YOUNG ARMENIANS STAGE PROTEST IN FRONT OF EUROPEAN UNION OFFICE IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, December 17 (Noyan Tapan). The European Union member states
should not start the negotiations on the issue of Turkey’s joining the
EU until Ankara has not recognized the Armenian genocide committed
in 1915-1923. This was stated during the December 17 protest action
staged before the EU Armenian office. Representatives of the ARF
“Nicol Aghbalian” students union, the “Mitk-Kentron” youth analytical
organization and the students unions of various higher educational
institutions took part in the protest.

The protesters handed a letter over to the representative of the
European Union office. In the letter they express their concern about
the fact that Turkey consistently renounces the Armenian genocide,
conducts a hostile policy with respect to Armenia, as well as about
the scandalous facts of the human rights violation in this country. In
the document the Armenian youths express hope that the EU leasders
will not yield to an inoportune and momentary interest, to Ankara’s
“insincere and vain reforms” and will make a correct decision by
rejecting the negotiations on Turkey’s joining the EU until in
particular Ankara does not recognize the Armenian genocide

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Links: ‘We Turks want to be a part of Europe, but with our honour and values
intact’: People say they cannot continue to sacrifice their culture and feel
insulted by hostile European attitudes

The Guardian – United Kingdom
Dec 18, 2004

HELENA SMITH IN BEYPAZARI

Since Ottoman times, the people of Beypazari have rarely had to stop
their slow-motion lives to think of the world beyond the Anatolian
slopes that surround them.

But this quiet town, a showcase of social and economic progress which
is anchored at the country’s east-west crossroads, has been obsessed by
the thought of Turkey achieving membership of the EU, and the arguments
raging here yesterday were doubtless being echoed across the land.

For some in the town, there is the giddy excitement that a 40-year
wait to join the continent of Europe may be coming to an end; others,
though, say this must not come at any price. And if they had one
thing in common yesterday, it was irritation with the EU.

Many said they felt unhappy at what they viewed as the EU’s lack of
regard for the country’s culture and traditions.

“They [Europeans] have been teasing us for 40 years. And now they’re
delaying our membership again. It really bothers us,” said a local
jeweller, Ismail Akbay. “We don’t have to accept whatever the EU
asks from us. That’s just too many sacrifices. We should try and find
a mid-point.”

Even worse, said Yakup Turkoglu, a restaurant owner, was the blatant
discrimination of some EU states against the predominantly Muslim
country. “Personally, I think our bond with the EU can only be
economic. We can’t be united politically or culturally because the
EU has so many prejudices against us as Muslims.”

Huddled against the biting cold in a popular tavern, Peri Memis, a
headscarved mother-of-two, agreed. “I’m really worried that Europe’s
going to ask us to change our traditions and bring up our children
with cultural values that aren’t our own,” she said, clasping her
daughter’s hand. “They’ve already said we’re not allowed to eat the
intestines of sheep.”

But in Beypazari, at least, it is the perception of being “humiliated”
by an EU allegedly bent on moving the goalposts that remains by far
the biggest complaint. Why, many asked, should Turkey fulfil any more
conditions if there was no guarantee of the country joining the union?

“We Turks want to be part of Europe, but with our honour and values
intact,” said Irfan Solmaz, a factory worker. “The Europeans are
humiliating us with so many conditions. We’re afraid that as Muslims
we’ll be assimilated in this Christian club.”

Even Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the market town and an undiluted EU
enthusiast, said he felt “hurt” by the attitudes of Europeans towards
his country. All the talk about minority rights for Turkey’s Kurdish
and Armenian communities, he said, had rekindled suspicions that
Europe’s underlying intention was the break-up of the Turkish state.

There were certain red lines that Turks couldn’t cross. “Now they’re
asking us to say we discriminated against the Armenians when we never
did any such thing,” he said indignantly.

“The conditions they’re placing on us are becoming comical. Soon
they’ll be saying Turkish men should cut off their moustaches and
change their hairstyles. All of these are double-standards that were
never imposed on any other [EU] candidate.”

So far, under the leadership of the prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan,
Ankara’s Islamic-leaning government has skilfully contained mounting
resentment towards the EU. Yesterday, Mr Yavas admitted that, like
Turks elsewhere, many of his constituents’ ambivalence over Europe
was born of ignorance.

But he added: “Every day they wake up to a new condition from the
EU. The misconception that we’ll have to change our culture is very
much to blame on the confusion that has arisen as a result.”

Few places evoke as much admiration among Turks as Beypazari, and
there is recognition here among business leaders of the advantages
that EU membership could bring.

Barely five years ago, the town was a jumble of decaying wooden houses,
testimony to the poverty and unemployment that have marred Turkey’s
EU aspirations.

Under Mr Yavas’s entrepreneurial mayorship, buildings have been
restored and the handicraft industry re-energised, triggering a
tourism boom that few ever expected. Far from hiding in their homes,
women now stride purposefully along the streets, selling their wares
in gaily coloured shawls.

“Beypazari proves how fast things can change in Turkey,” said the
mayor, seated behind a laptop computer in his spacious office.

With the success has come optimism, highlighted by the dream of
joining the EU. Locals hope that, soon, they will begin exporting
rice and cotton as well as the town’s famous carrots to the bloc.

“We made the decision to look west with Ataturk [the soldier-statesman
who founded the modern republic out of the crumbling Ottoman empire
in 1923],” said Mr Yavas. “Turks have always wanted to have the same
living standards as people in the west.”

eu-np.htm Turkish government: EU
programme

EU delegation to Turkey

guardian.co.uk/turkey

An EU flag flies in front of a mosque in the Turkish capital, Ankara

DIRECTOR OF CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION IN ANTELIAS

ANTELIAS, LEBANON, December 17 (Noyan Tapan). His Grace Robert Stern,
the director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, visited
on December 16 His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Great House of
Cilicia. He was accompanied by the Middle Eastern director of the same
organization and his assistant. Located in New York, the Association
serves the humanitarian needs of Christian communities the countries
of the Near East.

The meeting with His Holiness was an opportunity to have a general
discussion on the ongoing activities of the Association.

According to the Press Office of the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I appreciated the work of the Association
particularly emphasizing the going collaboration with the churches. His
Holiness considered helping the Christian communities of the Middle
East of crucial importance to strengthen the Christian presence and
witness in the region.

ARAM I:”INFORMATION SHOULD BE APPLYED WITH THE PURPOSE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF COOPERATION BETWEEN CURCHES”

ANTELIAS, December 17 (Noyan Tapan). The international congress of the
Christian Informational Commission organized by the World Council of
Churches completed its work on December 10. It was held in Antelias
at the Mother See Church of the Catholicosate of the Great Cilician
House. Catholicos of the Great Cilician House Aram I received members
of the Commission before the completion of the sittings. His meeting
in the residence lasted over an hour.

Emphasizing that the current period is characterized with the
significance of mass media, Catholicos Aram I particularly spoke of
the following points: it is necessary that one should refrain from the
vulgar propagandistic approaches to information, information should
be applied with the purpose of Christian education and formation,
information should be applied with the purpose of the establishment
of cooperation between the churches.

Catholicos Aram I highly estimated the work carried out by the
commission. The new programs were elaborated and decisions on their
implementation were made in the process of work.

According to the press divan of the Catholicosate of the Great
Cilician House, Head of the Inter-Confessional Commission of the
Catholicosate of the Great Cilician House Manushak Boyajian is the
head of the Commission on Christian Information.

RELIGIOUS LEADERS’ MEETING AT WESTERN DIOCESE OF ARMENIAN CHURCH OF AMERICA

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, December 17 (Noyan Tapan). On December 15,
the Religious Leaders’ meeting took place at the Western Diocese
of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America, hosted by His
Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Diocese. The
religious leaders meet once a month in a luncheon meeting, rotating
the location between the members of the council. According to the
Press Office of the Diocese, the leadears discuss issues common to
the churches of the community. The Western Diocese had the privilege
to host the religious leaders this month.

Present at the meeting were: Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Western
Diocese; Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, Western Diocese; Rabbi Mark
S. Diamond, Board of Rabbis; Rev. Jane Heckles, United Church of
Christ; Dan Romero, United Church of Christ; Bishop Mary Ann Swenson,
United Methodist Church; Richard C. Garner, United Methodist Church;
Grant Hagiya, United Methodist Church – LA District; Dr. Samuel
S. Chetti, American Baptist Church of Los Angeles; Donald Smith,
Presbyterian Church; Rabbi Alan Henkin, Union for Reform Judaism.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA CELEBRATES HOLIDAY SEASON WITH MEMBERS, ACTIVISTS

WASHINGTON, December 17 (Noyan Tapan). The Armenian Assembly of
America (AAA) held a series of holiday events across the U.S. this
month, thanking friends and members for their support throughout the
year and encouraging their continued activism in strengthening the
U.S.-Armenia and U.S.-Karabakh relationships in the year ahead.

On December 12, supporters in the nation’s capital were briefed by
Armenian Caucus Member Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Jr. (D-MD), who spoke
about the importance of grassroots activism and reaffirmation of the
Armenian Genocide.

“We have an obligation not to give up,” Van Hollen told supporters at
the Armenian Embassy. “We must make sure that the world never forgets.”

According to the AAA, the afternoon program, which was led by Board
of Directors Vice Chair Annie Totah and Capital Region Host Committee
Members Clara Andonian and Doris George, included remarks by Armenia’s
Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Arman Kirakossian and Assembly Executive
Director Ross Vartian. The event, which was organized by members of
the Assembly’s Capital Region Host Committee, also included a slide
presentation of presidential photos by White House photographer Joyce
Naltchayan Boghosian.

>>From his home base in Massachusetts, Board of Directors Chairman
Anthony Barsamian participated in events in Arlington and Charlestown,
as well as an event in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Starting in Rhode
Island on December 7, Barsamian joined Board of Directors Member
Corinne Heditsian and RI District Chair Nathalie Yaghoobian in honoring
outgoing District Chair Jake Harpootian. A Fellow Trustee since 1991,
Harpootian was credited with rallying local activists and advocating
for congressional support of Armenian-American issues. That event was
organized and led by Development Co-Chair Lu Ann Ohanian and the New
England Regional Council.

The Council’s two other events were held at the Armenian Cultural
Center in Arlington and at the Meze Restaurant in Charlestown. The
first event held on December 8, welcomed Board of Trustees President
Carolyn Mugar and local officials including State Representative
Rachel Kaprielian (D-Watertown.) The second event, dubbed the
“The Next Leadership Group Party,” was a holiday mixer for young
professionals. Held on December 9, the event was organized by
Assembly supporter Joanne Tashjian and her children, Christopher,
Joy and Noelle. The events in New England also included a year-end
update from Executive Director Vartian.

The Assembly’s Great Lakes Regional Council hosted its annual holiday
event at Council Chairman Edgar Hagopian’s Roche Bobois store in
Novi, Michigan on December 5. More than 80 people turned out for the
event which included legislative briefings by Congressional Caucus
on Armenian Issues Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) and Board Chairman
Barsamian. Guests also included State Representative Shelly Taub
(R-Bloomfield Hills) and several other community leaders. The Great
Lakes Regional Council assisted in planning the evening.

On the West Coast, Los Angeles-area supporters kicked-off the season
with a reception at the Four Season’s Hotel on December 3. Assembly
Western Office Chairman Richard Mushegain and Board Member Lisa
Kalustian welcomed 60 area supporters to the event, which included
a briefing by Mushegain on the Assembly’s legislative achievements
in 2004.

Also in California, Assembly Life Trustees Roger Strauch and Dr. Julie
Kulhanjian Strauch opened their suburban Piedmont home on December
5, helping the Assembly and its members celebrate another successful
year. Among the highlights of the evening was a presentation by Roger
Strauch on the organization’s achievements in the San Francisco Bay
Area. Deputy Executive Director Peter Abajian was also on hand to
provide a report on the Assembly’s national activities.

PRIMATE ATTENDS BANQUET TO BENEFIT MILLENNIUM ARMENIAN CHILDREN’S VACCINE FUND

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, December 17 (Noyan Tapan). Upon the official
invitation of the Ani and Narod Memorial Foundation, on the evening
of Wednesday, December 15, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America,
attended a banquet entitled “Mistletoe and Miracles”, in benefit of
the Millennium Armenian Children’s Vaccine Fund.

According to the Press Office of the Diocese, speakers featured
at the banquet included His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate; Golden Globe Winner Mike Connors; Angie Turner, CEO,
American Red Cross, San Gabriel Valley Chapter; Michael Mahdesian,
Former Deputy Director, Bureau of Humanitarian Response, US Agency
for International Development; Lisa Grande, UN Resident Coordinator;
and Raffi Ardhaldjian, Chief Volunteer Office, Ani and Narod Memorial
Foundation. Tamar Kevonian from Mosaix Magazine served as Master
of Ceremonies.

In his remarks, His Eminence addressed the attendees with the words,
“Tonight we are rejoiced with your presence as you become partners in
this God-pleasing mission, namely the Millennium Armenian Children’s
Vaccine Fund. As we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas, this
evening challenges us to renew our Christian spirituality, to put our
Christian faith in actions, to reach out to the Children of Armenia,
and to put a sense of joy in their hearts.

“We commend the exemplary work launched tonight by the Ani and Narod
Foundation, thus helping us to enrich our spirituality in participating
in this significant mission. We extend our sincere appreciation to
Raffi Ardhaldjian, the founder of this organization, as well as to
all its members.”

In closing the Primate said, “We all can give. We all should
give. Tonight with our participation, we make a milestone in the life
of the community. We become instruments of love and instruments of
change in the hands of God.”

Kyrgyz president warns radical groups might forcibly seize power in election year
By KADYR TOKTOGULOV

The Associated Press
12/18/04 03:45 EST

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) – Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has warned
that some radical groups might try to forcibly seize power next
year when the nation holds parliamentary and presidential elections,
his office said Saturday.

“Social and political tensions in 2005 will escalate dramatically and
radical forces might use armed methods in their struggle,” Akayev told
a Defense Council meeting Friday, according to the president’s office.

Akayev did not say what forces he meant. But he in the past criticized
opposition groups as radical and irreconcilable.

The country’s parliamentary elections slated for Feb. 27 are expected
to be hotly contested as they will set the stage for the October
presidential race.

Having completed two consecutive terms, Akayev is not eligible to
run again, but the opposition fears his loyalists might be scheming
to extend his rule or put in his place a candidate favored by the
establishment.

Akayev Friday urged law enforcement agencies to make all necessary
efforts to ensure public security and protection of human rights and
civil liberties in the election year.

However, Edil Baisalov, head of the coalition of civic groups “For
Democracy and Civil Society”, said Saturday Akayev’s remarks targeted
the political opposition and signaled that authorities might move
to restrict political freedoms ahead of the elections.

Akayev Friday also expressed concern about the spread of terrorism
and extremism in Central Asia. He said extremist groups were joining
radical groups linked to the international terror network as the
number of attempted terror attacks grows across the region.

Akayev also said he was concerned about the activities of the radical
Islamic Hizb-ut-Tahrir party and criticized local authorities for
lack of ideological work against the group, accused in neighboring
Uzbekistan of inspiring two waves of deadly attacks this year.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which originated in the Middle East and claims to
disavow violence, denied responsibility for the attacks. The group
that strives to create a worldwide Islamic state is persecuted across
the region.

Kyrgyzstan saw two bombings in 2002 and 2003 that killed eight people.
Authorities claimed they prevented three terrorist attacks against
a U.S.-led coalition base in Kyrgyzstan over the past two years.

Radical Islamic groups emerged in predominantly Muslim Central Asia
after the 1991 Soviet collapse, filling a post-communist ideological
void.

Turkish premier returns to a hero’s welcome after historic deal with EU
By SELCAN HACAOGLU

The Associated Press
12/18/04 04:55 EST

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey’s prime minister returned from an EU
summit to a hero’s welcome Saturday, hours after the European Union
grudgingly agreed to seriously consider his country for membership
despite widespread public opposition to a Muslim nation joining
the bloc.

Hundreds of supporters waving Turkish and European Union flags greeted
Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the airport in Istanbul. Some held banners
proclaiming him “the conqueror of EU” and “the new star of EU.”

Hours earlier in Brussels the European Union offered to begin talks
aimed at bringing Turkey into the EU. The long-coveted invitation
came despite Erdogan’s refusal to formally recognize Cyprus, Turkey’s
longtime adversary and an EU member since May.

EU leaders hailed the agreement as a historic step, one that would
expand the borders of the 25-nation EU from Ireland to Iran. Turkey’s
stock market rose to a record high.

“We have been writing history today, and the agreement we reached today
will acquire full significance in the years ahead,” said Dutch Prime
Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, whose country holds the EU presidency.

The talks will begin Oct. 3, 2005, the beginning of a process that
could take years and could transform the political and social landscape
of both parties.

If the talks succeed, Turkey would become the largest EU member, with
a population of 71 million – expected to grow as high as 85 million
by 2020. But its per capita income is roughly one-third of the average
of longtime EU member states, requiring far-reaching economic reforms.

Turkish membership would also add millions of citizens to the EU at
a time when many Europeans are questioning whether their countries,
which have a Christian heritage, can absorb large numbers of Muslim
immigrants.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the decision to accept Turkish
membership shows “that those who believe there is a fundamental clash
of civilizations between Christians and Muslims are actually wrong,
that they can work together, that we can cooperate together.”

Most Turkish newspapers were ecstatic. “We Succeeded,” read the
headline in Saturday’s edition of the leading Hurriyet. Another daily,
the Sabah, blared: “European Revolution.”

But the deal nearly fell apart because of an EU requirement that
Turkey initial an agreement Friday expanding its customs union with
the EU to include Cyprus and nine other members that joined in May. The
agreement would have to be signed by October.

Erdogan balked at the requirement, which EU diplomats said amounted
to tactic recognition of the Greek Cypriot government.

Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 to block a coup by Greek Cypriots,
and decades of diplomacy have failed to reunite the Mediterranean
island. About 40,000 Turkish troops remain in northern Cyprus, which
is controlled by Turkish Cypriots.

After hours of intensive negotiations, the EU agreed to accept a
statement from Erdogan that he would sign the customs agreement before
the talks start and that the move would not constitute recognition
of Cyprus.

“This is a win-win agreement,” Erdogan said. “The process from now
on will be even more difficult … but I strongly believe Turkey will
be able to achieve this.”

Back home, he pledged to work harder and strengthen the country’s bid.

“This result will not spoilt us, will not relax us,” Erdogan told
the crowd at the airport.

However nationalist newspapers were furious, arguing the terms were
too harsh. “Dishonored,” the daily Yeni Cag newspaper declared in
Saturday’s edition.

EU officials said the talks would be open-ended and without a guarantee
of eventual EU membership. Opposition leaders said that gave Turkey
little chance of success.

Several EU countries strongly oppose admitting Turkey, fearing an
influx of culturally different migrants who would compete for jobs.

French President Jacques Chirac, who has promised a referendum on
Turkish membership if the talks succeed, said Ankara would have
to recognize the mass killings of Armenians by Turks in the early
20th century.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said he would also call a
referendum because bringing a Muslim country into the EU “must not
be decided in an ivory tower. … We cannot be indifferent about
public opinion.”

Supporters of Turkey’s entry contend the country could be a bridge
between Europe and the Middle East and stand as an example of a
democratic state with Islamic traditions. Turkey, a longtime NATO
member, has been legally secular since the collapse of the Ottoman
Empire after World War I.

Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser, Raf Casert, Art Max and Robert
Wielaard contributed to this report.

Turkish delight: Talks on EU membership will be long, hard and necessary

The Times, UK
Dec 18 2004

The deal is done. After two days of extremely tough negotiations,
the European Union has agreed terms for the opening next October
of accession talks that, in ten years’ time, could lead to Turkey’s
return to a continent over which it held regional sway for 500 years.
Turkey would rejoin Europe not as an Ottoman conqueror but as the
largest member of the EU, extending Europe’s borders deep into
the Middle East to Iraq, Iran and Syria. It is an historic and
controversial step. For although Turkey is a founder member of Nato,
a vital Western ally and a regional power that has sought to link
its destiny to Europe for more than 40 years, membership would change
not only the EU’s strategic balance, but its culture, character and
future. Despite domestic opposition, religious prejudices and enormous
costs, EU leaders have taken the right decision. Accession talks do
not imply automatic membership, however — nor should they. Turkey has
taken strides, especially under Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Government,
towards compliance with the so-called Copenhagen criteria. It has
introduced nine separate packages of constitutional and legislative
reform. They have included the abolition of the death penalty,
measures to combat torture and improvements in minority rights such
as freedom to study in Kurdish. The military is, ostensibly, under
civilian control. Restrictions on freedom of expression have been
generally removed. And Ankara has, painfully, had to set aside 30
years’ intransigence and agree a compromise that implies de facto
recognition of the Greek Cypriot Government.

But there is more to do. Torture has not been eradicated. The military
still wields backstage influence. The eco- nomy trails far behind the
poorest EU members. Constitutional changes and political freedoms are
not yet sufficiently embedded to be irreversible. Negotiations will
be long and difficult, and few people, including the Turks, expect
the country to qualify for membership for ten years. The EU has,
understand-ably, set tough conditions. What cannot be countenanced
are the possible attempts, even now, to derail the talks. Issues
will be raised in the hope that they will become obstacles: a
Turkish apology for the Armenian genocide, Kurdish autonomy and a
settlement in Cyprus. Some countries are still hoping for a permanent
restriction on the free movement of Turkish labour to prevent mass
migration, when Turks may well have concerns about a mass migration
of Northern Europeans to its warmer climes. And although the goal is
full membership, the declaration in Brussels that, in case of failure,
Turkey must still be anchored to Europe hardly offers a good prospect
for the talks opening under Britain’s EU presidency.

What lies behind these conditions and hestitations is the fear of a
backlash by European voters. The issue is Islam. Rising hostility
to Muslims in Europe’s midst has led to social tensions that some
fear would be exacerbated by the admission of a Muslim country to
a union of countries sharing a Christian heritage. Such opposition
is in- appropriate. Turkey is an example of moderate Islam’s ability
to flourish in a secular state. Its admission would send a signal of
the EU’ s commitment to diversity and universal values. For centuries
the Ottoman empire shaped Europe and shared its heritage. Turkey’s
moderation, energy and creativity are needed in the Europe of tomorrow.

–Boundary_(ID_NHTgHpoXMqt0v1QAmBnW0Q)–