Tashnag news Out of lebanon

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Dashnak Party Seeks FM’s Resignation



A hardline Armenian party has unveiled its intention to seek the resignation of Armenia’s foreign minister over what it views as President Serzh Sarkisian’s failed policy in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), however, said it would not present the resignation demand for Sarkisian.
Dashnaktsutyun has been in intensive discussions since the end of a pan-Armenian gathering held in Karabakh capital Stepanakert last weekend to address concerns in the Armenian society over the current state of the Karabakh negotiations.

In its final resolution, the Dashnaktsutyun-hosted conference urged Armenia not to sign the framework agreement proposed by international mediators based on principles that imply an indefinitely delayed status for Karabakh. It also called on official Yerevan to pave the way for Stepanakert’s return to the negotiations as a full party.

After a plenary meeting in Yerevan, Dashnaktsutyun said it will stage a protest in front of the Foreign Ministry building on Thursday demanding the resignation of Edward Nalbandian.

The action will be held on the eve of President Serzh Sarkisian’s trip to Russian capital Moscow where he is due to hold another round of talks over the longstanding dispute with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev.

“Our problem is that if a leadership change implies the coming of several figures of the [Armenian National] Congress to power, then we have no guarantee that these forces will not conduct an even more conciliatory policy than the current ones,” Dashnaktsutyun’s senior member and chief foreign policy spokesman Giro Manoyan said to RFE/RL explaining reasons why his party is not presenting the demand for President Sarkisian’s resignation.

At the same time, Manoyan warned that if applied, a document on the Karabakh settlement based on the updated Madrid principles would only lead to a new war.

Yet, he said, Armenia still can redress the situation by changing its stance and can achieve “a fairer and more acceptable ultimate deal by engaging Karabakh in the negotiating format.”

“If anyone is to change the foreign minister, it must be the president. If he does so, it will mean he is changing his policy,” said Manoyan, without elaborating on Dashnaktsutyun’s further action if Sarkisian ignores its demand.

Dashnak Party Seeks FM’s Resignation - «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան © 2009

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Pan-Armenian Summit Says Karabakh Independence Non-Negotiable, Demands Yerevan Break Off Turkey Negotiations

ARF Conference Draws 120 Delegates From Around World to Address Diplomatic Crisis




STEPANAKERT– A two-day Pan-Armenian conference in Stepanakert, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, concluded on Saturday with a firm resolution demanding Yerevan make immediate and drastic corrections to its flawed approach to both the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks and the ongoing negotiations to normalize relations with Turkey.

The resolution, as it related to the Karabakh Conflict, called on the Armenian government to refrain from signing any frameworka greement through international mediators that would compromise the security and independence of Karbakh. The resolution also demanded the immediate return of Stepanakert as a full-fledged party to the negotiation process. In regards to Armenia’s rapprochement with Turkey, the resolution demanded that Armenia immediately break off from the negotiations.

The summit, held under the patronage of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakian, was to address snowballing concerns in Armenian society over the precarious course of Armenian-Turkish relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. It was attended by 120 delegates representing political, academic, public and business circles in Karabakh, Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora.

The appeal came a day after the presidents of the United States, Russia and France issued a joint statement at the G-8 Summit in Italy urging the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to quickly “resolve the few differences remaining between them” in order to finalize an agreement on a comprehensive settlement to the Karabakh conflict. The Armenian and Azeri presidents are to meet in Moscow on July 17 under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, where they will be asked to endorse an updated version of the Madrid Principles, first issued to Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2007.

The conference also occurred amid a regional tour by the US, French and Russian co-chairs of the Minsk Group, in which they visited Yerevan and Baku to prepare for the upcoming talks.

The basic principles of the Madrid Document, published for the first time in this joint statement, require “the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control and an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-government.” The Madrid Principles also envision a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh,” as well as a future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh “through a legally binding expression of will,” and the right of “internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence.”

Azeri president Ilham Aliyev alleged in an interview on Russian State Television on July 4 that consensus had been reached among the parties to begin the withdrawal from the liberated territories and that that Karabakh would not have a corridor linking it with Armenia. He added that these principles had been agreed upon without any discussion on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Official Yerevan has yet to refute this statement.

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has only denied that the updated Madrid Principles are final. Speaking to reporters at a joint news conference in Yerevan Monday with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, Nalbandian assured that “some of the details” presented in the joint statement were still “being negotiated,” while others “have not been discussed” yet. Steinberg, dispatched to Armenia immediately after the joint statement was released, was to arrive in Baku Tuesday.

The resolution issued at the close of last weekend’s conference called on Sarkisian not to sign the updated document. “The conference believes that adopting any international document without direct participation of the key party to the conflict, i.e. the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, is condemnable, inadmissible, and devoid of any legal power,” the resolution said, adding that the OSCE Minsk Group’s calls for an expedited settlement of the conflict based on the Madrid Principles “is not in line with the nature of the conflict and its history,” and “bypasses and ignores the already legitimately expressed will of the Nagorno-Karabakh people.”

The resolution also noted that “any weakening of the security belt around the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic without restoring its territorial integrity will increase the likelihood of war and thus threaten the safety of Artsakh’s population.”

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 ahead of the establishment of an independent Azerbaijan and reaffirmed that independence in a statewide Constitutional referendum in 2006. The declaration of independence was met with a declaration of war by Azerbaijan, which attempted to invade and annex the historically Armenian region.

Karabakh President Sahakian, who spoke at the conference, also underscored the need to have Karabakh reintegrated into the peace process, adding that it would be “impossible to realize any solution without the consent of the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”

In his speech, Sahakian also condemned ongoing efforts by Turkey to link the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to its rapprochement with Armenia. The Karabakh President stressed that no agreement between Armenia and Turkey should be reached at the expense of concessions on Karabakh.

Armenia and Turkey have been involved in an almost year-long effort, backed by the United States, to normalize their relations. The negotiations, which began on the principle of open borders with no preconditions, have now stalled as Ankara has conditioned the establishment of diplomatic ties with Yerevan and the opening of its closed border to major concessions by Armenia to Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict.

The Stepanakert conference underscored President Sahakian’s concerns on the matter and urged Yerevan to re-evaluate its failed rapprochement with Turkey before it’s too late.

“Turkey continues to establish preconditions, consistently increases her biased role in the Artsakh issue; and in reality, instead of heading for the normalization of relations, Turkey successfully misguides the international community by thus removing the Armenian issue from the agenda,” the conference resolution said.

In this context, the resolution reiterated earlier warnings by the ARF that Turkey was exploiting the negotiations process to wrench concessions from Armenia and prevent the passage of US resolutions reaffirming the Armenian Genocide.

The resolution particularly focused on a joint resolution issued by the Armenian and Turkish foreign Ministers on April 22–the eve of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide–announcing a “roadmap” for normalizing relations. Turkey, which had threatened to derail talks with Armenia if US President Barack Obama recognized the Armenian Genocide, had made no secret of its attempts to use the negotiations process with Armenia to dissuade the American leader from recognizing the crime.

“The authorities of the Republic of Armenia should not allow Turkey to use the imitation of negotiations for scoring additional political and advocacy points in the international arena,” the resolution said.

“Signing the joint statement of April 22, 2009, was a wrong and a short-sighted move,” the resolution added, noting new dangers that have surfaced as “the power centers of the world” try to impose an accelerated solution to Karabakh conflict by “steering the course of Armenia-Turkey relations in the direction which is beneficial for Turkey alone.”

The document noted that “Armenia and Turkey, as neighbor states, will eventually have to establish normal relations,” but the resolution stresses that those relations can be established only after Turkey lifts the blockade, recognizes the Armenian Genocide, and restores the rights of the Armenian people.

But these conditions, which are part of Armenia’s national security doctrine, have “de facto ceased to be a guiding principle of Armenia’s foreign policy,” the resolution said, adding that “any attempt to turn the fact of the Genocide into a matter of a historical debate” is as inadmissible as “normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations at the expense of Armenia’s sovereignty and viability and the rights of future generations.”

Considering those developments, the resolution said the authorities in Yerevan have “a duty to revisit and reconsider the course of public interaction initiated one year ago and its negative outcomes, and should reveal to the international community Turkey’s true intentions and discontinue the negotiations.”

Hrant Markarian, the chairman of the ARF Bureau, had stressed those points in his remarks on the opening day of the conference Friday. “It would be naïve to think that it is possible to make a concession in any national issue without jeopardizing the whole [national cause],” Markarian said, adding that he saw a very real danger with “heavy consequences” to follow as a result of the “wrong course” being taken in Armenia-Turkey relations and the ongoing Karabakh settlement process.

Armenia’s former foreign minister, Vartan Oskanian, also touched on those points during his own remarks. Discussing the complex diplomatic realities that have emerged since the April 22 statement, Oskanian said attempts by Turkey to drive a wedge between the Armenian nation have made it all the more difficult to overcome the challenges facing the two Armenian states. The challenges, he continued will demand national unity “along the lines of a proactive forward-looking campaign.”

In addressing these issues, the resolution also demanded “confidence, realism and political will from the incumbent and future authorities of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.” The resolution also said that both governments must be “guided solely and exclusively by the interests of the Armenian nation and the sense of responsibility before generations to come” in these two “critical issues.”

Oskanian stressed that the time had come to mobilize the nation’s resources behind a clearly articulated set of national demands that corresponds to the “current reality and takes into account Artsakh’s seventeen years of independence.”

In passing the resolution, the delegates–who came from 25 countries–reiterated their determination “to protect the interests and the rights of the [Armenian] nation and the state and to secure [its] independent and dignified place in the family of civilized nations, using all possible and impossible means.”

Underscoring the document’s analysis and recommendations for both issues is a reiteration of the potential for the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora to “become an organized power.” The document states this is possible if all three entities act “as parts of the whole” and establish a format for exercising joint will to employ their capacities and prove to their “neighbors and centers of power of the world that the Armenian nation shall not tolerate infringement of [its] legitimate rights.”

Pan-Armenian Summit Says Karabakh Independence Non-Negotiable, Demands Yerevan Break Off Turkey Negotiations | Asbarez News

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ARF Calls for Nalbandian’s Resignation


YEREVAN (Yerkir)—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia on Thursday issued an announcement calling for the resignation of Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian, saying “Armenia’s foreign policy has deviated from the main provisions of its national security strategy.”

“For the purpose of eliminating the negative consequences that have emerged in the foreign policy domain and restoring the national-state course, we demand the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who is immediately responsible for the sphere,” said ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Armen Rustamian at a press conference Thursday.

The ARF Supreme Council of Armenia has called for foresight and political will from the governments of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to work in tandem to secure “our place and capabilities in the region.”

“We anticipate that the Armenian President will not sign any document that will ignore the will of the Karabakh people, which has already been expressed through two referendums, and will make every effort to bring the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic into the negotiations as a full party to the conflict,” said the statement.

“If, God forbid, such a document is signed, our struggle will receive a completely different nature,” said Rustamian adding that the ARF has “repeatedly said that no matter who the incumbent president is, we will oppose such a policy with all available constitutional means, including by demanding [the president’s] resignation.”

“The president still has an opportunity to make a drastic change in the situation and, most importantly, not to sign the document that is being proposed today,” he said.

Rustamian also said that while Armenia’s recognition of Karabakh’s independence was always a priority, the time had come for Armenia and Karabakh to sign a strategic political agreement, whereby Armenia is clearly identified as the guarantor of Karabakh’s security, calling it a “serious step.”

Rustamian also announced that the ARF had addressed letters to the ambassadors of the United States, France and Russia to Armenia informing them of “the deepest disappointment of Armenians around the world with the unjustified and groundless pressure of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries on Armenia for the purpose of imposing unilateral and dangerous concessions in the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

The ARF asserted that “the concessions will imperil the security of Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the Armenian people; increase the prospects of renewed Azeri aggression; and undermine the ability of the parties to the conflict to reach a truly lasting and durable peace.”

SOURCE http://www.asbarez.com/2009/07/16/ar...s-resignation/

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ARF sends letters to the US, Russian and French Embassies in Armenia

READ MORE Public Radio of Armenia



ARF calls on government to discontinue talks with Turkey and reassess the last year of Armenian diplomacy



READ MORE Armenian Reporter:

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Chevron lobbied against Genocide resolution as it sought Turkey oil concession

Washington - A major U.S. oil company engaged in lobbying against a congressional resolution that affirms the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide as it negotiated to win an oil concession in Turkey.

"As a major energy producer in the region, we support the integrity of multiple energy transportation routes and a diplomatic relationship between Turkey and Armenia," Chevron spokesperson Justin Higgs was quoted by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) as saying, adding that the Genocide resolution, "would have hurt, not helped, relations between Turkey and Armenia."

The statement came as the AYF, the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, launched a nationwide campaign calling attention to the lobbying.

While Chevron is not directly involved in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, the region's major oil pipeline, the company has recently received Turkish government permission to prospect for oil near the country's border with Iraq.

According to its formal disclosure, Chevron's lobbying efforts coincided with its negotiations with the Turkish state company for the concession.

The Associated Press reported last month that Chevron was among the U.S. companies that paid for lobbying against the resolution. Other companies involved were manufacturers of weapons systems BAE Systems Inc., Goodrich Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., and United Technologies Corp.

Armenian Reporter:

US Armenians begin campaign against Chevron
[ 28 Jul 2009 16:31 ]


Baku – APA. US Armenians began campaign against Chevron Oil Company accusing it in lobbying against the so-called “Armenian genocide” resolution at the Congress. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashanksutyun’s youth organization started campaign to inform the public community about the Chevron’s lobbying activity against the recognition of the so-called “Armenian genocide”. On July 22, they held protests actions outside the Chevron’s headquarter in San Ramos, California and its fuel stations. Pro-Armenian Congressman Adam Schiff also accused Chevron: “No American company should provide lobbying against this resolution”.

Chevron said recognition of the “Armenian genocide” would have negative impact on the Armenia-Turkey relations.

APA - US Armenians begin campaign against Chevron

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DASHNAK PARTY: TURKEY TORPEDOED TURKISH-ARMENIAN NORMALIZATION PROCESS Print E-mail
Friday, 21 August 2009
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Armenia should have long ago declared its unwillingness to be present in football match between Armenian and Turkish national teams since Ankara failed to keep its promise, thus torpedoing Armenian-Turkish normalization talks,an Armenian politician from nationalist political party Dashnaktsutyun.

Head of Dashnak PartyKiro Manoyan told today a news conference that Turkey wants to pretend it is “conducting a dialogue.” Yerevan is required to announce there is no dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, he stated.

“Armenian-Turkish border will not open till October 14 as Yerevan and Ankara will not manage to sign agreement by then. Document formulation and agreement signing will take much time, whereas match is going to take place in 60 days,” he said.

During the joint conference with his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadić, President Sargsyan said he’d go to Trukey to watch Armenia-Turkey return football match only in case the border is open or parties are in the run-up to lifting the blockade.

Return match between Armenian and Turkish national football teams is scheduled for October 14, in Bursa, in the football stadium after Atatürk.


Historyoftruth.com - Armenian allegations - DASHNAK PARTY: TURKEY TORPEDOED TURKISH-ARMENIAN NORMALIZATION PROCESS

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ARF Urges End to Turkish-Armenia Dialogue, No Concessions on Karabakh



The poster for the Sept. 2 rally
YEREVAN (Yerkir)—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation called for an immediate end to the Turkish-Armenian dialogue and urged no concessions on Karabakh, in an announcement issued Tuesday by the party’s Supreme Council of Armenia.

“Given that the severe dangers of the current process of normalizing Armenia-Turkish relations have not waned, and in the wake of the upcoming soccer match, we demand an end to talks that only cater to Turkish interests,” said the ARF statement.

Pointing out that September 2 marked the anniversary of the declaration of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s independence, the ARF reminded in the statement that having emerged victorious in the war waged by Azerbaijan, Karabakh declared and defended its independence.

The statement underscored that in this climate of active resumption of talks, the Armenian nation must “preserve our victory and force [all] to respect the proof of Karabakh’s self-determination.”

The statement also said that forced concession must be rejected and Karabakh should be included in the negotiation process and a full party to the conflict.

The announcement also said that the Armenian people must not allow Turkey to meet its international obligations by forcing Armenia to make concessions.

Furthermore, it also reiterated its demand for the resignation of the Armenian foreign minister, as the person responsible for diplomatic failures.

Through the statement, the ARF also announced a political rally to be held on Sept. 2 in Yerevan to mark the anniversary and to address the pressing issues facing the Armenian people today.

ARF Urges End to Turkish-Armenia Dialogue, No Concessions on Karabakh | Asbarez News

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Dashnaks Again Slam Sarkisian On Turkey, Karabakh
The opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) rallied more than a thousand supporters in Yerevan on Wednesday to again condemn President Serzh Sarkisian’s policy on Turkey and warn him against signing a compromise peace deal with Azerbaijan.

Addressing the crowd that gathered in downtown Yerevan, Dashnaktsutyun leaders reiterated their rejection of the latest fence-mending agreement announced by the Armenian and Turkish governments. They claimed in particular that the Sarkisian administration has agreed to make additional concessions to Azerbaijan as part of the deal.

“No matter how much our and American officials insist that the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations is going on without preconditions, Turkey has not abandoned them after all,” said Vahan Hovannisian, a member of the nationalist party’s ruling Bureau. “Furthermore, it has skillfully managed to build the whole negotiating package around its preconditions.”



Armenia -- Vahan Hovannisian, a leader of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation, speaks at a party rally, 02Sep2009Hovannisian described as a “disgrace” the planned formation of a Turkish-Armenian body tasked with examining the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. He said the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement will also result in “unilateral” Armenian concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He did not specify what those concessions will be, however.

Dashnaktsutyun leaders again cautioned that despite their harsh criticism of the current Armenian leadership they are not demanding Sarkisian’s resignation yet. “As long as there is a possibility of preventing the signing of a final [Turkish-Armenian and Armenian-Azerbaijani] agreement and contributing to the success of that cause, such a demand can not be logical,” said Armen Rustamian, head of the party’s governing body in Armenia.

Rustamian added that Dashnaktsutyun, which pulled out of Armenia’s coalition government in April, will push for Sarkisian’s resignation if he signs up to the existing basic principles of Karabakh peace drafted by the U.S., Russian and French mediators. The latter hope that Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, will finalize a framework peace deal when they meet again next month.

Dashnaks Again Slam Sarkisian On Turkey, Karabakh - «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան © 2009

Vahan Hovhannisyan: Armenian-Turkish protocols unacceptable

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) has just finished a rally in Aznavour Square in Yerevan.

Among the speakers were Vahan Hovhannisyan, member of the ARF Bureau, Armen Rustamyan, member of the ARF Executive Council and Ara Nranyan, member of the ARF parliamentary faction.

Hovhannisyan pointed out that the ARF has never been against the reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border. However, the party can by no means agree to “the price the Armenian authorities are ready to pay” meeting Turkey’s preconditions. “We say ‘yes’ to the establishment of diplomatic relations without any preconditions. However, in their present form, the Protocols are unacceptable and must be revised,” Hovhannisyan stated with confidence. “After we left the coalition, the Foreign Minister and the Secretary of the Security Council stated that they did not understand the ARF, which was well informed of the document being drafted. We voiced our concern several months ago and are going to do so in the following weeks,” Hovhannisyan said.

Vahan Hovhannisyan: Armenian-Turkish protocols unacceptable | NEWS.am

ARF Warns of Dangers for Armenia and Karabakh


YEREVAN (Yerkir)—Calling it a retreat from generations of struggle and a disgrace, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, at a rally Wednesday, warned of the dangers emanating from the Armenia-Turkey normalization process as outlined by the protocols announced earlier this week. The rally was organized to mark the 18th anniversary of Karabakh’s independence.

Speaking to the thousands gathered at Yerevan’s Aznavour Square, ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovannesian expressed the unequivocal rejection by his party of the protocols for establishment and development of relations between Armenia and Turkey, which were announced on Monday.

He warned that the documents did not reflect the aspirations of Armenia and were guided by elements that, in the long run, would benefit Turkey and its interests in the region, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its aspirations for membership in the EU.

Hovannesian pointed out that the Armenian authorities have agreed to further concessions in a process that was supposed to have been advanced without any preconditions, as articulated on numerous occasions by Armenia’s leaders.

“No matter how extensively our and US officials contend that talks on Turkish-Armenian relations are proceeding without preconditions, Turkey has not abandoned them and has adeptly managed to construct the entire negotiations package around its preconditions,” said Hovannesian.

He outlined that the provisions of the protocols have weakened the process to attain international recognition for the Genocide and are effectively forcing the recognition of the anti-Armenian Kars Treaty, to which Armenia was not a signatory.

“We view as careless efforts by the Armenian President and Foreign Minister to seek a quick resolution through negotiations. Our people will pay a very high price for that,” warned Hovannesian, enumerating Turkey’s gains and Armenia’s losses since the announcement of the so-called “roadmap” agreement on the eve of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Hovannesian stressed that the ARF has never been against the reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border. However, he said the party can by no means agree to “the price the Armenian authorities are willing to pay” for meeting Turkey’s preconditions.

“We say ‘yes’ to the establishment of diplomatic relations without any preconditions. However, in their present form, the Protocols are unacceptable and must be revised,” Hovannesian stated.

The same sentiments were echoed by ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Armen Rustamian, who also discussed the party’s position on the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process.

He said that the current negotiations process are also pressuring Yerevan to agree to a hasty agreement, through which withdrawal of liberated territories surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is stipulated without security guarantees and the demand for determination of a new status, which goes counter to democratic norms, since Karabakh has already determined its status through popular vote.

ARF parliamentary bloc member Ara Nranyan also discussed Armenia’s domestic situation, outlining socio-economic reforms to strengthen Armenian society and national interests.

ARF Warns of Dangers for Armenia and Karabakh | Asbarez News

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ARF Western US Statement On Proposed Armenia-Turkey Protocols

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation of the Western United States comes before the Armenian nation to express its profound concerns on the so-called protocols for the normalization of bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The ARF, as one of the oldest Armenian national organizations outside the Armenian Church, has always advocated the establishment of not only diplomatic but friendly diplomatic relations between the Armenian and Turkish Republics. However, these relations cannot be based upon a capitulation of Armenian national rights arising from the Genocide committed against the Armenian nation that decimated its population, destroyed its cultural heritage and usurped its ancestral homeland.

First, the so-called “Protocols” provide for a clear surrender of Armenian national rights by recognizing the “inviolability of Turkish territory,” significant parts of which have a cloud over their lawful title. Included within this “territory” are large parts of modern Turkey that had been lawfully awarded to and recognized to be part of the Armenian Republic in 1920 and earlier. Much of that territory has been illegally taken from the Armenian nation through force, coercion and through the use of internationally condemned illegal and wrongful means.

Second, the clause referring to the parties agreeing to “refrain from pursuing any policy incompatible with the spirit of good neighborly relations,” is objectionable for its vagueness and hidden objectives. This clause will be interpreted by Turkey as meaning that Armenia will abandon its support for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and its lawful entitlement to territorial and compensatory reparations from Turkey. Conversely, it is the ARF’s view that this clause must explicitly require Turkey to immediately and forever cease its shameful and reprehensible campaign of denying the Armenian Genocide and at evading its obligations for reparations to the Armenian people.

Third, the “Protocols” pointedly stipulate that Armenia must agree to “implement a dialogue on the historical dimension… including an impartial scientific examination of historical records and archives to define existing problems…” This deceitful and most dangerous clause is a flagrant attempt to turn the obvious 94 year old political and legal controversy of the Armenian Genocide into an historical controversy. The fact of the Genocide has never been doubted by impartial historians and is reflected in the firsthand testimonies of not only its witnesses and its victims, but even in the testimony of its perpetrators dating back to post war Turkish tribunals and to the recent autobiographical revelations of Talaat Pasha’s own diary entries. Any agreement which entrusts political entities to re-undertake a “scientific examination” of the Genocide is a dangerous ploy, as well as an insult to the one and half million Armenian victims and to their survivors and progeny who have been dispossessed of their patrimony and their millennial old ancestral homeland. This, the Armenian nation cannot and will not accept.

Was it not only a year ago that the U.S. State Department, in a letter signed by Acting Assistant Secretary of State Matthew A. Reynolds, affirmed its official policy to then Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph Biden when it stated: “Our goal is to help archivists protect the evidence of the past so that future generations will have the documentation of the mass killings and deportation of Armenian committed by Ottoman soldiers and other Ottoman officials in 1915. Our goal is not to open a debate on whether the Ottomans committed these horrendous acts; it to to help preserve the documentation that supports the truth of those events…the Administration recognizes that the mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportations of over one and half million Armenians were conducted by the Ottoman Empire. We indeed hold Ottoman officials responsible for those crimes.”

We look to the Armenian government to take heed of the official public policy expressed by the United States government in July of 2008 and not be trapped, coerced or otherwise blackmailed into negating its own Genocide. History will not look favorably upon the authors of such a monumental disaster.

Once again we look forward to the establishment of good relations with Turkey, but those relations cannot be based on lies and upon coercion, but must begin with acknowledgment of the mistakes of the past and the proper measure of atonement to a create an honest atmosphere of true good faith if we are ever to get on with our children’s futures.

The Armenian government cannot and is not allowed to compromise the truth, to surrender our rights, and to endanger our national security.

ARF Western US Statement On Proposed Armenia-Turkey Protocols | Asbarez News

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Armenian authorities may commit gravest political blunder, ARF rep states



Mourad Papazian, Head of the West European Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) is concerned over the Armenia authorities’ approach to the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations and over the ensuring consequences.

"The Armenian Cause is endangered. The Armenian authorities will commit the gravest political blunder since Armenia declared independence if they agree to a compromise with Turkey. And they seen to be ready to all compromises to normalize relations with Turkey and get the Armenian-Turkish border reopened. They are ready to make concessions over the Armenian Genocide, Nagorno-Karabakh problem and Armenian people’s rights.

Papazian said that “alarming of the very fact that both the sates decided to form a commission to study the cases related to the 1915 events (slaughter of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey), which is an indisputable fact not only for Armenia, but also for dozens of other countries, as well as experts, which recognized the fact of Armenian Genocide. Now, this fact has been challenged, and even by the Armenian Government. This is a most serious blow on the Armenian Cause, and a serious victory of Turkish diplomacy.”

Papazian also stressed that “the Armenian Government, Foreign Minister, as well as the President, have no right to speak on behalf of the Armenian nation without knowing the Armenian people’s will. The Armenian Government’s decision is an instance of political irresponsibility, which is by no means legitimate. It is extremely important that the Armenian President organize a pan-Armenian dialogue with the participation of communities, major Armenian organizations and political parties, as a split between the Armenian authorities and the Diaspora is inevitable.”

Summing up, Papazian called for accepting the stance taken by the “true representatives of the Armenian people.” “It is inadmissible that Turkey is causing a split within the Armenian nation,” he said.

Armenian authorities may commit gravest political blunder, ARF rep states | News from Armenia - NEWS.am