Sargisian Urges Turkey to 'Repent'
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DECEMBER 17, 2011 MirTHE rARoMENr IAN -Spe ctator Volume LXXXII, NO. 23, Issue 4217 $ 2.00 NEWS IN BRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Istanbul Court Gets Phone Records in Sargisian Urges Turkey to ‘Repent’ Hrant Dink Case MARSEILLE, France (RFE/RL) — ISTANBUL (ArmRadio.am) — An Istanbul court President Serge Sargisian has urged finally received the phone records requested from Turkey to “repent” for the World War I- Turkey’s Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) in era genocide of Armenians in the the case of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian jour - Ottoman Empire and expressed confi - nalist assassinated in 2007, Hurriyet Daily News dence that Ankara will eventually recog - reports. nize them as genocide. The TIB had initially refused to comply with the “We believe that Turkey must repent,” court’s request, claiming the demand would he said during a visit to Marseille late on amount to a “violation of privacy.” In recent Wednesday. months, the TIB had continued dragging its feet by advancing other objections to the request to release the phone records relevant to the case. The TIB finally agreed to the court’s request and sent the records last week. Dink was the chief editor for the weekly Agos , a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian. He was shot in front of his office in January 2007. Gunman Ogun Samast was sentenced to 22 years FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT ’S SPEECH in prison last month for the murder. Below is the full text of President Serge Sargisian’s speech in Marseille: Turkey Alarmed by I thank the mayor of Marseille and a great friend of the Armenian people, Jean- Claude Gaudin, for this warm reception and a wonderful gathering. Moreover, I am French Genocide Bill also thankful to him for his undying devotion to the Armenian people and Armenian YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The new bill on penal - cause. izing the denial of the Armenian Genocide will be During each visit to the Armenian communities abroad, I am overwhelmed with discussed at the French Senate on December 19. pride because I see the measure of success that our compatriots have achieved. The bill envisages one year of imprisonment and a Marseille truly has a special role not only in the history of the Armenian Diaspora 45,000 euro fine in case of denial of the Armenian but also in the history of the Armenian nation. One of the greatest seaports of the Genocide in the territory of France. Mediterranean, Marseille had accepted the exiles, the people who had gone through Nor Haratch newspaper writes that the Foreign human provisions but had not lost their faith in humanity and creation. Ministry of Turkey has sent a written statement to President Serge Sargisian address leaders see SPEECH, page 3 France urging not to make “an irreversible mis - and members of the Armenian community in take” by ratifying the bill penalizing the denial of Marseille, France. the Armenian Genocide. approaches to the Armenian Genocide,” speech, starting above.) On December 7 the Committee of Laws of the French Senate unanimously adopted the bill pre - “That is neither a precondition nor a he added, speaking at an official recep - “Sooner or later Turkey, which consid - sented by the UMP party and its advocates October desire to exact revenge. Turkey must tion organized in his honor by Marseille’s ers itself a European country, will have a 21. come face to face with its history,” he Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin and attended truly European leadership that will bow said. “One day Turkey’s leadership will by prominent members of the local its head at the Tsitsernakabert [genocide find the strength to reassess its Armenian community. (See full text of see FRANCE, page 3 Aznavour Shares Concerns about Lebanon, Armenia Armenia Sign New Bilateral MOSCOW (ArmeniaNow) — French-Armenian singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour performed at a concert in the Kremlin on December 12. The Agreements 87-year-old was visiting Moscow as part of his BEIRUT (The Daily Star) — Lebanese offi - farewell “Aznavour Toujours” world tour before he cials signed agreements with their leaves the stage for good. Armenian counterparts in Yerevan Friday Aznavour took the occasion to lash out at condi - in an effort to bolster ties between the two tions in Armenia. He said, “My country is now fac - countries. ing an internal genocide. I consider it to be politi - Ministers from both countries signed cally unacceptable. Not letting Armenia breathe, cooperation agreements in the fields of the government is depriving its own country of the education, environment, industry and young, making them leave. And in that respect, the tourism following a wide-ranging meeting issue has stopped being only political, it has between President Michel Sleiman and become universal. It has to be solved.” President Serge Sargisian at the President Serge Sargisian, left, with Pope Benedict XVI Presidential Palace in the Armenian capital. An official delegation of members of parlia - ment and ministers headed by Sleiman began INSI DE a three-day visit to Armenia Wednesday and Pope Meets Sargisian, Hails ‘Good returned to Beirut this weekend. “I held a lengthy discussion with President Relations’ with Armenia Serge Sargisian and we discussed the means Roubian to strengthen the relations between our ROME (RFE/RL) — Pope Benedict XVI met with President Serge Sargisian on see LEBANON, page 3 Honored Monday to discuss ways of deepening what the Vatican described as “good rela - tions” existing between the Roman Catholic Church and Armenia. Sargisian also had a separate meeting at the Vatican with Secretary of State page 10 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and visited the Armenian Catholic church of St. Nicholas in Rome during a working trip to Italy and the Holy See. “In the course of the cordial discussions, and having expressed great pleasure at the good relations that exist between the Holy See and the Republic of Armenia, the parties exchanged views on the role that the Armenian Apostolic Church and the INDEX Catholic Church play in society, and the contribution they both make to the common Arts and Living . 14 good,” the official Vatican Information Service said in a statement. Armenia . 2-4 “Attention also turned to the importance of the country’s Christian heritage, Community News. 6 and of the commitment to educating the new generations in fundamental values,” Editorial . 17 read the statement. President Michel Sleiman, left, and President International . 5 see POPE, page 2 Serge Sargisian ( photo) Daily Star 2 S ATURDAY , D ECEMBER 17, 2011 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia US Ambassador to Armenia Meets with Armenian Assembly Chair, Country Director Armenia Has Received YEREVAN — Newly-appointed US $51 Million in Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern recently met with Armenian Assembly Humanitarian Aid in of America Board of Trustees 2011 Chairman Hirair Hovnanian and Country Director Armina Darbinian YEREVAN (Vestnik Kavkaza) — From January until at the Assembly’s Yerevan office. October 2011, Armenia received 3,858.3 tons of In a broad-ranging discussion, goods totaling $ 51.1 million in humanitarian aid, Hovnanian underscored with the News-Armenia quotes the National Statistical ambassador the need for ongoing US Services as saying. support for Armenia and Artsakh and Of that amount, 39.5 percent of the aid arrived focused in particular on the impor - from the US, China sent 22.1 percent, Switzerland tance of economic development. 6.2 percent and France 3.8 percent. The CIS coun- Reviewing the positive and deepening tries provided 4.3 percent of humanitarian aid in US-Armenia relations, Hovnanian also 2011, including 2.6 percent from Russia. expressed his concern about Turkey’s decades-long blockade and its failure Assembly Country Director Armina Darbinian, US Ambassador John Heffern to live up to its commitment and and Assembly Chairman Hirair Hovnanian Russia and Armenia to establish normal relations with Honor Each Other’s Armenia as envisioned in the Protocols signed between Armenia National Institute, dedicated to the affir - Hirair Hovnanian. “This is critically Literature and Turkey in October of 2009. mation of the Armenian Genocide. important for the betterment of all Hovnanian and Darbinian also con - “I very much appreciate the ambas - Armenians.” YEREVAN (Vestnik Kavkaza) — The Armenian veyed the importance that Armenia and sador’s readiness to work with the Darbinian expressed her confi - Writers’ Union held a meeting here with its chair- the Armenian-American community Armenian Assembly and other like- dence that “Ambassador Heffern will man, Levon Ananyan, and editor-in-chief of the attach to US affirmation of the minded organizations, especially his greatly contribute to strengthening Literature of Armenia magazine, Albert Armenian Genocide. As part of his per - receptivity for ways in which America relations between Armenia and the Nalbandian, with a representative of the Russian sonal commitment to this objective, in can assist Armenia’s economic devel - United States through mutual coop - Federal Agency for the CIS and Compatriots Living 1996, Hovnanian founded the Armenian opment,” stated Assembly Chairman eration in all important spheres.” Abroad, Victor Krivopuskov, the Russian ambas- sador to Armenia’s advisor, News Armenia reports. The participants looked back on achievements in 2011, including the fourth Russian Literature Festival in Armenia in October, in which more than US-Armenian Businessman Arrested for Tax Fraud half a million people were involved. They talked about prospects for cooperation in 2012 and YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A US busi - State Revenue Committee (SRC). The stated that if the Administrative Court agreed on Russia hosting the Decade of Armenian nessman of Armenian descent and two SRC’s investigative department ques - rules that the tax liabilities attributed Literature and Armenia hosting the fifth Festival of of his local employees were arrested tioned them as witnesses until recently.