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  • Swedish Armenian Community to Armenian Authorities

    Press Release
    Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden
    Box 237
    SE-177 24 Järfälla
    Sweden
    +46 707 73 33 83
    [email protected]

    On September 23, a letter asserting to represent the Armenian community in
    Sweden was published on the subject of the Armenian-Turkish protocol. Let
    it be known that this alleged letter was sent to the Armenian media by
    Armenian individuals and does in no way represent the official stand of
    the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, the official representative
    of the Armenian community in Sweden. The organization calls on the
    Armenian media to display more professionalism in their work, properly
    checking their sources before publishing statements which are wrongfully
    attributed to organizations or individuals.

    The following, however, is the open letter which the Union of Armenian
    Associations in Sweden, on behalf of the Armenian Community in Sweden, has
    sent in writing to the President of Armenia, the Speaker of the Armenian
    Parliament, and the President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia.


    Open Letter to the President of Armenia, October 7, 2009
    The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament,
    The President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia

    In the light of the published protocol between the Republic of Armenia and
    the Republic of Turkey, regarding the normalisation of diplomatic
    relations, the Union of Armenian Associations of Sweden, is highly
    critical of the steps taken by the Government of Armenia, especially due
    to its total lack of communication with the Armenian Diaspora in this
    regard. Let it be clear that we do recognise the authority of the Armenian
    Government and the rights invested with it as the official representative
    of the Armenian nation, inside and outside Armenia. However, the
    Government of Armenia seems to have totally neglected the role and the
    situation of the Diaspora, the direct result of and the heirs to the 1915
    Genocide in Turkey.

    We looked forward to the meeting in Paris on October 2, 2009, hoping it
    would be a dialogue. But, the meeting was rather a monologue, repeating
    the same assertions regarding the protocol and its contents which we have
    been hearing for the last weeks. It was said that `Armenia is ready to
    normalize its ties with Turkey without preconditions'. The Union of
    Armenian Associations welcomes and supports the normalisation of relations
    between Armenia and Turkey, but firmly refuses to accept that the protocol
    does not include preconditions. It is redundant to repeat the issues in
    detail, since they are clearly known by the general public, and a short
    recapitulation will suffice. While the creation of a commission to
    re-evaluate `historical differences and problems' and recognising common
    borders only can refer to the Armenian Genocide and its legacy, the text
    stating `non intervention in internal affairs of other states,' does
    clearly refer to the issue of Artsakh. While refuting to acknowledge the
    semantics of these formulations, the Government of Armenia has failed in
    total to present a viable explanation for why such sentences are included
    at all. These concealed preconditions are not the basis of a sincere
    rapprochement which this protocol is said to represent.

    By entirely ignoring the views of the majority of the Armenian nation,
    i.e. the Diaspora, the Government of Armenia is de facto losing its
    eligibility as representative for the entire Armenian nation, an obvious
    unwise step. The Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, strongly
    recommends the Government and the Parliament of Armenia to reconsider the
    contents of the drafted protocol, which if ratified, will not only
    seriously damage Armenian interests, crippling it morally and politically
    on the international area, it will most definitely strike a serious blow
    to the relations between the current Armenian Administration and its most
    strategic foreign partner and resource, the Diaspora.

    Nonetheless, let it be reminded once more that the Union of Armenian
    Associations in Sweden is in favour of the normalization of relations
    between Turkey and Armenia, but only on the basis of a sincere dialogue,
    without any preconditions, obvious or concealed, attempting to downplay
    the reality of the Armenian Genocide, its legacy, or subsiding the
    Armenian support of Artsakh's right for self-determination.

    The Board of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden
    Stockholm, Sweden
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