ASBAREZ ONLINE [12-16-2004]

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12/16/2004
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Chirac Gives a 'Yes, But' for Turkey's EU Membership 2) Youth in Athens Convey Opposition to Turkey EU Membership 3) Oskanian Commends European Parliament's Resolution as Joint Victory 4) Karabagh Leader Calls for Stronger Ties with Population 5) BRIEFS 1) Chirac Gives a 'Yes, But' for Turkey's EU Membership PARIS (AP/AFP)--President Jacques Chirac, beset by opposition to Turkey's drive to join the European Union, told a divided France that the mostly Muslim country belongs in the EU--but that Paris will block negotiations if Ankara fails to meet membership conditions. "Does Europe, and particularly France, have an interest in Turkey joining it? My answer is, 'Yes, but,'" was how Chirac summed up his position on national television late Wednesday, explaining that adhesion could only occur after up to 20 years of negotiations and each current EU state, including France, could slam the door at any time. The French would have the "last word" in a referendum, he said, giving the three principle criteria as a commitment to peace and stability, democracy, and economic and social development. France also wants the issue of the massacre of Armenians in 1915-23 to be on the table during membership negotiations, although Foreign Minister Michel Barnier has said France will not demand official recognition of the killings as a condition for entry. Turkey vehemently denies its genocide of 1.5 million Armenians, under its Ottoman Empire. On Wednesday, the European Parliament called on EU leaders to open membership talks with Turkey "without undue delay." However, it urged Ankara to carry out more democratic reforms, move toward recognizing Cyprus and acknowledge the Armenian killings. The summit, gathering the leaders of the 25 member states of the European Union, was expected to give the green light to the start of negotiations with Ankara. But Chirac's ruling conservative UMP party has pronounced itself against EU membership for Turkey, a large, relatively poor Muslim country, and surveys in France show most of the public was also against. Chirac's support for Turkey's eventual membership has been met with grave misgivings among ordinary citizens worried about an influx of cheap labor to France, already stung by 10 percent unemployment. Many also question Turkey's human rights record. A poll published earlier this week by the newspaper Le Figaro suggests two in three French oppose bringing Turkey into the 25-nation bloc. The Socialist Party is divided over the issue, and Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, insists Turkey is a country that "cannot be European." "Only a rejection of the European constitution can save the French from this trap," Le Pen said Wednesday. "This willingness to integrate an Asian and Muslim country, against the will of the European people, illustrates the noxiousness of Brussels' Europe." By throwing his support behind Turkey, Chirac also has broken ranks with his own party, the conservative Union for a Popular Movement, which favors a "privileged partnership" between the EU and Ankara that would fall far short of membership. Although Chirac favors full membership for Turkey, while conceding it could take up to 20 years, a skeptical Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin argues that the influence of Islam in Turkey would clash with Judeo-Christian European values. Confronting that argument head-on, Chirac contends that bringing the nation of 70 million people into the EU is the best way to tamp down Islamic extremism and eliminate what some Europeans see as a threat Chirac had previously evoked a negotiating period of just 10 years. Suggesting talks could drag out twice as long with no certain result was latched upon by the French media Thursday. "Even though he was forced to steer a straight course, Chirac seemed hesitant sometimes to pull on the oars," the left-leaning newspaper Liberation said of the interview. It noted that Chirac's real reason for reiterating his position at such a crucial time was to save another referendum he has proposed for next year, and which he holds more dearly: a plebiscite on adopting the European Union's first constitution. The French president fears that though two-thirds of voters are in favor of the constitution, they may reject the constitution as a way of registering their opposition to Turkey's EU membership. In his interview, Chirac said that referendum "must not be distracted from its very important goal by considerations which have nothing to do with it." Le Figaro, a conservative daily that was the only national newspaper to put Chirac's interview on its front page, said that the event was forced upon the president because he was "completely out of step with his country's public opinion and isolated within his own camp." 2) Youth in Athens Convey Opposition to Turkey EU Membership ATHENS (Aztag Daily)--Armenian youth picketed European Union offices in Athens on Wednesday to protest Turkey's aspirations to join the European Body. "Turkey's criminal past casts a shadow on it European dreams," read one of their placards, while another declared, "Recognition of the Armenian genocide is the only way to Turkey's EU membership." Organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Youth Organization, the protest drew more than three hundred, including the youngest of ARF youth, the "badanees." In conveying their message to the EU, the youth presented the head of Athens EU office a statement of protest. 3) Oskanian Commends European Parliament's Resolution as Joint Victory YEREVAN (Arminfo)--Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian hailed the European Parliament's adoption of three strongly worded measures by the European Parliament calling on Turkey to properly recognize the Armenian genocide, lift its blockade of Armenia, and abandon it hostile policies toward Armenia and the Armenian people. In an interview with Public Television of Armenia, Oskanian stressed the political significance of the measures. Calling the resolution the joint victory of Armenia's diplomacy and the diaspora, particularly European Armenian organizations, Oskanian was cautiously optimistic. "If during the first stage, Turkey does not conform to the political criteria, including improvement of relations with Armenia, negotiations will not necessarily be broken off," he noted. The provisions were added on the eve of the December 17 vote of the European Council on opening membership talks with Turkey as amendments to a Parliamentary report on Turkey's progress toward accession to the European Union. 4) Karabagh Leader Calls for Stronger Ties with Population STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL)--The president of Mountainous Karabagh Republic Arkady Ghukasian said on Thursday that his government has lost touch with its people. Meeting with a large group of government officials and public figures in Stepanakert, Ghukasian promised a cabinet reshuffle and other "resolute steps" to boost his administration's standing. "Government officials are often indifferent to citizens' problems. There is mistrust towards the authorities," he said. "Judges often hand down wrong verdicts for profit-making considerations," he said without elaborating. His criticism came amid the improving economic situation in the Armenian-populated territory. Ghukasian declared that the local economy is on course to expand by 30 percent this year on the back of growing foreign investment. He also said that the government will have more money at its disposal next year. At the same time, he noted that many Karabagh Armenians live in poverty and are unaffected by the positive change. He urged local business people to do more to help the poor. 5) BRIEFS EU Talks 'To Settle' Cyprus Issue ANKARA (BBC)--As European Union leaders are set to hold accession talks at the two-day summit now under way in Brussels, commission head Jose Manuel Barroso urged them to reject any half measures during discussions of the membership bid. Asked about the latest progress on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan told reporters in Brussels it "will be resolved tomorrow," without elaborating. Barroso urged Turkey to "go the extra mile" and recognize Cyprus, which is an EU member. He asked what kind of message Turkey was sending if it did not recognize all the members of the club it wanted to join. Turkey, however, which occupies northern Cyprus, has said it will not bow to demands to recognize the country, calling the issue a "red line." Powell, Gul Discuss Turkey's EU Accession WASHINGTON, DC (AFP)--US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, on Turkey's EU accession. "The secretary spoke this morning with Foreign Minister Gul, just to check in and see where things are," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We'll continue to keep in touch with Turkish leaders on the subject," he told reporters. The European Union is waiting to give its approval to Turkey's negotiated accession during a summit which opened late Thursday in Brussels. No Change in Ties with Armenia over Dispatch of Military to Iraq YEREVAN (Itar-Tass)--Speaker of the Russian parliament's lower chamber Boris Gryzlov, said on Wednesday that a possible decision by Armenia to send military specialists to Iraq will not change relations between the two former Soviet republics. "Armenia is a sovereign state and the decisions it makes are decisions of a sovereign state," Gryzlov told a press conference in reply to a query concerning Armenian authorities' intentions to send military specialists to Iraq. Gas Leak Kills Family in Armenia YEREVAN (RFE-RL)--A natural-gas leak from a homemade heater killed a family of five in Armenia, officials said Thursday. The accident Wednesday in the city of Echmiadzin killed a married couple and their three small children, the Prosecutor General's Office said. It said the heater was set up without regard for safety standards. The family was among a growing number of victims of accidents resulting from the improper use of homemade heaters and from insufficient oversight by officials charged with enforcing safety standards. OSCE to Send Monitoring Mission to Karabagh BAKU (Interfax)--The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will send a monitoring mission to Karabagh to check reports from Baku about Armenia's plans to establish settlements in the area, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists in London. An agreement to organize a monitoring mission was reached with Armenia during talks between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in Sofia and Brussels in early December, he said, adding that the co-chairman of the Minsk Group directly settling the conflict should join the monitoring mission. Exhibition Captures Essence of Childhood YEREVAN (Arka)--Photographer Zaven Khachikyan's latest exhibition, "We are all from Childhood," opened in Yerevan on December 16. Devoted to the 10th anniversary of UNICEF's efforts, Khachikyan captures the essence of the children's daily lives. He said, "In order to go forward, it is necessary to go back to childhood for some time and to see the reality of children's lives in Armenia in order to improve it in future." The exhibition, organized by the Armenian representative office of UNICEF and "West-East" center of photojournalism, will last until December 19. UN Food Program to Halt Food Aid for Azeri Refugees BAKU (Combined Sources)Food distribution for 140,000 Azeris displaced by the Karabagh conflict with Armenia a decade ago will come to a complete halt next month because of a $10 million shortfall in aid sought for the three-year operation by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). WFP country director Rahman Chowdhury said the agency had halved rations for refugees last month in an effort to stretch food stocks. The WFP faces a $10 million shortfall this year, he said, in part due to higher retail prices and rising gasoline and natural gas prices. "Most of the displaced are so poor they don't have the means to buy food. It's a dreadful situation, especially in winter, when temperatures drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius." All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.