Genocide reparation should be key effort in nationwide campaign – French-Armenian lawyer

February 17, 2017 By administrator

The international recognition of the Armenian Genocide requires mutual efforts towards abandoning dogmatic thesis and focusing attention on the reparation issue, a French-Armenian lawyer said today as he addressed an international conference discussing the future of Armenia-Turkey relations.

Admitting that the issue is not among Turkey’s priorities today, Raffi (Philippe) Kalfayan, a legal expert at the Human Rights Research Center, University of Paris 2 Pantheon Assas, noted that a small “cell” in the Turkish society (including mainly lawyers and officials of Armenian descent) nonetheless raise the problem at times to keep it under spotlight.

The expert warned against adopting a united fixed strategy which he said may lead the sides into a deadlock. “That’s the Armenian Genocide recognition strategy, which may imply a political recognition. What we get in return is Turkey’s denial. That’s a serious battle which may take a long time and which leads nowhere but into a deadlock. Anyway, time is really important for the Armenian Cause, especially when it comes to reparation,” he added.

Khalafyan noted that international law has long ruled out the criminal liability element, with none of the perpetrators being alive to be incriminated individually.

“This is why the Armenian Genocide will remain just a historical fact. So the only way is to demand compensation for which the underlying principle should be unlawful actions prescribed by international law – rather than criminal liability,” he added.

The lawyer stressed particularly the importance of demanding civilian compensation (instead of focusing on Turkey’s violations).

He also called for distinguishing between collective and individual compensation, ruling out the possibility of collective demands. “The question is whether the Genocide issue will be actual in that case. Very probably, not. The responsibility issue will be raised in any case and established through a change in official history. It is important, after all, to mutually abandon the dogmatic theses to achieve a global and open cooperation, because Turkey is not the only side required to work towards writing a shared history,” Khalafyan said.

France: Fillon declares victory in French presidential primary as Juppe concedes defeat

November 28, 2016 By administrator

fillon-primary-election Francois Fillon has won France’s first-ever conservative primary ahead of next year’s presidential election, declaring victory over moderate Alain Juppe. Fillon will likely face off against the far-right’s Marine Le Pen.

After taking a strong lead in initial results on Sunday, Francois Fillon has declared victory in the second round of the runoff primary to choose the candidate to represent the conservative Les Republicains (The Republicans) party in France’s presidential election next spring.

Fillon won over 67 percent of the vote in a landslide victory, exit polls showed.

His rival, Alain Juppe, conceded defeat and congratulated Fillon for his “wide victory” as results continued to roll in. Juppe also said he would support Fillon in the presidential election.

“I finish this campaign as I began it: A free man who would not compromise, neither what he is nor what he thinks,” Juppe said.

Speaking from his campaign headquarters, Fillon called for unity and action to defeat France’s far-right and its discredited left.

“I must now convince the whole country our project is the only one that can lift us up,” Fillon said.

With France’s Socialists, led by President Francois Hollande, facing record low popularity figures, the conservative candidate is expected to face far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen in the second round of the presidential election, slated to take place in two rounds during April and May.

High turnout

The runoff vote saw a turnout that was 4.5 percent higher than last week’s first round, in which 4.3 million conservative party supporters cast their ballots. Any registered voter was able to take part in the primary.

Fillon, a social conservative and Catholic, won the first primary round by an easy margin, taking 44 percent of the vote to Juppe’s 28.6 percent. He served as former French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s prime minister from 2007 to 2012 and was also the clear favorite in opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s vote.

Fillon campaigned on promises of free-market reforms, support for traditional family values, friendlier relations with Russia and a hard line on immigration and Islam.

French conservatives vote in first presidential primary

November 20, 2016 By administrator

french-election Polling booths have opened in the first round of the French conservative primary. A tight three-way contest has emerged between former president Nicolas Sarkozy and former prime ministers Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe.

The race for France’s conservative presidential nomination got underway on Sunday as seven candidates set their sights on next year’s election. By midday, voter turnout had topped one million.

The three leading candidates are former president Nicolas Sarkozy and former prime ministers Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe.

Electoral shake-up

Sunday’s primary is the first of its kind to be organized by France’s conservatives, making the outcome hard to predict. Candidates were previously designated internally.

The change to the US-style primary has been widely regarded as a response to the rise of the far-right National Front (FN).

Following a campaign which largely revolved around immigration, the final TV debate of the seven candidates on Thursday produced no clear winner, although viewers polled afterwards said Fillon put in the strongest performance.

Results from the first-round of voting are due to be announced late on Sunday, with a runoff between the top two candidates due to be held next week.

Rise of the populist right

Like elsewhere in Europe, Donald Trump’s victory in the US election last week has served as a wake-up call in France, upending long-held assumptions and triggering fears, and hopes, that next spring’s election will deliver a similar upset.

The chances of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen running for, and possibly winning, the French presidency in 2017 have also apparently been boosted by Trump’s election success.

The FN leader is now hoping that the growing anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-establishment sentiment can propel her to the presidency.

Former President Sarkozy hopes to pull back votes from the populist right, however, after calling for stricter immigration rules across Europe.

The final conservative seven: Bruno Le Maire, Alain Juppe, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean-Francois Cope, Jean-Frederic Poisson and Francois Fillon

Left-wing influence

With the French left still divided, the outcome of the conservative primary will be crucial. The conservative nominee who emerges from next Sunday’s runoff is tipped to go on to take the presidency in May.

Another unknown factor in Sunday’s first round is the number of left-wing voters prepared to pay two euros ($2.10) and sign a declaration that they subscribe to “the values of the centre and the right” to vote in the right-wing primary. Those who do are expected to vote against Sarkozy.

President Francois Hollande’s is also yet to announce whether he intends to bid for re-election. On Wednesday, Hollande’s former economy minister Emmanuel Macron said he would stand as an independent.

ksb/jlw (AFP, AP)

France PM admits Marine Le Pen could be next president

November 17, 2016 By administrator

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned Thursday, November 17 that far-right leader Marine Le Pen had a chance of winning next year’s presidential election, boosted by the momentum of Donald Trump’s shock victory in the United States, AFP reports.

“It’s possible,” Valls said in response to a question at an economic conference in Berlin on whether the candidate of France’s anti-immigration National Front could win in light of the U.S. upset.

“All the opinion polls have the candidate Marine Le Pen making it to the second round” of France’s presidential race in May, the Socialist premier said.

“If she does make it to the second round, she will face either a candidate of the left or the right. This means that the balance of politics will change completely,” he added, warning of “the danger presented by the extreme right”.

There is growing concern in France that the same wave of populist, anti-globalisation anger that carried Trump to the White House and saw Britons vote to leave the EU could hand Le Pen the keys to the Elysee Palace.

“Of course there are risks in France, I am struck by the tone of the public debate,” Valls said, according to AFP.

But he stressed that there were differences between Trump and Le Pen, noting that the American billionaire was the candidate of a mainstream party even though his “speeches and proposals are worrying”.

Valls is suspected of having presidential ambitions himself but has yet to officially throw his hat in the ring to go up against his party’s deeply unpopular head of state Francois Hollande.

After Trump’s US Victory, could France Marine Le Pen be next?

November 10, 2016 By administrator

next-trump After Brexit and the victory of Republican Donald Trump, many in France wonder if the next stunning upset could be in their country. The presidential vote is just five months away and the far-right is polling strongly.

Marine Le Pen, head of France’s far-right National Front party, has been tweeting up a storm, morphing effortlessly from congratulating US President-elect Donald Trump even before US election results were announced to skewering her rivals at home.

“We can make possible that which was impossible; what the people want, the people can do,” was one of the far-right leader’s latest warnings to a French political mainstream that may be the next target of voter ire.

After the Brexit referendum for Britain to leave the European Union and the US elections, many wonder if the next stunning upset could be in France, where the presidential vote is just five months away and Le Pen has been polling strongly for months.

She is not the only one who may potentially gain ground. Politicians from far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon to center-right former-President Nicolas Sarkozy are all trying to tailor their political message to the outcome of the American campaign.

“It’s interesting to see how politicians here are turning Donald Trump’s victory into arguments that go in their direction,” said analyst Bruno Cautres, of Science Po’s Centre for Political Research, in Paris.

Armenia, France keen on deepening defense cooperation

November 7, 2016 By administrator

military-coperation Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan had a meeting with French Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier.

The Armenian Defense Minister attached importance to France’s efforts towards the settlement of the Karabakh conflict in its capacity as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair.

The interlocutors praised the high level of interstate relations and noted that there is a great potential for developing bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, especially in international peacekeeping.

The parties agreed to work towards intensification of cooperation in the field of defense and on the military-political level.

Reference was made to issues of regional security.

Bribery exposed between French politicians and Gulf States

November 5, 2016 By administrator

france-qatar-bribery A new book by a pair of French journalists has unraveled a web of corruption between Gulf Arab governments such as Qatar and French politicians. Has the French political system been subverted by oil money?

The book, written by French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot and released to the public on October 24th, is titled “Nos très chers Émirs” or “Our very dear Emirs” – Emir is the Arabic word for prince. It provides a look into the close relationships enjoyed by French politicians and Arab Gulf regimes.
When asked by radio station French Inter if the relationship between the French government and these Gulf nations are dangerous, Christian Chesnot replies: “Yes and no. These complex relationships are maintained with immensely wealthy Arab figures who possess great influence.”

Exposed ties

One of the revelations in the book is that Jean-Marie Le Guen, a doctor and member of the Socialist Party in the French Parliament, had received the equivalent of 10,000 euros (11,089 U.S. dollars) a month from Qatar. The money was for MP Le Guen to stifle criticism of Qatar within the French parliament. “I can block hostile questions towards Qatar or push them through, but I won’t do it for free,” he’s quoted as saying in the book.

On Twitter, MP Le Guen was very angry about the accusations.

“I’m stupefied and dismayed by the delirious allegations made by Chesnot and Malbrunot and published by Le Point magazine.” He later said on the platform that the book was engaged in “defamation” against him.

Rachida Dati, currently a French member of European parliament, used to be the mayor of the seventh Arrondisement or district in Paris. The book claims that she demanded 400,000 Euros from the Qatari embassy when she was mayor to set up a diplomatic association in this district.

Nicholas Bays, a Socialist member of French Parliament from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and member of a France-Qatar friendship association, was accused of demanding plane tickets to Qatar and hotel nights in its capital, Doha. His requests were rejected by the Qatari ambassador.

The authors of “Our very dear Emirs” claim that the Qatari embassy in Paris functions as a “distribution center for 500 Euro bills” and as a “travel agency.” They argue that French politicians can do favors for Qatar and receive lavish gifts from the Qatari Embassy in return.

Flourishing arms trade

Although the book focuses particularly on the State of Qatar and it’s bribes to French politicians, France has also enjoyed a burgeoning arms trade with not only Qatar but also Saudi Arabia. France’s ailing economy has been bolstered by weapons sales to these Arab states. The arms trades have brought in suspicion from human rights groups.

Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/bribery-exposed-between-french-politicians-and-gulf-states/a-36264239

France: Syrian Kurdistan representative Khaled Issa denounces Ankara complicity with the Islamic State ISIS

October 25, 2016 By administrator

ankara-complicity-isis The major powers, particularly the permanent members of the UN Security Council, must take responsibility and stop the Turkish complicity with the terrorists,” said Khaled Issa today the representative of Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) in France.

“They need to end the blackmail and Turkey with chronic assaults against Kurds and their allies that they effectively fight against the terrorists on the front line,” added Khaled Issa.

“The democratic project of gender equality we wear scares Erdogan” he added.

“We must put an end to the irresponsible policy of Erdogan hampering the fight against Daesh!” He concluded.

Eric Coquerel policy coordinator of the Left party said his side the support of his party to the Kurds of Rojava and arrested Francois Hollande on the unacceptable silence of France against Turkey.

“Turkey attack those who fight most effectively Daesh field!” He said.

“Every day, Turkey violates human rights!” He concluded

France education minister establishes genocide research mission

October 24, 2016 By administrator

france-genocide-research Several days ago, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Research of France, launched an initiative.

The initiative envisions the studying of genocides and mass crimes, with the objective of grasping them to the utmost as well as fighting against denial, reported Nor Haratch Armenian newspaper of France.

This mission, which is to be established one year after the Armenian Genocide Centennial, will be entrusted to Vincent Duclert, General Inspector of National Education of France.

He will head the 46-member team comprising citizens of 12 countries.

This team shall prepare a report on genocides and mass crimes, so as to facilitate their comprehension and create new ways for their prevention.

The mission shall summarize its respective conclusions within one year.

Minister Vallaud-Belkacem noted that she hereby wishes to run a “policy of just memory.” She added that in this era, when denial is a reality and it “prospers,” the transmitting of history becomes an imperative in the fight against lack of memory.

France: Marine Le Pen: ‘Anything but Hillary Clinton’

October 21, 2016 By administrator

By David Wright, CNN

(CNN)Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing French political party National Front, praised Donald Trump on Wednesday and said that “for France, anything is better than Hillary Clinton.”

In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Hala Gorani, Le Pen compared herself to Trump, observing that both of them have waged iconoclastic campaigns against their country’s political “establishment.”

“We are similar because we are not part of the establishment, we are not part of the system, and we do not depend on anybody and we don’t take orders from anyone,” she said.

Le Pen also went after Clinton, saying the former secretary of state would bring “war,” “devastation” and “instability” as president.

“For France, anything is better than Hillary Clinton. Anything but Hillary Clinton. Because I think Hillary Clinton means war. Hillary Clinton means devastation. It means world instability.”

Le Pen said she supported Trump for president back in July in an interview with the French paper Le Parisien and similarly criticized Clinton at the time.

Like Trump’s campaign, Le Pen’s has been a lightning rod for political controversy during her leadership of the National Front. The party, founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, is staunchly opposed to cross-border migration in the European Union, has warned against the dangers of accepting refugees from the Middle East and loudly cheered the result of the Brexit referendum.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/31/politics/marine-le-pen-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/index.html#