REFUSAL TO SHOW FILM ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ARISES SPLIT AMONG ORGANIZERS OF ISTANBUL FESTIVAL
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 4 2006
ISTANBUL, OCTOBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The administration
of the festival of documentary films organized in Istanbul refused at
the last moment to show the film entitled “I Hate Dogs” which tells
about the Armenian Genocide. It was accepted beforehand but at the
last moment the organizers informed film producer and author Suzanne
Khardalian that the participation application was refused.
As Marmara informs the decision on refusal arose split among members
of the festival organization body, in the consequence of what Necati
Sonmez, the deputy chairman of the board resigned his post, as a
token of complaint against the decision to refuse participation of
the film in the festival.
The festival board had to comment upon this fact on October 2 and
protect the viewpoint that at present we want imperatives of peace,
knowing each other and cleaning the surroundings from the feeling
of hate, so it would not be correct to show such a film in similar
conditions. We may meet face to face with our past just in such a
peace, the board speaker said.
Netaci Sonmez, however, stated that he considered an insult towards
both people and board and film producers at the last moment to take
out of the list a film accepted beforehand. “The Armenian cause
is not only the state’s taboo any longer, it became a monster of
self-censorship stamped in mind of each of us: what we may do if fear
started tormenting many people’s souls,” Sonmez said.
To recap, the film entitled “I Hate Dogs” tells about 99- year old
Hakobian’s evidences about the 1915 Genocide. He saw how dogs wanted
to eat the dead body of his father killed before his eyes.
Film producer Suzanne Khardalian and her partner Pea Holmquist
officially protested against the festival organizers and demanded to
review this decision made against their film.

COMMENT: FRANCE, ARMENIA AND THE UNBEARABLE ATTRACTION OF TURCOPHOBIC POLITICS
Suat Kýnýklýoðlu
ABHaber, Belgium
EU-Turkey News Network
Oct 4 2006
This week a good number of media outlets will cover in great detail
the visit of French President Jacques Chirac to Armenia. They are
right to do so. Chirac’s visit to Armenia signifies a new level of
French willingness to escalate tensions between France and Turkey.
Before getting into the details, motivations and outcome of this visit,
however, let me underline in no uncertain terms that those who think
they can get away with such irresponsible political behavior are
mistaken. And let me emphasize that I am not referring to immature
calls for boycotting French products or small demonstrations in front
of the French Embassy. I am also not referring to a senseless barrage
of insults against the French Republic and its crimes committed in
Algeria. In fact, I am referring to a much deeper phenomenon.
Although many of our European colleagues may think otherwise, since
Turkey’s EU drive accelerated in 2003, the Turkish elite have been
able to acutely register the ups and downs of the intra-European
debate on Turkey.
Not only the Turkish intelligentsia but also ordinary Turks are
very well aware of which countries, political leaders and parties
are obstructing Turkey’s EU aspirations. They also take notice of
what’s happening on the Armenian issue. It is increasingly becoming
clear that French, Austrian, Danish and Dutch opposition to Turkey’s
EU membership is based not only on pure political interests. There
is a much deeper process at work. We are dealing with a new version
of Turcophobia. I am referring to a non-clinical situation, a very
peculiarly negative attitude or a compilation of prejudices against
Turkey. French Turcophobia has a particularly wide base and goes
well beyond President Chirac or his entourage. For example, Nicholas
Sarkozy’s recent comments that Turkey had no place in the European
Union were a clear sign that the next French election will highlight
Turcophobic issues in the approaching presidential election.
So what does Chirac’s visit to Armenia serve, then? Let me explain.
It serves four things. First, it extends crucial political support
to Armenia that is run by a small nationalist clan which suppresses
democracy and has hijacked Armenia’s foreign policy debate. Thanks
to the Kocharian clan, Armenian foreign policy now rests on Turkey’s
recognition of “genocide;” something that is not going to happen but
will help prolong Kocharian’s oligarchic rule. Second, it provides
political support to a country that occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijani
territory, including seven regions outside of Nagorno-Karabakh and
thus rewards intransigent political behavior.
Third, it cripples the precarious progress made in the Turkish domestic
debate on the Armenian issue. Fourth, by linking the Armenian issue
to Turkey’s EU accession it invites a serious deterioration in
French-Turkish relations with a potential impact on economic interests.
I have been to Armenia three times in the last three years. In all
three of my visits I met young, enthusiastic and talented Armenians
who wanted normal relations with Turkey. They wanted an open border
and to live in a normal country that was not run by Kocharian’s
oligarchs. They agree that the road to normalization with Turkey should
not start with how we describe the events of 1915. Young Armenians
want a future in Europe, believe in Western ways and aspire to be
part of the European family.
Chirac’s visit only served to silence these progressive Armenians and
emboldened those who rule Armenia with an iron fist and will eventually
isolate Armenia from the rest of the world.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline has already bypassed Armenia. Turkey
has repeatedly told Yerevan that it risks being isolated further
if it does not act responsibly in the Karabakh negotiations. The
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway project is well under way and
unfortunately will even further isolate Armenia from the rest of the
region and the world. This is exactly what the Kocharian clan wants, as
“genocide” recognition is a recipe for impasse. This impasse allows
them to rule Armenia, sell its infrastructure to Russia and run a
small, oligarchic and impoverished country.
In the final analysis, Chirac’s visit to Armenia may provide a photo
opportunity for Kocharian, a couple of days of media attention and
political satisfaction for the diaspora. But what real good is in it
for Armenia? What does such a provocative visit accomplish in terms
of the resolution of the Karabakh conflict or the increasingly doomed
isolation of Armenia? What does French support to Armenia offer in
terms of alleviating Armenian poverty or the lingering democracy
deficit in Armenia?
Also, I am amazed at the level of French naivete, which rests on
the belief that the price for angering Turkey and/or excluding
Turkey from the EU is manageable. Kindness is the key word when
there is a need for troops in Lebanon or the issue is European energy
diversification. Thoughtfulness dominates when Turkey is asked to play
a moderating role upon its citizens in a variety of European countries
as immigration/integration issues become extremely important. Yet
France has no qualms about opening old wounds and provoking a country
over a very sensitive historic issue.
What does France hope to achieve from sowing the seeds of antagonism
and provoking Turkey in an increasingly shrinking world that has
brought civilizational discord to the doorstep of Europe? This is
unclear. What is clear though is that France has become the leading
Turcophobic state in Europe.
–Boundary_(ID_nyalAXjLvceYMYn3xXFcGQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

‘HOTEL RWANDA’ HERO: WORLD’S ‘BEEN CRYING,’ BUT NO ONE’S LISTENING
By Rob Seman
Daily Record, NJ
Oct 4 2006
Man who saved more than 1,200 speaks in Hanover
HANOVER — There are a few questions that Paul Rusesabagina expected
to be asked of him.
The most common is whether he was ever scared — not an unreasonable
query for the former hotel manager who saved more than 1,200 refugees
from the genocide carried out by militias during 100 days in 1994
in Rwanda.
He may not have as much Hollywood clout as Don Cheadle, the actor
who portrayed him in the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” but hundreds of Morris
County residents sat in rapt attention Tuesday as he answered their
questions at the Birchwood Manor during the first installment of this
year’s Town Hall of Morris lecture series.
He began by saying he was scared plenty of times.
“But the most scary time in my life was when I woke up and everything
around me was upside down,” Rusesabagina said. “When my neighbors
were wearing military uniforms and carrying guns.”
“How hard was it to keep your composure?” asked one audience member.
Keeping the refugees alive and fed with nothing more than dry beans
and corn made it easy, Rusesabagina said.
“When you are in circumstances where you are busy 24 hours a day,
there is no time to think of any other thing,” Rusesabagina said.
“I never had time to think about other things, to think about myself,”
he said.
Rusesabagina said that he eventually found that the only way to deal
with the chaos around him was to face it. He did so when soldiers
came to the door of the hotel and instead of barring it, he opened it.
“Sometimes when we face such characters, the best way to deal with
them is to open a window of dialogue,” Rusesabagina said.
He relearned that lesson when another soldier pointed a gun to his
head, then told him he would be spared, but also offered him a gun to
partake in the fighting. Rusesabagina refused, and tried to reason
with the man. After two hours, he and his family were released and
allowed to return to the hotel.
“I was scared, but I learned one of the most important lessons of my
life,” Rusesabagina said. “How to deal with people.
‘Power of words’
“In my life, I believe in one thing — the power of words,”Rusesabagina
said. “Words are the best weapons a human being can have in an arsenal,
and can also be the worst, depending on what you want to achieve.”
Rusesabagina was the first speaker in the lecture series that will
include authors Teresa Riordan, Judy Collins, Donna Woolfork Cross
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s grandson, David B. Roosevelt.
Rusesabagina sheltered 1,268 refugees in the Hotel Des Mille Collines
in Rwanda during the 100 days of genocide in 1994, when Hutu militias
slaughtered up to 800,000 of the roughly 7 million people who lived
in the nation at the time. Most of the victims were Tutsis and
moderate Hutus.
Rusesabagina, who will speak to students at Morristown High School
today, said that he had initially turned down book and television deals
before allowing his story to be depicted by “Hotel Rwanda,”director
Terry George and actor Don Cheadle.
Reaching youth
Though he is now promoting his autobiography, “An Ordinary Man,”
the movie, he said, seemed to be a better way to get through to
young people.
“They are the ones who can shift the world,” Rusesabagina said.
The crowd that came to hear Rusesabagina numbered about 600 people,
most of whom were retirement-age, and were treated to a lunch of
chicken breast in rosemary cream sauce, as well as salad, side dishes
and dessert.
However, some local student groups also attended the lecture.
Rusesabagina’s words left a great impression on Montville High
School senior Stephanie Schey, a member of the school’s International
Concerns Club.
Schey had watched “Hotel Rwanda,” when it was in theaters and looked
forward to meeting the man behind the true story.
“I wanted to hear his story because I’m sure the movie taints it,”
Schey said.
Schey said that she has taken up the cause of raising awareness about
humanitarian atrocities in Africa, such as Darfur and Rwanda.
“I think this whole pattern of genocide keeps happening,”Schey said.
“And we keep saying, ‘never again.'”
Those are the two most abused words, Rusesabagina said in his lecture,
referring to promises by the international community after acts of
genocide to no longer tolerate such atrocities.
Pattern of ignorance
Rusesabagina said that he believes the same pattern of international
ignorance to genocide is happening again with the Darfur region of
Sudan, where government-sponsored militias known as the janjaweed have
destroyed villages and killed members of various tribes since 2003.
“My friends, the world outside has been crying, and we have been
pretending to not be listening,” Rusesabagina said.
Jody Rosenberg, who teaches a class about genocide and holocausts at
Montville High School, plans to have her students at least study the
Rwandan genocide as well as other similar events, such as the Jewish
Holocaust of World War II, Darfur and the Armenian Holocaust.
“I think so many high school students are closed in their own world,”
Rosenberg said. “The best thing we can do is expose them to it.”
Rosenberg said she plans to show “Hotel Rwanda” in class. Tina
Chirnomas and her husband, Rabbi Gerald Chirnomas, of Boonton, said
they would be renting the movie, after Rusesabagina’s lecture.
“I think it was very interesting,” Mrs. Chirnomas said.
Bernice Elliott, of Rockaway Township, and Marge Kleiner, of Denville,
said they frequently attend the lecture series, and even if they
don’t like the speaker, they say they usually leave with food for
thought. Tuesday was no different, and this time, Rusesabagina’s
speech left new questions.
“What can we do in Darfur?”Kleiner asked.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS DENIED THEIR STATEMENTS IN YEREVAN
Azeri Press Agency, 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 Garabagh 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 Garabagh 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.

TURKS’ INTEREST IN EU FADES
By Paul de Bendern
Doha Time
Gulf Times, Qatar
Oct 4 2006
ISTANBUL: The European Union information office in Istanbul has a
fresh coat of paint, the furniture is new and a row of computers is
on offer to tempt passers-by to discover more about the wealthy bloc
that Turkey hopes to join.
But the receptionist is staring at an empty room – a reflection of
a big drop in Turkish support for membership.
One recent opinion poll showed support for joining the EU had dropped
as low as 43% compared with over 70% a year ago when Turkey began
its long-delayed entry talks.
“EU support has dropped very fast… because of EU messages that
have been transmitted and interpreted as humiliating,” said Huseyin
Bagci, an expert in international relations at Ankara’s Middle East
Technical University.
“Turks also see the EU taking concessions from Turkey without giving
anything in return,” he told Reuters.
European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn visited Turkey yesterday
with a carrot-and-stick message underlining the benefits of the
accession process, but also pressing Ankara to deliver on reforms
and on Cyprus.
But in a year a lot has changed in this large, relatively poor
and overwhelmingly Muslim country. Europeans are also increasingly
questioning whether they want Turkey in the Union.
Turks, sensitive on national issues, feel offended by a stream of EU
criticism on issues ranging from the role of the revered military to
the massacres of Armenians in World War I.
This has made it harder for the centre-right reformist AK Party
government to push through controversial reforms, especially ahead
of parliamentary elections due in 2007.
The European Commission is threatening a setback in talks unless
Turkey opens its ports and airports to vessels from EU member Cyprus,
whose internationally recognised Greek Cypriot administration is not
accepted by Ankara.
Turkey, which must appease rising nationalism at home, says the EU
must first honour pledges to end trade sanctions against breakaway
Turkish Cypriots in northern Cyprus backed by Ankara.
The European Parliament has also irked Turks by demanding Turkey
accept 1.5mn Armenians died in a “genocide” allegedly committed by
Ottoman forces in World War I. Ankara denies genocide, saying large
numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died during a
partisan conflict.
French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday Turkey would need
to acknowledge the 1915 massacre to join the EU.
EU diplomats and Turkish politicans say the ruling AK Party, which
has roots in political Islam, knows it is falling short on reforms
but is prioritising domestic issues as polls approach.
“It’s simple window-dressing. The government is trying to buy time
as elections approach,” said a senior EU diplomat in Ankara. “It’s a
strategy that is very risky as those opposed to Turkey in the EU will
use it to stop the talks.” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan insists his
government remains fully committed to carrying out reforms.
The Turkish parliament is now debating a reform package but it
falls short of EU demands on free speech and the rights of religious
minorities. It also does not address Cyprus.
Turks are also less focused on Europe as Turkey experiences an economic
boom and enjoys political stability.
“The EU is a Christian club, they don’t want to accept Muslim Turks,”
said Levent Hocheli, a 32-year-old manager of an electronics and
music store in Istanbul’s financial district. “In 20 years’ time I
still don’t think we’ll be members, but it’s OK. We are growing fast
economically.” Many Turks doubt the European Commission will suspend
membership talks. Turkey, which has Nato’s second-largest army,
is seen as helping to boost Europe’s long-term security.
“I’ve seen so many ups and downs in Turkey’s quest for EU membership
over the past 40 years. I’ve heard 10 times it’s over,” said Mehmet
Ali Birand, a leading commentator.
“The EU cannot suspend talks just over ports, that would be too much,
it would be like using a nuclear bomb to find Osama bin Laden,”
he said.

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.
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