Ratzinger asserts Vatican stand against Turkey EU membership

Catholic News
18 August 2004

Reflecting the Vatican view that Europe must fight to retain its
Christian identity, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has said that bringing
Turkey into the European Union would put European culture at risk.

“Europe is a cultural and not a geographical continent,” he said.

“Turkey always represented another continent throughout history,
in permanent contrast with Europe,” so to equate the two continents
“would be a mistake,” he told the magazine of the French newspaper
Le Figaro in an interview published last week.

Turkey has been a candidate for European Union membership since 1999,
but EU officials delayed negotiations to discuss its accession until
more progress has been made in economic, political and human rights
reforms. Whether Turkey, a mostly Muslim nation, can join accession
talks is set to be decided by the 25-state European Union later
this year.

Cardinal Ratzinger, who presides over the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, said Europe is united by its “culture which gives it a
common identity. The roots which formed … this continent are those
of Christianity.”

SOURCE — Vatican official: Adding Turkey to European Union would
hurt culture (Catholic News Service 16/8/04)

LINKS: – Ratzinger says Turkey has no place in EU (Online Catholics
18/8/04)

– Cardinal Ratzinger: Identifier la Turquie à l’Europe serait une
erreu (Le Figaro 13/8/04)

– Cardinal: No place for Turkey in EU (AlJazeera.net 11/8/04)

– Catholics Criticize Cardinal’s Turkey Comments (Zaman Online 14/8/04)

– Vatican meddling in the EU (International Herald Tribune 16/8/04)

– Vatican tries to exclude Turkey for EU’s Christian Identity
(Turks.us 16/8/04)

– Turkey’s EU membership argument (BBC 9/10/02)

European Union | Enlargement | Turkey

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EU-Azeri committee meetings ends in argument over double standards

ANS TV, Baku
19 Apr 05

[Presenter] Another scandal has occurred at a meeting of the
Azerbaijan-EU parliamentary cooperation committee. The statement
and proposals adopted by the EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation
committee in Strasbourg have angered some MPs.

[Correspondent over video of meeting] The sixth meeting of the
Azerbaijan-EU parliamentary cooperation committee started with
a scandal. Sirus Tabrizli, Azerbaijani co-chair of the committee,
refused to attend the meeting and walked out, pointing to the statement
and proposals adopted by the EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation
committee in Strasbourg on 13-14 April.

Clause 26 of the document says the EU wants the Karabakh problem to
be resolved in line with the norms of international law, specifically
in accordance with the right to self-determination and respect for
ethnic minorities.

Other interesting points in the document are related to
Armenian-Turkish relations. The document urges Turkey to try to open
its borders with Armenia and pay more attention to the issue of the
so-called Armenian genocide.

On seeing the unexpected development of events, Marie [Anne] Isler
Beguin, the other co-chair of the committee, tried to clarify the
issue.

[Beguin, speaking in French with Azeri voice-over] There is nothing
unusual here. These are only proposals, which may or may not be
accepted. Our position is that the conflict should be resolved with
the efforts of both sides.

[Correspondent] However, Ms Beguin’s speech did not ease the tension
at the meeting. Namiq Aliyev, head of the parliament’s international
relations department, accused the European parliamentarians of applying
double standards against Azerbaijan. He said the European MPs’ attitude
towards the conflict is against the norms of international law.

MP Gular Ahmadova said ethnic minorities were facing no problems
in Azerbaijan. She said official Baku supports the resolution of
the conflict only on the basis of the principle of Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity.

Then the second part of the meeting, which had to draft a statement
of the committee, started behind closed doors. There were some
disagreements in this part of the meeting, too. The sides could not
agree on the fact that Azerbaijan’s territories have been occupied
by Armenia.

[MP Gular Ahmadova] We said that the aggressor must be named and that
it must be made clear which territories have been occupied. If we call
for withdrawal from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, we have to make
it clear who we urge to do so. We urge Armenia. We insisted on this,
but could not reach an agreement.

[Interrupted sentence omitted]

[Correspondent] Although the aggressor was not named in the end, the
document said the conflict should be resolved on the basis of the
principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, and confirmed the
resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on
this issue.

Azeri opposition MPs accuse EU of “double standards”

Lider TV, Baku
20 Apr 05

[Presenter] Strange as it may seem to Marie [Anne] Isler Beguin,
head of the EU parliamentary delegation, every Azerbaijani citizen
is concerned about the Nagornyy Karabakh problem. The European
MPs have been criticized by opposition MPs as well. The opposition
MPs reiterated that the most important issue for Azerbaijan is the
resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem.

[Correspondent] The parliament’s opposition faction shares a
common position. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the EU
demonstrating a similar attitude towards Azerbaijan and Armenia.

[MP Camil Hasanli from the reformist wing of the opposition People’s
Front of Azerbaijan Party] If the aggressor is not named, this
negatively affects ordinary citizens. Double standards like this are
becoming a serious stumbling block to Azerbaijan’s integration into
the West.

[Passage omitted: Azerbaijani MPs accuse the EU of failing to recognize
Armenia as an aggressor]

After this, Ms Beguin launched an attack with questions. She asked
if the Azerbaijani opposition had a clear platform on the Karabakh
settlement.

And the answers were also specific. The entire world knows that
Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani territories using Russian weapons.
But the EU has not yet expressed its position regarding the aggressor,
the Azerbaijani MPs said.

[Passage omitted: minor details]

The final statement came from the Compatriot Party leader, Mais
Safarli. If the situation does not change, we will have to start a
war. But if we are compelled to liberate our territories in a military
way, we will not keep a single Armenian in Nagornyy Karabakh, Safarli
replied when Beguin asked if the opposition wanted a war.

TURKEY STAND IN ARMENIAN ISSUE IS INTRIGUES OF DIPLOMATS

Pan Armenian News
20.04.2005 06:26

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «Turkey’s stand in the Armenian issue represents
intrigues of diplomats,» Murat Belge, Professor of Bilgi University,
Turkey, stated in the course of the Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenge:
Genocide and Human Rights conference today. «I have always said
that the genocide is an unquestionable fact and the number of victims
is has no importance at all,» he noted. In Belge’s words, just his
attitude towards the Armenian issue caused the pressure put on him. As
noted by Belge, he has also published his statements over the Armenian
Genocide in Turkish newspapers, however, he did not leave his contacts
to avoid new rushes. Moreover, he noted that today there are people in
Turkey who would like there were no Belge at all. In the professor’s
words, one of the factors why Turkey does not recognize the Armenian
Genocide is the fear of territorial claims by Armenia. However,
if Armenia states it will not demand return of territories, Turkey
may acknowledge the genocide. At that Belge noted that the policy
pursued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry should be changed. In his
words, having met a Turkish foreign ministry official, who asked
an advice of him to solve the Armenian issue, Belge answered: «You
have muddled up everything so much, so pull through on your own.» On
Turkey’s accession to the EU Belge noted that all issues available
today will be solved without fail, however there are questions that
can be solved in 3 months, while others – in 3 years. «The EU is a
structure, which provides for mitigation of the process of solution
of disputable questions – not without the assistance of conflict
specialists,» he emphasized. At that he noted that many countries
that were speaking aloud about acknowledgement of the genocide merely
used those slogans to attain their goals and speculated on these words.

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GOOD TREATMENT OF ARMENIANS – STIMULUS FOR RUSSIAN FRONTIER GUARDS

Pan Armenian News
20.04.2005 07:40

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian yesterday met
with Deputy Chief of the Federal Security Service (FSS) of Russia,
Chief of the Frontier Department of the Russian FSS colonel general
Vladimir Pronichev, reported the Press Service of the Armenian
leader. In the course of the meeting the parties discussed issues
of joint service of border protection. Robert Kocharian said he was
satisfied with the current level and prospects of development of the
cooperation. In his turn, Vladimir Pronichev noted that Armenians
have treated Russian frontier guards in the past and today, which is
a good stimulus for the guards’ work.

Armenians in Greece mark 90th anniversary of mass killings in Ottoman Empire

AP Worldstream
Apr 20, 2005

More than 500 Armenians on Wednesday marked the 90th anniversary of
mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Surrounded by candles on the ground, children danced in central Athens
to traditional Armenian music. Many of those present waved red, blue
and orange Armenian flags, or wore black T-shirts bearing the words:
“Turkey _ 90 years of denial.”

Armenians say some 1.5 million of their people were killed as the
Ottoman Empire forced them from eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923 _
and that this was a deliberate campaign of genocide.

Turkey denies a genocide was committed, saying the death count is
inflated and insisting that Armenians were killed or displaced as
the Ottoman Empire tried to secure its border with Russia and stop
attacks by Armenian militants.

“People remember and we want to make people know this story … We want
the Turkish people to recognize this genocide, because they don’t,”
said Rita Kalomiri, a Greek-Armenian student at the gathering.

The Armenians later marched to the Turkish embassy in Athens for a
peaceful protest.

Polish lawmakers recognized the mass killing as a genocide Tuesday _
a decision condemned by Ankara the next day. France and Russia have
already declared the killings a genocide and there is strong pressure
from Armenian Diaspora groups on the U.S. Congress to do the same.

Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Armenia but called earlier this
month for the two countries to jointly research the killings.

Turkey condemns Polish parliament decision to recognize Armenian “genocide”

Anatolia news agency
20 Apr 05

Ankara, 20 April: Turkey condemned a decision of the Polish parliament
describing events in 1915 as genocide.

Releasing a statement on Wednesday [20 April], the Turkish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) recalled that the Polish parliament approved
a decision recognizing the events on 19 April 1915 as genocide.

MFA condemned the decision of the Polish parliament, and rejected it.
“Distortion of the events during the World War I which caused
both Turkish and Armenian peoples to endure grave sufferings,
and unilateral definement of them as genocide are nothing, but
irresponsibility. Turkey has been advocating that national parliaments
could not rule about the controversial periods of the history, and
that parliaments should avoid initiatives that could provoke vengeance
and hatred between people,” it said.

The MFA noted: “Only historians can made the healthiest decisions
about historical events. Therefore, Turkey proposed Armenia to set
up group of Turkish and Armenian historians to examine the events in
1915 by utilizing archives of all relevant countries.”

“We profoundly regretted that the Polish parliament made such a
decision based on distorted information, instead of recommending
the Armenian government to accept our proposal. This attitude of
the Polish parliament contradicts with the friendly relations of 8
centuries between Turkish and Polish nations,” the MFA added.

Armenians refuse to attend regional conference in Azeri capital

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
19 Apr 05

[Presenter] The Armenian delegation will not participate in the TRACECA
[Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia] conference scheduled for
21-22 April. The Armenians have refused to come to Baku. TRACECA’s
national secretary for Azerbaijan, Akif Mustafayev, says that unlike
Armenia, Turkmenistan has not disclosed its position yet.

[Correspondent] The Armenian delegation will not participate in the
conference of the intergovernmental commission of TRACECA member
countries to be held in Baku on 21-22 April. Official Yerevan,
which refused to take part in the event at the last moment, has
sent a relevant note to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, as well as
member states of the organization. TRACECA’s national secretary for
Azerbaijan, Akif Mustafayev, said that this was a deliberate step of
official Yerevan.

[Akif Mustafayev] We are the source [as heard]. We said that they have
not come. I should say openly – maybe their refusal to come is not in
our favour. I do not know that. The future will show. They are setting
conditions, they are discrediting us. Maybe, I should not say something
that runs counter to Azerbaijan’s interests – Armenia has been raising
the issue for several years now in order to close down the permanent
secretariat, i.e. the headquarters in Baku and open it in another city.

They explain this by saying that they cannot visit. They say that they
are full members and still they cannot visit. They have repeatedly
raised this issue and sent official notes. The Armenian Foreign
Ministry sent a note to all states. But they failed.

[Passage omitted: Turkmenistan is tight-lipped about its participation;
details of the conference]

GERMAN SCHOLAR: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FACT UNQUESTIONABLE

Pan Armenian News
20.04.2005 06:33

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The withdrawal of the word «genocide» from the text
of the bill of resolution on the Armenian Genocide to be considered
by Bundestag is incorrect, Tessa Hoffman, PhD of Freie University,
Berlin, told PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent. In her words the fact
of the Genocide of 1915 is unquestionable. At the same time she
noted that Germany is not going to condemn Turkey, and merely urges
it as the assignee of the Ottoman Empire to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide. It should be noted that the debate on the Genocide Resolution
are scheduled in Bundestag April 24.

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NEW POPE DOES NOT APPROVE OF TURKEY ACCESSION TO EU

Pan Armenian News
20.04.2005 05:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ New Pope Benedict XVI does not approve of the
accession of Turkey to the European Union. He stated he did not
consider Turkey a European country. «Turkey has always been another
mainland always contrasting Europe,» he said

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