EuroNews – English Version
September 29, 2005
EU prevarication affects Turkish membership enthusiasm
Rising nationalist sentiment in Turkey is accompanying the
reservations expressed in Europe towards whether the Union can
successfully take the vast mostly Muslim country of 70 million
people. Pro-European Radikal newspaper said ‘Europe is stretching
patience to the limit’.
Readers discovered what looked like a new pre-condition: The European
Parliament demanding that Turks recognize as genocide the mass
killing of Armenians 90 years ago.
Turkish support for joining the EU has fallen from 73 percent a year
ago to 63 percent in a recent survey. Establishment and army pride in
the modern Turkey forged by Kemal Ataturk, still a hero for most
Turks, remains strong. Yet reformers insist that to transform a
Kemalist state into a democracy respecting individuals the EU
provides the way.

Pan Armenian News
ARMENIAN-ITALIAN FRIENDSHIP DAYS STARTING IN YEREVAN OCTOBER 5
30.09.2005 05:35
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ October 5 – November 5 Days of Armenian-Italian Friendship
will be held in Armenia, RA MFA Spokesman Hamlet Gasparian stated during
today’s press conference. In his words, the exhibition of the treasures of
St. Lazarus Island, which will last till the end of the year, will become
the core of the events. He also informed that the idea of organizing the
events occurred during Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s visit to
Venice last autumn. In his words, this cultural event has a political ground
as well, since Armenia is engaged in the EU New Neighborhood Policy. In his
turn Italian Ambassador to Armenia Marco Clemente stated that the Italian
government did its best to make the events accessible for the Armenian
people. `Italy will fill whole Yerevan with its love, friendship and the
desire to strengthen relations. We should take every opportunity to bring
together our national and cultures,’ he said.

Agence France Presse — English
September 30, 2005 Friday
Turkish press angered, frustrated by EU deadlock
ANKARA
Turkish newspapers Friday wondered whether the country’s decades-old
efforts to integrate Europe are going down the drain as simmering
tensions on the eve of Turkey’s accession talks appear to exasperate
even the staunchest proponents of EU membership.
In a front-page “Historical Warning” to the European Union, the
mass-selling daily Sabah appealed to European leaders to leave aside
domestic political concerns and clear the way for membership talks
with Ankara, scheduled to start on Monday.
“We hope EU leaders, politicians and bureaucrats will realize the
gravity of the situation,” Sabah said. “It is not too late to return
to common sense.”
Newspapers highlighted a warning by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
that he would not go to Luxembourg for the opening of the talks if
the accession terms the EU outlines are unsatisfactory and Ankara is
presented with any last-minute offer other than full membership.
Tensions mounted Thursday when the EU failed to agree on Turkey’s
negotiating conditions and called an emergency meeting for Sunday,
leaving Ankara on the edge and doubtful of the pledges the EU made at
its December 17 summit inviting Turkey to begin accession talks.
The deadlock in the EU was blamed on Austria’s insistence to offer
Turkey “partnership” as opposed to full membership.
“Are we nearing the end of the road?” asked the pro-government Yeni
Safak, while the popular Aksam said relations were teetering “on the
brink of a breakdown.”
The liberal Milliyet said the European Parliament threw “yet another
bomb” into an already demoralized Turkish public opinion by calling
on Ankara earlier this week to acknowledge that the Ottomans
committed “genocide” against Armenians in World War I as a condition
for accession.
“Is the EU aware that it is playing with fire?” Milliyet said. “Even
supporters of the EU have begun saying that enough is enough.”
The newspaper also suggested that Turkey should be prepared for a
“timeout” in its bid to join the bloc “until minds in the EU change
in favor of putting relations with Turkey on the track of full
membership, under equal conditions with the others.”

The Associated Press
September 30, 2005, Friday, BC cycle
Local Flavors: Hash for breakfast – in Armenia, it’s not what you
think
By MIKE ECKEL, Associated Press Writer
YEREVAN, Armenia
Cow’s hoof soup for breakfast: Is this the right way to begin the
day?
For an American brought up on cornflakes and orange juice, the
prospect is daunting – not to mention that the concoction is ritually
accompanied with vodka.
But for people in the Caucasus, it’s as much of a treat as a
champagne brunch.
During a trip to Armenia, my colleagues Avet, Gevorg and Misha talked
about it with the obsessive enthusiasm of stamp collectors or
antique-car buffs. The dish seemed to have deep emotional resonance
for them.
After two days of listening to them, I was determined to experience
the mystique – or at least choke down the chow, which is called hash
(wheeze heavily on the first “h” to sound like a local).
Just after 8 a.m., we sat down at Yerevan’s Kavkaz restaurant in a
booth of elaborately carved wood with floor-to-ceiling pictures of
the Caucasus capitals. Avet negotiated with the waitress, then waxed
poetic on the meaning of hash.
“It’s not just a dish. It’s a union of harmony and digestion,” he
said. “From this process, you get deeper contact with the food, the
ingredients, your culture.”
It used to be considered poor man’s food: The wealthy ate the best
parts of the cow, then threw the castoffs to the poor. Legend has it
that children of the poor became hardier stock than those of the rich
and the dish eventually became a classless culinary custom.
Gevorg swore that if you broke a bone, you should eat hash five times
a day to mend your bones faster. Misha said his Georgian grandmother
ate hash to alleviate her arthritis.
Appetizers arrived: parsley greens, scallions and radishes; warm
flatbread called lavash; a plate of cold, crisp lavash; pickled
cucumbers; and the vodka. We were on our second round of toasts at
about the same time I’m usually on my second cup of coffee.
Avet began building a chest-high mound of crisp lavash pieces;
essential to the process, he said. I made a mess of it, sending
lavash confetti everywhere. Avet, meanwhile, regaled us with
childhood memories of having to prepare the cow’s hoof by cleaning it
of hair, dirt and manure.
Then it arrived: two shallow, clay-fired bowls for each of us, one
resting on the other. The lower held hot coals. The upper held a
yellowish bouillon with puddles of oil and a six-inch piece of
blanched bone wrapped in jiggling, yellow folds of skin.
Avet and Gevorg called it “meat.” I called it “indeterminate,
cholesterol-enhancing meat product.” I was instructed to put it aside
and cover it with the soft lavash for later.
We started adding lavash pieces, alternating salt with minced garlic.
Avet added his entire mound and spent 10 minutes adjusting the salt
and garlic taste.
Finally, we could eat. The hash was rich and oily, but not at all
heavy. The soggy bread gave the soup heft, while the salt and garlic
added an unusual layer of flavors complemented by the garnishes.
At Avet’s request, the waitress brought out a plate of quarter-sized
pieces of cow’s stomach – an alternative, he said, to the standard
cow’s hoof. They were rather like undercooked chicken skin. More
vodka seemed advisable.
It was time, finally, for the hoof. Avet and Gevorg removed their
lavash and began gnawing at theirs. Misha refused to touch his. I
glared at mine.
“Eat it! Eat it! Don’t be afraid!” they said, laughing.
The hoof was bland and extremely chewy. I gave up after several
minutes and then was directed to nibble radishes which, along with
the garlic, purportedly helps cut the cholesterol assaulting your
arteries.
I was unsure whether I’d had the true hash experience and Avet
hastened to assure me.
He pressed his thumb and two fingers together, then tried to pull
them apart. They were stuck together by the gluey bouillon.
“There you go,” he said smiling. “That’s some good hash.”

Associated Press Worldstream
September 30, 2005 Friday 8:53 AM Eastern Time
Chaos ahead of membership talks underscore hesitations about letting
Turkey into EU
by CONSTANT BRAND; Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS, Belgium
In Austria, a far-right party has plastered walls with the slogan
“Vienna must not become Istanbul!” Polls show that not one EU country
has a majority who support Turkey’s membership bid. Turks themselves
are wondering if it’s all worth the effort.
As chaos swirls over last-minute obstacles set up by Austria,
Turkey’s hopes of one day joining the EU – or even of starting
negotiations Monday as planned – are increasingly in doubt.
The opening ceremony in Luxembourg – replete with champagne toasts,
handshakes and a celebratory dinner – has been a moment Turkey has
coveted for over four decades. But Austria’s sudden insistence that
the EU offer Turkey a lesser partnership instead of full membership
has thrown the process into disarray.
Diplomats were scrambling to achieve a breakthrough Friday, as Turkey
threatened to keep its delegation home until it saw a document
outlining exactly what it would be negotiating for.
The Austrian position may reflect a growing resistance on the
continent to welcoming a poor, mainly Muslim nation whose population
is soon set to overtake the 80 million of Europe’s largest nation,
Germany.
“I don’t think Turkey should join the EU. There’s the religion – they
still are quite fanatic – and I don’t think Turkey is European
enough. It’s more Asian,” said Martin Maikisch, a 23-year-old
bookkeeper from the small eastern Austrian town of Guessing.
In London, 42-year-old zoologist Dave Clarke was worried about
extending Europe’s borders indefinitely, saying: “I have nothing
against Turkey per se, but the EU has to decide how far it extends.
There has got to be a limit.”
Recent surveys across Europe have found a majority of Europeans
oppose Turkish membership. An EU survey published this week found
only 10 percent of Austrians support Turkey’s membership, while
support across the 25-nation bloc stood at just 35 percent.
For EU nations struggling with high unemployment and worried they
might have to scuttle time-honored social protections, Turkey was
always going to be a hard sell. But the rejections by France and the
Netherlands of the draft EU constitution have put Europeans in an
even more inward-looking mood.
The stinging repudiations in May and June were largely seen as a cry
of alarm about the bloc’s rapid expansion; they have even called into
question of membership for Romania and Bulgaria, which are expected
to join in 2007.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Danish media this
week that the EU had to heed public concerns. “My overall conclusion
is that we must lower the pace and consolidate the EU,” he said.
Advocates of Turkish membership argue that welcoming Turkey would
send a positive signal to the Muslim world and strengthen a crucial
security alliance as Europe confronts the problem of terrorism on its
own soil. The European deadlock threatens to alienate Islamic nations
– fueling bitterness and suspicions that the West isn’t willing to
accept Muslims on equal footing.
Turkish newspapers reflected growing anxiety that the EU is about to
break its word. Daily Sabah newspaper devoted its entire front page
Friday to “a historic warning” to EU leaders.
“Does the EU realize that it is playing with fire,” wrote daily
Milliyet columnist Hasan Cemal. “There is no end to the dynamites
being thrown” on Turkey’s EU path. “They think that the Turkish
public opinion is a stone of patience.”
Even if negotiations open on Monday, they will be tough: The EU has
made clear the talks offer “no guarantee” of success and they are
likely to continue for up to 15 years.
Cyprus has raised threats of blocking the talks once they start if
Turkey does not move quickly to recognize the island during the
talks. Nicosia grudgingly backed off from demands earlier this month
that Turkey recognize the EU member before the start of negotiations.
The European Parliament this week added new demands that Turkey
recognize the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks at the beginning
of the 20th century as genocide during the talks. And France – where
polls show deep resistance to Turkish membership – has vowed to hold
a referendum on Turkey’s bid if negotiations begin.
“Evidently there are cold-feet,” said Fadi Hakura, a Turkey
specialist at London’s Chatham House think-tank. But he warned that
by rejecting Turkey, the EU “would lose all influence over the
Turkish reforms that Turkey is undergoing at the present.”

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 30, 2005 Friday
Armenians of Russia may take part in all-Armenian moves
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Ara Abramyan, the head of the World Armenian Congress and of the
Union of Armenians of Russia, met with Armenian leaders in Yerevan on
Friday and discussed with them prospects for cooperation of these
organizations with the republic’s authorities.
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said the Union of Armenians of
Russia had done a great deal to coordinate ties of Armenian
communities in Russian regions with the mother country. This will
give them an opportunity more actively to participate in all-Armenian
actions – forums, congresses, conferences and economic programmes,
the Armenian president believes.
The parties discussed proposals of representatives of the Union of
Armenians of Russia for their activity in Armenia, their
participation in various functions on a national scale, the
presidential press service reported.
At the request of the guests, the president summed up the state of
things with the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and prospects for
normalization of relations with Turkey.
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan also spoke highly of the
activity of the Union of Armenians of Russia to consolidate the
Armenian diaspora and channel its potential for the implementation of
the programmes of importance to all Armenians. He is convinced, “The
activity of the Union of Armenians of Russia sets an example to all
other Armenian communities.”
Abramyan and the Armenian prime minister discussed the possible use
of the potentials of the World Armenian Congress and of the Union of
Armenians of Russia in the Armenian government’s programmes aimed to
carry out the republic’s social and economic tasks, the governmental
press service noted.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 30, 2005 Friday
Armenian pres meets with head of Russia Union of Armenians
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met on Friday with the head of
the World Armenian Congress and the Union of Armenians of Russia, Ara
Abramyan. They discussed prospects for cooperation between the
organisations and the country’s authorities.
The union has done substantial and consistent work to coordinate ties
between Armenian communities in Russian regions and Armenia.
It will allow them to participate more actively in all-Armenia
actions – forums, congresses and conferences, the president believes.
Proposals of the union on activities in Armenia and participation in
various national-scope events were also under discussion.
The president also told about settlement of the Karabakh conflict and
the prospects for normalisation of relations with Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 30, 2005 Friday
CIS Interior Ministers Council will have its own magazine
By Svetlana Alikina and Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The Interior Ministers Council of the CIS Nations will have its own
magazine – the”Herald of the Interior Ministers Council”, Chief of
the Public Relations Department of Russian Interior Ministry Valery
Gribakin told Itar-Tass here on Friday.
The Russian Interior Ministry’s proposal on this score was backed at
the regular meeting of the CIS Interior Ministers, which ended in the
Armenian capital on Friday. “This publication should serve as a
channel of information to exchange the accumulated experience, to
consolidate the working and other contacts of the employees of our
ministries and to enhance the authority of the Council itself,”
Gribakin stressed.
He explained that the “Herald” would be an informational and
analytical publication intended for the professional readership. “We
believe the magazine should consist of three thematic sections –
information, methodology, and general,” Gribakin stated.
The first section, he added, will presumably contain information on
the most important events in our work to enforce law and order on the
territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the second –
analytical articles, documents and materials on the accumulated
professional experience.
As to the third section, it will contain feature stories about
particularly distinguished policemen, archive history documents,
stories about particularly interesting places of culture and history
and about monuments to be found on the territory of the Commonwealth
of Independent States.
The Bureau for Coordinating the Fight Against Organised Crime will
found the magazine, which is to be published by the Joint Editorial
Office of the Russian Interior Ministry.
“Work will be shortly started on the magazine’s pilot edition,”
Gribakin told Itar-Tass.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 30, 2005 Friday
CIS Interior exercise to be held in Tajikistan in 2006-minister
By Svetlana Alikina, Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The Interior Ministries of the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) member countries are planning to conduct a joint antiterrorist
exercise in Tajikistan in 2006, Russian Interior Minister Rashid
Nurgaliyev told reporters on Friday after a meeting of the CIS
Council of Interior Ministers held in the Armenian capital.
“It is planned that special forces of several countries will take
part in the exercise,” Nurgaliyev said adding that the details will
be coordinated later. The Russian Interior chief specified that the
Russian Interior Ministry has already held a joint antiterrorist
exercise with the Belarussian colleagues in Smolensk in September
this year. “We will hold a similar exercise with the Armenian
Interior Ministry in Krasnodar on October 10,” the minister said.
Nurgaliyev said the meeting participants discussed the progress of
the implementation of the Joint Plan to counteract terrorism for
2005. The minister pointed out the Russian Interior Ministry has
conducted on information obtained from CIS countries a complex of
search operations for persons placed on the international wanted list
for crimes related to terrorism.
“So we have six facts of fruitful joint work. In all the cases our
work was most pre-emptive and prompt,” the Russian interior minister
said. He cited as an example the detention in Azerbaijan this March
of members of the Islamic Jamaat operating in the territory of
Tatarstan. Moreover, two persons wanted for terrorist attacks they
staged in Tajikistan in the period from 1998 to 2001 were detained in
Yakutia and St. Petersburg in June 2005.
Nurgaliyev also said the Russian Interior Ministry is participating
in drawing up of the list of organisations engaged in terrorist and
extremist activities. According to him, the ministry “has put forward
a proposal to recognise the international organisation Tabligi Jamaat
a terrorist group and ban its activity in the territory of the
Commonwealth member states.”
Nurgaliyev highly assessed the work of the CIS Council of Interior
Ministers pointing out that it is “one of the most efficient
executive bodies of the CIS.” According to the Russian Interior
chief, “It is gratifying that our cooperation is becoming more and
more practical and together we are in actual practice fulfilling
common tasks to ensure security, law and order.”

EIU European Voice
September 29, 2005 Thursday Turkey
Turkey talks move closer, but MEPs postpone customs deal

The opening of accession negotiations with Turkey moved closer
yesterday (28 September) after the European Parliament backed plans
to start talks next week. But in a serious political blow to Turkey,
MEPs decided to postpone a vote on an EU-Turkey customs agreement, as
a sign of frustration with Ankara’s refusal to recognise Cyprus.

MEPs demanded a guarantee that the Turkish parliament, when it
ratifies the extension of the customs union with the EU’s ten newest
member states, including Cyprus, will drop the Turkish government’s
unilateral declaration that this would not amount to recognition of
Cyprus.

Some MEPs reacted angrily to the decision to postpone approval of the
protocol. Dutch Green deputy Joost Lagendijk, chairman of the
Parliament’s Turkey delegation, said: “It sends a very bad signal.”

UK Liberal MEP Andrew Duff said: “The decision is short-sighted and
mean-spirited and will particularly affect the ten new member states.
It sows distrust between the two sides and delays the possibility of
relaxing the financial and trade embargo against Turkish North
Cyprus.”

The European Commission said that it deplored the Parliament’s
decision to withhold approval of the customs protocol, describing it
as “an own goal” for the EU.

The protest was led by the centre-right European People’s Party
(EPP-ED) but was supported by a cross-party coalition of MEPs.
Socialist deputy group leader Jan Marinus Wiersma said: “We deplore
the stance Turkey has taken on Cyprus and the way it has cast serious
doubt on its willingness to implement the protocol extending the
Ankara Agreement to the ten new member states.” The Socialist leader
Martin Schulz said that Turkey should recognise Cyprus during the
negotiations. “This cannot be at the end of the negotiations. It must
take place immediately, within the first one or two years,” he said,
adding that without such recognition, accession talks should be
broken off.

Parliament also said that it considered Turkish recognition of the
Armenian genocide “to be a prerequisite for accession”.

During the debate Hans-Gert Pottering, the EPP-ED leader, attacked EU
leaders’ tolerant attitude towards Turkey and their tough stance on
Croatia. Talks with Croatia, initially planned to start last March,
have been postponed because of the government’s alleged failure to
help bring a war criminal before international justice. The
Socialists’ leader hit back accusing Pottering of religious
discrimination: “You don’t want Turkey in because it is Islamic and
far away. Croatia is closer and is Catholic,” Schulz said.