UK Embassy Bulletin, January 2007

Below are the text and illustrations from the January 2007 UK Armenian Embassy Bulletin. The Bulletin as published is available here.

BULLETIN
of the
EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
London

Bulletin # 1 (20) January 2007

• Ambassador Gabrielyan on AL Jazeera’s “Frost Over the World” program
• Minister Chshmarityan signs an agreement with Bill Gates
• Date of Parliamentary elections in Armenia decided

London, 26th January. Invited by Sir David Frost, Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan was hosted at the “Frost Over the World” program of the Al Jazeera (English) satellite TV channel. The interview-debate, focusing on the issue of the Armenian Genocide, was one of the public reactions to the assassination, on 19th January 2007, of Hrant Dink, the editor of the “Agos” Armenian-Turkish newspaper. Professor Turkaya Ataov, from the Ankara University, represented the Turkish viewpoint.

In response to Sir Frost’s opening statement, that after Hrant Dink’s assassination the issue of the Armenian Genocide has resurfaced, Ambassador Gabrielyan stressed that it has always been at the forefront and has never been off the agenda. Speaking of the veracity of the massacres, he said that he was not going to debate the fact and reiterated the Armenian position that whether the Genocide happened or not was not subject to any discussion, and it has been proven by a wealth of factual historical evidence. He pointed that for Armenians the Genocide was not a theoretical issue in the remote past in a distant country: there is hardly a family either in the Republic of Armenia or in the Armenian Diaspora that has been untouched. Refuting the Turkish professor, the Ambassador insisted that the intent of the Ottoman Turkish Government to perpetrate the elimination of Armenians was a proven fact, even by evidence from Turkish historians. He drew attention to the fact that in 1919-1920 the post-war Turkish Government set up special tribunals to bring to justice the organisers of the Genocide and that these Turkish courts sentenced many of the perpetrators and implementers either to death or to other forms of punishment; a very significant fact often overlooked today.

To the question whether the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey must be a precondition for its accession to the EU, Ambassador Gabrielyan responded that Armenia, not being a member of the European Union, is not in the capacity to set preconditions for anyone’s accession. However, he mentioned, the Copenhagen Criteria clearly require from member/candidate states to be in good relations with all their neighbours, to resolve all existing problems with them, and to improve minority rights within their countries: all these suggest the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey. In fact, several EU member countries have
already raised the issue and Armenia does indeed expect an appropriate stance by the EU in this regard. Pointing out that he did not agree with all what Dink said, the Turkish historian said he was sorry for Dink’s murder, but denied the fact of the Genocide. He said no intent was present and everything supporting this view could be found in the Turkish archives.

Edinburgh, 30th January. An official delegation from Armenia, headed by Mr. Karen Chshmarityan, Minister for Trade and Economic Development, and including Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan, participated in the “Microsoft Government Leaders Forum”. During a meeting with Bill Gates, the President of Microsoft Corporation, an Agreement on Cooperation was signed between the Armenian Government and the Microsoft Corporation.

Minister Chshmarityan and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates sign the Agreement (left)
Bill Gates is interested in spiritual values of Armenia (right)

Among other things, the agreement stipulates the creation of a Microsoft Innovative Centre in Armenia, and the Armenian Government gains the opportunity to participate in the “IT Academy Programme”, which allows participating schools and universities to have specialist training by using the latest Microsoft technologies.

The Agreement is successfully signed

Yerevan. January 29th. President Robert Kocharyan signed a degree assigning May 12, 2007 as the day for elections of the next National Assembly of Armenia.

Armenian Embassy
25A Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG
Tel.: 0207 938 5435
Fax: 0207 938 2595
E-mail: armemb@armenianembassyuk.com consular@armenianembassyuk.com