Zaman, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

WHY TURKEY?

Reasons for a Privileged Partnership between Turkey and the EU

by Hans-Gert Poettering
Chairman of the EP Christian Democrat Group

Few political questions have been debated both on European and
national level as intensively and as passionately as the question of
the accession of Turkey to the European Union. In fact it confronts
the European Union with the question of its own identity and the
discussion in the European Union therefore is as much about whether
the European Union is ready for this challenge as whether Turkey is
ready to join the Union. In the EPP-ED-Group, as well as in the other
Groups of the European Parliament, there are different points of view
as to whether the European Union can face this challenge or not and
whether Turkey should join the European Union or not. During the
coming weeks, we will discuss our position intensively in the context
of a European Parliament report by Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED), which
will be voted in time before the European Summit on 17 December.

The accession of Turkey to the European Union would be an enormous
challenge for Turkey as much as for the European Union itself. In
fact, when defining the “Copenhagen criteria” in 1993, the European
Council also underlined the importance of the Union’s capacity to
absorb new members. This question therefore has also to be taken
seriously into account when deciding on future membership of Turkey.

There is no doubt that Turkey has made today progress with political
and economic reforms, although problems still persist in particular
with regard to the implementation of the political reforms, including
human rights. Civil and human rights NGOs in Turkey continue to
express their concern on this question. However, my main concern
today is the impact Turkey’s accession would have on the European
Union and its cohesion. If Turkey joins the EU in 2015, it will have
the same size in terms of population as Germany. By 2025 Turkey will
be the biggest country in the Union. But since it is at the same time
a comparatively poor country, full integration in all areas of EU
policies would lead to huge budget transfers at least if there is no
fundamental reform of the agricultural and structural policies of the
European Union. With Turkey’s accession and its borders being
extended to Syria, Iran and Iraq in the Middle East, Armenia and
Georgia in the Caucasus, the European Union will have to make the
step from a mainly regional player to a potentially global player
given the political sensitivity and importance of these areas.
Considering the incoherent European position during the Iraq crisis,
the European Union will still need a very long time before being able
to assume such a global responsibility. The foreign policy mechanisms
under the new constitution will need to be tested and proven before
the EU can envisage such ambitious objectives.

The European Union will now have to put the current enlargement into
practice and test the functioning of the new Constitution, which will
hopefully be ratified without delay in the 25 Member states. We have
to be very careful before thinking about a further enlargement that
could “over-stretch” the European Union’s capacities in many ways and
could eventually put at risk the EU’s achievements over the past 50
years.

At the same time, one has also to admit without any prejudice that
Turkey and the countries of the European Union have undergone a
different historical development with regard to political culture and
philosophical thinking. I am not speaking in this context of
religion, but about a more general cultural approach. This is
enriching for both sides in the framework of close cooperation, but
it could be difficult in the framework of integration and there is
reason to fear that this could cause problems for the internal
cohesion of the people of the European Union. That is why in some
member states public opinion is very critical with regard to Turkish
accession. This is a psychological problem, but European politicians
are also bound to respect the opinion of the citizens they represent.

For these reasons I believe that Turkey and the European Union will
have a more fruitful and satisfying relationship if they develop a
privileged partnership, where they work together as closely as
possible, but still remain autonomous in their decision-making.
Turkey is a strong regional power and as such an important partner
and ally for the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance. As a
privileged partner of the European Union, Turkey will maintain much
more independence of decision and in fact more influence in the
region than if it is bound to European decision-making on the basis
of a common denominator of more than 25 member states. On the other
hand, I believe that the European Union will loose its capacity to
act and part of its cohesion with a big regional power that
necessarily will confront the Union with many challenges and requests
which the European Union might not be able to solve within its own
structures, but which it could solve together with Turkey as a strong
partner.

Due to its size and geo-strategic position, its historical links and
its willingness to be part of the European family, Turkey will be one
of the most important partners and neighbors of the Union. With
mutual respect and understanding, both partners should intensify
their relations taking into account the complex political situation
on both sides.

If the European Council should decide in December by unanimity to
open negotiations, these should, in my view, not exclude possible
alternative options to accession, such as a “privileged partnership”
with Turkey. If such a partnership can be achieved in a reasonable
time this seems to be more interesting for both sides than very long
negotiations and insecurity about mainly the European Union’s
capacities to assume this enlargement.

* This article expresses the personal views of the author.

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

France Backs ‘Genocide’

Following its support for “privileged partnership” for Turkey
instead of full European Union membership, France has headed down a
new path in opposition to Turkey.

French Foreign Minister, Michel Barnier, attended the meeting of the
Council of European Union (EU) Common Affairs in Brussels yesterday
where he said France “will ask Turkey to recognize the Armenian
tragedy experienced in the past.”

Barnier remarked that it could not be defined as a condition to begin
negotiations, but that it would be brought to the agenda during the
negotiations.

France’s main opposition party, the Socialist Party, released a
declaration yesterday announcing that the “Recognition of soldiers
withdrawing from Cyprus, Armenian genocide, as well as progress in
human rights should be imposed on Turkey” during the negotiations.

Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, of the Dutch EU Term Presidency, says
France did not raise any condition like the recognition of Armenian
genocide and that this element was not among the Copenhagen Criteria
or pre-conditions.

Minister Barnier told the press during the meeting of Ministers that
France supports the start of negotiations with Turkey, but warned
that negotiations could be stopped at any moment and that there was
no guarantee that the negotiations would end in full membership.

Barnier said the French public would have the last say on the issue
in a referendum. The Minister also said that although asking Turkey
to recognize the Greek Cypriot administration as a pre-condition was
not legally acceptable, it is very difficult to see Turkey’s point
either morally or politically.

Barnier said negotiations may begin mid-2005 at the earliest and that
the date will be determined by EU leaders at the summit. He added
there will be no compromising on the documented results.

Turkiye, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

FRENCH FM URGES TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier yesterday asked Ankara to
recognize so-called Armenian genocide in return for the European
Union beginning its accession talks. At a press conference, Barnier
said that there was no consensus yet on the statement on Turkey for
this week’s historic EU summit, adding that negotiations could begin
at earliest in the second half of 2005. Stressing that there was no
guarantee of a positive result and that steps should be patiently
taken one at a time, Barnier said talks might be suspended at any
point and that the French people would say the final word through a
referendum. He added that during the accession talks, France would
also urge Ankara to recognize the past Armenian tragedy. /Turkiye/

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

French FM back off from Armenian statement

Turkey has always rejected claims that the Ottomans carried out a
policy of genocide against it Armenian citizens.

December 14 – France’s Foreign Minister has backed away from his
statement that Turkey had to acknowledge the so called Armenian
genocide as one of the conditions for it to join the European Union.

Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Tuesday that it was not
France’s position that Ankara had to acknowledge the allegations of
committing genocide against the Ottoman empire’s Armenian community
during the years of World War One. His comments were in contrast to a
statement made Monday that Turkey had to accept responsibility for
the events of ninety years ago in order to start accession
negotiations with the EU.
`France does not pose it as a condition, notably not for
opening negotiations,’ Barnier said on French television. `Legally,
that would not be possible.’
Turkey has always strenuously denied that any deliberate
massacre of Armenians occurred, though does acknowledge that many
thousands of Armenian and Turkish Ottoman citizens died during the
turmoil of the war in the east of Turkey.

RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 14 2004

AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES BTC CONSTRUCTION, INVESTMENT AND
KARABAKH PROBLEM IN LONDON

LONDON, December 14 (RIA Novosti) – President Ilkham Aliyev of
Azerbaijan has said the parties to the project for the construction
of the Baku (Azerbaijan) – Tbilisi (Georgia) – Ceyhan (Turkey) (BTC)
pipeline, a Turkish oil terminal in the Eastern Mediterranean, faces
no financial problems whatsoever.

“We have not faced any problems in financing the project, including
from international sources,” the president emphasized as he spoke to
reporters at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on
Tuesday.

Mr. Alieyv said the Azerbaijani section of the pipeline had been
completed already, while the Georgian and Turkish sections would be
completed soon.

“We have never regarded underfunding as a major problem. And we
believe the shareholders will hopefully reaffirm their resolve to
complete the construction of the pipeline according to schedule,”
said the president.

The Azerbaijani leader said hydrocarbon resources would start being
pumped along the pipe in 2005. The BTC project is being implemented
with the participation of major international concerns, among them
British Petroleum.

Mr. Aliyev maintained the territorial dispute with Armenia over
Nagorny Karabakh, the Armenian enclave on Azerbaijani territory,
which proclaimed independence and backed by Armenia upheld its status
of an independent republic in a war with Azerbaijan in the 1990s, did
not act as a deterrent for foreign investors in Azerbaijan.

“This situation does not deter potential investors, and a whole bunch
of major foreign investors are present in Azerbaijan today,” said Mr.
Aliyev.

Speaking about ways to settle the Karabakh problem, Ilkham Alieyv
emphasized that “Azerbaijan has signaled adherence to the principles
of international law and has demanded that Armenia’s occupying forces
be pulled out from Azerbaijani territory.” (Since the war Armenia has
retained control over up to 15% of Azerbaijan’s territory, including
what is known as the Lachin corridor linking Nagorny Karabakh to
Armenia.)

“We accept various solutions to the Karabakh problem, which will base
on international law and ensure Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,”
noted Mr. Aliyev. “Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is instrumental
and is not subject to debate, although we are prepared to meet
halfway on other aspects, in particular the autonomous status for the
region and security issues,” said the president.

PhysOrg Newsletter
Dec 14 2004

A new unidentified very high energy gamma-ray source in our Galaxy

A European team based in Heidelberg (Germany) and their colleagues
from the HEGRA collaboration have discovered a new, unidentified,
very high energy gamma-ray source in our Galaxy. This source was
detected via ground-based observations of the Imaging Atmosphere
Cherenkov Telescope System.

This system of five telescopes is designed to detect the light
produced when high energy particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere. The
discovery of this source, TeV J2032+4130, is of particular interest
because there are only a few very high energy sources in our Galaxy;
most of them lie outside our Galaxy.

Additionally, this source does not show any counterpart at other
wavelengths, notably at X-ray wavelengths. This team was also
involved in the recent discovery of a similar unidentified source,
suggesting the emergence of a new class of high energy gamma-ray
sources of unknown nature.

During the last ten years, several ground-based observatories
dedicated to very high energy gamma-ray detection have been built.
They are designed to detect the light produced when very high energy
gamma rays interact with the Earth’s atmosphere. Particles that
travel in the Earth’s atmosphere faster than the speed of light in
air (that is a bit lower than the speed of light in vacuum) produce
so-called Cherenkov radiation. Cherenkov light is made of fast and
faint blue flashes. This effect is analogous to the supersonic bang
that occurs when a plane travels faster than the speed of sound.

Cherenkov light is produced by very high energy particles such as
cosmic rays or gamma rays that enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
Specialized telescopes that detect the Cherenkov light and infer
information about the incoming cosmic rays and gamma-ray photons,
have been built during the past few years. Cosmic rays and gamma rays
can be distinguished because, unlike gamma rays, cosmic rays reach
the Earth’s atmosphere evenly from all directions.

As charged particles, cosmic rays are deflected by galactic and
intergalactic magnetic fields during their travel to Earth. On the
contrary, gamma rays are uncharged particles: they are not deflected
by magnetic fields and follow a straight path to Earth. By checking
whether a given Cherenkov flash comes from a single direction or from
all directions, one can distinguish whether it is produced by cosmic
rays or by gamma rays. Additionally, as gamma rays are not deflected,
they point directly to their source, which may thus be identified.

About ten years ago, the High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy (HEGRA)
collaboration, made up of German, Spanish and Armenian teams, built
the stereoscopic Imaging Atmosphere Cherenkov Telescope System,
dedicated to the detection of high energy gamma rays by the
intermediary of the Cherenkov effect. Now dimantled, this system was
made up of five identical telescopes and was designed to detect gamma
ray events rather than cosmic rays events. It was the first time that
such a system was built to observe gamma ray events using
stereoscopic techniques: the five telescopes view the same events
from slightly different angles. This technique yields an improved
reconstruction of the initial gamma-ray particle entering the
atmosphere. The system was able to identify the direction of the
incoming gamma ray with a precision better than 0.1°.

Using the HEGRA Imaging Atmosphere Cherenkov Telescope System, F.
Aharonian (Heidelberg, Germany) and the HEGRA collaboration have now
confirmed the discovery of a new high energy gamma-ray source that
was made a few years ago. This source is named `TeV J2032+4130′.
`TeV’ refers to the energy level of the source; it is an abbreviation
for teraelectronvolt. It means that the energy of the source is of
the order of a teraelectronvolt, that is, a trillion (1012)
electronvolts. The number `J2032+4130′ refers to the position of the
source in the sky. The gamma-ray photons emitted by this source are
among the most energetic photons ever observed. The energy of TeV
gamma-ray photons is compared to photons at other wavelengths in the
chart below.

The source TeV J2032+4130 has very interesting features. It is most
likely located within our own Galaxy, which is remarkable since there
are only a few very high energy gamma ray sources in our Galaxy. The
centre of our Galaxy is a famous gamma ray source. Another well-known
source is the Crab Nebula (see right picture), the remnant of a
supernova explosion. In both cases, the corresponding sources also
have strong emission at X-ray wavelengths, suggesting the presence of
accelerated electrons.

On the contrary, TeV 2032+4130 does not show any counterpart at other
wavelengths, notably at X-ray energies. The lack (or at least the low
level) of X-ray emission of TeV 2032+4130 suggests that the gamma ray
emission arises from the interaction of accelerated cosmic rays with
the local ambient matter.

TeV J2032+4130 is located in the Cygnus region, an extremely active
star-formation region. It contains a large number of X-ray and low
energy gamma-ray sources. To explain the gamma rays emitted by TeV
J2032+4130, the HEGRA collaboration looked for sites in this region
that could accelerate cosmic ray particles to high enough energy.
Such sites could be supernova remnants, expanding clouds of gas that
represent the outer layers of exploded stars named supernovae.
However, no such supernova remnant has been identified yet in this
region. The team believes that TeV J2032+4130 might be related to the
`OB stellar association’ Cygnus OB2. An OB association is a grouping
of very hot and massive young stars. Such an association is named
`OB’ because these stars have O and B spectral types. Cygnus OB2 is
thought to be powering the entire region via the intense stellar
winds emanating from its stars.

The detection of the source TeV J2032+4130 over long observation
times (about 200 hours) by HEGRA demonstrated the power of the
stereoscopic technique for the ground-based detection of very high
energy gamma rays. The next generation of ground-based instruments
should be able to detect similar sources within only a few hours. One
of these new generation instruments, the High Energy Stereoscopic
System (HESS), resulting from an international collaboration and
inaugurated earlier this year, recently revealed a similar
unidentified TeV source. This second discovery suggests that a new
class of high energy gamma-ray source of unknown nature might emerge
as technology improves.

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

Bot: Date about Turkey not Clarified Yet

Dutch Foreign Minister and term president of the European Union (EU)
Bernard Bot determined that the EU has not clarified two issues. The
first is whether to begin negotiations with Turkey and the second
deals with the expression, “open ended.”

Holding a press conference at the end of the EU General Affairs
Council, Bot indicated that he was hopeful about the decisions, which
will be announced on Friday and added that acceptation of the so
called Armenian Genocide by Turkey was not in the Copenhagen
Criteria.

Bot answered reporter’s questions at the end of the press conference.

When asked, “Is the recognition of Cyprus a redline for the EU?” BO
said, “There is no redline in our book.” Bot went on that answering
the conditions by “yes” or “no” is Turkey’s choice.

Bot answered the question of whether the term presidency had a B plan
in case negotiations failed, Bot said: “The presidency has no
obligation to offer such an option” and added that member states are
trying to reach a consensus.

Determining that the adaptation of the Ankara Agreement to the 10 new
member states was significant, and additionally disclosed, “But
recognition of Cyprus is not a part of the issue of opening
negotiations” for a question about recognition of Cyprus.

Bot also revealed that accession agreements with Bulgaria and Romania
would be signed the following May at the latest and added that
negotiations with Croatia may start in April 2005.

Uttering that issues on China and Iran were also dealt with during
the meeting, Bot clarified that they were pleased for a peaceful
solution to the contested presidential elections in Ukraine.

USAID Press Release, DC
Dec 14 2004

Lloyd O. Pierson Sworn In As Head of USAID’s Bureau for Africa

WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE

Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810

2004-110

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2004

Contact: USAID Press Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Agency for International Development
Administrator Andrew S. Natsios announced the swearing in of Lloyd O.
Pierson as the Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Africa at
the agency. Pierson was confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2004.

As the head of the Africa bureau, Pierson will provide overall
regional and country expertise, manage USAID programs in the field,
and represent USAID on Africa to the U.S. Congress. He will also be
responsible for communication at the regional and country level with
other international donors and financial organizations.

Prior to joining USAID, Pierson was Chief of Staff and Chief of
Operations for the Peace Corps. Shortly after the inauguration of
President Bush in 2001, Lloyd was named a member of the transition
team at Peace Corps. In September 2001, he was named Acting Deputy
Director with overall agency management responsibilities, including
the Africa Bureau. In his role, he was responsible for the day-to-day
operations of all Peace Corps programs abroad, headquarters staff,
and the 11 domestic Regional Recruiting Offices.

Pierson was previously appointed to senior Administration positions
by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. In November of
2001, he was selected to represent the United States in addressing a
plenary session of the United Nations during the concluding session
of the International Year of the Volunteer.

>From 1984-1991, he was the Country Director in Ghana and Botswana and
served an interim assignment in Swaziland. In addition, he negotiated
bilateral agreements for the Peace Corps in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Pierson was named the first Peace Corps Country Director in Namibia
following that country’s independence from South Africa on March 20,
1990. He subsequently assisted with establishing Peace Corps programs
in Armenia, Bulgaria, and Uzbekistan.

Prior to returning to Peace Corps in 2001, Lloyd was Director of the
Africa Division for the International Republican Institute (IRI), a
Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization that works to advance
democracy and good governance abroad. He has testified before the
United States Congress on Angola, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe and has been
quoted in the media and academic journals on issues related to
Africa. From 1982 to 1984, Pierson was a Staff Associate on the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations.

Pierson is a graduate of the University of Houston and has done
post-graduate studies at the South Texas College of Law and Lamar
University.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

France seeks to impose Armenian condition on Turkey

France has a strong Armenian lobby, which backed a move by the French
parliament to pass a non-binding resolution acknowledging the so
called genocide.

December 14 – France is to make Ankara’s acceptance of the so-called
Armenian genocide of 1915 one of the conditions of Turkey’s bid to
join the European Union.
Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Tuesday that it was not
France’s position that Ankara had to acknowledge the allegations of
committing genocide against the Ottoman empire’s Armenian community
during the years of World War One. His comments were in contrast to a
statement made Monday that Turkey had to accept responsibility for
the events of ninety years ago in order to start accession
negotiations with the EU.
`France does not pose it as a condition, notably not for
opening negotiations,’ Barnier said on French television. `Legally,
that would not be possible.’
Turkey has always strenuously denied that any deliberate
massacre of Armenians occurred, though does acknowledge that many
thousands of Armenian and Turkish Ottoman citizens died during the
turmoil of the war in the east of Turkey.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Dec 14 2004

SIGNING CEREMONY OF SHAHDENIZ CREDIT AGREEMENT
[December 14, 2004, 18:46:20]

On 14 December, a ceremony of signing of Shah Deniz credit Agreement
was held at the Headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development in London, AzerTAj correspondent reports. President
of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony.

The Agreement package consists of two documents. The first one is a
credit agreement provides participation of the company
Azerbaijan-Shahdeniz – the affiliate to the State Oil Company of
Azerbaijan /SOCAR/ – in development of Shahdeniz project (10%). The
second one is a credit agreement to provide participation of another
SOCAR affiliate company Azerbaijan SCP Ltd. in construction of the
South Caucasus gas pipeline

The documents were signed by Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Abid
Sharifov, President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Natig
Aliyev and EBRD Business Group Director Peter Reiniger.

Following the ceremony, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
responded to the questions from journalists. Commenting on the
agreement signed, he said in particular that it would give the chance
to successfully complete the Shahdeniz project on transportation of
natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.

Responding to the question concerning the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the Azerbaijani leader stated that the
conflict must be settled in the framework of the International law:
the Armenian armed forces must leave the occupied territories, and
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored. The Head of
State stressed the issue of participation of Armenia in regional
project may not be considered until the conflict is resolved.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress