Karabakh, Armenian Genocide, Iran in focus of January 23

January 23, 2012 - 12:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On Monday, January 23, the key attention will be focused on three countries: France, Russia and Belgium.

On January 18, Constitutional Commission of the French Senate passed a decision against the bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial, accepting Senators’ solicitation that oppose the aforesaid legislation.

The proposal on rejection of the bill was adopted with 23 votes for, 9 against and 8 abstentions, according to the official website of the French Senate. The decision stipulates debate of the draft law by the Senate, considering the proposal of the Commission prior to the overall voting.

The debate of the bill is scheduled for 6:00pm, Yerevan time.

Sochi: A trilateral meeting between Presidents Sargsyan and Medvedev as well as Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev is also scheduled for Jan 23 in Sochi. The three heads of state will focus on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. According to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Final Report on 2011 outcomes, official Baku stands for “urgent launch of works on Karabakh resolution, calling on international community to uphold a more decisive and consistent position on the issue to restore peace stability and cooperation in the region.” Though, recent shifts in Azerbaijan’s ‘peace-loving’ stance incite suspicion, today’s meeting is likely to end with a subsequent declaration on sides’ readiness to continue talks, certainly, in event Aliev has no surprises.

Brussels: Iran faces tough new sanctions from the European Union over its nuclear program as foreign ministers meet in Brussels to discuss an oil embargo.

Diplomats are expected to agree later on phasing in an oil and financial embargo against Tehran over a period of between five and eight months.

The sanctions follow fresh financial measures signed into law by US President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve - and will mainly target the oil sector, which accounts for some 90% of exports to the EU.

The Iranians have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz - through which 35% of the world's tanker-borne oil exports pass - in retaliation.

Thus, it will become clear on January 23 evening whether France will criminalize Genocide denial, whether progress in Karabakh process is expected and whether looming war with Iran is true to fact.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.

Iran's nuclear program

Iran's leaders have worked to pursue nuclear energy technology since the 1950s, spurred by the launch of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program. It made steady progress, with Western help, through the early 1970s. But concern over Iranian intentions followed by the upheaval of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 effectively ended outside assistance. Iran was known to be reviving its civilian nuclear programs during the 1990s, but revelations in 2002 and 2003 of clandestine research into fuel enrichment and conversion raised international concern that Iran's ambitions had metastasized beyond peaceful intent. Although Iran has consistently denied allegations it seeks to develop a bomb, the September 2009 revelation of a second uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom -constructed under the radar of international inspectors - deepened suspicion surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions.