European Parliament hosts public hearings on Azerbaijani Laundromat

November 28, 2017 By administrator

The European Parliament hosted on Tuesday public hearings in connection with the “Azerbaijani Laundromat” investigation of the international journalist.

The hearings organized by PANA committee – a committee on combating money laundering and tax evasion – were attended by members of the European parliament, journalists involved in investigation and human rights defenders.

Speaking during the hearings, member of the European Parliament Anna Gomes said the Azerbaijani regime has been doing reputation laundering which also reached the European Parliament. The result was the notorious election observation report of the European Parliament.

Head of Transparency International Carl Dolan added that corruption is systematically exported by the Azerbaijani authorities and undermines democracy in Europe.

Journalist of the Danish Berlingske newspaper Eva Jung noted that they had presented a list of European politicians who had been receiving money from Azerbaijan. She said they would keep an eye on the Azerbaijani Laundromat and would try to find out more. There are still many politicians and renowned figures having ties to the Azerbaijani money laundering case, but they had not been identified yet. The journalists of the Danish newspaper said that what had been discovered in the case is only tip of the iceberg.

“Genocide after Genocide” exhibition to be displayed at the European Parliament

July 17, 2015 By administrator

By Siranush Ghazanchyan,

An exhibition titled “Genocide after Genocide” opened today at the Union of Architects of Armenia. Thirty-two posters in Armenian and English present the monuments of Western Armenia destroyed by Turkish authorities.

The exhibition was previously displayed in Stepanakert, Ijevan and Vanadzor. This fall it will be taken to Brussels and will be on display at the European Parliament. It will later move to other European cities, including Lyon and Amsterdam.

Samvel Karapetyan, President of the Research on Armenian Architecture Fund, said at the opening ceremony that the initiative aims to show what has been happening in our historic homeland ever since 1915. According to him, the current generations must be informed about our cultural legacy. “If the monuments are endangered, we have a duty to keep the public informed about the cultural genocide,” he said.

Source: armradio.am

EP’s Lambsdorff: Fair elections no longer possible in Turkey

June 4, 2015 By administrator

Turkey rapporteur for the ALDE Group Alexander Graf Lambsdorff. (Photo: Cihan)

A senior member of the European Parliament (EP) and Turkey rapporteur for the ALDE Group, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, has said it is no longer possible to hold fair elections in Turkey following threats recently made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the Turkish press.

Releasing a press statement on Thursday, Lambsdorff stated: “President Erdoğan’s constant threats against journalists and publishers show that either he does not understand democratic principles, or that he consciously disregards them. Ahead of [June 7 parliamentary] elections on Sunday, the state of democracy in Turkey is deplorable.”

He further added: “Even if the ballot itself will most likely be free, it won’t be fair, considering the intimidation against any critical press. It’s not just newspapers such as Zaman and Cumhuriyet, whose editor-in-chief has been threatened with a life sentence, who have been targeted, but also the publishing group Doğan, to whom Hürriyet belongs.”

Recalling that the European Parliament criticized the impairment of the press and freedom of expression in Turkey in January this year, Lambsdorff warned that things have since deteriorated. Lambsdorff also called on Erdoğan to cease his polarizing and confrontational rhetoric, especially since he is supposed to exercise a non-partisan, neutral role as a president according to the Turkish Constitution.

EU: Parliament set to vote on resolution to commemorate 1915 events as ‘genocide’

April 14, 2015 By administrator

Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on March 11. (Photo: Reuters)

Following Pope Francis‘ remarks characterizing the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as “the first genocide of the 20th century,” the European Parliament is set to vote during its plenary session on Wednesday on a resolution to officially commemorate the centennial anniversary of the “Armenian genocide,” in a move that would be perceived by Turkey as another slap in the face.

European parliamentarians in Brussels will debate the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule in 1915 and then vote on a resolution to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragic events.

On Sunday, the pope uttered the word “genocide” to describe the 1915 events during Mass, prompting a strong reaction in Turkey.

Last week Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç told reporters that Turkey feels the European Parliament’s decision to vote on the Armenian resolution recognizing the 1915 events as “genocide” is wrong. Bilgiç said, “We are taking the necessary steps,” but did not elaborate.

It is widely expected that the European Parliament will adopt the resolution. The European Parliament’s annual human rights and democracy report last month called on EU member states to legally acknowledge the Armenian “genocide.”

An increasing number of EU members and national parliaments recognize the resolution, which states, “The year 2015 marks the centennial of the Armenian genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire.” It also points out that Turkey and Armenia have embarked on a process of diplomatic normalization by signing protocols in 2009 in Zurich, stressing that “the importance of keeping alive the memories of the past is paramount, since there can be no reconciliation without the truth and remembrance.”

The resolution pays tribute to the “memory of the one-and-a-half million innocent Armenian victims who perished in the Ottoman Empire,” and calls on the European Commission and European Council to join the commemoration. It also condemns all crimes against humanity and genocide and strongly deplores any attempts at denying such crimes.

The European Parliament resolution also asks for the establishment of an “International Remembrance Day for Genocides” and stresses that the timely prevention and effective punishment of genocide and crimes against humanity should be among the main priorities of the international community and the EU.

“Genocide is genocide. It happened. We can understand Turkey is very sensitive. We, as Europe, struggle for human rights, human dignity as part of our priorities. We do not do these things in the name of being against Turkey. We have taken the same approach and applied it to self criticism. This is our history. Thousands of Armenians have been killed and this is part of our human history. There is no benefit to deny the Armenian genocide,” Tajani was quoted as saying.

source: zaman

European Parliament calls on Turkey to ‘stop provocations’ in Cyprus

November 13, 2014 By administrator

BRUSSELS

The European Parliament has condemned Turkey’s “maritime survey” activities in a resolution approved on Nov. 13, saying they encroach on Greek Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and “its sovereign right to explore the natural resources within it.” The text also called on Turkey to stop its “provocative actions” and “threats” against Greek Cyprus.

Turkey’s maritime surveys “must be seen as both illegal and provocative,” the European Parliament motion said, stressing that they constituted a violation of the sovereign rights of Greek Cyprus and of international law. It said Turkey should immediately withdraw its vessels operating in and around Greek Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.

“[Turkey’s] actions and threats undermine the continuation of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem,” MEPs added, warning that their continuation “could have a negative impact on Turkey’s relations with the EU.”

“Any gas finds would benefit both communities in Cyprus if a lasting, political solution can be found to end the conflict,” notes the text.

However, Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkır said on Nov. 13 that Ankara will “not accept” the European Parliament’s decision on the resolution.

“It has no validity for us,” said EU Minister Volkan Bozkır, in reference to the draft resolution, during a meeting with Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade in Ankara.

“Although Turkey is respectful of the European Parliament’s decision, this draft resolution is likely to end up like many other resolutions,” he added, implying that it will have little or no consequences.

His statement came soon before the European Parliament’s vote on a resolution on tensions between Turkey and the Greek Cypriot administration, and on oil and gas exploration in the island’s waters. The draft resolution demanded that Turkish vessels operating in waters in and around what the Greek Cypriot administration and the EU deem to be an “exclusive economic zone” be withdrawn immediately.

Negotiations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots resumed after a two-year pause in February 2013. The previous round of talks had collapsed partly because of the Eurozone debt crisis’s impact on the government in the Greek Cypriot administration’s capital of Nicosia.

The Greek Cypriot administration suspended the most recent talks on Oct. 7 after Turkey sent a ship to monitor an oil and gas exploration mission off the island’s coast.

Turkey and the the Turkish Cypriots have strongly opposed any unilateral move by the Greek Cypriot administration to explore hydrocarbon resources around the island, saying its natural resources should be exploited in a fair manner by a united Cyprus.

November/13/2014

PHOTO GALLERY

European Parliament condemns Kessab attack

April 18, 2014 By administrator

April 18, 2014 – 13:04 AMT

European Parliament, in its last plenary session on Thursday, April 17 ahead of the May elections, adopted a resolution on Syria, expressing its concern over the latest developments in the country, especially with the situation in Kessab, and vulnerable communities who find themselves in the middle of the war.

The resolution specifically condemns the attack against the Armenian town of Kessab, and takes note that “the fights between regime forces and rebel fighters, including elements linked to Al-Qaeda, at the end of March 2014 led to the evacuation of the vast majority of the population of Kassab, an Armenian town on the Syrian-Turkish border.”

The resolution also takes note of the rich diversity of ethnic and religious communities, stressing that these communities have always been part of Syrian society, and have an important role to play in the democratization of Syria and need to be represented in any consultation on the country’s future and in any reconciliation process; and that these communities had tried to avoid taking sides in the conflict, and as many may recognize the need for a change of regime in Syria, but also fear that, if the government is overthrown, they will be targeted by Sunni jihadist rebels calling for the establishment of an Islamic state. The European Parliament is also worried with the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front capturing a number of Christian and Kurdish villages on the Turkish border.

Bastiaan Belder (Europe of Freedom and Democracy, the Netherlands) stressed that the resolution will not be full, unless it mentions the whole truth about Kessab, about Turkish involvement once again, after the Armenian Genocide, in depopulating the Armenians of the region. Member of the European Parliament Belder also noted that there must be an investigation on Turkey’s role in the attack against Kessab, which is a continuation of Ankara’s disastrous Middle East policy. Veronique De Keyser (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, vice-chair, Belgium) condemned the displacement of Armenians from Kessab by terrorist groups.

Joaquin Almunia, Vice-president of the EU Commission, is troubled with the jihadist attack on Kessab and the extremely violent civil war in Syria, stressing that the EU will be helping the vulnerable groups and those displaced in the three years of the Syrian conflict.

Kaspar Karampetian, President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (ANC of Europe) stressed that the resolution has been soft on Turkey, which opened its borders with Kessab assisting the jihadists to attack the region, but nevertheless, puts the blame on Turkey for the border attacks on Christian and Kurdish cities and hindering humanitarian aid. “Turkey is guilty of assisting the extremists in driving out the peaceful population at the border with Syria,” said Kaspar Karampetian. “Armenians are thankful to the Syrian people for sheltering us after the Genocide committed by Turkey 99 years ago, and we sympathize with them for the terrible violence in the country these days. We hope for an end soon, and that all communities are part of Syria and must be included in re-building the country with no outside interference,” said Karampetian, and concluded that the EAFJD is committed in assisting the Armenian community of Syria with humanitarian aid from Europe.
Photo: Asbarez