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05/18/2005
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1) Outspoken Bavarian Premier Hates Idea of Turkey in European Union
2) Armenia Denies Pullout Allegations
3) First Conference on the Armenian Issue Organized in Turkey
4) Evans Says US Committed to Help Armenia, Azerbaijan Resolve Karabagh
Dispute
1) Outspoken Bavarian Premier Hates Idea of Turkey in European Union
(Combined Sources)–Bavarian premier minister Edmund Stoiber announced in the
German Parliament that if the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union (CSU)
comes
to power in Germany, Turkey would never become a full member of the European
Union (EU).~T
Stoiber, who was narrowly defeated by Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder in Germany’s 2002 general election, has been an outspoken critic of
Turkey~Rs entry into the EU, saying: “An out-of-Europe nation like Turkey with
its different history and different cultural traditions will not fit into
Europe.”
Stoiber warned that Turkey~Rs membership issue would play a big part of
election campaigning.
Sixty-six percent of Germans believe the EU’s eastward expansion is having a
negative effect on jobs, compared with only 2 percent who feel the opposite.
And the views are not much different when it comes to a further enlargement of
the EU. Two-thirds of Germans are opposed.
~STurkey~Rs full membership will break down because of the free will of
Europe~Rs
women and men.~T Stoiber said. ~SOur goal is a privileged partnership,
because we
do not want to make excessive demands of Europe.~T
He also warned that if there is a change of power, he would resort to all
legal means possible–as well as personal effort to ensure that Turkey does
not
gain full membership to the EU.
The CSU is the sister party to the conservative opposition Christian
Democrats. Over the past few days, Angela Merkel, leader of the Christian
Democrats, has been trying to limit the dissent of her traditionally
pro-European party, whose members have in recent months been more outspoken
about future enlargements, particularly the idea of Turkey joining.
Merkel herself has called for a “privileged partnership” between the EU and
Turkey that would give the country trade, economic, and other rights
similar to
EU countries but would fall short of full membership.
But Stoiber demands that “the German public, possibly through their state
parliaments, must have more to say about EU issues.”
2) Armenia Denies Pullout Allegations
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Armenia’s foreign ministry responded on Wednesday
to allegations that Armenia is ready to give up regions it seized during the
early 1990s in the war over Mountainous Karabagh.
Talking about the latest meeting between the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the Azeri foreign minister claimed they discussed a timetable for
an Armenian pullout. “We are discussing which district should be liberated and
when,” he said. “They [the Armenians] agree that all the districts should be
returned.”
Armenian foreign ministry spokesman Hamlet Gasparian denied those claims. “As
for the Azerbaijani side’s statements about the return of districts that are
controlled by Armenian forces, they are absolutely contrary to the facts,” he
said.
Gasparian did say the Kocharian-Aliyev meeting is “step forward” in the
resolution of the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. “The Armenian side finds
positive the latest meeting in Warsaw between the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan,” he said in a statement.
Armenia has categorically ruled out the return of at least one of those
districts which provides for the shortest overland connection between Armenia
and Mountainous Karabagh Republic. The international mediators seem to support
continued Armenian control of that region called the Lachin corridor.
3) First Conference on the Armenian Issue Organized in Turkey
ISTANBUL–Marking the first time the Armenian issue is discussed by Turkish
scholars at an academic gathering, the upcoming conference, “Ottoman Armenians
during the Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and
Democracy,” will take place May 25-27 at Bogaziçi University. Organized by the
Comparative Literature Department of Bilgi University, the History Department
of Bogaziçi University, and the History Program at Sabanci University, the
conference participants will solely include Turkish scholars; as a result, it
will be conducted entirely in Turkish. Only an invited group of people will be
able to attend the conference because of limited space and the vast interest
expressed.
The conference schedule contains more than thirty papers to be delivered at
ten sessions, a number of panels, and a round table discussion. The organizers
of the conference noted that they have been unable to include many valuable
suggestions because of the large number of interested participants and the
need
to contain all the proceedings in three days.
According to organizers, the time has come, ninety years after 1915, that
~Sthis tragic event in the history of our country, for Turkey’s own academics
and intellectuals to collectively raise their voices that differ from that of
the official [state] theses and put forth their own contributions. Turkish
society that has grown, differentiated within itself, and opened to the world
has accumulated both qualitatively and quantitatively an impressive amount of
independent and critical thought.~T They also noted, ~SThis accumulation already
covers a rather large spectrum, achieves breadth and depth along the
intellectual circles of historians, social scientists, writers, publishers,
lawyers, journalists and independent intellectuals, and now wants to make its
own voice heard and thus come of age as an intellectual generation with its
own
free and autonomous ideas.~T
The conference organizers expressed that the academic gathering is not solely
a responsibility in reference to scientific truth or world citizenship, but
also a responsibility toward their country, society, and democracy. They said
it is Turkey that would benefit the most from the emergence of different,
critical, and alternative voices.
Speakers include Halil Berktay, Taner Akçam, Selim Deringil, Osman Köker,
Fikret Adanir, Nazan Maksudyan, Edhem Eldem, Meltem Toksöz, Rober Koptas,
Sarkis Seropyan, and Hrant Dink, among others. Topics will include: ~SArchives
and the Armenian Question: ‘Grabbing the Document by the Throat’~T; “Armenian
Problem from the Viewpoint of Democracy”; “Armenian Presence in the Ottoman
State before the Deportation” “Massacre, Genocide and the Historical
Profession”; “The 1915-1916 Events according to the 20th century and world
historians~T; “Armenians of Adana and the 1909 ‘Disturbance'”; “The
Unionist-Tashnak Negotiations and the 1914 Armenian Reform from the pens of
Krikor Zohrab, Vahan Papazyan and Karekin Pastirmaciyan”; “The Intent and
Organization of Genocide, with the survivors and the destroyed, among the
leaders of the Union and Progress in light of Ottoman documents”; and “What
Can
Be Done to Reinstitute Turkish-Armenian Friendship?”
4) Evans Says US Committed to Help Armenia, Azerbaijan Resolve Karabagh
Dispute
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–In an online interview to the Armenian weekly “Yerkir,”
US ambassador to Armenia John Evans, commented on the United States~R role in
the Karabagh conflict settlement, as well as whether the US State Department~Rs
support of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is a hindrance to its
settlement.
“All states recognize the territorial integrity of states as a basic
principle
of international law. At the same time, the United States is committed to
working with both Yerevan and Baku to seek an equitable resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, on the basis of this and other relevant principles.
A settlement will indeed require significant compromises by both sides,~T he
said.
Speaking about the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, Evans said, ~SThe US
Government fully supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to find a
peaceful, mutually acceptable resolution to the problem. A lasting settlement
will help foster security and economic progress for all parties. We are also
committed to seeking the normalization of relations and the opening of the
border between Armenia and Turkey.~T He added that the international community
is not inclined to impose a solution, but ~Sstands ready to support any just
and
reasonable settlement reached by the two sides.”
In response to a question about the main obstacle to developing a favorable
investment climate in Armenia, Evans said that a stable environment is
necessary to attract foreign investors. “When foreign investors look at
Armenia, they want to see opportunity for economic growth and stability in the
business climate. Right now, they see the opportunity for growth, but the
business climate still looks rather risky,~T he said. Evans also said the
appearance of favoritism and corruption in the business environment, as
well as
the unresolved nature of the conflict in Karabagh leads foreign investors to
fear that they may not be competing in a fair market place.
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