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WHY AN ARMENIAN COUPLE IS NAMING THEIR BABY AFTER NICOLAS SARKOZY
By Giorgi Lomsadze
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/why-an-armenian-couple-is-naming-their-baby-after-nicolas-sarkozy/252034/
Jan 26 2012
The two parents are really, really grateful for a French bill
criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide.
It's a photo shoot on a grey January day, and Sarkozy, wrapped in
diapers and swaddled in blankets, is happily snoozing away. We are
not talking about the actual French President Nicolas Sarkozy here,
but, rather, his newborn namesake in faraway Armenia.
An Armenian couple has named their baby boy Sarkozy in gratitude to the
French president for backing a bill that criminalizes the assertion
that the World War I slaughter of ethnic Armenians in Ottoman-era
Turkey was not an act of genocide.
Little Sarkozy Avetisian weighs three kilos and is 50 centimeters
tall. You can see him in all his cuteness here. With an eye to ties
with France and voters (Armenia's parliamentary elections are in May),
Armenia's ruling Republican Party of Armenia joined the baby shower,
and donated $200 to the Avetisians.
But this is not the first instance of a French president inspiring
baby names in Armenia. In 2001, when France under President Jacques
Chirac recognized the Armenian killings as genocide, one grateful
couple called their newborn twins Jacques and Chirac.
Meanwhile, Turkey, which denies that any genocide was committed, is
quite literally slamming the French president in its rage over the
bill. An online game, "Slap Sarkozy," has been released that allows
irate Turks (or anyone) to vent their anger at the legislation by
smacking the French leader silly.
This article originally appeared at EurasiaNet.org, an Atlantic
partner site.
By Giorgi Lomsadze
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/why-an-armenian-couple-is-naming-their-baby-after-nicolas-sarkozy/252034/
Jan 26 2012
The two parents are really, really grateful for a French bill
criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide.
It's a photo shoot on a grey January day, and Sarkozy, wrapped in
diapers and swaddled in blankets, is happily snoozing away. We are
not talking about the actual French President Nicolas Sarkozy here,
but, rather, his newborn namesake in faraway Armenia.
An Armenian couple has named their baby boy Sarkozy in gratitude to the
French president for backing a bill that criminalizes the assertion
that the World War I slaughter of ethnic Armenians in Ottoman-era
Turkey was not an act of genocide.
Little Sarkozy Avetisian weighs three kilos and is 50 centimeters
tall. You can see him in all his cuteness here. With an eye to ties
with France and voters (Armenia's parliamentary elections are in May),
Armenia's ruling Republican Party of Armenia joined the baby shower,
and donated $200 to the Avetisians.
But this is not the first instance of a French president inspiring
baby names in Armenia. In 2001, when France under President Jacques
Chirac recognized the Armenian killings as genocide, one grateful
couple called their newborn twins Jacques and Chirac.
Meanwhile, Turkey, which denies that any genocide was committed, is
quite literally slamming the French president in its rage over the
bill. An online game, "Slap Sarkozy," has been released that allows
irate Turks (or anyone) to vent their anger at the legislation by
smacking the French leader silly.
This article originally appeared at EurasiaNet.org, an Atlantic
partner site.