PARIS (Yerkir)–A public rally will take place in Paris on June 12–demanding that French President Jacques Chirac take a final stance on Turkey’s European Union membership. Organized by the Hai Tahd Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of France–the gathering will take place around the monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide–which includes a statue of Gomidas Vartabed–erected in April 2003 in a park between the Armenian Cathedral on Jean-Goujon–and Champs Elysee–near the Seine River.
French Armenia’s are appealing to the French government to honor the 1987 and 2004 resolutions of the European Parliament–stipulating that before starting accession talks on its EU membership–Turkey withdraw its troops from northern Cyprus invaded in 1974–release political prisoners–guarantee rights of Kurdish and religious minorities–recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire–and lift the blockade of Armenia imposed in 1991.