Month: June 2005

Babacan To Attend J.P.C. Meeting To Be Held In Istanbul Next Week
Turkish Press
June 13 2005
STRASBOURG (AA) – Turkish State Minister Ali Babacan will attend and
deliver a speech at a meeting of Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC)
scheduled to be held in Istanbul between June 13th and 14th.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had assigned Babacan as
chief negotiator for Turkey’s entry talks with EU.
European wing members of the JPC met in Strasbourg today (Thursday)
and reviewed the preliminary studies for the Istanbul meeting.
EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-chairman Joost Lagendijk,
taking the floor at the opening of the meeting, women’s rights in
Turkey, harmonization problem of Turkish citizens in Europe, recent
situation in Turkish-EU relations, and implementation of Customs
Union are among to topics to be discussed at Istanbul meeting.
At a meeting held in European Parliament (EP) today, Turkey’s Permanent
Representative to the EU Oguz Demiralp gave information to JPC members
about the preparations and replied to the questions.
European parliamentarians asked question about ban on the activities
of the Teacher’s Trade Union (Egitim-Sen), postponement of the
Armenian conference planned to be held in Bogazici University, and
the results of the referendums held in France and the Netherlands
for the EU Constitution.
Demiralp said ban on the activities of Egitim-Sen was the decision
of independent jurisdiction, stating that the government continued
its determination to improve cultural rights in the reform process.
Demiralp said the decision taken for the postponement of the
conference was not a decision of cancellation, and noted that the
Turkish government always supported clear discussion of what has
happened in the history.
Stating that results of the referendums were not welcomed in Turkey,
Demiralp said, “the European Commission and the European Council gave
open assurances to Turkey that the results would not negatively affect
the enlargement process.”
Asked about the signing of the agreement envisaging extension of the
Customs Union in a way to cover new countries, Demiralp said Turkey
would sign this agreement after the European Commission and Council
complete their domestic processes.

Turkish Press
June 13 2005
Erdogan: Bush Personally Instructed U.S. State Secretary To Study
Direct Flights From U.S. To Ercan Airport Of N Cyprus
WASHINGTON (AA) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on
Wednesday that U.S. President George W. Bush instructed U.S. State
Secretary to study direct flights from U.S. to Ercan Airport of
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Erdogan replied to questions of reporters following his meeting
with Bush.
A journalist asked, “if the United States launches an operational
action in Syria, and in case an expectation from Turkey appears,
to what extend Turkey can meet this expectation? Is such a military
possibility in question from the United States? Has this issue been
discussed at the meeting?”
Erdogan said, “this is a very very negative assumption,” and noted
it was wrong for him to make a political assessment over an assumption.
“We have done this over the topics democratization, freedoms, human
rights, supremacy of law and joint fight against terrorism. There
are many steps that have been taken. For example the issue of Hatay.
There are no more land mines and soldiers in Syrian side in the
border. Now, we will sweep the land mines and draw our soldiers. Of
course this requires time. All of them are change of mentality. All
can not happen instantly. We believe to have positive outcomes,”
Erdogan said.
Asked if any timetable was taken up regarding withdrawal of U.S.
presence while Iraq issue was under discussion, Erdogan said, “no.
We have not discussed any timetable or withdrawal of the United States
from there.”
“We only discussed how we considered the success of the current
interim administration. We have a positive point of view to Ibrahim
al-Jaafari. We have personally listened to his sincere feelings about
democratization. Now, the new constitution should be prepared and Iraq
should get prepared for the following process. The conditions are
difficult. There is a prime minister and administration struggling
under those difficult conditions. We said we will expend necessary
support.”
Replying another question, Erdogan said he gave information about the
foundations of the minorities in Turkey. He said, “188 foundation real
properties have been given to them so far and registered for their
names. Process continues on this issue. We have prepared Foundations
Law to accelerate and facilitate the process and sent it to the
Parliament. We have given information about this.”
CYPRUS ISSUE
Asked whether start of direct flights from Washington to Ercan
Airport of the TRNC, and teaching of U.S. lecturers in universities
in TRNC were discussed, Erdogan said, “we mainly focused on start of
flights between Washington and Ercan Airport. U.S. President George
W. Bush personally instructed the U.S. State Secretary to study
direct flights from U.S. to Ercan Airport. I also thanked to him for
visit of U.S. Congressmen to TRNC. A group of British businessmen
also visited TRNC. However issues about the universities were not
discussed. More than one year passed for the period about the report
which UN Secretary General presented to UN Security Council. We asked
support for this. We expressed our belief that UN Security Council
should make its decision from now on about this issue.”
Asked what the government was thinking to do to prevent
anti-Americanism tendencies, Erdogan said, “we are already showing
this with our implementations. Reactions are not needed.”
ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Regarding economic relations between Turkey and the United States,
Erdogan said that there are 373 U.S. companies in Turkey at the moment.
“We expect some incentives to increase this number. If several
suggestions are made in this issue, I believe interest of U.S.
companies towards Turkey will increase,” he added.
“These companies have several problems in Turkey and we are aware of
them. We have taken steps to eliminate these difficulties,” he noted.
Erdogan said, “there are positive developments about some new
investments. I believe this process will speed up after our meeting
with Bush.”
Upon another question, Erdogan stressed that Bush used the expression
‘strategical partnership’ regarding relations between the two
countries. Erdogan said, “we have confirmed this during our meeting.
Steps which were and will be taken can only be possible through
partnership. The clearest example is Afghanistan issue. We have seen
examples of this in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Somali.”
IRAN ISSUE
When asked whether U.S. concerns over Iran’s nuclear armament
possibility was discussed during the meeting, Erdogan said, “it is
impossible to react positively to nuclear energy when it is taken up
as weapons of mass destruction.”
“If it is considered as humanitarian means, then it has become a
different issue. We conveyed that if this issue is considered as
weapons of mass destruction, Turkey is negative towards it and it
made necessary suggestions. We will continue to do so,” he added.
Erdogan said, “Turkey and Iran have relations in natural gas
and trade areas. Certainly, it is impossible to undervalue this
condition. But Turkey is negative towards nuclear energy in the aspect
of weapons of mass destruction.”
Upon a question about demands of the United States from Turkey,
Erdogan said, “opposition in Turkey criticizes us about our
accomplishments regarding these issues. I gave you concrete examples;
Turkey has planned to give an assistance worth of 100 million USD
to Afghanistan. Turkey commands ISAF for the second time within
two years. Turkey has provided logistic support in Iraq issue. Also
attitude of citizens of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
and determination of Turkish government about Cyprus issue as well as
Turkey’s attitude towards Broader Middle East Initiative are obvious.”
SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Upon another question, Erdogan said that so-called Armenian genocide
was not discussed during the meeting.
“Statements of Bush on April 24th about the issue are known. This
issue was overcome and there is no need to keep it on the agenda.
There are positive developments about the issue. For instance,
so-called Armenian genocide was rejected in Belgium. Also there are
positive developments in Council of Europe in this issue. Positive
activities are continuing in Germany as well. We will pursue our
studies based on documents and information,” he added.

Freedom of press: imposed or necessary?
Boris Navasardian
President of Yerevan press club
Dear readers,
Between May 31 and June 7, 2005, you had an opportunity to address
your questions on the Yerkir’s website to BORIS NAVASARDIAN, President
of Yerevan press club.
Below are the answers to your questions. See the full version of the
interview in Armenian.
Thank you for your active participation: Spartak Seyranian,
editor-in-chief of “Yerkir” Weekly.
Jirair – Freedom of press is a super-goal for any country, and
especially for Armenia. But how should we treat a reporter, whose
report is often deliberately incorrect, to say the least. Please,
do not reply in a classical way that “readers decline such papers,”
or “you can sue those papers,” because people do not read papers in
today’s Armenia (the newspaper circulations are the proof of this),
and the level of trust in courts can be seen in the Yerkir Online’s
previous interview.
Boris Navasardian – The question is somewhat rhetoric. How a person
— regardless of his/her profession — is regarded if he or she
lies or is engaged in a fraud? This is especially true in case of
journalists who use words and facts as their key tools. What should
we do in such cases? Of course, the journalist should not be thrown
in jail; neither the paper (TV station) should be shut down. The
best way is the clear diversification of the papers in the market
so that everybody knows that one paper is a quality one, the other
is a “tabloid.” A media outlet is a product as everything else. For
instance, we trust the quality of one garment; other times we buy
a cheap piece of clothing just to wear it once or twice. However,
both garments have the rights to be represented in the market. There
are people whose views and knowledge are appreciated, and there
are individuals who simply gossip: we might listen to what they are
saying out of curiosity but we hardly trust them. When you know who
is who, the damage from misinformation can be much less. In Armenia,
however, you may see quality reports and extreme “tabloidness” in
the same paper. The situation will change eventually. Many editors
and reporters are addressing this issue already.
Garegin Vardazarian – What are your organization’s plans in developing
our journalism, protecting the rights of media outlets, enhancing
the professionalism and press freedom?
Boris Navasardian – We are trying to actively react to current needs
and challenges. All the issues that I touched upon in my previous
answers are reflected in our projects: minimizing the government’s role
in regulating the media, simultaneously establishing self-regulation
bodies, improvement of journalism education and implementation of
international standards in the Armenian journalism. In addition,
the enhancement of media’s role in Armenia’s integration in regional
processes is one of the pivotal goals of the Yerevan Press Club. To
learn more about our projects, you may visit our web sites at:
; ;
See the full version of the interview in Armenian.

Head of Armenian Church in the Valley
KFSN, CA
June 13 2005
June 13, 2005 – The head of the world’s Armenian church is in Fresno
for a few days, worshiping with the faithful and speaking with city
leaders.
“This man is the symbol of the church,” says Fresno City Councilmember
Tom Boyajian.
Monday, Karekin II was greeted by Fresno’s deputy mayor at Fresno
City Hall.
In attendance were several city leaders to meet and greet his holiness.
Karekin II is essentially the pope to seven million people, including
50,000 in the Central Valley.
He will be making several appearances in the Valley, including at
Children’s Hospital.

AK Party deputy Comez addresses conference in Yerevan University
Turkish Press
June 13 2005
YEREVAN (AA) – Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Turan
Comez who attended a conference in Yerevan University, said that it
(the conference) was just a meeting, but in fact it was a significant
step taken for the peace and stability in this geography (where Turkey
and Armenia were situated).
Addressing the conference on Turkish-Armenian relations held at
Yerevan University, Comez said that the conference (in Yerevan)
was welcomed by Turkey.
Noting that Turkey wanted to have good and peaceful relations with
its neighbors, Comez said that there should be more visits between
the people of two countries to improve Turkish-Armenian relations.
“The communication channels of universities, NGOs and media between
the two countries should be particularly open,” said Comez.
Upon a question of an Armenian lecturer asking the attitude of Turkish
parliamentarians towards relations with Armenia, Comez said that “all
Turkish parliamentarians want to have good relations with Armenia.”
“Such kind of platforms are very important to overcome the biased
perceptions of the two countries,” said Comez.
Comez remarked that the aim of his visit was “to get to know each
other” adding that “I have been supported by many people in Turkey
regarding my visit to Armenia… You can call my visit either as one
of friendship, or dialogue, or official visit or unofficial visit.
The thing that is important is the dialogue that I want to have
with you…”
Upon a question about the Armenian claims of genocide, Comez said that
societies had painful incidents in the past. Noting that Turks and
Armenians lived peacefully for 850 years, Comez said that Armenians
were appointed to important posts in the Ottoman State.
“We should take lessons from the past, we went through sad incidents
in 1915, the Ottomans fought in three fronts in that period. It is
impossible for us not to be sad about the death of our Armenian
citizens due to the law on deportation. But if we want progress,
we should always look to the future,” he added.
Upon a question about the conference which was cancelled at Bogazici
University, Comez said that Turkey was a democratic country where
all views could be discussed openly.

Turkish Press
June 13 2005
Press Scan
MILLIYET
TUZMEN POSTPONES HIS VISIT TO SWITZERLAND
Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen has postponed his scheduled visit
to Switzerland after opening of a legal procedure against Turkish
Institute of History (TTK) Chairman Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu about
his statement rejecting the so-called Armenian genocide.

Tuzmen And Swiss Economy Minister Reciprocally Postpone Visits
Turkish Press
June 13 2005
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish State Minister Kursat Tuzmen and Swiss Economy
Minister Joseph Deiss postponed visits reciprocally because of the
investigation opened against Yusuf Halacoglu, the Chairman of Turkish
Institute of History, in Switzerland.
Diplomatic sources told A.A correspondent that Tuzmen’s visit to
Switzerland, scheduled for June 22nd and 24th, and his participation to
Turkish-Swiss Business Council meeting was postponed to an indefinite
date.
Deiss’s scheduled visit to Turkey, planned to take place at the
beginning of September, will not take place, either.
A legal procedure was opened in Switzerland against Halacoglu because
of his statement against the allegations of so-called Armenian
genocide.
The allegations of so-called Armenian genocide continue to be an
element overshadowing Turkish-Swiss relations from time to time.
The most important development affecting the relations negatively was
approval of several resolutions by the Swiss authorities to recognize
the so-called genocide.

Belgian Senate Rejects Draft On Armenian Genocide
BRUSSELS (AA) – Belgian Senate Justice Commission rejected on Tuesday
a draft resolution aiming to punish those who deny allegations on
so-called Armenian genocide.
The draft was submitted to the parliament by the Valon Liberal Party
(MR) and the Valon Greens (ECOLO). It envisaged imprisonment terms
and fines to those who do not admit the so-called genocide.
After the rejection of the draft, the Belgian Senate will take
into consideration only the genocides recognized by international
organizations.

Iran: Iran to build first wind power plant in Armenia
Based on the accords signed by Iran and Armenia recently, SANIR
Co will construct four units of wind power plant in Armenia in the
next two months, Ali Kadkhodaii, managing director of SANIR Co said,
MNA reported.
The capacity of the power plant is 2.5 MW experimentally and it is
the first of the power plant that Iran is to construct outside its
borders, he added.
Iran and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) here on
Saturday to bolster bilateral cooperation in the field of electricity.
The MOU was signed by Iran’s Energy Minister Habibollah Bitaraf and
his Armenian counterpart Armen Movsisyan.
Under the MOU, Iran and Armenia reached consensus to implement the
third 400-kW two-circuit transmission line project, valued at 90
million dollars.
The two countries are also slated to implement the second phase of
Iran-Armenia pipeline project valued at 130 million dollars along
with the complementary project of the fifth unit of Harazdan thermal
power plant.
Under the framework of the agreement, Iranian companies of the Iran
Power Plant Projects Management Company (MAPNA) and SANIR are due to
add a new unit of gas power plant, capable of being transformed into
combined cycle, to Armenia. The project is worth 150 million dollars.

Basesgioglu: Efforts For Employment Of Youth Are Important Investments In Future
Turkish Press
June 13 2005
GENEVA (AA) – Turkish Labor & Social Security Minister Murat
Basesgioglu said, “international efforts for employment of youth and
contributions of International Labor Organization (ILO) to this issue
are important investments in the future of countries, and we support
these efforts.”
Taking the floor at the 93rd General Assembly meeting of ILO in
Switzerland on Tuesday, Basesgioglu said, “social partners and
non-governmental organizations should jointly fight against child
labor for the future of societies.”
“Turkey exerts efforts against this issue especially by concentrating
on girls within the scope of a national policy,” he added.
Basesgioglu said, “the importance of elimination of poverty and
settlement of social justice for social and global peace are among the
basic principles of the ILO. One of the test incidents in this issue
is Palestinian problem which cannot be solved for a half century.”
“The report on ‘Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab
Territories’ refreshed hopes to solve this problem and a new milieu
has emerged. This chance should not be missed. We want settlement of
a permanent and just peace in the lands,” he added.
“Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection under ILO
will have important contributions to the efforts. Turkey contributed
to this fund last year and also it sent humanitarian aid worth of 1
million USD the same year,” said Basesgioglu.
Meanwhile, Turk-Is (Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions) Chairman
Salih Kilic said that Turkey recorded progress in reflection of ILO
conventions onto Turkish national regulations. Kilic said, “Turkey is
waiting for beginning of EU entry talks. Some circles which do not want
Turkey’s EU membership are trying to affect the process negatively.”
“One of the examples is so-called Armenian genocide claims. Armenian
citizens living in Turkey confirm that Turks did not impose genocide
on Armenians in the history. Assessing several administrative measures
during World War I as genocide without taking into consideration the
historical facts and documents is an unjust accusation which we cannot
accept,” he added.