Chirac uses the word ‘genocide’
16.12.2004  18:10    
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – In an exclusive interview on Wednesday with the
French TF 1 television, French President Jacques Chirac reaffirmed
his country’s position that Turkey should review its history and
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
Chirac deliberately used the word “genocide” and when the reporter
asked to clarify “genocide or tragedy,” Chirac said “genocide,”
adding that the fact is a law in France, adopted by the parliament.
While the French president explained that they don’t see the
recognition for the Armenian Genocide as a pre-condition for Turkey’s
accession to the European Union, he, however, insisted on Turkey’s
reviewing of its past. He also said Ankara must “completely fulfill
the requirements set for a candidate country. Otherwise, Chirac said,
France would block the entry talks with Turkey, adding the decision
over Turkey’s membership is an enormous responsibility.
–Boundary_(ID_JcpLk9gmJ7HQKR3Acl5gdg)–

Kurdistan Committee calls for recognition of Kurds, Armenian Genocide by Turkey
Yerkir
16.12.2004  17:10    
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The Kurdistan Committee of Armenia has called on
Turkey to officially recognize the Kurdish ethnicity with mentioning
“Kurd” — instead of the “Turk” used currently — for nationality in
the Kurds’ passports, recognize the Kurdish language as the second
language of Turkey and free their leader Abdullah Ocalan, Armenpress
reported.
Kniaz Hasanov of the Committee said that in their letter to the Yerevan
offices of the European Parliament, European Union, the OSCE, as well
as embassies of UK, US, France and Italy, they demanded also that
Turkey should acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide and apologizing
for it should be made a pre-condition for Turkey’s accession to the
European Union.
There are 40 million Kurds in the world, with 20 million residing
in Turkey, 9 million in Iran, 5 to 6 million in Iraq, 3 million in
Syria, 2 million in other countries. In Armenia there are 42,000
Kurds and Yezids.
–Boundary_(ID_wJtNeCeQUVytklJlMofSmg)–

AZG Armenian Daily #226, 16/12/2004
Armenia-Azerbaijan
OSKANIAN AND MAMEDIAROV OVERCOME OBSTACLES
Negotiations to Be Held Without Karabakh’s Participation
RA Foreign Minister stated during the December 14 news conference that by the
positive mediation of OSCE Minsk group and cooperating with Azerbaijan it
became possible to remove the obstacles occurred when resuming the negotiation
process. Though the obstacles were removed, Vartan Oskanian is “cautiously
optimistic.”
Recently at one of the conferences Oskanian announced that the fate of the
“Prague process” by 100% depends on whether the UN General Assembly will adopt
“the situation in the occupied Azerbaijani territories” formula put forward by
Azerbaijan or not.
In response to the question posed by Azg Daily whether it meant that Azerbaijan
excluded the issue from the UN General Assembly, Oskanian said:” I said that we
have removed the obstacle (occurred in the settlement process). You will find
out in the future what results it will yield. We are ready to begin the second
stage of the “Prague process.”
The statement adopted by the OSCE Board of Foreign Ministers said that “taking
into account the results of the “Prague process,” the OSCE Minsk group
co-chairs have submitted a negotiation circle that can serve as a ground for
the settlement to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in September in
Astana.”
Oskanian responded to the question about NKR’s participation in the
negotiations and about its status saying: “The negotiations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in the Prague format are likely to continue till some stage when
NKR’s participation will be necessary. The format of the present moment that
was in the course of the last few years will be preserved.”
A year ago, when Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev met in Geneva for the first
time, Oskanian stated that it is important for Armenia to know whether Aliyev
junior is ready to continue the negotiations from the point on which his father
stopped. Today, when the Prague format is spoken of, can we suppose that the
negotiations are being continued from the point where Kocharian and Aliyev
senior stopped?
“I wouldn’t like definitely to put this question like this. I merely can say
that the position of Armenia remained unchanged. Our approaches remain the same
and today the content of the framework is sufficient for us to continue the
negotiations,” Oskanian said.
RA foreign minister doesn’t pay attention to the way Azerbaijan comments the
discussions around the Nagorno Karabakh settlement to the publicity. “I take as
a ground the things I hear with my own ears and the things I discuss during the
negotiations. I believe that the things we discuss create a common circle for
the continuation of the negotiations. I don’t want to pay attention to the way
Azerbaijan comments all this to the Azeri publicity, taking into account its
home situation or its interests. In fact, two parallel processes are taking
place, i.e. the real negotiations and the things that are told to (the Azeri
publicity),” Oskanian said.
Recently, the first Armenian president said in a half-secret interview given to
the mass media protecting AAM that Armenia will not be able to return the
position it lost in 1997 in Karabakh issue. Oskanian who used to be the head of
the Armenian delegation at the negotiations held within the OSCE Minsk group
framework for many years when Ter-Petrosian was the president, emphasized that
“if the people demand for example, to begin stage-by-stage negotiations, this
issue should be really put forward, the parliament should discuss it and submit
it to the government, as it is done frequently, demanding to begin stage by
stage variant without wasting time.”
Oskanian believes that the issue can arouse constructive discussions in the
press.” Indeed, one of the main complaints of the first presidents was the fact
that there have never been any detailed discussions of Nagorno Karabakh issue,
the discussions were always a political and personalized means to strike the
people and criticize the authorities.”
RA foreign minister believes that “all the versions are just versions, good or
bad.” Oskanian doesn’t follow the slogan:” This variant is a traitorous, while
the second one is a heroic one”. “We should settle the problem, we should work
in that direction… We all are interested to settle the issue in the way it will
not harm our national interests, it will not weaken Armenia, or deprive NKR of
the achievements it has today… It is an issue of approaches that is why we
shouldn’t consider the issues by such categories as traitorous or heroic. We
should see what is in our interests, what is possible or impossible, what we
lose, what we gain and what is the middle.”
It’s worth reminding that Vartan Oskanian said that the Karabakh issue was not
the reason for Levon Ter-Petrosian’s resignation during the meeting with the
students of the Yerevan State University on July the 3rd, there were other
reasons and one can’t say that he resigned because of Karabakh, the foreign
minister pointed out.
By Tatoul Hakobian
–Boundary_(ID_cqaThcvh6g5fdlOGY1MYRA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pottering: Turkey should recognize Armenian Genocide
16.12.2004 12:29
YEREVAN (EYRKIR) – Hans-Gert Pottering, German parliamentary leader
of the European People’s party, said Turkey should acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide and accept its ancestors’ history like Germany
admitted to the Nazi Holocaust of 1933-1945, Armenpress reported.
Speaking to the Turkish NTV television, he said that otherwise the
Armenian issue would always stay on Turkey’s agenda.
He also noted that the accession talks with Turkey would be successful,
and that privileged relations with Turkey is an alternative to the
full membership. He concluded that without recognizing the Republic
of Cyprus, it would be impossible for Turkey to start accession talks
with the EU’s 25 member states.

<; JUEVES 16 de Diciembre de 2004 - ENVIAR POR E-MAIL Cumbre de la Unión Europea en Bruselas El ingreso de Turquía provoca una fuerte división en la UE <;origen=amig oenvio>
Debatirán hoy las condiciones para la adhesión del primer socio musulmán
* Francia, Austria, Chipre y Dinamarca se muestran renuentes
* Gran Bretaña, Alemania, Italia y España creen que es esencial
* Ankara, desafiante
BRUSELAS.- La Unión Europea (UE) enfrenta hoy en Bruselas una de sus más
duras pruebas en una cumbre de dos días en la que deberá adoptar la
histórica decisión de abrir negociaciones con Turquía, el primer país
musulmán que podría sumarse al bloque y cuya incorporación abre
profundas divisiones.
Horas antes del crucial pronunciamiento, el Parlamento Europeo dio ayer
su visto bueno para que “los 25” -el nuevo número de socios de la Europa
ampliada este año- comiencen las negociaciones con Ankara para su
adhesión plena a la UE, un proceso extenso que se prevé culminará no
antes de 2014.
Holanda, en la presidencia temporaria de la UE, buscará dar a cada
Estado la posibilidad de evitar una oleada de inmigrantes desde Turquía;
en tanto, existe consenso para exigir al país árabe mayores reformas
económicas, políticas y militares.
A pocas horas de la votación sobre las condiciones del ingreso, las
profundas divisiones aparecieron, una vez más, en una Europa que a
medida que se extiende encuentra mayores dificultades para mantener la
cohesión política.
Tras su ampliación hacia el Este y la incorporación de 10 nuevos Estados
este año, los próximos pasos generan mayor controversia. Por un lado, la
posibilidad de un futuro ingreso de Turquía es vista, especialmente por
Gran Bretaña, Alemania, España e Italia, como una ocasión única para
tender puentes hacia el mundo musulmán y mejorar las relaciones dañadas
por la guerra antiterrorista.
Sin embargo, otro grupo de países lideran una férrea oposición a que
Turquía se sume a la Unión Europea por el tamaño de su territorio, por
sus diferencias culturales y por la pobreza que lo afecta. Francia,
Austria, Chipre y Dinamarca consideran que la incorporación turca es
inviable y plantean, en cambio, la alternativa de una “colaboración
privilegiada” con Ankara.
Turquía, un país musulmán de 70 millones de habitantes, ha esperado
durante 40 años la oportunidad de ingresar a la UE. Sin embargo, el
primer ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, amenazó ayer con retirar la
candidatura de su país a la UE -que fue aceptada sólo en 1999- si los
dirigentes europeos “imponen condiciones inaceptables”.
La fecha, el objetivo y el carácter de las negociaciones, que la UE
parece dispuesta a entablar con Turquía, son los tres parámetros que
todavía faltan decidir en las conclusiones de la cumbre de dos días que
comienza hoy.
A esos temas clave se añadió a última hora la exigencia greco-chipriota
de que Ankara reconozca previamente a la República de Chipre. La isla
está dividida desde la invasión turca de 1974, y sólo la parte sur se
convirtió en miembro pleno de la UE el pasado 1° de mayo.
Francia, por su parte, exige que Turquía reconozca su responsabilidad en
el genocidio armenio a principios del siglo pasado como condición para
apoyar su ingreso al bloque comunitario. Con reacciones muy dispares en
cada país ante la posibilidad del ingreso de un socio musulmán, en
Francia, una encuesta difundida ayer reflejó que el 67% de la población
está en contra de la adhesión turca. Una realidad totalmente distinta de
la que se vive en España, donde existe total indiferencia ante el
asunto.
Pese a todo, después de que la Comisión Europea recomendara el pasado 6
de octubre la apertura de las negociaciones -aunque bajo duras
condiciones- y de que el Parlamento Europeo votara ayer a favor de lo
mismo, nadie duda de que los líderes europeos terminarán dando esta vez
una respuesta positiva a Turquía.
Fuentes comunitarias señalan que en las conclusiones que se esperan en
Bruselas, los 25 recordarán que Turquía es “un país-candidato llamado a
ingresar en la Unión atendiendo a los mismos criterios que se aplican a
los demás estados candidatos”. Sin embargo, por primera vez, a
diferencia de lo ocurrido en las cinco ampliaciones anteriores, se
planteará que la apertura de cada capítulo de negociación no será
automática. Además, “podrían plantearse períodos transitorios
prolongados, excepciones, disposiciones específicas o cláusulas de
salvaguardia permanentes”.
En ese sentido, la UE advertirá que las negociaciones podrán quedar
suspendidas en caso de que el Estado candidato “viole de manera grave y
persistente los principios de libertad, democracia, respeto de los
derechos humanos y del Estado de Derecho en los que se basa la Unión”.
Agencias EFE, Reuters y AFP
Si desea acceder a más información, contenidos relacionados, material
audiovisual y opiniones de nuestros lectores ingrese en :
<;origen=amig oenvio>
Copyright S. A. LA NACION 2004. Todos los derechos reservados.
–Boundary_(ID_wJZP+wcbEWFz89u0pcxWnA )–

AZG Armenian Daily #226, 16/12/2004
Diaspora
YOUNG ARMENIANS RALLY BEFORE TURKISH EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON
More than 50 young activists joined the protest action before
the Turkish embassy in Washington organized by the Youth Union of
Armenian Revolutionary Party. The embassy was hosting the Assembly of
Turkish-American Associations (ATAA) known for the policy of denying
the Armenian Genocide.
Representatives of Livingston Group, organization hired by Turkey
to carry out anti-Armenian lobby in the US, former congressman Bob
Livingston and US State Undersecretary Mark Grossman, were received
by Turkish ambassador Faruk Loghloghlu.
Young Armenians were crying out “Shame on Turkey”, “Turkey – Convicted
of Genocide”, “NO to Turkey’s Accession to EU”. “We rallied here to
show the Turkish government and its mouthpieces in the States that we
shall never forget the massacres of the Armenians in 1915-1923. We’ll
not stop till the Armenian Genocide is recognized and the historic
justice prevails”, Tsoghik Markosian, head of the Youth Union, said.

ARMENIANS CAN THEMSELVES SETTLE KARABAKHI CONFLICT
A1+
16-12-2004
During today’s conference the social initiative for “Protection of
Liberated Territories” expressed concern over the events recently
spread about returning the liberated territories.
According to them, numerous representatives of former and present
Authorities keep participating in the process by mutual agreement.
Armen Aghayan, Secretary of “Protection of Liberated Territories”,
says the issue of the liberated territories is the first one disputed
after the war in fact and the pivot of all the suggestions by Minsk
Group Co-Chairs.
The social initiative for “Protection of Liberated Territories”
announces that Artcakhi problem does not and can’t have
an international solution in the formats of either Minsk Group,
or Council of Europe etc. The Armenian version of regulating the
conflict is the only one and supposes complete and quick settlement
of all the liberated districts.
The organization finds that the Armenians can work out an own project,
which will provide a safe life for them in the homeland.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

December 16, 2004
Turkey Is Knocking, but EU Is Hesitating
Los Angeles Times
By Jeffrey Fleishman, Times Staff Writer
BERLIN — Can a Turk be a European?
Europe will ask that centuries-old riddle again today, when Turkey is expected
to take a big step in its troubled quest to join the European Union. If all
goes according to plan, EU leaders will set a date for Turkey to begin
membership talks, a prospect certain to intensify doubts that a Muslim nation
can be embraced by a Europe anxious about the rise of Islam across the
continent.
The historic negotiations could last 15 years. There is no guarantee of
membership. A din of caveats and protests has already erupted over economic and
human rights concerns. But, in the end, the question is identity: Are Turkey’s
history, religion and borders compatible with the geographic and cultural
landscape of Europe? And, perhaps more important, does a predominantly
Christian Europe want them to be?
“No, it’s not a natural fit,” said Hans-Ulrich Klose, a Social Democrat and
deputy chairman of the German Parliament’s foreign affairs committee. “It’s
going to be very difficult. But we should give it a good, fair try. If it’s a
success and Turkey turns European, it could be good for security regarding all
our concerns from the Middle East.”
Big-shouldered and chaotic Turkey wants to nudge itself into a continent that
is perplexed about its own identity and future. The EU admitted 10 new, mostly
East European members in May and is still awaiting approval of a contentious
constitution. Economic problems and high unemployment across much of the
continent are hurting the middle class and eroding the welfare state.
Some leading European officials contend that admitting a moderate Muslim
democracy to the EU would calm the tremendous strain between East and West over
terrorism and the war in Iraq. The belief is that Turkey, a North Atlantic
Treaty Organization ally, could help stifle Islamic fanaticism around the world
and enhance Europe’s diplomatic leverage in Central Asia and the Middle East.
The clamor against Turkey, whose per capita gross domestic product is only 28%
of the EU average, has energized right-wing political parties and much of the
continent’s population. Turkey’s entry would mean the EU’s Muslim population
would soar from 12 million to 81 million. Skeptics envision Europe opening
itself to a flood of religious extremists and migrant workers, with minarets
cluttering skylines from Madrid to Krakow.
Many Europeans, most notably the French, argue that admitting Turkey would
threaten European secularism and tip the EU’s balance of power. Former French
President Valery Giscard D’Estaing warned that Turkey’s accession would mark
the end of Europe. Conservative German politician Edmund Stoiber has vowed to
do everything he can to derail Turkey’s chances if elected chancellor in 2006.
Writing in Le Figaro this week, Robert Badinter, a former justice minister in
France’s Socialist Party, said of Turkey, “Ninety-five percent of the territory
and 92% of the population are in Asia. We’ll have, we Europeans, common borders
with Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. I am asking you: What justifies
our common borders with these countries? What justifies that we’d get involved
in the most dangerous areas of the world?”
Such sentiments have led to qualifications and demands that seem to daily raise
the bar for Turkish membership.
Pressure is mounting on the Turkish government in Ankara to recognize its
longtime enemy and EU member, Cyprus. France is pressing Turkey to acknowledge
genocide in the killing and deportation of as many as 1.5 million Armenians
during World War I. Some European politicians have hinted that membership talks
would fail and Ankara would be granted a “privileged partnership” — an idea
that infuriates Turks and has led to calls that negotiations end only in full
membership.
The European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution Wednesday urging the EU
to open accession talks “without undue delay.” EU leaders meeting in Brussels
are expected to inform Turkey today on a date for negotiations to begin. A
formal announcement is set for Friday.
“Enough is enough,” said Mehmet Ali Birand, a columnist, in Turkey’s leading
Hurriyet daily. “EU officials may not be aware of this, but they are pushing
the Turkish people. When our patience runs out, we will be out for revenge. The
EU ambassadors are playing with fire.”
Since it first asked to be stitched into Europe in 1963, Turkey has grown
accustomed to being treated like a guest invited for cocktails but not a seat
at the dinner table. Ankara has urged Europe to better understand Turkey’s
strategic importance and not push it toward an alliance with Russia and China.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Europe would lose
an ideal counterpoint to terrorism if it rejects a country that has merged
Islam and democracy.
Irritated that his nation is still perceived as a backwater of village women in
head scarves and farmers in baggy pants, Erdogan told the German newspaper Bild
am Sonntag, “No other country had to wait 41 years at the door of the European
Union. We have done all that was demanded of us, and the Europeans are still
hesitating. That can only be called discrimination.”
But no other country is Turkey, either.
Once the seat of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey is 99.8% Muslim. Its borders
stretch from the Mediterranean Sea to the fringes of Mesopotamia. Its restless
dream to join Europe was born early last century when Kemal Ataturk formed a
secular government, banned the traditional fez and encouraged his people to
enjoy the music of Beethoven and Mozart.
The military that has long guarded the country’s secularism from Islamic
designs remains powerful but has retracted under pressure from the EU, leading
to political stability and a stronger civilian government. Turkey’s desire to
join Europe also has led to its abolishing the death penalty, reforming the
courts and curbing torture and human rights abuses, especially against the
Kurds in the southeast, where a war with separatists has grown largely quiet.
But significant problems exist. A poor farming country recovering from a
recession, Turkey has huge debt. Its EU membership could cost the continent $40
billion a year. Europeans also are uneasy about Erdogan, who recently supported
a failed legislative attempt to criminalize adultery. A former Islamist party
member, Erdogan says he’s committed to separation of church and state, but
German intelligence in 2001 described him as a religious hard-liner.
“I am slightly suspicious of the man,” said one senior European official, who
asked not to be named.
Europe’s doubts about Erdogan mirror the continent’s struggle with a burgeoning
immigrant Muslim population it views as wanting to recast the Rights of Man in
the image of the Koran. France has outlawed head scarves in schools. Germany
has made it easier to deport militant imams. Recent extremist attacks,
including the Madrid train bombings and the killing of a Dutch filmmaker, have
increased suspicion of the continent’s Muslims.
Polls show that majorities in the EU’s most influential countries — France and
Germany — are uneasy over Turkey. Sixty-seven percent of French voters and 55%
of German voters are opposed to Turkish membership. French President Jacques
Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder face potential political
backlashes for supporting Turkey. Countries most in favor of Turkey include
Spain, where 65% of voters approve, and Italy, where 49% approve.
One need only visit Germany to understand the EU’s apprehension over Turkey.
Germany’s 2.5 million Turks account for the largest such population in Europe.
They arrived as guest workers more than 40 years ago and formed a parallel
society that only recently has begun to integrate. Lack of assimilation, mainly
because Germans expected Turks to leave, has created discouraging statistics:
45% of Turks in Berlin are unemployed and 30% drop out of high school.
Ozcan Mutlu, an ethnic Turk and Greens deputy in Berlin’s city parliament, said
the EU would send an alarming message to immigrants if Turkey’s membership bid
were rejected.
“They keep talking about how Turkey is a foreign policy question, but it’s a
question of interior European politics,” Mutlu said. “There are 3.5 million
Turks in Europe. What kind of message do you send these people if you tell
them, ‘No, you and Turkey are not part of us.’ My dream is that instead of
Turks sitting on their luggage in Europe, they will be able to open their
luggage, put their clothes in drawers and feel welcome.”
Such a notion is unsettling for a continent that in some ways is growing more
nationalistic. Populist and right-wing parties in the Netherlands, Germany,
France and Austria don’t want any more Muslim suitcases unpacked. This trend
may merge with what some analysts see as a rekindling of European Christianity,
which has been in decline for generations.
“There is widespread fear of immigration coming from Turkey,” said Klose, the
German federal lawmaker. “This is a touch dynamic and could be misused in the
public. Since Sept. 11 and the murder in the Netherlands, the atmosphere around
the Turkish debate has changed.”
Chirac said the matter was full of opportunity and risk. “If Turkey subscribes
to all our values, it is an extraordinary chance for Europe to strengthen and
have a more important position in the world, regarding economy, moral values
and peacekeeping,” he said. “If we reject … we could create a situation that
could be of confrontations.”
*
——————————————————————————–
Times staff writers Sebastian Rotella and Achrene Sicakyuz in Paris, Janet
Stobart in London and Tracy Wilkinson in Ankara contributed to this report.
*
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
The 25-member European Union is meeting to determine whether Turkey should be
given the go-ahead to begin accession talks. Here’s the makeup of the EU today:
Number of nations: 25
Population: 455.8 million
Largest nation: Germany: 82.2 million
Smallest nation: Malta: 397,000
Area: 1.5 million square miles
EU GDP: $11 trillion
U.S. GDP: $11 trillion
Anticipated next members: Bulgaria, Romania in 2007
European Union members:
Austria
Belgium
Britain
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germa ny
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithu ania
Luxembourg
Malta
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia

Spain
Sweden
–Boundary_(ID_5b3bmsEd9IxKI8KeqQh GVA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish PM heads to EU summit on confident mood
By Gareth Jones and Aine Gallagher
ANKARA/STRASBOURG, France, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan voiced confidence on Wednesday that Turkey would win a date
for opening long-delayed European Union entry talks at a landmark
summit of the bloc’s 25 leaders this week.
Diplomats in Brussels confirmed the leaders would agree on Friday to
open talks with the populous Muslim country in October or November
2005 with the clear aim of membership.
“Politics does not allow for emotions and we are not emotional. We
want to carry out this process in a mature way,” Erdogan told a news
conference at Ankara airport before flying to Brussels for the summit,
which starts on Thursday evening.
French President Jacques Chirac gave Turkey further cause for optimism
by backing its membership bid in a television interview intended to
break down opposition in France and ease fears that Turkey’s entry
would change the face of the EU.
“The question we have to ask is — is it in the interests of Europe,
and notably France, to have Turkey join us? My answer is yes —
if. Yes, if Turkey fulfils all the conditions necessary for every
candidate to join our union,” he told TF1 television.
Some French leaders in recent weeks floated the idea of Ankara being
offered a deal that falls short of membership, but Chirac distanced
himself from this possibility. He said Ankara would never accept a
“privileged partnership” with the EU.
Turkish-EU summits have sometimes been stormy affairs. Ankara froze
ties in 1997 after the bloc failed to make Turkey a candidate for
membership. It finally became a candidate in 1999.
After a 41-year wait to start talks, Turkey could not join the
bloc until 2015 at the earliest. The negotiations will require a
transformation of its economy and society far beyond the political
and human rights reforms already enacted.
CONCILIATORY NOTE
Striking a conciliatory note, Erdogan said he wanted to focus on
how Turkey could contribute to the EU and help turn it into a global
power, but he reiterated his readiness to walk away from the table
if the bloc imposed too many conditions.
“We don’t expect any conditions that we cannot accept. But if they
try to impose them…we would put relations on ice and continue on
our own path,” Erdogan said.
The message from EU institutions on Wednesday was upbeat.
“It is now time for the European Council to honour its commitment to
Turkey and announce the opening of accession negotiations. A clear
date should be indicated,” EU Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso told the European Parliament.
“We accept that the accession process is open-ended and its outcome
cannot be guaranteed beforehand,” Barroso added, reflecting continued
European wariness about embracing Turkey.
The European Parliament, meeting in the French city of Strasbourg,
also urged EU leaders to open talks “without undue delay” in a
non-binding but influential resolution approved after heated debate
between Turkey’s supporters and opponents.
The directly elected assembly adopted the resolution by 407 votes
to 262 and also rejected decisively amendments offering a “special
partnership” or refusing full membership.
Lawmakers urged Ankara to continue human rights reforms, negotiate
with Kurdish separatists who renounced violence and recognise mass
killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as “genocide,” something
Turkey adamantly rejects.
Diplomats said the summit statement would add that whatever the
outcome, the EU would keep the strongest possible bond with Turkey,
implying there could be another outcome if it failed to meet EU
standards or chose to go another way.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, one of the strongest sceptics
on Turkish accession, signalled on Wednesday that such wording would
enable him to agree to opening negotiations.
Turkish financial markets, buoyed by Tuesday’s deal with the
International Monetary Fund, have soared in anticipation of a
“yes.” The lira currency rose to around 1,409,000 to the dollar,
though the main Istanbul share index shed 0.55 percent to end at
23,289.69 points on profit-taking, still near historic highs.
12/15/04 19:55 ET

EU’s Barroso asks Turkey to go extra mile on Cyprus
BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (Reuters) – European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso urged Turkey on Thursday to “go the extra mile” to
convince sceptical Europeans it is ready to open EU membership talks,
including by recognising Cyprus.
He said he expected EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and
Friday to give the green light for starting such talks but stressed
that Ankara had work to do.
“The challenge for Turkey is to win the hearts and minds of those
European citizens who are open to, but not yet fully convinced of,
Turkey’s European destiny,” Barroso told a news conference hours
before the start of a decisive EU summit.
“I believe Turkey must sooner rather than later break new ground. It
must go the extra mile,” he said.
“Cyprus will be sitting at the negotiating table when EU membership
talks begin for Turkey. So the question for Turkey is: what kind
of message does it send when you do not recognise all the members
sitting at the table of the club you want to join?”
Ankara has so far refused to recognise Cyprus directly or indirectly,
arguing it is an issue for the United Nations.
Asked whether the EU would press for Turkey to recognise a genocide
of Armenians early in the last century, Barroso said there were no
plans to add new hurdles to Ankara’s bid to open EU entry talks.
“We can’t introduce new political conditions. it wouldn’t be fair to
do that… That was not one of them, so neither today nor tomorrow
are we going to come up with new political provisos,” he said.
But he stressed that the topic was not taboo but rather one that
would be dealt with in the future: “The issue raised and possibly
many others must be the subject of open and frank dialogue.”
Barroso said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi planned to raise
his concerns about some of the Commission’s suggestions for how to
change the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact on budget discipline but
that no decisions were expected.
12/16/04 07:29 ET
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress