ASBAREZ Online [09-12-2005]

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09/12/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Major Conference at European Parliament Targets Turkey's Record 2) Thousands Rally in Baku against President 3) Group Threatens to Kill Lebanese Armenian Hostage in Iraq 4) Trial of Novelist 'Shows Turkey Not Ready for EU' 1) Major Conference at European Parliament Targets Turkey's Record BRUSSELS--A large-scale public conference scheduled for September 22 will address Turkey's violations of basic rights as it prepares to begin accession talks with the European Union (EU) on October 3. Organized by the European Armenian Federation, the conference, "December 2004--October 2005: Has Turkey Changed?" is supported by the largest political group in the European Parliament, the EPP-ED--the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats in the European Parliament. Specifically, Dr. Ingo Friedrich, vice-president of the Parliament, has conveyed his commitment to fully reviewing Turkey's position prior to the start of accession talks. The conference will feature lectures by executive members of several Human Rights NGOs, as well as leadership of various European political parties. They will review Turkey's violation of human rights and political norms in the country, as they relate to freedom of expression, minority rights, the role of army, the Cyprus issue, its policy of denial of the Armenian genocide, and freedom of worship. Beside Friedrich, scheduled speakers include: Jacques Toubon, vice-chairman of the EU-Turkey parliamentary delegation; Panagiotis Beglitis, member of the EU-Turkey parliamentary delegation; Francesco Enrico Speroni, Member of the European Parliament; Pierre Mirel, European Commission, Director for the Candidate Countries in the DG Enlargement; Philippe Kalfayan, General Secretary of the International Federation of Human Rights; Dogan Özgüden, President of Info-Türk foundation; Hilda Tchoboian, President of the European Armenian Federation; Irnerio Seminatore, President of the European Institute for International Relations; Oliver Money-Kyrle, Director of Projects Division, International Federation of Journalists; Franck Biancheri, President of Newropeans. A Consultative Meeting of European Armenians scheduled for September 23, just one year after their first ever convention, will allow members of Armenian associations and organizations from more than twenty EU countries to respond towards Turkey's new neighborhood policy toward Armenia, the role of Armenian culture and remembrance in Europe, and current affairs such as Time Magazine and AXA issues. "A few days before October 3, this conference will provide a unique opportunity for European civil society to take action on the political fate of the Union," said Laurent Leylekian, Executive Director of the European Armenian Federation. Information and registration for the two public events are available on the European Armenian Federation's website: <; p3?lang=en 2) Thousands Rally in Baku against President BAKU (AP)--More than 2,000 orange-clad opposition members rallied in the Azerbaijani capital Saturday, demanding that President Ilhan Aliyev resign and that authorities ensure that parliamentary elections in November are free and fair. Mounting pressure on authorities has led some observers to predict the oil-rich Caspian nation could see a popular uprising similar to those that have taken place in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. Yelling "Resign!" and carrying orange flags and banners in Russian and English, the government opponents railed against Aliyev. "We have shown our strength and this is only the beginning," said Sardar Jalaloglu, a top leader with the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, which is one of three parties making up the opposition Azadlig bloc alliance. The crowds responded, yelling "Tents on the Square" a reference to the tent camp that sprang up in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev during the mass demonstrations last year that came to be known as the Orange Revolution. Azadlig has borrowed its campaign color from Ukraine. Azerbaijan formally launched the election campaign Wednesday after authorities registered more than 2,000 candidates running for 125 parliament seats in the November 6 vote. Of 2,059 candidates registered, 432 belong to the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party that controls parliament. Azadlig and the Yeni Siyaset party are seen as the leading challengers. Opposition parties have rallied almost weekly amid fears that Aliyev's government could try to rig the vote. The October 2003 presidential vote, in which Aliyev succeeded his late father, Heydar Aliyev, was widely alleged to have been fraudulent, triggering clashes between police and demonstrators. 3) Group Threatens to Kill Lebanese Armenian Hostage in Iraq DUBAI (AFP)--A previously unheard of group in Iraq threatened to kill a Lebanese hostage it accused of working with a liquor distribution firm that "deals with the occupiers," according to a video posted on the Internet. "The Group for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" said it had "captured an importer of food and liquor in Baghdad who works for a company that deals directly with the crusader occupiers of Iraq." It demanded the company's "withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible in order to free the Lebanese hostageotherwise woe on him and you." The hostage, who, speaking in Arabic, gave the Armenian name of Garabet Jean Chekerjian, said he held dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality. He was shown in the footage sitting on the floor with his hands and feet tied. A hooded gunman pointed an automatic weapon at his head. The captive exhorted Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and the Lebanese embassy in Baghdad to put pressure on his employers to pull out of Iraq. "I hold dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality and I work with the branches of the 'Jetco Trading' (phonetic) company in Lebanon, Cyprus and Iraq. The company supplies foodstuffs and alcoholic beverages to the occupation forces and the Iraqi army," he said. "I urge the company to leave Iraq and I ask the Lebanese embassy to put pressure on the company and its owner to sever links with the occupation forces and the Iraqi army." Addressing unspecified people he named as "Gebran, Avo and Rita," as well as Lahoud, the captive called on all Lebanese companies to quit Iraq, which he said was occupied "as Lebanon had been 15 years ago." Dozens of foreigners have been kidnapped by anti-US insurgents in Iraq and some have been executed by their captors. About 30 Lebanese working for private companies in Iraq have been kidnapped and later freed, most of them in exchange for a ransom. But in September 2004, one Lebanese national was killed by his captors and three others died during an attempted kidnap. 4) Trial of Novelist 'Shows Turkey Not Ready for EU' By Amberin Zaman in Ankara and Tony Paterson in Berlin An internationally acclaimed Turkish novelist who faces prosecution for speaking out about the mass slaughter of Armenians during the 20th Century, has said the case against him shows his country may not be ready to join the European Union. Orhan Pamuk, who faces up to three years in jail if convicted of "denigrating Turkey," said reforms promised by the Turkish government in return for a guarantee of talks on EU membership had not materialized. His trial is scheduled for December 2005. Orhan Pamuk: 'Not much tolerance' Prosecutors provoked a furor across Europe last month by announcing the action against him under the country's recently adopted penal code, which is supposed to bring Turkish criminal law more closely in line with that of EU countries. In his first interview since the prosecution was announced, Pamuk declared: "Unfortunately I do not believe that Turkey has come very far in this respect. Nothing has happened over the past year. Turkey has sat on the promises that Europe has given and taken it easy." Although forbidden to comment directly on his own case, the best-selling author added: "Turkey has not changed so much. Laws have been changed, but the thought processes, our culture and our way of seeing things... that has not changed much. "There have been legal and political changes in the hope of EU membership. But the trial opened against me shows... that the state prosecutors have not changed very much. It shows that there is not much tolerance in society." Pamuk's comments, in an interview with a German newspaper, come as several countries, including France, have stepped up their effort to block Turkey's entry to the EU after public opposition to the inclusion of such a large, predominantly Muslim, country. The EU has long cited Turkey's checkered record on human rights as an obstacle to membership, and its government--led by Recep Erdogan, Turkey's mildly Islamist prime minister - has enacted a series of new laws in an attempt to overcome the objection. Talks on membership are due to start next month. Critics maintain that Turkey's new penal code falls short of EU standards by proscribing free debate of the Armenian tragedy and criticism of Turkey's 1974 invasion of Cyprus. Last week Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, singled out the Pamuk prosecution for criticism in a speech in which he nonetheless argued for Turkish membership of the EU. "There is still some way to go with implementation, as the recent charges against the distinguished Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk show, in the context of freedom of speech," he said. Pamuk drew nationalist fury in Turkey and received anonymous death threats after telling a Swiss newspaper in February that "30,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it". One Turkish official in the western town of Sutluce ordered citizens to destroy all of his books. Several of Pamuk's novels, including the acclaimed My Name is Red, have been translated into English. His most recent bestseller, Snow, explores tensions between Turkey's secular elite and religious conservatives. Turkey has long denied that more than one million members of its once thriving Armenian community were the victims of systematic annihilation between 1915 and 1923. Armenians and many others label the campaign genocide--a description of the events which is proscribed in Turkish law. Prosecutors are still deciding whether to bring further charges against Pamuk for referring to the more recent killing of Kurds--whose sometimes violent separatist movements in the east of the country have been brutally suppressed by successive Turkish governments. 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) 2005 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.