Brussels (Belgium) 25th of September - A consultative meeting of European
Armenians occurred on the 23rd in Brussels, close to the heart of European
institutions. The meeting was held in the Maison des Associations
Internationales. It was managed by the European Armenian Federation next
to
the Conference on Turkey it organized in the European Parliament one day
before.
The consultative meeting aimed to raise awareness of the current
challenges
among the European Diaspora and possibly to achieve a better cooperation
on
matter of concerns such as the EU New Neighborhood Policy toward Armenia,
Turkey application to membership or the role and the development of
Diaspora. This meeting gave also the European Armenians the opportunity to
have some exchanges with officials of Armenia.
Many ongoing issues were tackled by experts and political leaders and
notably the extension of the Turkish denial policy through European media
(Time Magazine and Quid cases) as well as destruction / conversion of the
Armenian monasteries and architectural treasuries in Turkey and in the
occupied part of Cyprus.
Most of the delegates were coming from countries with notable Armenian
communities (Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy.) but a great
attention
was also paid to attendees from Slovakia, Czech Republic or Hungary,
countries with recent communities.
"We received only positive assessment from the participants to this
meeting." said Hilda Tchoboian, chairperson of the European Armenian
Federation. "We intended to allow people to express and to initiate a
Diaspora-wide dialogue. I think we succeeded: Distant communities made
acquaintance, hear each other and will probably work on shared projects
afterward." added Tchoboian. "This is the new stage in the
shaping of an
actual proactive collaborative Diaspora. This is our contribution to the
building of Europe." she concluded.
