ASBAREZ Online [06-29-2004]

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06/29/2004
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1. Bush Defies Chirac, Says Turkey Merits EU Place 2. Safarov Trial for Gourgen Margaryan Murder Set for Fall 3. Rights Court Condemns Turkey for Expulsion of Kurds 4. Armenia Again Ready to Normalize Turkish Relations without Preconditions 5. Monument Dedicated to Unknown Soldiers Unveiled in Stepanakert 6. 'Shen' Will Provide 400 Computers to Karabagh Schools 1. Bush Defies Chirac, Says Turkey Merits EU Place ISTANBUL (Reuters)George W. Bush said on Tuesday that Turkey belongs in the European Union and that Europe is "not the exclusive club of a single religion." in what amounted to a rejection of French President Jacques Chirac. In remarks prepared for delivery at an Istanbul university, Bush refused to back down in the face of Chirac's criticism on Monday that Bush had no business urging the EU to set a date for Turkey to start entry talks into the union. "America believes that as a European power, Turkey belongs in the European Union," Bush said. Bush is to use the speech to try to mend relations between Muslims and Americans left tattered relations by the war in Iraq. "We must strengthen the ties and trust and good will between ourselves and the peoples of the Middle East," he said. Bush held up Turkey as an example of a Muslim democracy and said its entry to the EU would be "a crucial advance in relations between the Muslim world and the West, because you are part of both." "Including Turkey in the EU would prove that Europe is not the exclusive club of a single religion, and it would expose the 'clash of civilizations' as a passing myth of history," Bush said. Chirac said on Monday that Bush should not comment on Turkey's EU entry hopes as EU affairs were none of his business. "If President Bush really said that the way I read it, well, not only did he go too far but he went into a domain which is not his own," Chirac told reporters at the summit. "It is like me trying to tell the United States how it should manage its relations with Mexico," he added. Turkey is keen to use the NATO Summit to showcase its credentials as a westward-looking democracy before December, when EU leaders decide if it has met the political criteria to be put on the formal road to EU membership. Countries such as Germany, Italy and Britain strongly back Ankara's bid, but Chirac's government has expressed wariness about kicking off a formal process to admit the relatively poor country of 70 million people. 2. Safarov Trial for Gourgen Margaryan Murder Set for Fall BUDAPEST (Combined Sources)--Criminal proceedings against Ramil Safarov for the brutal killing of Gourgen Margaryan is set to begin in Budapest sometime this fall. Senior Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, an Azeri officer is accused of hacking Margaryan to death, and of attempting to murder a second Armenian officer Hayk Makuchyan. All three soldiers were attending a NATO Partnership for Peace training program in Budapest. Margaryan, 26, was murdered with an ax as he slept in the early hours of February 19. Nazeli Vardanyan, the lawyer for the family of Margaryan, recently stated that a September trial is unlikely due to the fact that the months of July and August are set aside for vacationing in Hungary. Vardanyan is representing the interests of the legal successors of Margaryan as well as Makuchyan, who is also recognized as a victim in the case. Safarov is charged with premeditated murder which carries a 10 to 15 years or life imprisonment. The court has yet to decide whether the trial will be public. If he is convicted, Sarafov could be transferred to his homeland to serve his sentence. 3. Rights Court Condemns Turkey for Expulsion of Kurds STRASBOURG (AFP)--The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday condemned Turkey for expelling about 15 Kurdish villagers from their homes under a 1994 state of emergency and for preventing them from recovering their property. The decision is the first with a bearing on the inability of hundreds of Kurds to return home to their villages in southeastern Turkey until July 2003. Ankara "had the essential duty and responsibility of guaranteeing the conditions--and providing the means--to allow the plaintiffs to return home of their free will, in security and with dignity...or to voluntarily make a new home elsewhere in the country," the court ruled. Some 1,500 similar demands have been brought before the court, about one-fourth of the total cases it is hearing against Turkey, which hosted a two-day NATO summit in Istanbul that ended Tuesday. Ankara, bidding to join the European Union, has faced an uphill struggle over its human rights record. The European judges Tuesday ruled unanimously that Turkey infringed the right to the protection of property and failed to respect family rights. The plaintiffs were expelled from the village of Boydas, near Hozat, during clashes between security forces and Kurdish separatist sympathizers. The villagers "were deprived of all the resources essential to their livelihood," the court said, adding that the Turkish authorities failed to provide alternative housing. The court noted that draft legislation on compensation for damages resulting from the "fight against terrorism" was still under consideration and offered no remedy. For 15 years, Southeastern Turkey was the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, who sought self-rule in the mainly Kurdish region. The PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire in 1999 and withdrew from Turkey, but its successor, the Kongra-gel, announced last month that it was ending the truce as of June 1. Clashes have been on the rise in the region. 4. Armenia Again Ready to Normalize Turkish Relations, without Preconditions ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)--Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian released details of his June 28 meeting with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, noting that during the frank discussion, Turkey expressed its interest in improving relations with Armenia, but added that the timing for such action is not politically conducive for Turkey. Oskanian, who met with Gul on the sidelines of the NATO summit, confirmed that Armenia is ready to normalize trade and diplomatic relations with Turkey without pre-conditions. The two ministers also discussed the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. Although no details regarding the situation in Karabagh were released, Oskanian did say that he briefed Gul about his meeting in Prague with Azeri foreign minister Elmar Mamedyarov. Later in the day, the Armenian, Azeri, and Turkish foreign ministers met to discuss regional and international issues, including NATO priorities in the area. The NATO summit later adopted the document Euro-Atlantic Cooperation: Review and Reassessment that shifts the body's attention from the Balkans and countries of Central and Eastern Europe, to the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The three also discussed the future of the region in light of the European Union's (EU) outreach to the South Caucasus. Oskanian stressed that the realities in the region are sure to change considering Turkey's aspirations to join the European body, as well as the inclusion of Armenian, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the EU Wider Europe: New Neighbors program. They addressed cooperation within the framework of that program. Though the Mountainous Karabagh conflict was not discussed in detail, the Turkish press reported on Tuesday that Turkey seeks to assume the role of mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan in an effort to resolve the dispute. The Azeri newspaper 525 Gazet quoted a Turkish diplomatic source as saying that a new formula to regulate the Karabagh conflict was put forth, similar to that used in regulating the Cyprus issue, that "maximally considers the rights and interests of Armenian and Azeri population of Karabagh." 5. Monument Dedicated to Unknown Soldiers Unveiled in Stepanakert STEPANAKERT (ARMENPRESS)A newly constructed monument dedicated to the unknown soldiers of the Mountainous Karabagh conflict was unveiled in Stepanakert on Monday. Family members of missing combatants and high ranking government and military officials attended the ceremonies, including Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) President Arkady Ghougassian, National Assembly President Oleg Yessayan and Prime Minister Anoushavan Daniyelian. MKR Education, Culture and Sports Minister Armen Sargssian presided over the ceremony and introduced a number of speakers, including mother of fallen soldier Rosa Stasian, MKR military deputy Vladik Khatchadrian, International Red Cross Stepanakert office representative Viacheslav Movsisian and Families of Unknown and Missing Soldiers Association president Vera Krikorian. Krikorian's organization has registered the names of over 700 soldiers whose whereabouts are unknown. The construction of the monument was a collaborative effort between designer Alexander Mamounsti, sculptor Tavit Mesrobian, and architect Nevair Mikaelian. 6. 'Shen' Will Provide 400 Computers to Karabagh Schools (Azat Artsakh)The charitable organization "Shen," which has been active in both Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh, has announced its plans to supply 400 computers to the schools of Karabagh. To date, the program has been implemented in the Askeran and Shoushi regions of the country. "Children living and studying in the villages must not be cut from the world," said Karen Aramian who serves as Shen's representative in Karabagh. The representative stated that schools within the Martouni region will receive twelve computers in the near future. Program administrators have decided to allocate at least two computers to each school. After the computers are distributed, the organization will launch the second stage of the program, which aims at equipping the schools with internet access. "Shen" was established in 1988 by a group of Yerevan Polytechnic College professors and students who were interested in addressing the myriad of problems that emerged after the devastating Spitak earthquake, the imposition of severe blockades of overland communications by Turkey and Azerbaijan and the start of the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. The word "Shen" in Armenian means a well-to-do, and reflects the mission of the organizations, which aims to rehabilitate disadvantaged Armenian villages. The organization has active chapters in the Armenia, Mountainous Karabagh, France and the United States. 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) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. 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