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ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN THANK, THANK, THANK THE FRENCH
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org
March 1 2012
NY
Old Caucasus hands often say that Armenia and Azerbaijan have more
in common than they might care to admit. Long united in hatred for
each other, the two foes now have a fresh bond to share -- they've
both got reason to be thankful to France, albeit for different reasons.
Yerevan first thanked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for backing
French legislation that criminalized any denial of Ottoman Turkey's
World-War-I-era slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide. Then,
after the guardians of the French constitution ditched the law as
unconstitutional, the Armenians thanked the French president for a
promise to bring the law back in a revised form.
The Armenian government did express regret over France discarding
the law, but shied away from making any big, official statements
with the horns blaring. "I don't think it is correct to interfere
with the process of decision-making of the French Constitutional
Council," Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told Austria's
Der Standard newspaper. He and other officials in Yerevan put the
development down to the alleged work of Turkish and Azerbaijani
lobbyists.
Next up, Azerbaijan, which, as Turkey's cousin and the official
Armenia-foe-in-chief, had a supporting role in the genocide law drama,
thanked all those French who prevented the law from going live.
Extending gratitude to all of the bill's opponents, President Ilham
Aliyev declared that the Constitutional Council's decision was a
defeat for "the Armenians of the world and a fiasco for the cunning
work of the worldwide Armenian lobby."
At the same time, Azerbaijan reinvigorated its push for international
awareness of its own charges of genocide -- the 1992 slaughter of
ethnic Azeris in Khojaly, in breakaway Nagorno Karabakh, by Armenian
and Russian forces. Worldwide events commemorating the bloodshed
were held just before the French constitutional court struck down
the Armenia genocide bill.
The upshot? While many outside observers may have heaved a sigh of
relief with the French Constitutional Court's decision, the region's
genocide recognition wars aren't over yet. Maybe some day it'll be
the international community's turn to thank Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Turkey for confronting their pasts frankly and moving on, but don't
hold your breath.
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org
March 1 2012
NY
Old Caucasus hands often say that Armenia and Azerbaijan have more
in common than they might care to admit. Long united in hatred for
each other, the two foes now have a fresh bond to share -- they've
both got reason to be thankful to France, albeit for different reasons.
Yerevan first thanked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for backing
French legislation that criminalized any denial of Ottoman Turkey's
World-War-I-era slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide. Then,
after the guardians of the French constitution ditched the law as
unconstitutional, the Armenians thanked the French president for a
promise to bring the law back in a revised form.
The Armenian government did express regret over France discarding
the law, but shied away from making any big, official statements
with the horns blaring. "I don't think it is correct to interfere
with the process of decision-making of the French Constitutional
Council," Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told Austria's
Der Standard newspaper. He and other officials in Yerevan put the
development down to the alleged work of Turkish and Azerbaijani
lobbyists.
Next up, Azerbaijan, which, as Turkey's cousin and the official
Armenia-foe-in-chief, had a supporting role in the genocide law drama,
thanked all those French who prevented the law from going live.
Extending gratitude to all of the bill's opponents, President Ilham
Aliyev declared that the Constitutional Council's decision was a
defeat for "the Armenians of the world and a fiasco for the cunning
work of the worldwide Armenian lobby."
At the same time, Azerbaijan reinvigorated its push for international
awareness of its own charges of genocide -- the 1992 slaughter of
ethnic Azeris in Khojaly, in breakaway Nagorno Karabakh, by Armenian
and Russian forces. Worldwide events commemorating the bloodshed
were held just before the French constitutional court struck down
the Armenia genocide bill.
The upshot? While many outside observers may have heaved a sigh of
relief with the French Constitutional Court's decision, the region's
genocide recognition wars aren't over yet. Maybe some day it'll be
the international community's turn to thank Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Turkey for confronting their pasts frankly and moving on, but don't
hold your breath.