Author: Antonian Lara

Reuters South Africa, South Africa
June 6 2005

Armenia says Eq. Guinea coup plot pilots pardoned

Mon June 6, 2005 12:25 PM GMT+02:00
YEREVAN (Reuters) – Equatorial Guinea has pardoned six Armenian
flight crew convicted last year of plotting to overthrow the
president of the tiny West African country, Armenia’s Foreign
Ministry said on Monday.

The Armenians were among dozens of foreigners jailed in Equatorial
Guinea and Zimbabwe over the aborted coup, which Mark Thatcher, son
of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has been accused
of helping to finance.

The pardon was issued by Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang
Nguema Mbasogo, Hamlet Gasparyan, spokesman for the Armenian Foreign
Ministry, told Reuters.

The six have been held in the notorious Black Beach prison in
Equatorial Guinea’s capital, Malabo. Rights group Amnesty
International said in April they risked starving to death.

Mark Thatcher has denied any role in the coup plot.

The Armenians were employed by an aircraft leasing company to fly
cargo around Africa. They have denied being involved in the plot and
Amnesty said their trial was “grossly unfair”.

EXPERT OF VENICE COMMISSION ADVISES ARMENIANS “TO DEMOCRATIZE” THEIR MENTALITY

YEREVAN, JUNE 2. ARMINFO. If the authors of the draft constitutional
amendments of Armenia do not accept the remarks of the Venice
Commission of the Council of Europe, then Venice experts will be very
disappointed and come out with the same strict statement they made
recently. Member of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio stated
after the meeting with the representatives of the ruling coalition
of Armenia, who are the authors of the draft amendments.

Of course, the Venice Commission is not authorized to apply any
sanction against the countries, who does not respect its proposals,
nevertheless, the Council of Europe, European Union and OSCE consider
the opinion of the commission, he stressed. Despite the fact that
the draft amendments was considerably elaborated, three issues are
principal for the Venice Commission – to ensure balance between
the branches of power, independence of judiciary and expansion of
the authorities of local self-government bodies. According to the
Venice expert, the parties has not reached a consensus regarding
these three issues.

Mr. Buquicchio said that the meeting with the representatives of
the coalition was very effective and passed in constructive and
friendly atmosphere. Commenting on the statements of several Armenian
politicians on that the recent statement of the Venice commission was
of a political nature and was aimed to ensure parity between Armenia
and Azerbaijan in CE, Gianni Buquicchio stressed that the statement
contained only political estimation of the draft amendments. At
the same time the Venice expert expressed hope for that a document,
which meets European standards and elaborated in the atmosphere of
political consensus, will be submitted to referendum in October of
this year. He said that the Constitution of Armenia must satisfy all –
firs of all Armenians, then Europeans.

In his turn, Vice Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly, Head of the
Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe, expressed hope for that the remarks of the European experts
will be accepted. At the same time he said that serious work must be
done for that.

NOT POLICEMEN, BUT LEGISLATORS ARE RESPONSIBLE

A1plus

| 19:41:10 | 03-06-2005 | Politics |

The Venice Commission experts find the acceptance of their offers on
the law on the freedom of assembly not more important than the way
the law will be put into practice.

According to Venice Commission secretary Gianni Bukikio much depends
on the Armenian policemen. The COE is going to organize trainings
for them. NA deputy President Tigran Torosyan does not agree with
him. According to him, the policemen are the least responsible,
and the first are they – legislators.

By the way, Mr. Torosyan thinks that the amendments must be adopted
as soon as possible and there is no need to wait for new offers,
as best ideas can be born every day.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS WILL PRESIDE OVER AN INTERNATIONAL

ECUMENICAL CONFERENCE

Antelias, Lebanon – His Holiness Aram I traveled to Geneva on June
4 to preside over a meeting of the chancery of the World Council of
Churches’ (WCC) executive committee and to hold meetings with senior
officials from the WCC.

His Holiness will also deliver the opening remarks of the international
ecumenical conference to be held in Geneva. It is the first time
ever that WCC organizes such a conference. Around 200 senior
representatives of all the world’s religions will participate
in the conference. Primate of the Diocese of Tehran, Archbishop
Sebouh Sarkissian will participate in the meeting on behalf of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia.

His Holiness will both preside over the conference and be the keynote
speaker. Rev.Fr. Masdots Tchobanian, the Christian Education officer
of the Catholicosate of Cilicia accompanies His Holiness to Geneva. The
delegation will return to Antelias in five days.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
Ecumenical activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate, The
Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.

FEDERATION EURO-ARMENIENNE
pour la Justice et la Democratie
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +32 2 732 70 26
Tel/Fax: +32 2 732 70 27
Email : [email protected]

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
pour diffusion immediate
1er juin 2005
Contact :Talline Tachdjian
Tel:+32 2 732 70 26

PENALISATION DU NEGATIONNISME : POSITIONS INCOHERENTES DU PS ET DE L’EXECUTIF BELGES

— La Ministre de la Justice confirme que les evenements de 1915 correspondent bien a un genocide
— Selon elle, ce genocide n’entre pas dans le cadre du projet de loi sanctionnant le negationnisme

Bruxelles, Belgique (31 mai 2005) – La Commission Justice du Senat
a examine ce jour le projet de loi n°3-1135, visant a reprimer la
negation, la minimisation, la justification ou l’approbation du
genocide commis par le regime national-socialiste allemand pendant
la seconde guerre mondiale. Mesdames Christine Defraigne (Mouvement
Reformateur) et Fauzaya Talhaoui (SP.A-SPIRIT) ont ete proposees et
designees rapporteurs du projet de loi.

Dans son expose introductif, Mme Laurette Onkelinx (PS), Ministre de
la Justice, a affirme qu’ ” au sujet des massacres et des deportations
qui se sont deroules en Turquie ottomane en 1915, a titre personnelle
et en tant que femme politique, [elle] souscrit totalement a la
resolution adoptee par le Senat en 1997 “. Elle ajouta que ” ces faits
correspondent bien aux critères enonces en 1948 par la Convention des
Nations unies […] pour definir le crime de genocide “. Cependant,
la Ministre a precise qu’ ” au nom de la separation des pouvoirs ,
elle se refuse a voir initier des poursuites sur base de l’opinion d’un
homme ou d’une femme politique ou sur base d’une decision ou d’une
resolution prise par un organisme politique “. Elle refuse ainsi de
se rallier aux amendements demandant la prise en compte du genocide
des Armeniens dans ce projet de loi, considerant que ce serait une
double violation du principe de separation des pouvoirs.

Durant les debats, differents senateurs ont exprime le souhait
d’auditionner des experts sur cette question. Le Senateur Alain
Destexhe a precise que le refus meme d’employer le mot de genocide
etait une forme de negation, en faisant reference aux propos du
Ministre bruxellois Emir Kir (PS).

M. Jean Cornil (PS) a rappele la position de son parti qui condamne
les massacres de 1915, en rappelant du bout des lèvres qu’il s’agissait
bien d’un genocide, dont il a neanmoins minimise la portee en precisant
qu’il n’avait pas ete reconnu par une juridiction internationale et
que ” seul un tribunal international pouvait qualifier l’histoire “.

Mme Isabelle Durant (Ecolo) s’est dit prete a retirer son amendement
pour ” faire le nettoyage necessaire ” dans le cadre du travail sur
ce projet de loi, mais qu’elle ne souhaitait pas omettre la question
du genocide armenien. Elle proposa une reconnaissance effective de
ce genocide par l’adoption d’une loi identique a la loi francaise
reconnaissant ” publiquement le genocide armenien de 1915 “.

A la question posee par M. Marcel Cheron – ” Que se passe-t-il si
dans ce pays un citoyen minimise le genocide armenien ?

La loi de 1995 est-elle applicable ? ” – le President de la Commission
Justice, Hugo Vandenberghe (CD&V) et Mme Onkelinx ont repondu par
l’affirmative s’il y a incitation a la haine.

Parmi les dix amendements deja deposes, certains, comme celui de Mme
Isabelle Durant et M. Marcel Cheron (Ecolo), et de M. Roelants du Viver
(MR), Christine Defraigne (MR), Alain Destexhe (MR) et Jean-Marie
Cheffert (MR), demandent implicitement l’inclusion du genocide
des Armeniens dans l’article 8 du projet de loi en se referant aux
resolutions adoptees par le Parlement belge et/ou europeen.

D’autres, adoptent une formulation plus explicite, comme l’amendement
des senateurs MR qui proposent de nommer specifiquement quatre cas
de genocide averes, ” le genocide des Juifs et des Tsiganes commis
pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, le genocide des Tutsi et Hutus
moderes commis par le regime Habyarimana et le Hutu Power au Rwanda,
le genocide des Cambodgiens commis par le regime des Khmers rouge
et le genocide des Armeniens commis par le regime Jeune-Turc sous
l’Empire Ottoman “.

Les amendements presentes par Mme Clotilde Nyssens (Centre democrate
humaniste) et par M. Willems (VLD), prefèrent maintenir le projet de
loi tel qu’il est actuellement, a savoir sans la mention du genocide
de 1915.

“Ceux qui s’abritent derrière les juridictions internationales
savent pertinemment qu’elles ne sont pas mandatees pour qualifier
et pour condamner le genocide des Armeniens. Toutes ces juridictions
n’ont pu etre mises en place que sous l’impulsion et avec la volonte
des autorites politiques ” a precise Laurent Leylekian, Directeur
de la Federation Euro-Armenienne. ” Il n’y a donc pas de scrupules
legalistes a avoir en la matière car c’est bien au legislateur de dire
le Droit. Mais si reellement la Ministre de la Justice est genee par
de telles considerations, elle devrait en coherence avec elle-meme
proposer et defendre la creation d’une juridiction internationale
chargee de juger le crime imprescriptible de l’Etat turc ” a conclu
Laurent Leylekian.

Le projet de loi sera a nouveau a l’ordre du jour de la Commission
Justice du Senat mardi prochain. Cette dernière examinera et votera
les amendements deposes.

#####

–Boundary_(ID_KNl9NFyU84Y17DgnNkTawQ)–

President’s meeting with OSCE intermediaries not elaborated

Baku, May 27, AssA-Irada

President Ilham Aliyev discussed settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper Garabagh with the mediating OSCE Minsk Group (MG)
co-chairs on Friday. The gist of the meeting is not disclosed.

French co-chair of the OSCE MG Bernard Fassier told a news conference
later on the same day that the meeting with Aliyev, which was not
originally scheduled, took place on the initiative of the Azerbaijani
President.*

Agence France Presse
26 mai 2005 jeudi 10:48 AM GMT

Ankara critiqué pour avoir empêché une conférence sur la question
arménienne (PAPIER D’ANGLE)

Par Sibel UTKU-BILA

ANKARA 26 mai 2005

Le gouvernement turc a suscité de nombreuses critiques en empêchant
la tenue d’une conférence qui devait questionner la position
officielle de la Turquie quant aux massacres d’Arméniens sous
l’empire ottoman, des diplomates européens évoquant un coup sérieux
au crédo réformateur d’Ankara.

Le prestigieuse université stambouliote de Bogazici, qui devait
accueillir cette rencontre inédite entre académiciens et
intellectuels turcs “critiques” de mercredi à vendredi, l’a repoussée
à une date non précisée après que le ministre de la Justice Cemil
Cicek eut accusé ses participants de “trahison”.

M. Cicek a qualifié l’initiative de “coup de couteau dans le dos de
la nation turque” et a affirmé que les organisateurs s’exposaient à
des poursuites judiciaires.

Les massacres d’Arméniens survenus entre 1915 et 1917 en Anatolie,
l’un des épisodes les plus controversés de l’histoire ottomane, sont
rarement évoqués dans le système scolaire turc et cette conférence
aurait été la première en Turquie à jeter un regard critique sur la
position officielle quant à ces événements.

Plusieurs pays ont reconnu le caractère génocidaire de ces massacres
-une approche catégoriquement rejetée par Ankara-, l’Union européenne
enjoignant pour sa part la Turquie de faire face à son passé et
d’étendre la liberté d’expression.

“Les remarques du ministre de la Justice sont inacceptables. C’est
une approche autoritaire qui soulève des questions quant au processus
de réformes en Turquie”, a déclaré à l’AFP, sous le couvert de
l’anonymat, un diplomate d’un pays membre de l’UE.

“Il s’agit maintenant d’un moment crucial. Nous espérons que le
gouvernement agisse pour rectifier les remarques de M. Cicek”, a-t-il
poursuivi.

Estimant qu’il incombait à Ankara de prendre une décision, le
diplomate a précisé que “ne rien faire est aussi un choix, mais
certainement pas favorable aux perspectives turques d’adhésion à
l’UE”.

Cet incident intervient après la répression brutale d’une
manifestation de femmes à Istanbul en mars, qui avait déjà suscité
l’indignation de Bruxelles alors que le projet d’intégration de la
Turquie dans le bloc européen soulève de fortes oppositions dans de
nombreux pays membres.

Le gouvernement du Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan, formé par
un parti issu de la mouvance islamiste, doit par ailleurs faire face
sur la scène intérieure à une montée des critiques l’accusant d’avoir
perdu ses ambitions réformatrices depuis qu’il a obtenu en décembre
une date pour le début de négociations d’adhésion avec l’UE, fixée au
3 octobre.

Un autre diplomate européen a déploré le report de la conférence, qui
“aurait reflété l’évolution en cours dans la société turque”.

“Les Européens sont déçus (…) mais espèrent qu’elle sera finalement
organisée”, a-t-il déclaré, soulignant qu’ils “continueront
d’insister sur le rôle important que la société civile doit jouer en
Turquie”.

Les médias turcs n’ont pas été plus cléments avec M. Cicek, estimant
que son attitude portait atteinte à la liberté d’expression et
faisait le jeu de la campagne menée par les Arméniens en vue d’une
reconnaissance internationale du “génocide”.

“Tolérance zéro pour la liberté”, a asséné le quotidien libéral
Radikal en Une de son édition de jeudi, le journal Milliyet titrant
sur “Un coup porté à la démocratie”.

“Quelle est en fait la trahison? Tenir une conférence visant à ouvrir
un débat en Turquie sur un problème turc débattu à peu près partout
dans le monde, ou qualifier de ‘traîtres’ des gens qui pensent
peut-être différemment à un moment où la Turquie livre une bataille
pour la démocratie (…)?”, se demande l’éditorialiste Murat Celikkan
dans Radikal.

“Cemil Cicek doit démissionner” de son ministère ou être contraint à
la démission, conclut-il.

VARDAN OSKANIAN: EUROPEAN UNION MUST INCREASE PRESSURE ON TURKEY

YEREVAN, MAY 27. ARMINFO. The European Union must increase the
pressure on Turkey. As AR informs, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia Vardan Oskanian had stated during the meeting with his Finnish
counterpart Erkki Tuomioja.

According to the resource, the foreign minister of Armenia called on
EU “to be more resolute in this issue”. Touching upon the proposal on
creation of joint Armenian-Turkish commission on study of the Genocide
of Armenia, the minister considered unacceptable the preliminary
conditions put down by Turkey. “We must follow the example of other
European countries”, the foreign minister mentioned.

SE European media roundup on EU-related issues on 19-25 May 05

BBC Monitoring Service – United Kingdom
May 26, 2005

For queries and feedback please contact Duty Editor, Europe, on
0186254 (internal) or 0118 948 6254 (external), or email
[email protected]

The following is a roundup of media reports on EU-related issues from
the applicant countries in Southeastern Europe between 19 and 25 May
2005:

BULGARIA

Elections/EU/opposition

Sergey Stanishev, leader of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party,
the BSP, presented the party’s election platform. He said the next
four-year period would be decisive for Bulgaria’s place in the
European Union. Stanishev pledged to run the country in a European
manner if the BSP won the elections. “We need Eurorealism rather than
scepticism and excessive expectations. The people in our country are
expecting a change in the leadership. They would like to feel that the
state institutions are concerned about them, and this is precisely the
policy that BSP offers,” he said. He said Bulgaria could not risk EU
membership over the Kozloduy nuclear plant issue. He also said there
was no serious progress in judicial reform or preparing a new penal
code.

(BGNES web site, Sofia, in Bulgarian 1314 gmt 24 May 05; BTA web site,
Sofia, in English 20 May 05; BGNES web site, Sofia, in Bulgarian 0749
gmt 20 May 05)

CROATIA

Minority rights/Serbs

This week has seen a spate of attacks on ethnic Serb targets.

The dead body of an elderly Serb with visible marks of violence was
found in the village of Karin near the coastal town of Zadar. The
Veritas Documentation and Information Centre, a Serb refugee centre
with offices in Belgrade and Banja Luka, announced that the man in
question was Dusan Vidic, a retired officer of the former Yugoslav
People’s Party, whose throat had been slit.

Savo Strbac, the NGO’s head, said that the murder was most probably a
result of ethnic hatred and a warning to all Serbs who wished to
return to Croatia. Strbac further remarked that over the last two
months there had been three cases of death by hanging among the Serb
returnees to the Dalmatian coast and that these deaths were described
as suicide by Croatian official sources.

The government-in-exile of the self-styled Republic of Serb Krajina,
or RSK, described the murder as a repugnant crime and proof that the
persecution of Serbs, both in religious and ethnic terms, has not
abated. The RSK urged Serbia-Montenegro, or SCG, authorities to
undertake “energetic measures” before international organizations in
order to remove the consequences of ethnic cleansing of Serbs. The RSK
further launched an attack on the media in SCG over the coverage of
the incident because it “either ignored it or reported it in columns
which cover ordinary crimes”.

The Serb MP and deputy chairman of the Independent Democratic Serb
Party, or SDSS, Milorad Pupovac, blamed the media in Croatia for
contributing to persecution of co-nationals. “The media first
contributed to this atmosphere when they reported that no less that
10,000 Serbs were coming over from SCG to vote in the recent local
elections in Croatia `so that they can take over power’, even though
`barely 2,000 had arrived,” Pupovac said.

He further noted that the escalation of ethnic violence was a result
of the good election results achieved by his party. He accused the
Knin-branch of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, of
attempting to gather all Croatian parties under the slogan of “all
Croats against Serbs” in a bid to exclude the SDSS, which won the
municipal election with 35 per cent of the vote, from the future local
government. “If Serbs and the SDSS – 10 years after Operation Storm –
are openly being told that `living together is not possible’, then
this is a worrying message, all the more as the SDSS is one of the
premier’s strongest suits on the path to Europe,” Pupovac said.

(SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1436 gmt 19
May; SRNA news agency, 0818 gmt 20 May; SRNA news agency 0645 gmt 19
May )

An unknown attacker hurled an explosive device into a building with
residential and office premises in Vukovar. The device damaged a flat
which was situated next to the offices of the Party of Danube Serbs,
or PPS, whose head office is also based in the building. No-one was
hurt.

On the morning of 22 May, two explosive devices went off outside the
municipal buildings in Trpinja and Borovo near Vukovar. The blasts did
not claim any casualties, but caused substantial material damage to
the facilities.

The government condemned the attacks in the strongest terms. Prime
Minister Ivo Sanader requested that the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and other relevant bodies scale up their efforts and arrest the
culprits. “These excesses, whose perpetrators will be discovered and
punished, cannot and must not threaten the co-existence and
reconciliation in the area, something which is the country’s lasting
commitment,” Sanader said.

In a most damning criticism of all Croatian ministers, President
Stjepan Mesic branded the murder of the elderly Serb returnee and the
explosions “politically-motivated acts of terrorism”.

Asked whether it was the aim of these terrorists to undermine
Croatia’s entry into the EU, Mesic said that this could only be
ascertained once the cases were resolved, but that it was “a fact that
terrorists want Croatia to be isolated because it can only be
plundered when isolated”.

The OSCE condemned the attacks, saying that it was “worrying” that
these blasts occurred on the heels of the local elections which were
held in a tolerant and democratic atmosphere.

(HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1804 gmt 23 May; HINA news
agency, in Croatian 0943 gmt 22 May; HINA news agency, in Croatian
1333 gmt 22 May; HINA news agency, in English 1802 gmt 23 May)

EU entry/bilateral ties

President Mesic and Prime Minister Sanader received cast-iron
assurances from Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos that
his country would support Croatia on its path towards the EU.

(HINA news agency, Zagreb, in Croatian 1517 gmt 19 May 05)

MACEDONIA

Macedonia/EU integration

Macedonia is right to expect a positive response from the European
Commission and the status of an EU membership candidate, President
Branko Crvenkovski told the third national forum on Macedonia’s
integration into the EU. The strategic goal of bringing Macedonia
closer to the EU has been achieved, he added, stressing that future
moves will have to result in the fulfilment of the political criteria
required for EU membership. Economic criteria will soon take
precedence.

(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, 1000 gmt 25 May 05)

Macedonia/Pope/EU

Pope Benedict XVI will lobby for Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic
integration, he told Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski on 23 May. He
asked for religion to be included in the Macedonian school curriculum.

(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, in Macedonian 1000 gmt 23 May 05)

Macedonia/Italy/NATO

Vlado Buckovski on 24 May received from his former counterpart,
Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino, approval for Macedonia’s
path towards NATO and its defence and judicial reforms. They also
discussed the situation in Kosovo. This was also on the agenda of
Buckovski’s meeting with Gianfranco Fini, deputy prime minister and
foreign minister. Fini reportedly assessed positively the
implementation of the Framework Agreement, adding that Macedonia’s
efforts should be appreciated. Italy will support Macedonia in its
NATO integration and its bid to receive the status of EU membership
candidate.

(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, in Macedonian 1000 gmt 24 May 05)

Macedonia/EU/police

Cooperation between the EU police (EUPOL) mission, codenamed Proxima,
and the Macedonian Interior Ministry is good, according to EU special
envoy to Macedonia Michael Sahlin and Proxima head Juergen Scholz. The
progress of the Macedonian police in accordance with EU standards is
also rather encouraging, they said. The EUPOL mission is due to finish
by the end of 2005.

(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, in Macedonian 1330 gmt 19 May 05)

Macedonia/regional cooperation

The third annual meeting of the Southeast Europe Police Chiefs
Association (SEPCA) commenced on 19 May in the Macedonian town of
Ohrid. The event brought together high-ranking police officers of the
participating states – Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia,
Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, the (Bosnian) Serb Republic and
Moldova. One of the main themes of the meeting was to promote
cooperation in the fight against organized crime.

(Makfax news agency, Skopje, 1404 gmt 19 May 05)

Macedonia/law

The Macedonian parliament on 19 May passed a law on witness
protection, aimed at providing efficient protection for individuals in
possession of significant information for a criminal procedure whose
life is endangered. Justice Minister Meri Mladenovska Gjorgievska said
the law would contribute to fighting organized crime more efficiently.

(MIA news agency, Skopje, in English 1506 gmt 19 May 05)

Macedonia/economy

Vlado Buckovski on 20 May announced the government’s economic
programme for the reduction of unemployment by 60,000 by the end of
2006 and economic growth of 4-5 per cent. He explained that the
programme contained a package of measures for the resolution of the
crucial problems in the economy, namely economic growth, unemployment
and the deficit in the trade balance and balance of payments. Among
the measures to improve the business climate, Buckovski announced the
introduction of a one-stop-shop system for rapidly registering firms,
and financial assistance for small companies through the Macedonian
Bank for Development Support.

“The government’s economic policy is a mix of macroeconomic stability
and structural reforms, which should deliver higher growth rates in
the short or mid-term,” Buckovski stressed in a speech. “Reforms are
pending in numerous areas to improve the business environment,
judicial efficiency, increase labour market flexibility, improve the
regulatory and supervisory framework of the banking sector, develop
the securities market and the insurance sector, as well as continue
the reforms in the public sector etc”, Buckovski said.

Experts assessed that the government’s economic programme does not
offer specific solutions for the economic crisis. It is too general
and does not contain deadlines for the realization of set objectives,
they said.

(Makfax news agency, Skopje, 1205 gmt 20 May; MIA news agency, Skopje,
in English 1421 gmt 22 May; Utrinski vesnik newspaper, Skopje, in
Macedonian 24 May 05)

Macedonia/EU/migration

Many Albanians in Macedonia are interested in acquiring Bulgarian
citizenship so they can travel to the EU more easily. Bulgaria is an
EU candidate country and its citizens can travel to EU states without
Schengen visas. One “facilitator” based in Kumanovo said he had dealt
with over 50 Albanians who wished to gain Bulgarian citizenship. This
costs over 500 euros – first an ID card for foreigners is issued by
the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, and after several weeks the desired
passport is issued. One of the required conditions is that Albanians
must adapt their surname to a Bulgarian form – from Ramadani to
Rakhmanov, for example.

(Koha Ditore newspaper, Skopje, in Albanian 19 May 05)

ROMANIA

EU entry/early elections

Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said the European Commission
warned the government that holding early elections might affect
Romania’s schedule in the process of joining the European Union. “The
European Commission has clearly changed its perception, which is quite
favourable now, it trusts the current government, but, at he same
time, we have received clear warnings against early elections,” the
prime minister said.

(Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1030 gmt 24 May 05)

EU accession/cost of delays

Leonard Orban, Romania’s chief EU negotiator said that the direct cost
Romania would had to pay if accession was postponed by one year would
be as high as 1.16bn euros. Orban said that there would also be
political costs as well as other indirect costs that could be much
greater because postponing accession would mean losing opportunities
and support for modernization.

The chief negotiator said the authorities’ current main objective was
making sure the safeguard clause was not used. According to Orban, the
EU is now very weary and West European leaders are keen to criticize
any mistakes made by candidates. Stressing the importance of
preparations for EU accession, he said that so far members of the
business community had shown very little interest in the deep changes
the Romanian economy is supposed to undergo.

(Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1408 gmt 20 May 05)

EU entry/judicial reforms

Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Adrian Nastase wrote a letter to
European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini, in which he
complained about what he called the government’s “brutal pressures” on
the Romanian legal system. According to Nastase, Justice Minister
Monica Macovei wants to exercise control over the prosecutors. “The
fundamental goal of amending the legislation is to purge the judicial
system and to replace people based on political criteria,” the PSD’s
executive chairman wrote. Nastase reminded Frattini that negotiations
on the justice chapter were concluded when he was Romania’s prime
minister, and he asks the latter to help him “in order to avoid these
sideslips.” Nastase also asked Frattini to say whether amending the
law on the judicial system was a “specific” requirement of the
European Commission.

(Adevarul, Bucharest, in Romanian 19 May 05)

TURKEY

EU talks/chief negotiator

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he believed that Minister of
State for Economy Ali Babacan would serve successfully as Turkey’s
chief negotiator for entry talks with the EU .

Gul said it was a good choice because membership negotiations would
mostly cover economic matters and because Babacan had already dealt
with issues concerning the EU.

Gul also said that Babacan would continue to hold his ministerial
post.

(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1222 gmt 24 May 05)

Armenian genocide issue

Istanbul’s Bogazici University cancelled a conference entitled
“Ottoman Armenians During Collapse of Empire” over what it called
serious imputations about the conference. The university said: “We are
concerned that prejudices about the content of a conference which has
not been held yet may deteriorate the academic freedom of a state
university,” the university said .

(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 2017 gmt 24 May 05)

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek described the conference as “nothing but
a stab in the back for Turks” and said he wished his ministerial post
did not prevent him from taking the matter to court.

(Anatolia in English 1313 gmt 24 May 05)

EU talks/women’s rights

Addressing a conference on the role of women in society, Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul said that despite the legal regulations
undertaken in the field of women’s rights in Turkey, Turkish women
still faced unfair treatment for cultural, political, legal and
economic reasons. “I should confess that the participation of the
Turkish women in political life is not at the desired level,” said Gul
noting that the ruling party and government were determined to
increase women’s role in the political process.

Gul said the Turkish parliament planned to set up a commission or
sub-commission on equality between the sexes and women’s rights and
Turkey was considering attending the second part of EU’s Daphne
programme aimed at countering violence against women, juveniles and
children.

(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1110 gmt 24 May 05)

EU talks/full membership

Commenting on reports in the Turkish media that Turkey had been
offered “privileged partnership”, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan
said that the government rejected any such idea. “Turkey, which will
start entry talks with EU on 3 October 2005 due to the decision taken
at 17 December EU summit, has concentrated all of its energy on full
membership target. On the basis of these realities, Turkey can’t
accept another formula or alternative than full membership,” Tan said.

(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1408 gmt 21 May 05)

EU membership/relations with Finland

Visiting Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said that Finland’s
taking the EU’s rotating presidency would be good for Turkey. “I told
Mr Prime Minister that Turkey expected to see a more sincere approach
from the EU towards Turkey,” Tuzmen said.

“Our support to Turkey’s EU bid will continue and improvement of
Turkey-EU relations will also contribute to Turkey-Finland relations,”
Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomaki
said.

(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1228 gmt 20 May 05)

Photo evidence of Armenian Genocide to be displayed in Moscow

26.05.2005 16:41

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The exhibition “Armin Wegner and the Armenian
Genocide” will open in Moscow on May 31, the newspaper Yerkramas,
published by Armenians of southern Russia, reported.

Organized by the Moscow chapter of the Russian-Armenian Friendship
Organization and Russian Cultural Fund’s project directorate, the
exhibition is based on the book by Italian historian Giovanni Guaita,
Yuri Navoyan, chairman of the Russian-Armenian Friendship Organization
said.

Unique photos taken at the death camps by German officer Armin Wegner,
an eyewitness of the Armenian Genocide, in defiance of the Turkish and
German authorities’ strict ban to shoot the events, will be on
display.

Armenian and Russian public figures will attend the opening ceremony.