Month: October 2006

TURKISH-ARMENIAN WINS BJøRNSON PRIZE

Aftenposten, Norway
Oct 4 2006

The Bjørnson prize for 2006, worth NOK 100,000 (USD 15,200), was
awarded to the editor of the Turkish-Armenian magazine Agos.

The editor, Hrant Dink, received the prize for his work with the
Turkish genocide of Armenians in connection with the deportation
of 1915. Most historians characterize Turkey’s conduct of this
deportation as genocide, a view that the Turkish state still refuses
to acknowledge.

The Bjørnson Academy awards the prize. The president of the academy,
Knut Ødegård, said Wednesday at a press conference in Molde that
the Armenians would be the theme of the Bjørnson Academy seminar on
Nov. 24.

–Boundary_(ID_KhA6XcHlsVYjppT2fMmMpw)–

ANKARA TO HOST MERKEL
By Azamat Damir, Berlin

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 4 2006

Shortly after the EU Commissioner Olli Rehn’s visit, Turkey will
welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday.

During the visit, bilateral relations between Turkey and Germany,
Turkey’s EU membership bid and the Cyprus issue will be discussed.

However, because of the anti-Turkey stance of her party, full support
for Turkey’s EU membership from Merkel is not expected.

The German Chancellor will arrive in Turkey for a two-day official
visit tomorrow. Merkel, who will meet with President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will also touch on
Turkey’s EU membership process and intercultural dialogue. However,
experts assert that Merkel, who will have to consider the promise
her predecessor’s support for Turkey’s full membership in the EU,
as well as the anti-Turkey views prevalent in her party, has to take
a very balanced view during the visit.

Merkel, who will head to Istanbul, will attend the Turkish-German
Business Congress. She will also meet with Greek Orthodox Patriarch
Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Turkish Armenians Mesrop Mutafian, and
officials from the Directorate of Religious Affairs. In the meetings,
the status of Turkish minorities, and the tension caused by Pope
Benedict XVI’s remarks that Muslims found offensive will be discussed.

TURKISH BUSINESS PUSHES THE CASE FOR EU ACCESSION

EurActiv, Belgium
Oct 4 2006

In Short:

The Turkey-Europe-week launched on 3 October 2006 is set out to
revive the debate about Turkish EU membership.

Background:

Accession negotiations were officially launched in October 2005.

Nevertheless, EU-Turkey relations have cooled down recently with the
main stumbling blocks on the road to accession being the Cyprus issue
and freedom of speech.

The European parliament on 27 September 2006 voted on a critical
report urging Turkey to improve its record of freedom of speech,
freedom of religion and to find a solution to the Cyprus issue.

Issues:

On the occasion of the Turkey-week, launched on 3 October 2006,
Turkish industry sought to charm EU institutions and business with
economic arguments for Turkey’s accession.

Omer Sabanci, President of Turkish Industrialists’ and Business
Association (TUSIAD) said: "What is important now is that we continue
to convince our European counterparts that they have a vested interest
in Turkey’s EU membership." He added: "Even though politicians at
present are seeing many hurdles to Turkey’s accession, business is
seeing the opportunities. Its vibrant economy, with a GDP of 300
billion euro and a growth rate of 6%, will be a great asset to the EU."

Answering a question from EurActiv on the economic integration aspect,
Sabanci emphasised the importance of economic ties, stating that
commerce between the EU and Turkey represented 80 billion euro.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener suggested that since the customs
union between the EU and Turkey had already been completed in 1996,
his country had to make a greater effort to be an attractive economic
partner for the EU, in order to reach further integration.

Positions:

Omer Sabaci of TUSIAD said he was disappointed with the EU penalising
Turkey, despite their efforts, but acknowledged that there was "no
magic formula to break the gridlock". He thinks that Turkey with
its young and educated population could be "a great economic hub
for Europe".

Social Democrat MEP Emine Bozkurt hopes the Turkey-week might help
to revive the debate on Turkey’s EU accession. She said it was
important to acknowledge the important benefits that Turkey could
bring to the EU in economic and geo-strategic terms, but also in the
area of energy policy. Bozkurt would like to see the EU and Turkey
resolve their issues, notably over Cyprus, so as to avoid a halt of
negotiations. She said: "Once the train stops, it will be difficult
to get back on track."

Green MEP Joost Lagendijk acknowledged that the EU-Turkey relations
seem to be heading for a crisis, but that it was in the interest of
both the EU and Turkey to continue the negotiations. He is confident
that there will be progress on the Cyprus issue, "either in form of
a resolution or a compromise".

He also warned that a law penalising the denial of the Armenian
genocide, currently discussed in the French parliament, might be
counterproductive and create a nationalist backlash in Turkey.

Latest & next steps:

The Commission’s progress report on Turkey is due on 8 November
2006, along with the Commission paper on the topic of "enlargement
capacity". The Council will vote on this report in December 2006.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY AGAIN URGED TO STEP UP REFORMS, AVOID ‘TRAIN CRASH’

Doha Time
Gulf Times, Qatar
Oct 4 2006

ANKARA: Turkey faces a "train crash" in its relations with the European
Union if it fails to step up democratic reforms and resolve a trade
row with Cyprus, EU enlargement chief Olli Rehn said here yesterday.

The stern warning came on the first anniversary of the inauguration
of Turkey’s accession talks and just weeks before the EU issues
on November 8 a crucial report on the country’s progress towards
membership.

"I want to make sure that the first anniversary (of the talks) is
not the last one," Rehn told a news conference. "I want to work for
avoiding a train crash in Turkey-EU relations."

Highlighting the benefits of Turkey’s EU membership, the enlargement
commissioner said it would ease mounting tensions between the West
and Muslim countries if Turkey carries out the necessary reforms and
meets all EU criteria.

"In the current situation when… relations between Europe and Islam
is the greatest challenge of our time, it simply won’t make sense to
allow the things to lead to a train crash," he said.

Rehn urged Ankara to pass reforms to ensure freedom of speech,
a major area of concern after dozens of intellectuals were charged
with denigrating the Turkish nation under a penal code article, and
to grant trade privileges to Cyprus under a customs union agreement.

"Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of our common democratic
values. I cannot even imagine a member of the EU that will not
respect such a fundamental European principle," Rehn said earlier at
a conference on trade union rights.

A string of intellectuals, including best-selling writers Orhan Pamuk
and Elif Shafak, have stood trial under Article 301 of the penal code,
which envisages up to three years in jail for insulting "Turkishness"
and state institutions.

No one has yet been imprisoned under the provision, but the
appeals court in July upheld the suspended six-month sentence of
a Turkish-Armenian journalist, setting an alarming precedent for
pending cases.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is open to proposals
to amend the article, but no action has been taken so far amid vocal
opposition by nationalist-minded Justice Minister Cemil Cicek.

Speaking after talks with Rehn, Cicek rejected EU pressure to
amend Article 301 before the crucial November 8 report, arguing that
"parliament is not under the government’s command," and that an upsurge
in Kurdish rebel violence this year was making it harder for Ankara
to expand freedoms.

He also charged that freedom of speech was being breached in EU
countries, pointing to a French draft law that would make it a
punishable offence to deny that the massacres of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire amounted to genocide.

"While asking why freedom of expression is being restricted in Turkey,
one cannot turn a blind eye to a draft law that will be taken up on
October 12 in an EU country," he said.

On the row over Cyprus, Rehn said he was hopeful that a formula
proposed by the EU’s Finnish presidency would resolve the stalemate.

Turkey is under pressure to open its air and sea ports to the
internationally recognised Cyprus government under a customs union
agreement with the EU, or face a suspension of its membership talks.

Ankara insists that Cypriot ships and planes will remain barred from
Turkish ports unless the EU unless delivers on its promise to ease
trade restrictions on the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot state,
recognised only by Turkey.

"The Finnish formula has not been rejected by any of the parties so
far, including Turkey," Rehn said. "I trust all parties sense the
seriousness of the issue and try their best to find a solution."

He also called on Ankara to improve the rights of women and non-Muslim
religious communities as "other very important issues of urgency."

In another sticking point, Rehn urged the government to keep up reforms
to strengthen civilian control over the influential Turkish military
"like in any European democracy."

On Monday, chief of staff Yasar Buyukanit angrily rejected EU criticism
of its influence in politics, saying that the charges had exceeded
"the limits of tolerance," and asserted the army’s right to have
a say on issues concerning national security and the protection of
Turkey’s strictly secular system.

Rehn was scheduled to meet with Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul as well as other officials before he wraps up his visit tomorrow.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS DENIED THEIR STATEMENTS IN YEREVAN

Today, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

OSCE Minsk group co-chairs met with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan yesterday.

They agreed on Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers meeting in
Moscow on October 6, OSCE MG Russian Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov said
in press conference in Yerevan, APA reports.

French co-chair Bernar Fasie said the meeting of the presidents is
possible only after the Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

Armenian mass media claims the co-chairs denied their statements made
in Azerbaijan. While in Azerbaijan, Bernar Fasie said that the format
of the negotiations cannot be changed. In Yerevan he said he made no
statement on Nagorno Karabakh negotiations in Baku.

The co-chairs did not make public the details of the negotiations in
Yerevan. French co-chair said the principles of the negotiations have
not been changed in past two years.

Commenting on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s statements they
said military solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict is impossible.

"Azerbaijan President can say anything he wants. We will not comment
on his statement."

The co-chairs said the solution plan was approved by G8 summit in
Washington, Paris and Moscow, but Azerbaijanis and Armenians are not
ready to live together.

Bernar Fasie said the solution of the conflict is out of the question
if the two nations are not ready to live together in peace. The
co-chairs will hold meeting in Khankendi today.

URL:

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVED OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

On 3 October, the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan received
the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia),
Mathew Bryza (USA) and Bernar Face (France) who are in the Country
on a regional visit.

The meeting was also attended by the personal representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andzey Kasprzyk, "Novosti-Armenia" News Agency
reported quoting the Press Service of the State Head.

The meeting focused on the issue linked with the present process of
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

On the same day, the Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan also
received the Co-chairs of the OSCE Mink Group.

According to the information provided by the Press & Information
Department of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, the negotiators
discussed the current situation of the negotiations process, and
also exchanged views on the prospects of settling the conflict,
Trend reports.

AZERI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET IN MOSCOW
Author: A.Ismayilova

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

Matin Mirza, the speaker for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told
Trend that the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov is
to meet with his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian, in Moscow,
Trend reports.

According to Mirza, a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
Foreign Ministers was scheduled for 6 October, as the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs had proposed. Oskanian also gave his consent for the
meeting to take place, as stated to a news conference in Yerevan by
the Russian Ambassador Yuriy Merzlyakov, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair.

In 10 days the Ministers may hold one more meeting. In his turn
the French Ambassador Bernard Fasie spoke of the possibility of
conduct of talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian President in
the near future.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, who arrived in Baku on 2 October,
visited Yerevan and now plan to leave for Nagorno-Karabakh.

TURKEY SHOULD RESUME ITS REFORM PROCESS, REHN

Turkish Press
Oct 4 2006

ANKARA – Turkey should resume its reform process with determination,
said European Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn.

Holding a joint press conference with Salih Kilic, the chairman of
Turk-Is (Confederation of Turkish Employees’ Trade Unions) in capital
Ankara, Rehn stated that he is visiting Turkey for three reasons, and
listed them as ensuring cooperation among social partners and showing
the importance they attach to the NGOs; marking the first anniversary
of start of Turkey-EU entry talks. "And, thirdly I am here because
I don’t want this first anniversary to be the last one," he said.

Rehn pointed out that Turkey should fulfil its liabilities,
particularly those stemming from additional protocol to the Customs
Union.

On the recent initiative launched by EU Acting President Finland
regarding Cyprus, Rehn said that this initiative has not been rejected
by any parties so far, and noted that all parties are trying to find
a solution as they have seen the seriousness of this matter.

Rehn refrained from detailing this initiative, but he said, "I don’t
want to be so much optimistic but this is an encouraging situation."

-GEN. BUYUKANIT’S REMARKS-

On Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit’s remarks about
fundamentalist threat and asked if he sees such a threat, Rehn said
that they have great respect to the professionalism of the Turkish
Armed Forces, but underlined importance of reforms for democratization
of civilian-military relations.

"The army is under civilian control in European democracies," he said.

-ARTICLE 301 OF TCK-

Commenting on the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, Rehn noted
that the freedom of expression is defined as a fundamental freedom
in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Rehn said, "you see that there is not any concept like insulting
Britishness or insulting Finnishness. So, there is no approach in EU
countries like the approach in Article 301 (insulting Turkishness)."

Rehn pointed out that the number of cases filed under this article
has risen, pointing out that more than 60 people have been tried
under Article 301.

Most of the cases ended up with acquittal, he said. "Turkey is a strong
country, why does it need such an article. It is not an article in
line with EU standards," he noted.

Rehn said that there should not be any violence when expressing
thoughts.

"If any thought incites violence, this is another thing. In this case,
it cannot be considered within the scope of freedom of expression,"
he added.

Rehn emphasized that it will be for the best interest of Turkish
people if Turkey fully ensures freedom of expression, and said
this will also be important for not only social change, democratic
progress and Turkey’s modernization, but also it is related with the
negotiation process.

-SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS-

Stressing that recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide
allegations is not a precondition before Turkey’s membership, Rehn
said that such historical issues should be solved within Turkey,
and underlined importance of discussion of this matter by Turkey
and Armenia.

Rehn said that the EU is supporting all types of dialogue aiming to
resolve this matter, and welcomed Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
proposal to set up a joint commission of historians.

Reiterating resumption of Turkey’s reform process, Rehn said that the
ninth reform package should be adopted as a first step, then freedom
of expression, rights of Non-Muslims and religious minorities should
be taken up.

"We may prevent a train crash by taking necessary decisions," he added.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WEB TO LINK TEACHER WITH ARMENIANS

Orlando Sentinel, FL
Oct 4 2006

Education Schools In Brief

New Dimensions High School teacher Nicolle Boujaber has been chosen
as one of 25 educators nationwide to participate in the 2006 Armenia
School Connectivity Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State and administered by the nonprofit Project Harmony. Boujaber
and her students will engage in online discussions with high-school
students in Armenia on topics such as globalization, economics,
environment, culture and democracy. Boujaber will attend a conference
in Burlington, Vt., this month where she will join other educators
to discuss the project. Her students are also raising money for needy
Armenians. Details: projectharmony.org.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEREVAN AND BAKU AGREED TO CONTINUE DIRECT CONSULTATIONS
Gayane Movsesyan

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 4 2006

According to the international mediators, the main obstacle to the
settlement is the lack of confidence between the parties.

The central goal of the OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs’ visit to the
Karabakh conflict region has been achieved: an arrangement on the
resumption of the direct consultations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
on the principal issues of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement
has been reached. The RA and AR FMs’ current meeting will be held
in Moscow October 6. After that, in 7 – 10 days, the two countries’
FMs may hold another round of consultations with the mediators’
participation. Only after that the mediators may put forward a
proposal on the organization of a meeting of the Presidents Robert
Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov
(Russia), Matthew Bryza (the U. S.) and Bernard Fassier (France)
stated yesterday in the course of a press conference held in Yerevan
on the outcomes of a meeting with RA President Robert Kocharyan,
with whom they had discussed the issues referring to the present
stage of the Karabakh talks. The OSCE Chair-in-Office’s Personal
Representative Andrzey Kasprzyk>>> also participated in the meeting.

At the press conference the Minsk group Russian Co-Chair Yuri
Merzlyakov stated an addition had been written to a basic
principle presented by the mediators to the conflict parties this
May. Y. Merzlyakov refused to go into detail, alluding to the
negotiation process’s confidentiality.

In the U. S. Co-Chair Mathew Bryza’s words, "the basic principles is
the best thing the mediators could offer, however, it does not mean
they are agreements".

The Co-Chairs underscored they had elaborated a common view on the
necessity to activate efforts to achieve the conflict’s settlement,
as they have been convinced of the readiness of Yerevan and Baku
to search for the ways of advance. Yet the mediators noted great
breakthrough could hardly be achieved in the near future. There are
some difficulties, and the principal one is the lack of confidence
between the conflict parties.

In this connection the OSCE Chair-in-Office’s Personal Representative
Andrzey Kasprzyk pointed out frequent cease-fire violations in
the conflict zone that resulted in victims from both parties. "The
cease-fire should be strengthened", A. Kasprzyk stated. Answering
the journalists’ questions, the French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier
categorically refuted the Azeri mass media’s information that being in
Baku the day before he had allegedly spoken against Nagorno Karabakh’s
return to the negotiating table. Matthew Bryza also refuted some
publications in the Baku mass media. In part, he allegedly said
the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) countries’
initiative to discuss the issue on the protracted conflicts on the
countries’ territory at the U. N. would be useful for the process
of the Karabakh conflict settlement. However, Bryza actually said,
"the GUAM countries are not represented at the OSCE MG and the MG
co-chair countries hope the proposals they have offered are aimed at
the achievement of the conflicts’ just settlement".

Today the Co-Chairs will leave for Stepanakert to hold consultations
with the NKR President Arkady Ghoukasyan and other authorities of
the Republic.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress