Month: October 2006

SHEKURE BASMAN: MY SON, ORKHAN PAMUK MADE GREAT MISTAKE BY RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Azeri Press Agency
Oct 16 2006

"My son, Orkhan Pamuk made a great mistake by saying that 1.000.000
Armenians and 30.000 Kurds were killed in Turkey. Probably he said
it without any information," Shekure Basman, mother of Orkhan Pamuk
who was awarded Nobel Prize said, APA reports.

In her interview to Sabah newspaper Shekure Basman said that the
thoughts of her son were exaggerated by Turkish press.

"Orkhan told his thoughts to a Swiss newspaper. This newspaper has
only 30-40.000 circulations. But Turkish press exaggerated it; some
radicals launched a criminal case against my patriot son. If press
did not meddle in government’s affairs the interview given to Swiss
newspaper would not have produced a reaction. Turkish press is guilty;
the government has no deal with it. Talking about false Armenian
Genocide, Shekure Basman said that the teachers taught nothing about
it at schools.

"History books did not write about "Armenian genocide", so Orkhan
learnt nothing at school. He read nothing about it in history books,"
Shekure Basman said.

VATICAN: POPE’S VISIT TO TURKEY OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED

AKI, Italy
Oct 16 2006

Vatican City, 16 Oct. (AKI) – The Vatican officially confirmed
on Monday Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Turkey, his first to an
Muslim-majority country since becoming pontiff in April last year.

The pope will travel to Ankara on 28 November on a four-day trip
during which he will be visiting the western coastal city of Izmir,
Ephesus and Istanbul, the Vatican announced. The Vatican said in a
statement Monday that the programme of the papal visit will announced
at a later date.

However, as the official guest of Turkey’s president Ahmet Necdet
Sezer, the pontiff is expected to visit the Anitkabir, the mausoloeum
of the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. He will also meet
Sezer at the presidential palace, Cankaya Kosk, in Ankara.

Benedict XVI is also widely expected to visit a shrine at Ephesus,
near the western coastal city of Izmir, where many Christians and
Muslims believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, once lived.

The pope should also reportedly celebrate on 30 November in
Istanbul the feast of Saint Andrew with the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople Bartholomew I and the Armenian patriarch, Mesrob II –
the two leaders of Turkey’s tiny Christian community.

CHIRAC READY TO HEAR TURKEY ON GENOCIDE

The Peninsula, Qatar
Source : REUTERS
Oct 16 2006

ankara ~U French leader Jacques Chirac has told Turkish Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan he is sorry French lawmakers approved a bill making
it a crime to deny Armenians were victims of genocide at the hands
of Ottoman Turks.

"Chirac called me and told me he was sorry and he said that he is
listening to our statements and he thinks we are right and he will
do what he can in the upcoming process," Erdogan told his ruling AK
Party, in broadcast comments, during a dinner on Saturday evening.

Turkey denies any genocide, saying the Armenians were victims of
a partisan war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives. Turkey
accuses Armenians of carrying out massacres while siding with invading
Russian troops during World War I.

The French president’s office did not comment when contacted about
Chirac’s call to Erdogan on Saturday morning.

But immediately after Thursday’s vote, the French Foreign Ministry said
it did not support the lower house bill, calling it "unnecessary and
untimely" and indicating it might never become law as it still needed
to be ratified by both the upper house Senate and French president.

About 100 people protested outside the French consulate in Istanbul
yesterday, throwing eggs at the building.

Many Turks also see the genocide vote as a way for the European
Union to keep Muslim Turkey out of the 25-member club, which Ankara
is negotiating to join.

The European Commission has said that recognition of the genocide
was not a pre-condition for Turkey entering the EU.

But Chirac and the two leading candidates to replace him in polls
due next May – Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal – all say Ankara
must accept the genocide before joining the bloc.

France is home to Europe’s largest Armenian diaspora.

Erdogan warned on Friday that Turkey was considering retaliatory
measures against France.

French firms have said the bill would create repercussions for their
business in Turkey, a fast-growing market which imported 4.7 billion
euros’ worth of French goods in 2005.

EU TELLS TURKEY TIME IS RUNNING OUT OVER CYPRUS DISPUTE

Associated Press
Oct 16 2006

LUXEMBOURG The European Union and Turkey made little headway Monday
in resolving a stalemate over Ankara’s refusal to open its ports to
Cypriot planes and ships – a decision that the EU said could lead to
a break in Turkey’s membership talks.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn also criticized Turkey again
about the pace of its reforms, urging the country to "urgently" pass
laws, particularly on changing its penal code, which he said violated
European standards on human rights in freedom of expression.

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja – whose country holds the
rotating EU presidency and who was chairing talks with Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul – said talks to keep on track entry negotiations
depended on compromise.

"It takes two to tango," Tuomioja told reporters after the meeting,
adding that Gul and Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders had
welcomed a new initiative by Finland to try to resolve the standoff.

"That is a good prospect, because I think it is in no one’s interest,
not in any member state of the EU, or in Turkey’s interest that we
fail," Tuomioja said.

The Finnish compromise offers to reduce restrictions on the Turkish-run
north of the island if Turkey in turn opened its ports to the Greek
Cypriots.

The proposal would open up the northern Cyprus seaport of Famagusta
to free trade with the EU. In return the Turkish side should hand
over control of the abandoned town of Varosha.

Both Greece and Cyprus, backed by other EU nations, have threatened to
block future talks if Ankara does not live up to an agreement signed
last year to extend its customs union with the Greek Cypriot part of
Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004.

Turkey has refused to accept Greek Cypriot shipments until an
international embargo against Turkish Cypriots in the north of the
Mediterranean island is lifted.

Failure by Turkey to implement the deal could lead to EU leaders
suspending talks with Ankara in December.

"The problem is still there," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier said. "The continuation of the accession process hinges
on the question if Turkey is ready and capable of ratifying the …

(customs) protocol. Turkey is not ready to do this so far."

Gul said his government would work to find a solution.

"We have from the very beginning adopted a very constructive approach,
and we will continue to be constructive, but we also have to remember
that it’s important that the two communities on the island also
approach the issue constructively," Gul said.

Last week, Greece and Cyprus forced the EU to postpone the opening of
a new chapter of Turkey’s EU membership talks – on industrial policy –
until a solution to the customs dispute was found.

The dispute has also threatened ongoing efforts to reunite the two
sides of the island, which has been divided since Turkey invaded in
1974 after an attempted coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Turkey has no diplomatic relations with the island’s internationally
recognized Greek Cypriot government, and backs the breakaway Turkish
Cypriot republic in the north.

In 2004, Greek Cypriots voted against a U.N.-backed plan aimed at
reuniting the country on the eve of its entry into the EU, essentially
excluding the north from receiving EU benefits. Turkish Cypriots had
approved the reunification plan.

The EU’s enlargement chief chided Turkey on its slipping reform agenda,
and urged Gul to act urgently to change Article 301 of its penal
code – which sets out punishment for insulting the Turkish Republic,
its officials or "Turkishness."

It has been used to press charges against dozens of authors,
journalists, publishers and scholars, including novelist Orhan Pamuk,
who won the Nobel literature prize last week.

EU officials have warned that the Turkish law violates EU human rights
standards and must be scrapped if Turkey wants to join.

"It should be addressed as a matter of urgency," Rehn told Gul. "We
see that the best and surest way of erasing this serious problem is
either repealing or amending article 301."

Meanwhile, Gul reiterated Turkey’s condemnation against a French
bill that would criminalize denying the WWI killings of Armenians
was genocide. The legislation still needs approval from the French
Senate and president before it becomes law.

"This has affected negatively the prestige of France as a country
where all thoughts and opinions can be freely expressed," Gul said.

LUXEMBOURG The European Union and Turkey made little headway Monday
in resolving a stalemate over Ankara’s refusal to open its ports to
Cypriot planes and ships – a decision that the EU said could lead to
a break in Turkey’s membership talks.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn also criticized Turkey again
about the pace of its reforms, urging the country to "urgently" pass
laws, particularly on changing its penal code, which he said violated
European standards on human rights in freedom of expression.

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja – whose country holds the
rotating EU presidency and who was chairing talks with Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul – said talks to keep on track entry negotiations
depended on compromise.

"It takes two to tango," Tuomioja told reporters after the meeting,
adding that Gul and Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders had
welcomed a new initiative by Finland to try to resolve the standoff.

"That is a good prospect, because I think it is in no one’s interest,
not in any member state of the EU, or in Turkey’s interest that we
fail," Tuomioja said.

The Finnish compromise offers to reduce restrictions on the Turkish-run
north of the island if Turkey in turn opened its ports to the Greek
Cypriots.

The proposal would open up the northern Cyprus seaport of Famagusta
to free trade with the EU. In return the Turkish side should hand
over control of the abandoned town of Varosha.

Both Greece and Cyprus, backed by other EU nations, have threatened to
block future talks if Ankara does not live up to an agreement signed
last year to extend its customs union with the Greek Cypriot part of
Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004.

Turkey has refused to accept Greek Cypriot shipments until an
international embargo against Turkish Cypriots in the north of the
Mediterranean island is lifted.

Failure by Turkey to implement the deal could lead to EU leaders
suspending talks with Ankara in December.

"The problem is still there," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier said. "The continuation of the accession process hinges
on the question if Turkey is ready and capable of ratifying the …

(customs) protocol. Turkey is not ready to do this so far."

Gul said his government would work to find a solution.

"We have from the very beginning adopted a very constructive approach,
and we will continue to be constructive, but we also have to remember
that it’s important that the two communities on the island also
approach the issue constructively," Gul said.

Last week, Greece and Cyprus forced the EU to postpone the opening of
a new chapter of Turkey’s EU membership talks – on industrial policy –
until a solution to the customs dispute was found.

The dispute has also threatened ongoing efforts to reunite the two
sides of the island, which has been divided since Turkey invaded in
1974 after an attempted coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Turkey has no diplomatic relations with the island’s internationally
recognized Greek Cypriot government, and backs the breakaway Turkish
Cypriot republic in the north.

In 2004, Greek Cypriots voted against a U.N.-backed plan aimed at
reuniting the country on the eve of its entry into the EU, essentially
excluding the north from receiving EU benefits. Turkish Cypriots had
approved the reunification plan.

The EU’s enlargement chief chided Turkey on its slipping reform agenda,
and urged Gul to act urgently to change Article 301 of its penal
code – which sets out punishment for insulting the Turkish Republic,
its officials or "Turkishness."

It has been used to press charges against dozens of authors,
journalists, publishers and scholars, including novelist Orhan Pamuk,
who won the Nobel literature prize last week.

EU officials have warned that the Turkish law violates EU human rights
standards and must be scrapped if Turkey wants to join.

"It should be addressed as a matter of urgency," Rehn told Gul. "We
see that the best and surest way of erasing this serious problem is
either repealing or amending article 301."

Meanwhile, Gul reiterated Turkey’s condemnation against a French
bill that would criminalize denying the WWI killings of Armenians
was genocide. The legislation still needs approval from the French
Senate and president before it becomes law.

"This has affected negatively the prestige of France as a country
where all thoughts and opinions can be freely expressed," Gul said.

THINKING MORE LOUDLY ON TURKEY’S EU BID
Barin Kayaoglu

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Oct 16 2006

Last week I discussed that while Europeans might be deliberately
unaware of the developments in Turkey that support for European Union
membership was dwindling, I was still optimistic about Turkey’s future
with the EU. The reasons for Turkish skepticism, as was argued, were
the EU’s reluctance to engage Turkey in an honest fashion and some
members’ demands that had nothing to do with standard membership
negotiations. The French parliament’s vote last week that makes
the denial of the Armenian "Genocide" illegal and Dutch political
parties’ exertion of pressure on candidates of Turkish origins to
accept Armenian allegations as facts or face expulsion from electoral
lists has given me more than sufficient proof to speak out against
my country’s ill-fated EU venture.

What is Europe Trying to Do? What Should Turkey Do?

Last week’s vote in the French parliament is indicative that the EU
is perfectly comfortable and compatible with the curbing of freedom
of expression and throwing anyone to jail for non-conformism. The
Netherlands, which until recently prided itself for being one of the
most liberal countries in the world, is now forcing candidates of
Turkish origins to take what can only be parallel to the "loyalty
oaths" of the McCarthy era in the United States in the 1950s.

To give some context, the McCarthy era denotes that part of American
political history when Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin
declared in February 1950 that he had a list of Communists who
worked in the U.S. government. With concern over Communist "gains"
in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia growing in the
United States, McCarthy began investigations in Congress where he
bullied and psychologically tortured people on flimsy evidence for
being Communists. Many lives were shattered while the investigations
snowballed without recourse to even the basic tenets of law. The
craze went on for nearly three years until the Senate realized that
what was at stake was not Communist infiltration but the destruction
of the basics of American democracy.

Today, France and the Netherlands are doing exactly the same thing.

By giving credence to Armenian allegations and shutting out all
legitimate avenues for a discussion, Europe is destroying freedom of
expression, supposedly one of its founding principles.

It is perfectly possible that our Armenian friends might be right
and we Turks might be wrong, although I believe that this is not the
case. We can talk about mutual responsibility on the part of both Turks
and Armenians, but an Armenian genocide is too far fetched a claim. On
the other hand, by barring meaningful discussion over the events at
the turn of the twentieth century, Europeans are essentially weakening
Armenian claims because only lies need coercive persuasion. The truth
is always strong enough to stand the challenge.

Some might argue that the EU is an organization of twenty-five
countries and that French and Dutch inelegance does not represent
the European project. This is superficially an acceptable statement
yet does not comport with the lessons of the past and the prospects
of the future. For quite a while, Turkey has been reprimanded
in EU circles like a petulant child: "Recognize Greek Cyprus,
solve the Cyprus conflict, recognize Armenian arguments, lower
your self-esteem." Unfortunately, whenever Turkey tries to defend
its position and to at least reach some common ground with the EU,
its attempts have been rebuffed: The EU’s budget to manage the aid
to be given to Turkey during the accession negotiations is still not
in existence; none of the promised financial aid has been sent to the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since the referendum on the UN plan
in 2004; and Turkey’s overtures for reviving the process to resolve the
Cyprus question have been met with European countries’ indifference.

Turkey does not need to lower its expectations from the future for
this hypocrisy. Its way of handling bad novelists on untenable charges
is already causing the country needless headaches while paving the
way for those untalented novelists to get international acclaim and
to even become Nobel laureates (I am seriously considering to write
a novel that is also totally unreadable in Turkish yet gives a very
"nostalgic" taste of "the East" in foreign languages). What Turkey
needs to do is exactly the opposite of what it is doing now: lift the
limits on freedom of expression (especially the "elastic" clauses
of article 301 of the penal code) in the widest possible sense and
withdraw from the accession negotiations if not from candidacy.

The Need to Continue Domestic Reforms More Robustly in Turkey

It might appear as if Turkey’s withdrawal from negotiating with the
EU might cause domestic reforms to come to a standstill. In reality,
what would happen from withdrawal is the exact opposite of this
speculation. Until recently, integration with Europe was one of the
conducive elements for domestic reform in Turkey. Many unacceptable
programs were swallowed by the Turkish people for EU membership. EU
membership meant a better future.

But that was the time when support for membership was quite high.

That is not the case anymore. With Turkish people becoming increasingly
more hostile with the EU’s ambivalence and lack of sincerity, it is
probably sensible to give up on the EU bid for the sake of greater
levels of democratization and prosperity. Any reform attempts from
now on that are initiated to ensure the continuation of Turkey’s
candidacy will run into stiff popular opposition in Turkey.

Insisting on such a course can only be a recipe for failure.

Turkish people would be more willing to accept the tough choices
ahead of them only if they are not made under the coercion of the EU.

Just yesterday, the president of the EU Commission, Mr. Jose Manuel
Barroso, declared that he was worried over Turkey because "the rhythm
of the reforms" had slowed down.[i] What Mr. Barroso fails to admit
is that the precise reason for Turkish reluctance in pushing further
reforms is the lack of genuine engagement on the part of the EU.

Without inducement, any meaningful reform attempt would fail.

Counterintuitively, it is more sensible to hold back reforms while
waiting for an EU impetus or completely disregarding the EU and
vigorously pushing for more reforms.

"Getting Angry with the Infidel, Breaking the Fast During Ramadan"

A Turkish proverb advises one not to "get angry with the infidel"
and prematurely break one’s fast during Ramadan. Turkey must be
prudent to follow this advice. Last week’s circus in France and
the Netherlands was accompanied by the appearance of strange bills
in the Turkish parliament that would make it a crime to deny that
the French committed genocide in Algeria in the 1950s. Precisely to
have the moral upper hand over the French, the Turkish parliament
should take this opportunity to resoundingly defeat the bill and
hence demonstrate that freedom of expression, even when defending a
lie that the French proudly brought "civilization" to Algeria and not
death and destruction, must be allowed. Only lies need dictation. The
truth is always strong enough to stand the challenge.

Another important thing to point out is that commercial boycotting of
French firms, especially those that are already invested in Turkey,
is a bad idea. The liberal market economy has a logic of its own that
is more or less independent from political considerations. While
French firms that bid in Turkish defense contracts can be easily –
and should be – shut out, those companies such as Renault, Danone,
and Carrefour that provide employment to Turkish workers and pay taxes
to the Turkish government must not be punished. Punishing them would
be punishing Turkish labor. All French firms that want to invest in
Turkey should be welcomed; that would set an even better example to
attract direct foreign investments from elsewhere.

Arrogance or Realism?

Withdrawing from the EU should not mean adapting a hostile stance
against Europe. On the contrary, Turkey can really be Europeanized by
staying out of the EU. At the moment, the EU’s mistreatment of Turkey
is causing a lot of resentment among the Turkish people, potentially
scuttling any further reform attempts and perhaps the modernization
project as a whole. Profound structural reform in Turkey can only
be realized when it is not forced down Turkey’s throat by the EU. In
order to do that, Turkey and the EU need to part company.

This is, without a doubt, a thin line to tread. For the last decade
or so, Turkey’s democratization has come about with the hope of
joining the EU. For better or worse, the changes that were adapted
to increase freedom and prosperity were equated with the prospects
of joining the EU. If that connection is lost, and it might be lost
very soon, then Turkish people might give up on their hopes for a
better future. Turks are already resentful against the EU. In order
to curb that resentment, it is most prudent to back away from the
root cause of the distrust and place Turkish people’s well-being –
not EU’s never-ending demands – to the center of policy-making. That
would be better for both Turkey and the EU.

Barýn Kayaoðlu is a Ph.D. student in history at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and a regular contributor to
the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

–Boundary_(ID_4snvTWcm9KOJWuxWs4UXVQ)–

FRANCE EASILY FORGOT VICHY HORROR
By Foreign News Desk

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

Backlash against the French National Assembly’s approval of a bill
on Thursday, which makes it crime to deny that an Armenian genocide
occurred during World War I, continues.

In an opinion piece defending free speech in the British newspaper
The Observer, the author characterized the French National Assembly’s
passing of the Armenian bill as "wrong and bad," and commented that
the French had so easily forgotten the horror of the Vichy regime.

The commentary spoke of author Carmen Callil, who wrote a book about
the agony the Jews suffered during the Vichy regime, and France’s
subsequent convenient amnesia.

Before attempting to pass genocide denial laws in an atmosphere
of censorship, the French should have to remember their previous
cooperation with the Nazi party in deporting Jews, the newspaper said.

The commentary added that the Armenian bill was also aimed to
"complicate" Turkey’s EU accession; a dreadful attitude for France
to assume while believing that their acts were "irreproachable"
during World War II.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FRANCE’S ATTITUDE CHANGING COPENHAGEN POLITICAL CRITERIA
By Suleyman Kurt

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has criticized France for its Armenian
genocide denial bill, claiming that France’s attitude has changed
the Copenhagen political criteria.

Minister Gul arrived in Luxembourg yesterday to attend the "Turkey-EU
troika" meeting, where Turkey’s reform process and additional protocol
will be discussed.

Gul will mention his views on the Armenian genocide bill, while the
EU side is expected to reiterate its request for Turkey to fulfill
the additional protocol.

Current EU term president Finland’s Cyprus plan will also be on the
agenda. The Turkish side will most likely stipulate improving Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus access to the outside world, as well as
modifications to some points regarding the start of negotiations to
open ports.

Asked if Turkey had changed its stance regarding Article 301 of the
Turkish Penal Code, Gul said that as long as the opinions expressed
do not advocate violence, people could freely express their thoughts
in Turkey.

Before leaving for Luxembourg, Gul told reporters that he would remind
the EU side that France’s current attitude had changed the Copenhagen
political criteria.

"Turkey is not a full member of the EU and it is aware of what it is
lacking. …. We are a country that is exerting extreme efforts to
eliminate such shortcomings," Gul said.

Gul informed reporters that he had communicated the concerns of Turkish
Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan to French President Jacques Chirac
in a telephone conversation, emphasizing that both the international
community and the EU has criticized the recent developments in France.

Turkish-French relations have suffered a great blow and France’s
prestige has been damaged, Gul said, expressing optimism that French
politicians would realize the severity of the situation and take
appropriate measures.

In regards to Finland’s Cyprus proposal, Gul recalled that there were
two sides on the island, Turkish Cyprus and Greek Cyprus, and added
that a solution approved by both sides would be favored.

TURKEY WARNED ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH BY EU
By Daniel Dombey and Fidelius Schmid in Luxembourg

Financial Times, UK
Oct 16 2006

Turkey was told on Monday by the European Union that it had to
safeguard freedom of expression in the country as a "matter of urgency"
amid diminishing expectations that Ankara’s stalled membership bid
can be revived.

Olli Rehn, EU enlargement commissioner, told Turkey’s delegation at
the last formal meeting between the two this year that it was not
good enough to merely wait for Turkish judges to rule on the issue
and that legislative action was needed.

On Monday’s meeting took place amid widespread expectations that
Ankara’s membership talks would reach a crisis point later this year
and could prove impossible to retrieve.

The European Commission’s hopes of convincing Turkey to carry out
reforms have been greatly complicated by France. Last week the French
National Assembly supported a bill that would make it a crime to deny
that there was a genocide of Armenians during the last years of the
Ottoman Empire. Turkey says no genocide occurred.

Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s foreign minister, on Mondayday said the
National Assembly vote had hit France’s prestige as a country that
allowed full freedom of expression, while adding that Turkey would
not repeat France’s mistakes.

But he failed to give a clear signal that Turkey would revise or
remove article 301 of its penal code, which forbids denigration of
the Turkish state. Instead, he merely said that "we are following
the implementation [of the article] closely and we will do what
is necessary".

Brussels believes that Turkey’s reform process has slowed dramatically
and will issue a critical report next month. Its conclusions will
form the starting point for a debate between EU member states on
whether to declare a formal suspension of talks.

This is likely to be decided by heads of state and government later
in the year.

In effect the negotiations have already stopped, with Cyprus, which is
an EU member state but has no diplomatic relations with Ankara, vetoing
the opening and closing of any of the individual dossiers in the talks.

Cyprus makes clear it will not approve any such steps while Turkey
fails to meet an EU deadline to open its own ports and airports to
Cypriot vessels.

An attempt to break the deadlock by Finland, the current holder of
the EU presidency, has shown little sign of being accepted.

The proposal would see the EU taking charge of a port in the Turkish
Cypriot northern half of the island, to allow Turkish Cypriots to
trade with the rest of the EU, and return a nearby town to the Greek
Cypriot south.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURK ACADEMIC RETURNS FRENCH MEDAL OVER GENOCIDE LAW

Reuters, UK
Oct 16 2006

ANKARA, Oct 16 (Reuters) – The man in charge of Turkish higher
education on Monday returned to France a prestigious medal in protest
over a French bill making it a crime to deny Armenian genocide by
Ottoman Turks during World War One.

The gesture by Erdogan Tezic, chairman of the strictly secular body
that oversees Turkish universities, marks the latest Turkish protest
at the French lower house of parliament’s vote in favour of the bill
on Thursday.

Turkey denies any genocide, saying the Armenians were victims of
a partisan war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives. Turkey
accuses Armenians of also carrying out massacres while siding with
invading Russian troops.

"Although the draft has not become law, with my letter, I return
one of France’s highest state decorations, ‘Commandeur de la Legion
d’Honneur’… as I won’t be able to wear it as this issue (Armenian
genocide) has become French state policy," Tezic said in a letter to
President Jacques Chirac.

Tezic was awarded the Legion d’Honneur medal in 2004 by Chirac,
becoming the first and only Turk to hold it, the powerful Higher
Education Board said. As former head of the prestigious French-language
university in Istanbul, Tezic received the award for services to
French culture.

The bill still needs approval from the upper house — the Senate —
and the French president, who has indicated he does not support the
proposal. France is home to Europe’s largest Armenian diaspora.

ARMENIA SHOULD ELABORATE POLICY OF EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHCARE SECTOR

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 16 2006

YEREVAN, October 16. /ARKA/. Armenia should elaborate a policy of
evolutionary development of the healthcare sector, Deputy Minister
of Healthcare Tatul Hakobyan told students of the American University
of Armenia Saturday.

He said that the policy should be based on the analytics and monitoring
of the sector, as dynamic changes currently take place in the society.

"The policy should not be dogmatic, but flexible to respond to
developments in the society," Hakobyan reported.

He pointed out that the policy should take the socioeconomic situation
and political developments in the country into account.

He also reported that the strategy in the healthcare sector should be
coordinated with other sectors that are related to heath, particularly
ecology, transport and water supply.