13 05 2009 - CCAF France: Armenia Turkey declaration is unacceptable

May 14, 2009 / Paris
The member associations of the CCAF (Co-ordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France) express their deep concern about the joint statement of the foreign affairs ministers of Armenia, Turkey and Switzerland, as a matter of form, rather belatedly, in the evening of April 22.
With deep reservation and skepticism, we notice the extreme eagerness, which governed the drafting of this statement, and its lack of transparency.
The vague nature of the so-called ‘base agreement’ and the constant pressure put on the Armenian government leave no other choice but to reject any agreement which would disregard the fundamental rights of the Armenian people throughout the world.
It is not possible to accept the joint statement of Turkey, Armenia, and Switzerland of April 22, 2009 for the following reasons:
1. The date of the statement, two days before the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, is inappropriate, to say the least : on April 24, every year, Armenians commemorate all over the world the genocide which the Young Turks perpetrated on the helpless civilian Armenian populations of the Ottoman Empire.

2. The eagerness of the declaration casts doubt on the dangerous and unacceptable concessions that Armenia will be forced to make at the debit of the national security of the Republic of Armenia, particularly concerning the Karabagh self-determination recognition process.

3. The government of Armenia has been put under the strong pressure of superpowers seeking their own interest’s satisfaction.

By the present, we formally declare our stance to the politicians and remind them, that together with other Armenian communities of the Diaspora, the citizens of Armenia and Karabagh, we will reject unequivocally any agreement, which might jeopardize the fundamental rights of the Armenian nation.

Jean Eckian