October 6, 2009 - 20:40 AMT
Armenians of Greece opposes signing of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols
 
ARF Dashnaktsutyun Central Committee of Greece held a political meeting in Athens on October 5. During the meeting representatives of the Armenian community of Greece have expressed their protests in connection with the protocols on normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations. Ara Mankoyan introduced anti-Armenian provisions of the Protocols and urged not to sign the Protocols.  

"Protocols must not contain items suggesting that the Armenian side abandon territorial claims. These protocols should not turn the fact of the Armenian Genocide into subject of discussion and should not be connected with the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, " Ara Mankoyan said. He stressed that the Protocols contain all above mentioned preconditions. According to him,  establishment of good neighborly relations between Armenia and Turkey is unrealistic in the given circumstances.  
 
"Why has the Armenian leadership had such a position in respect to Turkey, especially given that Turkish officials do not speak of even minimal guarantees of peaceful coexistence? Turkey in a hurry to sign the Protocol in order to show the world that it is a country seeking to establish good relations with neighboring countries, and thus to overcome the resistance of the countries  opposing its membership in the EU, " Ara Mankoyan said.  After the meeting, members started collecting signatures against the adoption of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, Azad Or Athens newspaper reports.