Author: Antonian Lara

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

========================================== ======
Thursday 28 June 2007
TURKEY: WHAT CHANCE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY’S ELECTIONS?

Turkey is due to hold parliamentary elections on 22 July, which will have
a crucial impact on the presidential election due in autumn. Both elections
will strongly influence the chances of greater freedom of thought,
conscience and belief, Otmar Oehring of the German Catholic charity Missio
< /missio-ueber-sich/leitthemen/menschenrechte/index .html>
notes. Turkish religious minorities Forum 18 News Service has spoken to are
highly concerned about the outcome of the elections. For, as Dr Oehring
observes in this personal commentary for Forum 18 <;,
Turks who want to see genuine freedom of thought, conscience and religion
have little expectation that either the parliamentary or presidential
election will bring any improvement. No political party with any chance of
gaining real power wants either to tackle the dangerous media intolerance
of religious minorities or to take the dramatic changes necessary to usher
in genuine religious freedom.

TURKEY: WHAT CHANCE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY’S ELECTIONS?

By Otmar Oehring, Head of the Human Rights Office of Missio
<;

No Turkish presidential candidate has been found who is acceptable to both
parliament and the "deep state," the nationalist circles in the army,
police, National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) secret police and state
administration which regard themselves as the custodians of the Ataturkist
legacy. Turkey is now due to hold parliamentary elections on 22 July, which
may have crucial impact on the presidential election. A presidential
election is due in autumn 2007, but no firm date for this has been set. At
the time of the failed presidential election earlier this year, debate was
fierce on what role Islam should play in the state. This debate remains
unresolved, with both sides as far apart as ever.

Politicians have been preoccupied with the political crisis over the
failure of parliament and the "deep state" to agree a new president,
leaving President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to continue until a new candidate is
agreed, most probably in September. No senior politicians have shown any
interest in granting greater freedom of thought, conscience and belief to
non-Muslim religious minorities. Debate has instead focused on whether the
governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) is a party in line with
Turkey’s interpretation of secularism.

Religious minorities face increasing threats of physical violence. Murders
of religious minority leaders have been increasing – one Catholic priest in
2006 (see F18News 26 July 2006
< e_id=817>) and three Protestants
in April 2007. Turkish Christians have told Forum 18 that a key factor in
these murders is the overt intolerance of non-Muslim minorities promoted by
the media – and that unless this is tackled, more murders will take place.
Politicians have made no serious attempt to tackle this serious threat to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion (see forthcoming F18News
article).

The one major religious minority that has not suffered violence or been
excluded from the political process are the Alevi Muslims, who make up
about 20 per cent of the population. However, they have faced
discrimination over recent years and their right to be accepted as a
religious community independent of the state-run Sunni Muslim majority
community has never been accepted by the Turkish state (see F18News 12
October 2005 < 670> and 26
July 2006 < 817>).

Several political parties of differing views are trying to recruit Alevis
as candidates in the forthcoming election. The governing AKP has tried to
entice leading members of the Cem Foundation, the Alevi body closest to the
government, to become candidates. Most of the main parties view the Alevis
not as a religious minority whose right to religious freedom should be
respected, but as a source of votes.

The optimism that many in Turkey and Europe had in 2006 and earlier that
the political establishment was ready to begin tackling the discrimination
against non-Muslim minorities has disappeared (see F18News 18 January 2007
< e_id=901>). Why has nothing
happened?

It could be because of the election campaign – no-one has the time or the
interest to promote the rights of people in religious minorities. Even AKP
politicians, who might be in favour of EU accession despite the freedoms
for non-Muslim communities this may bring, see EU accession – if it happens
– as taking place in the distant future. During the election campaign the
AKP has behaved as nationalistically as other parties, so it will not
commit itself to doing anything for non-Muslim minorities. These are seen
by many Turks – and are depicted in the mass media – as traitors or as
alien people in Turkey.

Religious minorities Forum 18 has spoken to are highly concerned about
what the outcome of the parliamentary elections will be – and about who
will also take over as President. This is because the outcome of the
elections will be a major factor in determining the chances of greater
freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Turkey. Opinion polls
currently put the AKP ahead of the other parties. Indeed, all the major
parties likely to get seats in the new parliament are nationalistic, with
varying levels of hostility to non-Muslims.

If the AKP wins the parliamentary elections, this could mean that it held
two-thirds of seats in parliament, which would give it the power to pass
changes to the Constitution in an Islamist direction. Whoever becomes the
President might veto these changes, which makes the election of a new
President another major factor in determining the chances of greater
freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Turkey.

The way the new President will be elected has proved highly controversial.
According to the law passed by parliament with AKP backing on 31 May 2007,
this should be by popular vote but President Sezer rejected this. With
parliament and president at a stand-off, the issue is now to be put to a
referendum, though no date has been set. If the AKP wins the parliamentary
elections, they will probably present Abdullah Gül again as their candidate
for President. If an AKP candidate is elected President, this would allow
the AKP to introduce constitutional changes, in the knowledge that an AKP
President would not veto them. Nobody however knows what the army and wider
"deep state" would do, if that happened.

The "deep state" has a well-known commitment to "defending" the Ataturkist
"secularist" heritage, as it sees it. And in Turkey, "secularism" means
Islam being a branch of the state and no other religious community –
including Muslim minorities – having legal status as a religious community
(see F18News 22 November 2006
< e_id=875>).

When the army General Staff issued a statement in late April 2007
defending Turkey’s "secular" system and describing itself as the "absolute
defender of secularism" this was interpreted as a "cold coup". However, it
was also a sign of its weakness – it seems the army no longer felt able to
launch a real coup. The AKP government led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan merely carried on as before. It presents itself as no longer being
afraid of anyone and ready to do what it wants without looking over its
shoulder.

In reality, Erdogan has shown that he has heard the army’s warning that it
wants to decide on matters it considers vital for Turkey. On two occasions
Erdogan stated that politicians would not oppose the army, if it decided to
invade Iraq. After stating this for the first time, he denied saying it –
but then said it again. Erdogan has also indicated that his fellow
politicians would not oppose other decisions of the army leadership.

The mass demonstrations against the AKP in April and May 2007 did not
necessarily show that large parts of the population wanted Turkey to become
more open and democratic. Many of the demonstrators were supporters of
rival parties, some of them just as nationalist in outlook as the AKP.
Indeed, it seems the Republican People’s Party (CHP) stirred up many of the
protests. Party members see themselves as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s heirs,
even if it is doubtful that he would recognise them as such.

Some of the protest organisers and demonstrators certainly did want Turkey
to be less nationalist and more open and democratic, including the small
minority who want Turkey to have genuine freedom of thought, conscience and
belief. But those who demonstrated consisted of people who had no one
unified goal: old Kemalists who are anti-EU and xenophobic to varying
degrees; secularists who are afraid of any Islamist project; intellectuals
who do not share a Kemalist worldview; anti-AKP and anti-Islamist
Westernisers.

Turkey’s Western-oriented intellectuals think that if Turkey continues
with negotiations over EU accession, this will not only benefit them but
will help promote democratic change. However, they are acutely aware that
they are becoming an ever dwindling minority.

If the AKP does take over both the parliament and the presidency, it is
still unknown how it will behave. Will it go down the Islamist road or
carry on with the European project? It seems that Erdogan and his current
foreign minister (and AKP presidential candidate) Abdullah Gul have both
moved away from their Islamist background. Yet this still remains unknown.
And even if the AKP does not take over the parliament and presidency, the
majority of those who oppose the AKP are – apart from the true democrats –
mainly xenophobic nationalists.

If other parties come to power in the elections, the already tight
controls and restrictions on religious minorities (and indeed on Islam) are
highly unlikely to be loosened. The other parties are more nationalistic
than the AKP and so even less willing to do anything to improve conditions
for non-Muslim minorities. If they were willing to ease the restrictions on
non-Muslim minorities, there would be pressure for them to also loosen the
subordination in law and practice of Islam to the state (see F18News 22
November 2006 < 875>). These
parties certainly do not want this.

The AKP has done little practical to help non-Muslim communities since it
came to power (see F18News 18 January 2007
< e_id=901>). But some in Turkey,
including the head of the Armenian Church, Patriarch Mesrop, still see a
new AKP government – theoretically committed to pursuing the EU application
– as the only hope within Turkish politics for even slight improvements.

Those Turks who want to see genuine freedom of thought, conscience and
religion have little expectation that either the parliamentary or
presidential election will bring any improvement. No political party with
any chance of gaining real power wants either to tackle the dangerous media
intolerance of religious minorities or to take the dramatic changes
necessary to usher in genuine religious freedom. (END)

– Dr Otmar Oehring, head of the human rights office of Missio
< /missio-ueber-sich/leitthemen/menschenrechte/index .html>,
a Catholic charity based in Germany, contributed this comment to Forum 18
News Service. Commentaries are personal views and do not necessarily
represent the views of F18News or Forum 18.

More analyses and commentaries on religious freedom in Turkey can be found
at <; religion=all&country=68>

A printer-friendly map of Turkey is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=mideast&Rootmap=turk ey>
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

LAUNCH OF WEBCASTING AND NEW INFORMATION ABOUT PENDING COURT CASES

A1+
[02:46 pm] 27 June, 2007

The European Court of Human Rights has today announced the launch of
two initiatives: web-casting its public hearings and the provision
of new information about pending cases on its website.

At a press conference held in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg,
the Court’s President Jean-Paul Costa and Irish Ambassador to the
Council of Europe James Sharkey gave journalists a preview of a future
webcast which will enable journalists and the public to view the
Court’s hearings from anywhere in the world and to download extracts
of interest.

In launching the project the Court’s President Jean-Paul Costa
described webcasting – which has been financed by the Irish Government
– as "a significant step forward in making the Court’s activities more
visible and accessible". He said: "Lawyers, academics, journalists
and ordinary citizens, many of whom would never have been able to
come to Strasbourg to attend a hearing, will be able to follow the
proceedings from their homes and offices. They will be able to see
and hear for themselves the arguments advanced for and against a
finding of a human rights violation in respect of some of the most
sensitive issues of the day. This will bring the Convention closer
to the ordinary citizens whom it is intended to serve and protect."

The first hearing to be broadcast on the Court’s Internet site
() will be in the case Maumousseau and Washington
v. France on 28 June 2007.

The hearing will be held at 9 a.m. and the webcast will be made
available on the Court’s website from 2.30 p.m. that day.

The second important initiative concerns the provision of information
about pending cases on the Court’s site. As from today, a report
(accessible through "Pending cases", "Press" and the Court’s database
HUDOC) will appear on the Court’s Internet site every Monday, giving
a list of cases which have been officially communicated to the
Government of the country against which the applicant’s complaints
are directed. For each case there will be a link to a summary of
the facts, the applicants’ complaints and the questions put by the
Court to the parties. This information will be in one of the Court’s
official languages, English or French.

GERMANY INTERESTED IN TURKEY’S EUROPEAN ORIENTATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2007 18:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey criticized the European Union on Tuesday for
refusing to extend membership talks to the politically sensitive area
of economic and monetary policy, saying it hoped for progress soon.

The EU opened talks with Turkey on two new policy areas — statistics
and financial control — a move that German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier said proved Ankara’s accession bid was and
would remain on track. "Turkey is a bridge between Europe and Near
East, that is why we are interested in European orientation of this
state," he said.

France prevented the start of negotiations on economic and monetary
policy to underline new President Nicolas Sarkozy’s opposition to the
goal of eventual EU membership for Turkey. Turkish Economy Minister
and chief negotiator Ali Babacan told a news conference: "We are not
satisfied with the technical justifications that were given to us
and we hope that there will be progress in this matter during the
Portuguese presidency (of the EU in the second half of this year)."

Babacan said the EU’s relations with Turkey, a secular, largely Muslim
country, were being closely watched by the rest of the world. If
the EU failed to keep the objective of eventual Turkish membership
in the talks, he said, "not only Turkey but the EU as well will
be damaged from this, at a scale beyond its frontiers and even at
global proportions".

The EU was keen to stress that the opening of two chapters proved
membership talks were proceeding.

"This is quite significant progress, and the process is well on track,"
said Steinmeier, who chaired the talks and whose country currently
holds the rotating EU presidency.

Turkey has already opened and closed talks with the EU on science,
and opened talks on industry. EU legislation is divided into 35
policy areas and there are as many chapters of talks. While EU
officials sought to play down the setback over economic and monetary
policy as a technical hiccup, Turkish analysts said it was a more
serious blow to Ankara’s long-term membership aspirations.European
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a speech that it was
of paramount importance that last week’s EU summit had agreed the
terms for a reform of EU institutions to cope with recent and future
enlargements. He welcomed the fact that the mandate for a new treaty
had included a reaffirmation of the EU’s openness to further members,
while vowing to take account of the conditions of eligibility agreed
upon at a summit last December.

Rehn said the EU was sticking to its commitments to Turkey, Croatia
and the rest of the Western Balkans.

In an apparent response to Sarkozy’s call for the EU to discuss its
final borders at a summit in December, he compared Turkey’s accession
process with Texas joining the United States. It took more than a
century — and a civil war — for the United States to agree on the
role of a federal government, and even longer to develop a set of
institutions, Rehn said, Reuters reports.

EX-KARABAKH MEDIATOR TO RUN U.S. EMBASSY IN ARMENIA
By Ruben Meloyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 27 2007

The United States has named a new, more high-ranking diplomat to run
its embassy in Yerevan in the continuing absence of a U.S. ambassador
to Armenia, it emerged on Wednesday.

A U.S. embassy official said Rudolf Perina will take over from Anthony
Godfrey, the deputy chief of mission, as U.S. charge d’affaires in
Yerevan next month.

Unlike Godfrey, Perina has the diplomatic rank of ambassador and
has served as U.S. ambassador to former Yugoslavia and Moldova in
the past. He is better known in Armenia as the U.S. co-chair of the
OSCE’s Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh from 2001-2004.

"Rudolf Perina will arrive in Armenia on July 10," Tom Mittnacht, head
of the U.S. embassy’s public affairs section, told RFE/RL. "He has
the rank of ambassador but is coming to Armenia not as an ambassador
but as a charge d’affaires."

Mittnacht said another senior American diplomat, Richard Hoagland,
remains President George W. Bush’s ambassador designate to Armenia.

Hoagland’s congressional confirmation continues to be blocked by a
pro-Armenian member of the U.S. Senate over his failure to describe as
genocide the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Senator
Robert Menendez pledged last April to keep his so-called "hold"
on the ambassadorial appointment.

The last U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, is believed to have
been recalled by Washington last year for publicly referring to the
1915-1918 slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
as the first genocide of the 20th century. The Bush administration
refuses to use the politically sensitive term with regard to the mass
killings for fear of antagonizing Turkey, a key U.S. ally.

"By appointing Ambassador Perina as charge d’affaires, the State
Department took into account his rich experience and knowledge of
Armenia as well as his personal and business ties with top Armenian
leaders, which will contribute to continuity in our bilateral relations
with Armenia," Mittnacht said.

FORMER MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT TO FILL THE THE POSITION OF CHARGE D’AFFAIRES OF THE U.S. EMBASSY IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2007-06-26 16:28:00

The U.S. Department of State has asked Ambassador Rudolf Perina to
come out of retirement and fill the position of Charge d’Affaires of
the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, Taguhi Jahukyan, Public Affairs
Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, told ArmInfo correspondent.

According to T.Jahukyan, R.Perina will assume these duties on or
about July 10, 2007. "As a career diplomat, Ambassador Perina has
held many important positions, including Chief of Mission of the U.S.
Embassy in Belgrade (1993-96), Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Canadian Affairs (1996-97), Ambassador
to Moldova (1998-2001), Special Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh
and Eurasian Conflicts (Minsk Group Co-Chair) (2001-2004), and as
Deputy Director of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning staff
(2004-2005)", she said.

T.Jahukyan added that Ambassador Richard Hoagland remains President
Bush’s nominee for the position of Ambassador to Armenia. "We continue
to await Senate confirmation of Ambassador Hoagland’s appointment",
she noted.

STATE SECRETARY, FIRST VICE MINISTER OF SLOVAK MFA ARRIVING IN ARMENIA JUNE 28

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.06.2007 16:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On June 29th, 2007 the official delegation of
the Slovak Republic headed by Mrs. Olga Algaerova, State Secretary,
first Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak
Republic will arrive in Armenia, the press office of the Slovak
Consulate reported.

Other members of the delegation are Mr. Augustin Chisar, the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic in Armenia,
Mr. Stefan Rozkopal, the Head of the NIS Department of the MFA of the
Slovak Republic, Mr. Gagik Martirosyan, the Honorary Consul of the
Slovak Republic in Armenia, Mr. Metod Spacek, the Chief Staff of the
State Secretary, as well as Mr. Martin Pangrac, the Second Secretary
of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Armenia.

The official opening ceremony of the Slovak Consulate in Armenia,
a number of official meetings, as well as Press Conference are
anticipated during the visit.

HERITAGE PARTY WILL VOTE AGAINST THE PROGRAM OF THE SERZH SARGSYAN GOVERNMENT

ArmInfo
2007-06-26 16:32:00

If it was just some good wishes put on paper, we would have supported
it.

But this is a long-term official document. The way it is now it
cannot be considered as a government program. This document needs
serious improvement and our party will not vote for it, the leader
of the opposition Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian said during the
parliamentary discussions of the Government’s program today.

Heritage has not received specific answers to many of its questions
concerning the program. This document does not say how it is going
to meet the goals it declares. A government program must be based on
reality rather than good wishes. For example, the program says that
poverty must be reduced but it does not link it with appreciating AMD,
growing prices or declining spending capacity.

The program does not clearly say how to fight corruption and how
to develop small and medium- sized business, science, education and
other important spheres. Its foreign policy section contains serious
deficiencies in paragraphs concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,
Armenian-Turkish relations and the protection of the country’s
sovereignty and strategic interests.

IF THE ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES WANT, THEY COULD ENSURE EVEN 105% OF VOTES FOR THEMSELVES, THE HEAD OF THE ALM-HOLDING TIGRAN KARAPETYAN SAID

ArmInfo
2007-06-26 16:10:00

"At the parliamentary election the authorities ensured 80-85% of
votes for themselves. If they wanted, they could reach this result
up to 105%. Thus, the country goes to the communist way of guiding,
to its worst functionary display", – the head of the ALM-holding,
the leader of the People’s Party, Tigran Karapetyan, said over the
debates in Hayeli club, Tuesday.

He also added that the gutted Orinats Yerkir party is presented
in today’s National Assembly and only its leader Artur Bagdasaryan
remains in the party and will not leave that as he is needed at the
forthcoming presidential election. interests protector. And the RPA
is conducting everything taking place, – Tigran Karapetyan assessed
the parliamentary parties in such a way.

ALM-holding’s director which is known for mass delivery of TV-sets
and other "humanitarian" aid to the population over the whole year
before the parliamentary election, today is categorically against
giving bribe to voters and thinks it is progress if at least one
party may find itself in the parliament in future without spending
money. Tigran Karapetyan is going to run for president at the
forthcoming presidential election. He thinks that at this stage the
main task of the out of parliament parties is to take the people out
of depression.

ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON HIGH TECHNOLOGIES IN SAN FRANCISCO

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 25 2007

YEREVAN, June 25. /ARKA/. Armenia will participate in the international
scientific conference on high technologies in San Francisco
at the beginning of July, said Vice-President of International
Inter-professional Armenian Association (G21A) Daniel Yeremyan.

"Armenian companies will be able to present their achievements in
the IT-sphere during the conference organized by G21A," he said.

Yeremyan said that the matter concerns new software that opens up
possibilities to present images, texts and voice playback.

"In particular, due to these technologies, it will be possible to
implement banking payments through mobile network instead of plastic
cards," he said.

He also added that the previous similar conference was organized in
Paris, on March 31. Armenia was presented alongside such countries
as Romania, Bulgaria and India.

"Armenia found its place on the world market of new technologies, which
is accounted for by specialists’ higher education as well as Armenians’
ability to create new proposals on the basis of imagination," he said.

G21A founded in 1981 is an inter-professional, non-governmental
association which has a consolidate role among professionals of
Armenian origin and Frenchmen – friends of the Armenian nation –
who occupy with various activities (directors of enterprises, leading
personnel, industry, merchants, craftsmen, "active" pensioners, etc.).

The objective of he G21A is to unite resources to support social and
professional spheres, form and transfer professional skills to future
generations, inform about the possibilities to improve the Armenian
economy and culture by means of modern communications.

FOREIGN MINISTERS ADDRESS REGIONAL SUMMIT IN TURKEY

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
June 25 2007

ISTANBUL (A.A) -25.06.2007 -The meeting of Council of Ministers of
Foreign Affairs of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) within
the framework of the 15th Anniversary Summit of the organization
ended in Istanbul on Monday.

Speaking at the meeting, US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson
highlighted importance of the Black Sea region with its population
of 350 million, and said that they appreciated the BSEC’s reforms
and efforts to improve its relations with the EU.

Wilson said that the United States made a financial contribution of
10 million USD to the Black Sea Fund for development of rule of law,
democracy and cooperation in the region.

At the end of the meeting, a memorandum of understanding regarding
the Black Sea Sea Way Agreement was signed.

[In a report in English at 1123 gmt on 25 June, Anatolia says: "Joint
projects with the European Commission and reforms made by the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC) are two successes of the current summit,"
said Theodora Bakoyianni, Greek Foreign Minister, on Monday.

"In a keynote speech delivered at the BSEC Council of Ministers of
Foreign Affairs meeting, Bakoyianni indicated that the BSEC has become
more visible in the European Union (EU).

"’Greece is working to establish a new EU regional policy and bring
a new dimension to the BSEC,’ noted Bakoyianni.

"Bakoyianni stressed that Greece will contribute to the Black Sea
coast highway and maritime journeys.

"Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov remarked
that the BSEC activities focus on multi-lateral projects such as the
Black Sea coast highway, traffic among sea ports and land highways.

"Lavrov noted that topics such as communication, information
technologies and health must be developed by the BSEC in the future.

"’We must have agreements among BSEC nations in the fight against
international crimes and terrorism,’ stressed Lavrov.

"On the other hand, Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu
indicated that ‘as a new EU member, Romania wants to contribute to
projects concerning the Black Sea region, including those on freedoms,
respect for human rights and economic wealth.’

"’The BSEC must have a dynamic relationship with the EU,’ said
Cioroianu."

At 1052 gmt on the same day, Anatolia added: "Bulgarian Foreign
Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ivaylo Kalfin said Monday that
relations between Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the
European Union have become closer in the last decade.

"Speaking at BSEC’s Special Meeting of the Council of Ministers of
Foreign Affairs in Istanbul, Kalfin said BSEC region has been an
emerging and developing region and current BSEC members have achieved
noteworthy transformations in terms of adopting free market economy.

"Stating that these were milestones for several BSEC countries to
join the EU, Kalfin said the region is important for Eastern Europe
and the Caucasus considering its strategically outstanding location
that covers transit countries for energy resources.

"Kalfin said there are still some major problems in the region such as,
human trafficking, and BSEC countries should overcome these problems
through mutual trust and cooperation.

"On the other hand, Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan stressed
that all BSEC countries will benefit from this summit declaration to
achieve outcomes of the organization activities in Black Sea region.

"Albanian FM Lulzim Basha said his county will continue to support
projects regarding joint energy markets and construction of energy
corridors."

Finally, at 1027 gmt on 25 June, Anatolia reported: "’Black Sea has
united us for centuries, and we are in contact with each other today
through it (Black Sea),’ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian said on Monday.

"’We should make use of this opportunity. But, water is sometimes
so deep that we prefer to stay on the shore,’ he stated during the
meeting of Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC) held in Istanbul within the framework of
the 15th Anniversary Summit of the organization.

"Oskanian appreciated economic activities of BSEC, however argued
that the organization cannot fully make use of the political potential.

"-RELATIONS WITH EU OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE, MAMMADYAROV-

"’We think that our relations with the EU are of strategic importance,’
said Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov on the other hand.

"’Therefore, we think that establishing a more developed cooperation
and closer dialogue between the two organizations is also important,’
he emphasized.

"Claiming that there are threats against cooperation and development
in Black Sea, Mammadyarov said, ‘we can particularly show regional
conflicts as an example for this. Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces
are coming face-to-face with each other in the region. And when these
norms and principles, and international law and state principles are
considered, I believe that a comprehensive regional cooperation can
be created especially in the South Caucasus.’

"-BSEC FACES SECURITY THREATS, BEZHUASHVILI-

"’EU’s joining us as an observer is a positive development. BSEC basin
is one of the most rapidly developing regions in the world. If required
economic development is ensured in this region, it will contribute
more to Europe’s security, and it can assume significant roles in
preventing international human and arms trafficking and proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction,’ said Georgian FM Gela Bezhuashvili.

"BSEC is important for Europe, and it will continue to be so as it
is situated on the energy route,’ Bezhuashvili stated.

"’BSEC, which will create a very important chain between the EU and
Central Asia, is facing security threats,’ Bezhuashvili pointed out
and added that regional disputes should be overcome by a comprehensive
cooperation."]