First European Armenian Convention

[Armen]

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION

for Justice and Democracy

Avenue de la Renaissance 10

B - 1000 BRUSSELS

Tel. +32 (0)2 732 70 26

Tel. /Fax. +32 (0)2 732 70 27

E-mail: contact@eafjd.org

Website: www.eafjd.org

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

For Immediate Release

Contact: Talline Tachdjian

Tel. +32 (0)2 732 70 26

October 18th, 2004

 

 

FIRST EUROPEAN ARMENIAN CONVENTION ATTRACTS HUNDREDS

 

-- FEATURES LEADING EUROPEAN UNION EXPERTS

 

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (18 October 2004) - In a landmark event that brought over

two hundred and fifty Armenian advocacy leaders from more than fifteen

European nations, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy

(EAFJD) today held the opening day of the first ever Convention of European

Armenians in the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.

 

The Convention, which is taking place at a critical time for the more than

two million Armenians living in the European Union, provided a forum for

scholarly discussion, rigorous debate, and consensus-building on the role of

Armenian culture and identify within the Europe, the implications of

Turkey's candidacy for the European Union, and the expansion of the EU's

"neighbourhood" to include the countries of the Caucasus. Today's program,

which included the first two of the Convention's sessions, featured

presentations by senior European policy-makers, intellectuals, and community

leaders. Each presentation, which was simultaneously translated in the

French, English, and Armenian, was followed by a question and answer

session. The day's events ended with a reception in the European Parliament

building.

 

 

WELCOMING REMARKS

 

The Convention opened with remarks from Francis Wurtz, (MEP -European United

Left), the Chairman of the European Parliament host committee for this

program. His remarks were followed by Ruben Shugarian, the Deputy Foreign

Minister of the Republic of Armenia, whose responsibilities include Armenian

diplomacy toward Europe and the Western Hemisphere. A welcoming speech was

made by EAFJD Chairperson Hilda Tchoboian, who followed her remarks by

inviting Toros Sagherian, the Chairman of the Forum of Armenian Associations

of Europe, to offer his thoughts to those in attendance. Messages of

support were read from the H.H. Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians,

H.H. Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House Cilicia, and His Beatitude Nerses

Bedros, XIXth Patriach of Armenians Catholics.

 

 

ARMENIAN CULTURE ET IDENTY IN EUROPE

 

The first session covered the issue of "Armenian Culture and Identity in

Europe," a topic of pressing concern to community leaders committed to

seeing the Armenian contribution to Europe fully recognized and appreciated.

The four member panel was chaired by Alexis Govciyan, the Chairman of

"Europe de la Memoire." The discussion started with a presentation, titled

"The European Linguistic Policy: Commission's Planning 2004-2006," by

Jacques Delmoly, the Head of the Language Policy Unit in the European

Commission's Directorate General. He stressed the importance the Commission

places on promoting a favourable climate for the learning of languages based

on a policy of linguistic diversity in an environment of integration. He

spent considerable time, both in his presentation and during questions and

answers, explaining the role of the Armenian language - which he cited as an

official European minority language - within this system of language

education.

 

Delmoly's official perspective on Armenian language education was followed

by Haroutioun Kurkjian, an Athens-based author of Armenian language text

books. After reviewing the context in which the Armenian community has

evolved within Europe, Kurkjian, in his presentation on "The Armenian

Culture and the European Union," stressed the need for the European Union to

create a favourable environment for multiculturalism, one that is conducive

for the development of Armenian language and culture. He noted his

dissatisfaction with the failure of schools and the media to sufficiently

propagate the Armenian language, and called for the European Armenian

community to undertake the gradual "cultural rearming" of the Armenian

diaspora.

 

The third speaker on the first panel was Prof. Mihran Dabag, the Director of

the Institute of Diasporas and Genocide at Bochum University in Germany.

His comments, titled "The Armenian Experience in the Context of European

Policies of Remembrance," examined European attitudes and policies dealing

with the Armenian Genocide and other aspects of Armenian history within the

context of traditional and modern European models of remembrance. He noted

that Europe's remembrance has not normally been understood as including the

Armenian Genocide, despite the fact that this crime falls well within the

European experience on a number of fronts. The Armenian Genocide should be

recognized as part of European history, he argued, not simply as an element

of the Turkish-Armenian relationship. Prof. Dabag cited the new Turkish

Penal Code, which criminalizes discussion of the Armenian Genocide, as a

prime example of Turkey's refusal to come to terms with this matter.

Europe, he said, needs to provide a political answer to the political issue

of Turkey's genocide of the Armenian nation. Moving beyond the Genocide

issue, he stressed that the Armenian community must make concerted efforts

to create a framework that will ensure that Armenian literature is accepted

by Europeans as part of their own tradition.

 

The final speaker in the first panel was Jules Mardirossian, Chairman of the

Armenian Studies, Information and Documentation Center in France. The

comments by this long-time intellectual and community leader, were on the

theme of "New Identities, Political Challenges and the Issue of Transfer of

Culture." In his presentation, Mardirossian explored the transformation of

individual and collective identity and values of Armenians in Europe.

Starting with a theoretical discussion of the nature of identity, he then

described the reality of the post-modern, traditional, and transitional

models of Armenian community identity today. Mardirossian ended his

sweeping review of the identity challenges and opportunities facing the

Armenians of Europe with the insight that culture without politics cannot

survive, while politics without culture is sterile.

 

Questions for the first panel included requests for additional insights into

how to secure EU funding for Armenian language education, the potential loss

of the Melkonian School as a center of Diasporan education, and the broader

neglect of identity building outside of Armenia. A spirited exchange on

these issues lasted an hour, and was only adjourned to make time for the

group to break for lunch.

 

 

EU-ARMENIA RELATIONS

 

The second session, chaired by EAFJD Executive Director Laurent Leylekian,

moved the focus of discussion from Armenian identity within the Europe to

the EU's relations with Armenia. This topic began with insights from

Marie-Anne Isler-Beguin, MEP, the Chairwoman of the EU-South Caucasus

delegation. As the point person in the European Parliament on engagement

with Armenia and its Caucasus neighbours, Isler-Beguin began by noting the

EU's concern about the Armenian Cause, and stressing her appreciation of the

fact that the concerns raised by Armenians about Turkey's candidacy are

founded in fact. While noting that the EU should use its leverage over

Turkey's entry to bring an end to the blockade of Armenia, she added that

she believed that, in time, Turkey would accept its past and mutual

interests would prevail over mutual hostility. On the topic of EU-Armenia

relations, Isler-Begiun stated that European institutions would welcome

progress by the Caucasus countries toward the EU family. She specifically

expressed encouragement about Armenia's acceptance into the EU's new

neighbourhood program, the values that the EU and Armenia share, and the

prospect for continued cooperation between Europe and Armenia on specific

projects.

 

The second speaker, Vicken Tchitetchian, serves as Armenia's Ambassador to

the European Union. He provided an in-depth review of the current status

and future prospects for expanded EU-Armenia relations. He pointed out that

European integration was not being imposed from the outside, but rather

sought by the Armenian government, which is moving this process forward in a

realistic and practical manner. Amb. Tchitetchian stressed that Armenia has

made progress in its key areas of reform, despite the fact that its

neighbour to the West has sought, using the last closed border in Europe, to

hinder its progress at every turn.

 

Also presenting as part of the second panel was Vahan Zanoyan, the CEO of

the Petroleum Finance Corporation and a world-renowned expert on

international energy issues. Zanoyan reviewed the history and current

status of the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan pipeline and its implications for Armenia.

He focused on two pressing challenges for backers of the pipeline, namely

financing, which has largely been resolved via multilateral agencies, and

the sufficiency of oil throughput for the line's viability, which remains an

open question. He then spent considerable time offering his insights on the

geopolitics of the pipeline and its impact on Armenia and the region.

 

Richard Tibbels, the Armenian Desk Officer of the European Commission's

Directorate General, offered a presentation on "EU-Armenia relations:

Challenges and Opportunities." Tibbels, who works on a daily basis with the

Armenian government, stressed that Armenia has made considerable progress

across a number of reform areas - including alignment with European legal

standards, membership in the World Trade Organization, and in its poverty

reduction efforts. He also pointed out areas for improvement, including the

conduct of the 2003 presidential elections, respect for human rights, and

the need to address income disparity and corruption as the economy grows

stronger. The neighbourhood program is not a gateway to prospective EU

membership, but nor does it, he explained, in any way close the door to

future participation in the European Union. Tibbels closed by noting the

critical role that Europe's Armenian community plays in bringing the EU and

Armenia closer together.

 

The next presentation began with an announcement by Amb. Tchitetchian that

the speaker - Demetrio Volcic - had been awarded the "Mkhitar Gosh" award in

recognition of his support for the rule of law and the virtue of justice.

Volcic, a former member of the European Parliament, noted that the EU has

adopted a new pattern of thinking about areas on its borders. The EU, he

said, can no longer afford to ignore the Caucasus region, and should devote

increasing attention to Turkey's policies toward Armenia.

 

Volcic was followed by Armand Sarian, a noted economist from France, who

spoke on the topic of "Economic Relations between Armenia and the EU."

Sarian began by noting the economic importance of this relationship, on

issues ranging from investment to foreign aid. He stressed the progress

Armenia has made on economic issues, despite its lack of resources, the near

total orientation of its economy to Soviet markets, the 1988 earthquake, and

the ongoing Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades. He underscored the need to

continue Armenia's growth, to foster the conditions for peace, and to make

Armenia increasingly attractive to outside investors.

 

The final speaker of the day was Prof. Otto Luchterhandt, who teaches

International Law at the University of Hamburg. In his remarks, he outlined

a compelling historical and legal case for Nagorno Karabagh's right to

self-determination. In addition, he sharply criticized the EU's

inconsistency in identifying serious shortcoming in Turkey's willingness to

meet clear European standards, while still recommending that Turkey begin

talks toward eventual membership. He stated his strong opposition to any

actions by the EU that position it as a neutral party in the matter of the

Armenian Genocide. The proper role for the EU, he argued, is in the morally

correct position of pressing Turkey to come to terms with this crime.

 

During the discussion period after this presentation, Deputy Foreign

Minister Shugarian repeated a point he had made several weeks earlier that

Turkey's recognition of the Armenian Genocide represents a security issue

for the Republic of Armenia. Other topics raised in questions included

whether the EU was fully using its leverage to press Turkey to meet

international norms domestically and in its conduct with neighbouring

states. Other issues for discussion included Armenia's economic integration

with Europe and the need for a differentiated EU approach to the Caucasus

countries based on the merits of their respective progress in economic and

political reforms.

 

Additional news about the second day of the Convention will be forthcoming.

The EAFJD represents more than 300 Armenian organizations in Europe.

[Boghos]

This is very interesting. I didn´t know among other things that Bochum University had an Institute of Diasporas and Genocide. I sense that Armenians in Europe have in the past few years getting much better organized. Armenians in Europe tended to behave much more like the French Armenians, in a very summarized manner: more cultural than political.