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07/11/2005
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1) Framework for Turkey’s EU Accession Negotiations Garners Sharp Criticism
2) Erdogan Tells San Francisco Audience Turkey Has Nothing to Hide
3) Baku Protesters Demand Free Vote
4) OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair Negotiate in Azerbaijan
1) Framework for Turkey’s EU Accession Negotiations Garners Sharp Criticism
Hundreds of European organizations and foreign leaders call on European Union
to integrate the Armenian genocide in Turkey’s negotiations
BRUSSELS (EAFJD) – -Over 350 associations and key leaders of European civil
society from 21 countries, responded to an appeal by the European Armenian
Federation (EAFJD) to include Armenian genocide recognition in Turkey’s
European Union (EU) negotiations for accession.
The initiative, launched last April as the world marked the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide, garnered support from groups representing Armenian
genocide survivors and their descendants, associations for the defense of
victims of genocide and crimes against humanity, human rights groups, member
organizations of the Charter of European Armenians, as well as key European
political figures.
The European appeal urged the EU to integrate calls by national and European
parliaments to include genocide recognition in the framework of negotiations.
The EAFJD noted that on Tuesday July 5, the European Parliament’s Christian
Democrat French delegation called on the Council “to modify the mandate of
negotiations of the [European] Commission,” notably “to reinforce the
exigencies of Union on essential topics such as freedom of religion, penal
legislation, the recognition of Cyprus, and the recognition of the Armenian
genocide.”
In a July 5 press release issued by the French delegation to the European
Parliament, Jacques Toubon, Vice President of the EU-Turkey Delegation,
accused
the Commission of harboring an “irresponsible attitude” which was “totally
devoid of reality.”
He affirmed that “the official framework of negotiations essentially engages
Turkey on its terms and not the criteria laid down by the [European] Union.”
During the presentation of the negotiations framework to the European
Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), Olli Rehn, the EU Commissioner
responsible for enlargement, revealed that a program geared to promote
“dialogue between Turkish and European civil societies” was in fact
intended to
improve European public opinion about Turkey’s accession to the EU; 40 million
euros will be allocated to that program in 2006 alone.
“We would encourage the EU to utilize the criteria established by the
European
Parliament, adopted since the beginning of Turkey’s accession process, instead
of wasting funds trying to improve Turkey’s image in Europe at the expense of
European tax dollars,” stated European Armenian Federation Chairwoman, Hilda
Tchoboian.
“It is regrettable that the Commission would so openly ignore the wishes of
450 million European citizens and their 730 elected representatives. It is an
abnormal and dangerous situation for democracy. Encouraged by the support of
political parties and leaders in the Union, we will again submit the European
appeal and the signatories list to the European Council in the days leading up
to the October 3 negotiations,” concluded Tchoboian.
2) Erdogan Tells San Francisco Audience Turkey Has Nothing to Hide
SAN FRANCISCO (Combined Sources)–Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
was in
San Francisco on July 7 to rub elbows with US media moguls in a bid to attract
more foreign investment.
Speaking for more than two hours at a forum organized by the World Affairs
Council and The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Erdogan focused mostly on
international terrorism, but also spoke about his country’s relations with
Armenia and the Armenian genocide.
He said that if necessary, Turkey is prepared to come face-to-face with its
past. “We have nothing to hide; we have confidence in our history–it is
impossible that our forefathers would have done anything like this,” he
asserted about the Armenian genocide. He also advised the US not to succumb to
Armenian pressure.
According to Erdogan, Turkey has taken important steps to clarify assertions
that presently harm Turkish Armenian relations. “We don’t think it is right
[for Armenians] to interpret history so as to transfer feelings of hate
generations. We don’t hold hatred. But there are countries who have nothing to
do with this issue that have adopted political decisions which will not
help to
remedy the situation.” Erdogan said he would expect American Armenians to play
a more constructive role.
He said that Armenia, instead of pulling out of Mountainous Karabagh, is
trying to portray its actions as legitimate, through its various worldwide
lobbying efforts. “This is unacceptable. The only country [in the region] that
does not have the courage to benefit from neighborly relations is Armenia;
Armenia’s shortsightedness and unhealthy policy is a waste of time for its
people.”
Erdogan lamented the international community’s snubbing of Turkish occupied
Northern Cyprus. “Greek Cypriots were admitted into the European Union.
Turkish
Cypriots are still facing international isolation,” he said. “What have the
Turkish Cypriots done to deserve such an isolation? How can human rights
activists justify discrimination that Turkish Cypriots are facing in the
island?” He pointed out a recent visit by three US Congressmen to Northern
Cyprus as a positive development “aimed at breaking the political isolation of
the Turkish Cypriots.”
Asked by a reporter how the terrorist attacks in London affect Turkey’s EU
bid, Erdogan said that, ”British authorities say that the bomb attacks were
against whole humanity and all civilizations and they show a calm attitude
against terrorism. This is our common problem. We can’t target one religion or
one country and accuse them… It would be wrong to say that this/that
terrorist organization did this attack before getting clear evidence. This is
the aim of terrorism, to be able to spread propaganda all the time. And we
politicians should not be a tool of it.”
3) Baku Protesters Demand Free Vote
By Greg Walters
BAKU–Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Baku, the capital
of Azerbaijan, on Sunday, demanding a free vote in November’s parliamentary
elections, and raising the possibility of another velvet revolution in the
former Soviet country.
Demonstrators waved orange flags in an echo of last winter’s Orange
Revolution
in Ukraine; several protesters said they were prepared to mount a similar
campaign of peaceful resistance if elections were deemed fraudulent.
Sunday’s protest appeared to be the largest this summer. Internews, a media
support non-governmental organization, estimated that the crowd numbered in
excess of 25,000.
Though at least 200 riot police stood by, there were no immediate reports of
arrests. Anti-government demonstrations have been held in Baku almost every
week for over a month and some have been violently dispersed.
4) OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair Negotiate in Azerbaijan
BAKU (Combined Sources)–The co-chairmen of the Minsk Group began another
round
of regional talks in search of a resolution to the Mountainous Karabagh
conflict.
The American, French and Russian mediators of OSCE’s (Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe) Minsk Group met with Azeri leaders on
Monday and plan to travel to Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh to continue
negotiations.
They released no details about the content of their proposals, citing the
confidentiality of the peace proposals.
A meeting between the president of Armenia and Azerbaijan is scheduled to
take
place in the Russian city of Kazan on August 27.
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