“For 95 years Turkey has been denying the fact of the 1915 Genocide”

Below is the text of an interview given by RoA President Serzh Sargsyan to the newspaper Le Figaro during his recent trip to France. It is taken from the official website of the RoA Presidency.

Why has the Armenian-Turkish process of normalization entered a deadlock?

We have a history of thorny relations. For ninety-five years Turkey has been denying the fact of the Genocide perpetrated against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. When I invited the President of Turkey to Armenia to watch the football game between our two national teams, my point was to promote the establishment of relations between our countries without preconditions. »»»»»

Earlier today, the RoA Ambassador to Russia, Oleg Yesayan, met with His Holiness Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and finalized arrangements for the visit of His Holiness Kirill to Armenia at the invitation of His Holiness Karekin II.

His Holiness Kirill I is scheduled to visit Armenia from Marc 16-18.

A Polish delegation headed by the Prime Minister Donald Tusk, arrived in Armenia today on a one day official visit.

During the official reception at the Presidential Palace, RoA President Sargsyan noted that Armenian-Polish relations have great potential and that Armenia wishes to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres. “There are two very important bases for it – the positive relations between our peoples and the Eastern Partnership Program co-authored by Poland,” President Sargsyan said. »»»»»

By Vartan Oskanian

YEREVAN – Will Turkey’s current turmoil between Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdoğan and the country’s powerful army complicate and delay the country’s boldest initiatives in years – the moves to address decades-old tensions with both Armenians and Kurds? »»»»»

Those who opposed Genocide Bill must not be reelected,  says Harut Sassounian

It was bad enough that Pres. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had failed to keep their campaign pledge to reaffirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide.

They sunk to a new low last week, when Mrs. Clinton announced that she and the President opposed adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the full House, following its passage by the Foreign Affairs Committee. »»»»»

RoA President Serzh Sargsyan, on the first day of his official visit to France, toured a display of renowned French-Armenian artist Jean Jansem’s works at the Matignon Gallery, Paris.

Jean Jansem (Semerjian) was born in 1920 in Seuleuze (Asia Minor), spent his childhood his childhood in Salonika, Greece, and arrived in France at the age of 11 when he took up painting. »»»»»

Michael Vardanyan, Armenia’s newly appointed permanent representative to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization presented his credentials to BSEC Secretary General Leonidas Chrisanthopoulos.

Mr. Vardanyan stressed the importance Armenia attached to participating in the activities of the BSEC. At the meeting urgent issues of cooperation and the future of the Armenia-BSEC partnership were covered.

“We must remember that Karabakh was the home of Azeris as well”, he states at Civiltas talk.

Thomas de Waal, a British journalist and writer best known to Armenians as the author of “Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War” was the guest speaker at a conference devoted to the Karabakh conflict organized in Yerevan by the Civilitas Foundation.

Mr. De Waal began by saying that he preferred the term “dormant” conflict over the much used “frozen” variant and called on major international institution, like the European Union, to take a more active stance regarding the establishment of support mechanisms to overcome the mistrust on both sides of the conflict and to create the necessary infrastructure to bolster any eventual peace settlement. »»»»»

RoA President Serzh Sargsyan will head a delegation to France from March 9-11. The Armenian head of state is scheduled to be received by French President Sarkozy on March 10 at the Elysee Palace.

The two heads of state will discuss French-Armenian relations and various regional issues pertaining to the southern Caucasus. The Armenian delegation will include Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Minister of the Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan and Ara Babloyan, who heads the Armenian-Grench Friendship Delegation.

The conduct of the trials that took place in the aftermath of the March 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan reveals shortcomings in Armenia’s justice system, concludes a report published today by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The 114-page report, based on the monitoring of 93 criminal cases during a 16-month period, offers detailed recommendations on how to address the identified shortcomings. »»»»»

Edward Sharmazanov, spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, today told Hetq that he welcomed yesterday’s vote by the U.S. House Committee regarding HR 252 since it proves that the U.S. remains true to the principles of democracy and human rights.

“I don’t believe that it’s mere coincidence that it passed at this time and I believe that Turkey’s unconstructive approach to relations had something to do with it as well. Remember that Turkey had recently made some ultimatums directed at the U.S. By passing the resolution, Washington wanted to show Turkey that it could also tighten the screws,” Mr. Sharmazanov told Hetq. »»»»»

Commenting on yesterday’s passage of a Genocide resolution by the U.S. House Committee, Levon Zurabyan, a spokesman from the opposition HAK, today said that he was certain that the non-binding bill would never be adopted by the U.S. Congress.

Mr. Zurabyan pointed out that similar bills, while getting through committee, never made it to the full House for a vote. “Such resolutions have been passed four times in the past but never made it to the full Congress. There nothing new here except that in the past there were more votes in favor. Yesterday’s resolution passed by just one vote,” Mr. Zurabyan told Hetq.

This is the official statement released by the RoA Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

We highly appreciate the decision by the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States House of Representatives to adopt Resolution 252 on the recognition of the Armenian genocide.

 This is another proof of the devotion of the American people to universal human values and is an important step toward the prevention of the crimes against humanity. 

RoA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Davit Sargsyan, the RoA Government Chief of Staff, unveiled the launch of an on-line computer network linking twenty five various government departments.

The two officials claim that the network, already operating, will improve the efficiency and productivity of the government and that it will allow for greater transparency of the internal workings of state processes for average citizens. PM Sargsyan said, “We have created an opportunity for citizens to participate in the governmental process and they also have the chance to follow and keep abreast of the process.” »»»»»

RoA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian hosted a European Union delegation headed by the Foreign Minister of Spain, Miguel Angel Moratinos.

FM Edward Nalbandian congratulated Miguel Angel Moratinos on assuming chairmanship of the EU and described Armenia-EU relations as being at a “crucial stage”. “The European Union is a reliable political and economic partner for Armenia. The Eastern Partnership Program that kicked off last year opens broad opportunities for expansion of cooperation in a number of spheres,” noted FM Nalbandian

Minister Moratinos reiterated EU support for the Armenian-Turkish normalization process and hoped that the parties would ratify the protocols without preconditions within a reasonable timeframe.