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Around the World in Seven Days: Sargsyan on Diaspora Tour amid

simmering protest against his Turkey deal
By Sara Khojoyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Published: 02 October, 2009

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan embarked on a weeklong intercontinental
tour of major Diaspora centers late Thursday amid mounting protest among
those communities against his latest overtures to Turkey.

Deputy chief of presidential staff Vigen Sargsyan (no relation) said the
goal of the president’s “Pan-Armenian Tour” is to meet and listen to the
opinions and approaches of the Armenian Diaspora towards the ongoing process
of normalization between Yerevan and Ankara in the light of the initialed
protocols on diplomatic ties and bilateral relations that the two estranged
neighbors are expected to sign later this month.

President Sargsyan hopes his meeting with leading representatives of
Armenian communities abroad will allay longstanding concerns about several
key points of the protocols, in particular the provision on the
establishment of a Turkish-Armenian intergovernmental sub-commission to
study historical discrepancies that primarily include the 1915-1918 genocide
of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the clause that commits Armenia to
recognizing its existing border with Turkey. There is a lingering concern
among some Diaspora communities that these perceived concessions will cast
doubt on the fact of the Genocide of Armenians under Ottoman rule and will
preclude future claims to historical Armenian lands that are currently part
of modern Turkey.

“It is the first time the head of state goes on a supra-state, all-national
trip to all those major Armenian centers where the public opinion of the
Armenian Diaspora is formed,” said Sargsyan’s representative before his
departure.

Vigen Sargsyan presented details of the trip that will include stops in
French capital Paris, New York and Los Angeles in the United States, Beirut
(Lebanon) in the Middle East as well as Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia.

During the seven days of his tour Sargsyan is expected to cover a distance
of a total of 30,000 kilometers by plane, meet more than 400 people
representing 35 countries as well as representatives of 30 nationwide
organizations.

In all cities except Los Angeles, Sargsyan will spend less than 24 hours. In
California, which is a major center of the Armenian Diaspora, Sargsyan will
stay longer as besides meeting with local Diaspora representatives he will
also give a press conference for the local Armenian press and television.

In Los Angeles, where Sargsyan will be on October 4, a Gala Banquet in his
honor is planned at Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.

Shortly before Sargsyan set off on his journey, he received support from
North America’s leading Diaspora organizations, including the Armenian
General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Eastern and
Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Knights of Vartan.

Also, after discussions on the subject of Armenian-Turkish normalization in
the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin presided over by His Holiness Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Supreme Spiritual
Council on Wednesday issued a statement welcoming the process to establish
diplomatic ties and normalize relations “free of preconditions”.

Meanwhile, as Asparez.com reports, an action group called Stop the Protocols
Campaign has decided to hold a protest rally at this event, in the park
outside the hotel hosting Sargsyan in Los Angeles.

A large protest against the signing of the Armenia-Turkey protocols that
attracted thousands of local Armenians took place in Glendale, Los Angeles,
earlier this week, according to GlendaleNews Press.

The participants of that protest sang in Armenian “Not to Surrender to
Turkey” and scanned “Stand up and Fight till the End”.

Diaspora-based media also report that the traditional Armenian parties,
including the Social-Democratic Hunchakian Party, the Ramkavar-Azatakan
(Lib-Dem) Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF,
Dashnaktsutyun) are discussing the possibility of boycotting Sargsyan’s tour
and staging protests in front of the hotels where the Armenian president
will stay in Beirut, Paris and New York.

Meanwhile, the ARF, which opposes the protocols in their current form, has
stated that they will meet with Sargsyan during his tour as an opportunity
to get their message across and “offer the president a unique opportunity to
understand the concerns of the Armenian people.”

“Since our concerns are shared by those both inside and outside Armenia, and
by hearing those concerns, Serzh Sargsyan will be guided in the right
direction,” explained Giro Manoyan, director of the International
Secretariat of the ARF Bureau in Yerevan.

A representative of another political force in Yerevan opposed to the
current deal predicted that Sargsyan’s meetings in Diaspora communities will
carry an “even more imitational nature” than current “internal political
consultations” in Armenia.

The Heritage Party’s Stepan Safaryan, however, added: “There, Serzh Sargsyan
will earn various labels that we see in different [Diaspora] open letters
and publications.”

Violent protests in Paris greet Armenian president
Posted: Oct 2, 2009 05:57 PM
Updated: Oct 2, 2009 07:37 PM
By ANGELA CHARLTON
Associated Press Writer

PARIS (AP) - Armenia's president has started his tour of Armenian
communities worldwide amid violent protests from members of a diaspora angry
over plans to establish ties with Turkey.
French riot police are fighting back belligerent demonstrators in Paris. A
few dozen shouted "No!" and punched riot shields before a planned event
Friday with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian.
Police dragged several protesters away kicking and screaming. Sarkisian did
not show up.

The protesters are angry overthe reconciliation plans with Turkey despite
resolution of a dispute over the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire.
Armenians say the massacre was genocide. Turkey disputes this and says the
death toll is inflated.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.
AP's earlier story is below.
PARIS (AP) - Armenian President Serge Sarkisian kicked off a tour of
influential Armenian communities worldwide with talks in Paris on Friday, as
he seeks support for his landmark bid to establish ties with Turkey after a
century of enmity.

The killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire has been
the main barrier to reconciliation. Armenians in their poor, isolated
homeland are more eager to open up trade and other ties with Turkey than
many in the vast Armenian diaspora, most of whom are descendants of those
who escaped the slaughter.

Sarkisian had lunch in Paris with crooner Charles Aznavour, one of France's
most famous Armenians, before meeting with members of the vocal Armenian
community here, Sarkisian's spokesman Samvel Farmanian said.
The 1915 killings will be central to the talks, and Sarkisian is scheduled
to lay a wreath at a Paris monument to its victims. Armenians have long
fought to persuade other governments to consider it a genocide. Turkey
rejects the label and says the death toll is inflated.

In a surprise announcement last month, Turkey and Armenia said they planned
to establish diplomatic ties, putting aside hostility in favor of practical
concerns such as oil interests, Turkey's EU membership bid and relations
with Russia and the United States.

After Paris, Sarkisian continues what is dubbed a "pan-Armenian tour" with
visits to New York, Los Angeles, Beirut and Rostov-on-Don in Russia to
discuss a planned meeting Oct. 10 when the Turkish and Armenian foreign
ministers are expected to sign a deal to establish ties.

"What worries us are the terms of the accord, which make the genocide into
an abstraction," said Laurent Vartanian of the Collectif Van, a
French-Armenian association that encourages education about the killings.
Armenians abroad - estimated at 5.7 million - outnumber the 3.2 million
living in Armenia itself, the smallest of the ex-Soviet republics. The
largest communities are in Russia (2 million), the United States (1.4
million), Georgia (460,000) and France (450,000), according to government
data.

The question of whether the 1915 massacres constitute genocide will not be
resolved overnight despite the new ties. Another thorn is Armenia's
occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in neighboring Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan shares linguistic and cultural ties to Turkey and enjoys Turkey's
diplomatic support.
___
Associated Press Writer Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, contributed to
this report.

Paris Protestors Sound-Off on Protocols and President Sargsyan’s Snub
of Diaspora
HETQ [ 2009/10/03 | 12:15 ] important diaspora

Here are some of the people who participated in yesterday’s
demonstration in Paris to protest the Armenian-Turkish protocols and
RoA President Serzh Sargsyan, now on a tour of the diaspora to sell
the protocol package. Paris was the first stop for the president and
it turned out to be not the most auspicious of starts.

Diana Yesamanjian (ARF, Nor Seround)

We believe that these protocols aren’t good for Armenians. We do not
wish to forget our grandparents who were killed in the Genocide. They
are planning to create a committee to study if the Genocide took place
or not. The Genocide isn’t up for debate. We know that it happened.
There is no need to rewrite history. We don’t want the protocols to be
signed. They are a disgrace. The voice of the diaspora must also be
heard.

Mourat Papazian (Co-President ARF Western Europe)

We are against these protocols because they call the Genocide into
question as well as our territorial demands of Turkey. Artsakh is also
threatened by them. The president has gone ahead with these protocols
without first consulting with the diaspora. They are full of
preconditions. We are in favour of relations with Turkey but without
preconditions. This has always been the policy of Armenia diplomacy
even during the tenure of Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

Today, Turkey has put forth preconditions and the Armenian president
has accepted them. Those preconditions strike at the essence of the
Armenian spirit, Armenian history and the future of the nation. The
president has no right to make such a decision on his own. He should
have arranged consultations with the people long ago and not tried to
do it all in just a few days. Anyway, we hear that he will sign the
protocols on October 10.

I can state that if he does sign the protocols, the entire diaspora,
as one, will rise up and demand his resignation. That will be a first
in the annals of the diaspora. It will not bode well for relations
between Armenia and the spyurk. He is assuming a responsibility of
historical proportions and there is much inherent danger lurking
there.

Elian Kengousouzian

We are demanding that he not sign the protocols. He has no right to do
so without the agreement of the diaspora. We are the children of the
Genocide martyrs and the Genocide is not for sale. We are here in the
hopes that something can be done. He should have consulted with us
first. They don’t have the same problem in Armenia. We know that is
difficult for people there but it was also difficult for our parents
as well.

Silva Karakoulian

If the protocols are signed, the divide between the diaspora and
Armenia will only deepen. There is already misunderstanding. Fir
st let
me say that as a citizen of France, Mr. Sargsyan does not represent me
and doesn’t speak on my behalf. My government, France, already
recognized the Genocide a few years ago. He should not speak about
this point on my behalf. Let him talk on behalf of the republic but
not for Armenians in the diaspora. Thirty-three nations have
recognized the Genocide but now a new committee will be created to
study the issue?

Hourig Baghdasarian

I am very upset today. It is not that I am against the border opening
with Turkey. No, I am extremely opposed to all those points in the
protocols that the Armenian government will sign. It will hammer the
final nail into the coffin of the Genocide. The Turks closed the
border in the first place so why don’t they just open it. Yes open the
border, but do not get involved in the Genocide or the lands issue.
There are one and a half million souls looking down on us from heaven
and we haven’t yet given them a proper repose. So, let them open the
border, but not this way. There should be no preconditions. Otherwise,
we will have lost any hope of continuing on as Armenians.


European Armenian Federation: Serzh Sargsyan had to listen Diaspora's
voices long time ago
2009-09-25 17:30:00

ArmInfo. "In my opinion the President's step to meet Diaspora is a good
initiative but I think he's a little late, for he had to listen
Diaspora's voices long time ago", - President of the European Armenian
Federation of Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Hilda Tchoboian told
ArmInfo correspondent when commenting upon Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan's initiative to organize a Pan-Armenian tour.

According to her, the president should not wait the split created
between these two parts of the nation, and that's'what is happening
today. "On the contrary he had to prevent it. This tour of the Diaspora
should not be merely a PR operation, because in that case the crisis
would deepen.",- she said.

"As Turkish leaders announced every day that they had to take into
consideration Azerbaijani interests, and have their agreement at every
stage of the discussions with Armenia, our leaders had to declare and
do the same for the Armenians of Artzakh and Diaspora. Instead,
Armenia's leaders let Turkey to stigmatize the Diasporan Armenians as
extremists because they don't give up their rights",- Tchoboian said.

"This is a unique opportunity for MR Sargsyan to integrate Diaspora in
a global Armenian strategy for some vital issues regarding Armenia and
the Armenian nation",- she concluded and added that the representatives
of her organization are indeed planning to meet the president.

To recall, on October 1 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will start
his single-week Pan-Armenian. He will visit Paris, New York, Los
Angeles, Beirut and Rostov-on-Don to meet the Armenian communities and
familiarize himself with their opinion on Armenian-Turkish process.



RFE/RL Report

Erdogan Hopes Sarkisian Will Visit Turkey
U.S. -- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attends the United
Nations Security Council meeting during the UN General Assembly at UN
Headquarters in New York, 24Sep2009

25.09.2009
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed hope that President
Serzh Sarkisian will pay a landmark visit to Turkey next month and
said Ankara's fence-mending agreements with Yerevan could be submitted
to the Turkish parliament for ratification before that.

Sarkisian has been invited by his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul,
to watch with him the return match of the two countries' national
football teams in the Turkish city of Bursa on October 14. The two
presidents' presence at their first World Cup qualifying played in
Yerevan in September last year gave new impetus to the Turkish-
Armenian rapprochement.

`If the Turkish president can easily go to Armenia to watch a game,
then it should be just as easy and simple for the Armenian president
[to visit Turkey,]' Turkish media on Thursday quoted Erdogan as saying
in a speech at Princeton University in the United States said. `I
think asking for certain conditions to be met to decide to come is not
the right way forward in international politics anymore.'

Sarkisian has repeatedly stated that he will accept Gul's invitation
only if Turkey takes `real steps' to establish diplomatic relations
and open its border with Armenia. The August 31 publication of two
relevant draft protocols finalized by Ankara and Yerevan is thought to
have made his visit much more likely.

The trip would come just days after the anticipated signing of the
Turkish-Armenian protocols, most probably in a third country. Various
Turkish sources said last week that the signing ceremony has been
tentatively scheduled for October 11-13.

But Erdogan implied in his speech that the two sides could put pen to
paper on the Western-backed deal even before that. `If we don't see
prejudice or some domestic political considerations at play, I believe
the preparation for the agreement, which has been initialed between
Turkey and Armenia, could be taken to Parliament to be ratified,' he
said, according to `Today's Zaman' newspaper. `We hope to take those
steps by the 10th or 11th of next month.'

Erdogan did not specify whether his government will seek to push the
documents through Turkey's Grand National Assembly, in which his
ruling Justice and Development Party has a majority, if Armenia and
Azerbaijan fail to achieve a breakthrough in their peace talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh. Sarkisian and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev
are expected to a potentially decisive meeting on October 6.

The Turkish premier reportedly said late last week that the Turkish-
Armenian frontier will not be reopened until `Azerbaijan's occupied
territories are returned.' Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
swiftly criticized the remark, saying that it contradicts `the letter,
spirit and aims' of the Turkish-Armenian agreements.


Noyan Tapan

Adam Schiff: We cannot let Turkey edit history

WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Representatives of Armenian
Council of America (ACA) met with Congressman Adam Schiff. The
interlocutors discussed the latest developments on adoption of the
Armenian Genocide resolution, US-Armenia relations, Armenia-Turkey
relations, and the Obama administration's policies toward Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. The ACA representatives thanked and praised
Congressman Schiff for his support to the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and the sovereignty of Nagorno Karabakh. According to the
panarmenian.net, the congressman reaffirmed his position touching upon
the Armenian-Turkish relations.

"I welcome the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations and I hope that as a result of the negotiations the border
will be opened and diplomatic relations will be established between
Ankara and Yerevan. However meanwhile I have serious concerns about the
protocols of the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations," Adam
Schiff declared.

The American Congressman declared that he is deeply disappointed with
the fact that the protocols call for the creation of an historical
commission to review the events of 1915-23. "We cannot let Turkey edit
the history and it become the price of the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations," Adam Schiff said.

www.asbarez.com

Amb. Evans Calls Protocols `Flawed Document'
By Asbarez Staff on Sep 25th, 2009

WASHINGTON - Former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, during an
international webcast of an Armenian National Committee of America
town hall meeting Thursday, called the Armenia-Turkey protocols
`flawed.'

`This is a flawed document,' said Evans.

`I think that the impulse to try to get diplomatic relations started
and to get the border opened was a good impulse. In the execution
there may have been, and there certainly were some shoddy work,' added
Evans who prefaced his remarks by noting that he was speaking on his
own behalf and not as a representative of any government or
organization.

The 90-minute program, organized by the ANC of Greater Washington,
touched on many facets of the protocols on the establishment and
development of relations between Armenia and Turkey and featured Evans
as a speaker.

The retired diplomat, who was fired by the State Department for
speaking honestly and calling the events of 1915 Genocide, addressed a
broad range of legal and diplomatic concerns related to the
protocols. The full scope of his remarks, as well as the ANCA
presentation and question and answer session, are available on-line at
anca.org/townhall

www.asbarez.com

On Protocols, Authority and Resignations
By Ara Papian

on Sep 25th, 2009

A question has been raised a great deal lately, to which a clear
answer has not been given. Why is the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation demanding the resignation of the foreign minister, but does
not demand the resignation of the president? Although I am not a
member of the ARF, I shall try to answer this question, because it is
bad form, in principle, to leave questions raised by society
unanswered.

According to the current Constitution (Article 55, clause 7), the
president of the Republic of Armenia shall `... execute the general
guidance of the foreign policy ...'. That is to say, as the leader, he
has the prerogative of generally directing foreign policy, but not
carrying it out. As a part of the executive branch, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has, in turn, the prerogative of actually implementing
foreign policy. Moreover, the Foreign Ministry is bound to be lead by
the directives of this `general guidance' and take corresponding steps
only within the given directives. Officials of the Foreign Ministry do
not have the right to work outside presidential directives and
negotiate on other issues, much less take on additional liabilities in
the name of the country.

What is our current situation? The president of the country has on
many occasions stated explicitly in public the normalization of
relations with Turkey without preconditions as a prime directive of
foreign policy. The foreign minister has also publicly repeated the
president's position, emphasizing the main characteristic of the
policy being `without preconditions'. What is more, both the president
and the foreign minister have clarified more than once that
normalization in the current stage will essentially have two
directions: the establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey, and
the opening of the - so-called, as I like to put it - border between
Armenia and Turkey.

There are no concerns on the first point. Naturally, we have
expectations from Turkey, and therefore we must establish diplomatic
relations so that we negotiate our expectations or equivalent
reparations. There are some questions pertaining to the second
point. However, there are no disputes really. We shall open the border
and we shall see that our expectations are not coming through, and we
shall be disappointed.

Now let us look over the current two protocols and see how exactly
they correspond to the president's directive without preconditions. I
shall yet have the opportunity to discuss the said documents and to
reveal the more than ten unrelated liabilities in place, point by
point. Unrelated, because they do not have anything to do with
establishing diplomatic relations and to open the so-called border.

For now, let me bring up only one point, the presence of which
testifies as such to the dismissal of the policy directive and is
enough to render the entire document useless. The fifth clause of the
protocol on establishing diplomatic relations between the Republic of
Armenia and the Republic of Turkey says the following, word-for-word:
`Confirming the mutual recognition of the existing border between the
two countries as defined by the relevant treaties of international
law'.1

Putting aside in general the question of the relevance of such legal
treaties, let me simply stress that the aforementioned clause is well
beyond any precondition. This is a non-negotiable, sovereign duty of
the Republic of Armenia. That is to say, the parties have based the
establishment of diplomatic relations on `the mutual recognition of
the existing border'.

Clearly, the negotiators have acted ultra vires, that is to say, it is
evident that they have surpassed their own authority and ignored the
president's directive. In a word, the negotiators acted in an area
which fell outside their legal authority.

How to salvage the situation? Armenia must not ratify the signed
protocols, citing that they do not reflect the intent and essence of
the negotiations as they were announced from the very beginning. The
Republic of Armenia must reaffirm its willingness to establish
diplomatic relations with the Republic of Turkey without preconditions
and to open the crossing points at the frontier, signing brief and
pointed documents which consists solely of those clauses.

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