesnot tolerate
discrimination; therefore it’s of no avail to point out the criminal’s
religion or nationality every now and then.

By Tatoul Hakobian

PanArmenian News Network
July 26 2005

ARMENIA ALLOCATED $350 THOUSAND TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS IN JAVAKHETI

26.07.2005 05:59

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Armenia has allocated $350 thousand to implement
programs in Samtskhe-Javakheti Georgian region populated by
Armenians,’ Armenian PM Andranik Margaryan noted during his working
visit to Georgia. After a meeting with Georgian Speaker Nino
Burjanadze Mr. Margaryan stated part of the means would be spent to
repair Armenian schools in the region. In her turn the Georgian
Speaker said the roads connecting the region populated by Armenians
with other parts of Georgia will soon be repaired, IA Regnum
reported.

Los Angeles Times, CA
July 24 2005

Singapore’s State Investment Fund Unloads Its Storied Raffles Hotel

The buyer, L.A. private equity firm Colony Capital, promises to
preserve the property, renowned as a hangout for actors and writers.

By John Burton, Financial Times

SINGAPORE – Founded by four Armenian brothers, home to Japanese army
officers during World War II and previously owned by several local
banks, the 118-year-old Raffles Hotel reflects the cosmopolitan
nature of Singapore.

So it is perhaps not surprising that Raffles is being sold to a Los
Angeles-based private equity fund, Colony Capital, in spite of its
iconic status for many Singaporeans.

Last week’s $1-billion deal to dispose of Raffles and 40 other hotels
around the world owned or managed by Raffles Holdings indicates that
Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment company and Raffles’
ultimate owner, is becoming serious about shedding non-core assets.

In the last few years, Temasek has been best known for its
acquisition spree across Asia, mainly in the banking and telecom
sectors, under its executive director, Ho Ching, the wife of the
city-state’s prime minister. But it has appeared reluctant to sell
existing holdings.

The Raffles deal could convince skeptics that Temasek has only been
waiting for the right price to sell and fulfill its goal of enhancing
shareholder returns.

Analysts have applauded the sale for unlocking hidden value, with
Colony paying 64% more than the estimated value of the hotels.

The main beneficiary will be CapitaLand, the Temasek-owned property
developer that owns 60% of Raffles Holdings. CapitaLand has been
focusing on buying shopping malls in the region, especially China,
and the hotel business was seen as becoming irrelevant because hotels
accounted for about 5% of its net income last year.

“All our other sectors are growth sectors,” said Liew Mun Leong,
CapitaLand chief executive, referring to a recent investment in 15
Chinese malls and plans to build a casino in Singapore. “And that’ll
need a call for capital if we are successful.”

Raffles represented a potential drain on CapitaLand’s financial
resources. Analysts have estimated that Raffles, which now ranks 17th
in size among global hotel chains, with 12,000 rooms, would have to
spend 10 to 20 years to achieve industry leadership. In contrast,
Colony already has 19,000 hotel rooms.

It is “very difficult to grow” the hotel business, said Jennie Chua,
Raffles’ chief executive and main architect of its international
expansion.

The history of the Raffles Hotel illustrates the pitfalls of the
hotel business. Founded by the Sarkies brothers in 1887, the hotel
was famous for its prominent guests, including Charlie Chaplin, Noel
Coward, Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling. It was also known as the
birthplace of the Singapore Sling cocktail and where, according to
legend, the last tiger in Singapore was shot under one of the
billiard tables.

But its grande dame status did not prevent the Sarkies from losing
control of the hotel during the Great Depression, with Raffles
managing to survive by going public. After World War II, the hotel
fell into the hands of OCBC Bank and then the state-owned DBS Bank.

It was DBS that revived the fortunes of the hotel, which had fallen
on hard times in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early 1990s, it restored
Raffles to its glory with only 104 luxury rooms, although critics
complained that it had “Disneyfied” its appearance in the process.

The makeover, however, established Raffles as a premium brand, and it
began buying other historic hotels, including the Vier Jahreszeiten
in Hamburg, Germany, and Cambodia’s Grand Hotel d’Angkor.

After the merger of DBS Land and Pidemco Land to form CapitaLand in
2000, Raffles bought 26 deluxe business hotels from Swissotel in 2001
that gave it a bigger presence in Europe and the U.S. But in 2003,
Raffles turned to an “asset-light” strategy to focus on hotel
management contracts, which offered steady revenue without ownership
burdens, by selling more than half of its hotels.

Although sales and profit have improved since 2003, the performance
was not sufficient to justify CapitaLand keeping Raffles, executives
said.

Colony has promised to preserve the historic heritage of Raffles,
which is listed as a national monument in Singapore. But there is
speculation that Colony, which owns hotel and casino properties in
Europe and the U.S., including the Las Vegas Hilton, might introduce
gambling at Raffles if Singapore relaxes further its rules on gaming.

Somerset Maugham used to eavesdrop on the talk of inebriated rubber
planters staying at the Raffles, which provided gist for his stories
about the Far East. Some future writer might do the same if the
Raffles ever becomes the haunt for high rollers.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 22 2005

RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIA’S ECONOMY CONDITIONED BY COORDINATED
COOPERATION OF ALL BRANCHES OF POWER: IMF REP

YEREVAN, July 22. /ARKA/. One of the conditions of the rapid
development of Armenia’s economy is coordinated cooperation of all
branches of power and implementation of a flexible economic policy,
the RA NA Public Relations Department reports referring to the IMF
Deputy Managing Director Agustin Carstens, who met with RA NA
Vice-Speaker Tigran Torosyan. Carstens reported that certain programs
of technical assistance to Armenia have already been elaborated, and
they will be implemented in tax and customs spheres. He also said
that the IMF will shortly implement a large-scale program in the
South Caucasian countries.
In his turn, Vice-Speaker Torosyan pointed out the importance to
Armenia’s cooperation with the IMF, especially in the aspect of
Armenia’s long-term plans of entering the EU. “Cooperation between
Armenia and the IMF in this direction may produce good results.
Armenia is the only post-Soviet country that has registered economic
indicators close to those of the EU member-countries”, Torosyan said.
A.A. -0–

Azeri soldier killed in Armenian truce violation

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
21 Jul 05

The Armenian armed forces are continuing to violate the cease-fire.
ATV’s Karabakh bureau has reported that the Armenian army sporadically
fired from the occupied village of Talis in Agdara [District]
on the village of Cayli in Tartar [District] for about two hours
last night. Although the enemy was silenced by retaliatory fire
in this area, a soldier of a military unit in Beylaqan [District],
Rafael Cafarov, was killed as a result of the Armenian violation of
the cease-fire.

The [Azerbaijani] Defence Ministry reports that Rafael Cafarov, born
in 1986, was drafted into the army by the Masalli district enlistment
office. His body was handed over to his family yesterday. May he rest
in peace.

KARABAKH WOULD WELCOME FLIGHTS BETWEEN NICOSIA AND STEPANAKERT

ArmenPress
July 21 2005

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS: Nagorno-Karabakh foreign minister Arman
Melikian welcomed today a statement by the Greek community of Cyprus
to open a direct flight between Nicosia and Stepanakert if Azerbaijan
goes on with its intention to start operating flights between Baku
and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Talking to reporters in Yerevan today the Karabakh minister said the
airport in Stepanakert has a runway and other facilities that can
be used successfully to service such flights. The intention to open
flights between Azerbaijan and TRNC was announced last week by Baku
which said it would help TRNC go out of the international isolation.

A group of Azeri parliament members are currently visiting the capital
of Northern Cyprus Lefkosha.