EU parliament says Turkey must recognise "genocide"

[Hovik]

Turkish Premier Refused To Join Eu Resolution Considering Armenian Killings As Genoci

TURKISH PREMIER REFUSED TO JOIN EU RESOLUTION CONSIDERING ARMENIAN KILLINGS AS GENOCIDE

Pravda, Russia
Sept 28 2005

20:29 2005-09-28
Turkey's prime minister on Wednesday rejected a European Parliament
resolution calling on Ankara to recognize the mass killings of
Armenians around the time of World War I as genocide.

The EU lawmakers said in their resolution that recognition of the
1915-1923 killings as genocide should be a prerequisite for Turkey
to join the European Union.

Armenians say that 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks
around the time of World War I, which Armenians and several nations
around the world recognize as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey denies that the massacres were genocide, saying the death toll
is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed, the AP reports.

Speaking to Turkish reporters in Abu Dhabi, Erdogan also reiterated
his view that the EU has to admit Turkey or risk being branded a
"Christian Club."

"What will the EU achieve by admitting Turkey? It will become a bridge
between the 1.5-billion strong Muslim world and the EU. It will start
an alliance of civilizations," he added.

[Hovik]

European Parliament Approves Talks With Turkey

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES TALKS WITH TURKEY

Expatica, Netherlands
Sept 28 2005

STRASBOURG - Despite concerns about Cyprus and human rights, the
European Parliament on Wednesday formally approved opening negotiations
with Turkey for membership in the European Union.

In a resolution adopted by 365 votes in favour, 181 against and
125 abstentions, the Parliament officially declared that accession
negotiations between the E.U. and Ankara can start on October 3,
as foreseen.

However, European deputies also approved, by a narrow margin,
a proposal by centre-right wing factions to postpone the vote on
approving the protocol extending Turkey's customs union with the E.U.

and all its members, including Cyprus.

Although Turkey approved the customs

union with all 25 members, it added an appendix which said that this
did not signify recognition of the Greek-led government of Cyprus.

The appendix, the Parliament declared in the resolution, "cast serious
doubts on (Turkey's) willingness to fully implement all provisions"
of the customs union protocol.

The European Commission is therefore to assess at the end of 2006 if
Ankara has fully implemented the protocol. If not, it could lead to
a cessation of the negotiations.

Turkey occupied the northern part of Cyprus in 1974 in protest at
a Greek-Cypriot coup on the island and is the only country not to
recognize the Republic of Cyprus. Ankara recognizes the Turkish-
Cypriot north of Cyprus as the island's only legitimate government.

The European Parliament also voiced its concern about criminal
proceedings against Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, who has been charged
with public denigration of Turkish identity for telling a newspaper,
"Thirty thousand Kurds were killed here, one million Armenians as
well. And almost no one talks about it."

It also raised questions about an article in the Turkish penal code
that criminalizes "acts against fundamental national interests".

In the debate before the vote, British Minister for Europe Douglas
Alexander, speaking on behalf of the E.U. presidency, said Turkey
still has a lot to do to reach European standards.

However, he noted that thanks to its desire to join the E.U., Ankara
had already achieved impressive progress.

E.U. Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said that the bloc needs
a stable, democratic and increasingly prosperous Turkey that accepts
European values, which is why it was decided to start accession talks.

"The E.U. expects the full implementation of the additional protocol,
including (the removal of) all obstacles to the free movement of
goods," Rehn said.

Several deputies called on Ankara not to wait until the end of
accession negotiations - which could last up to 15 years - before
recognizing Cyprus.

Social-democrat faction leader Martin Schulz of Germany's SPD party
said, "It can not be that a country applies for membership but does
not recognize all member states.

Speaking in favour of Turkey's accession to the E.U., British
parliamentarian Andrew Duff said, "It is extraordinary that those who
have profited so much from E.U. integration in terms of prosperity,
security and liberal democracy should refuse to extend these prizes
to Turkey."

Duff also argued that the Cyprus issue could not be resolved if Turkey
is not allowed to join the Union.

However, another British deputy, Roger Helmer, supported the proposal
of conservative German politician and possible future Chancellor
Angela Merkel, who has called for a privileged partnership for Turkey,
rather than full E.U. membership.

The key condition, he said, should be "democratic accountability".

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Oskanian Appreciates Ep's Decision On Calling On Turkey To Recognize Armenian Genocid

OSKANIAN APPRECIATES EP'S DECISION ON CALLING ON TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 29 2005

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. "We appreciate
the decision of the European Parliament, it's quite a natural one:
if Turkey wants to become a member of the European Union it should be
like other EU countries that's to accept and watch its past openly,"
Vartan Oskanian, the RA Foreign Minister stated at the September 29
press-conference commenting upon the September 28 resolution of the
European Parliament.

To recap, in the process of the enlarged session, the European
Parliament postponed studying of the issue on starting negotiations
on Turkey's membership to the EU, instead of this, adopting a
resolution on calling on Ankara to recognize the Armenian Genocide
in Ottaman Turkey. The given proposeal was supported by the majority
of parliamentaries.

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Lebanon: 'Turkey must admit Armenian genocide before EU entry'

Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 1 2005

'Turkey must admit Armenian genocide before EU entry'

By Therese Sfeir
Daily Star staff
Saturday, October 01, 2005


BEIRUT: The central committee for commemorating the passing of 90
years since the Armenian Genocide submitted a petition to Lebanon's
EU Ambassador Patrick Renauld Friday requesting the EU demand Turkey
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide before being granted membership to
the union.

The petition said: "While the 21st century is considered the century
of international justice and human rights, the EU has decided to
resume discussions regarding Turkey's candidacy to the organization."

It added: "Turkey is still promoting racism against its minorities,
including Kurds, Greeks, Armenians and others."

The petition further said: "The EU had urged the Turkish government
to acknowledge the genocide in April 2001 and September 2005 and
admitted the government's rejection to do so would hamper the
approval of its candidacy."

President of the Press Federation Mohammad Baalbaki, speaking during
a news conference held at the Federation's headquarters in Beirut
Friday, said Armenians have the right to demand the international
community suspend Turkey's candidacy to the EU until it acknowledges
the Armenian Genocide.


The conference was attended by MP Hagop Pakradounian, former
Ministers Alain Tabourian, Sebouh Hovnanian and Jacques Joe
Khadarian, secretary general of the Tachnag Party Hovik Mokhtarian as
well as representatives of other Armenian political parties.

Baalbaki described the Armenians as "loyal and honest people," and
praised them for never siding with one party during the 15 year
Lebanese Civil War.

He added Armenians have the right to ask the international community
to suspend the candidacy of Turkey to the EU until it recognizes the
genocide.

He further said: "The Lebanese press, which represents the Lebanese
people's position, expresses its support for the committee and hopes
that the modern Turkey will free itself from the burden of this
genocide."

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Armenian Politicians Are Of Same Opinion On Turkey's Not Being

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 30 2005

ARMENIAN POLITICIANS ARE OF SAME OPINION ON TURKEY'S NOT BEING
DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY


YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. The September
30 discussion with the participation of representative of different
political forces and organized by the National Press-Club was
dedicated to discussion of issues on Turkey's membership to the
European Union, the current stage of mutual relations between Turkey
and Europe as well as possible perspectives of the Armenian-Turkish
relations. Representatives of the Republican, Democratic,
Christian-Democratic Parties of Armenia as well as of the ARF and
"Orinats Yerkir" (Country of Law) participated in the discussion.

The politicians were of the same opinion that Turkey isn't a
democratic country yet.

According to Kiro Manoyan, the head of the Hai Dat (Armenian Cause)
ARF Bureau, the issue of Turkey's membership to the EU should reach a
positive solution only after its recognition of the Armenian
Genocide: "Turkey should change itself, and here we see both its
recognition of its past and establishment of normal relations with
Armenia." Manoyan pointed out the necessity of using all possible
levers of influence on Turkey with the goal of reaching those aims.

According to Aram Sargsian, the representative of the Democratic
Party of Armenia, surely, the issue of recognition of the Armenian
Genocide is the most important one and should always be on agenda, at
the same time, the Armenian-Turkish relations should be studied in a
wider context. So, it's necessary to take into account that the
Armenian-Turkish relations are a component part of the national
security of Armenia: "Doesn't the fact that Turkey doesn't recognize
the Genocide and keep the border close prove that it is dangerous for
us just as it was before?" According to A.Sargsian, unsuccessfully,
the RA hasn't worked out a conception of relations with Turkey by
now."

"Germany's recognition of the Holocaust was first necessary for the
German society but the Turkish public opinion isn't ready for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide yet," Khosrov Haroutiunian, the
Chairman of the Christian-Democratic party of Armenia stated.
According to him, in the case of relations established between the EU
and Turkey today, Armenia should attempt to use the European
political idea for its interests.

[Hovik]

European Parliament's Resolution On Turkey Positive, Natural: Vartan
Oskanyan

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S RESOLUTION ON TURKEY POSITIVE, NATURAL: VARTAN
OSKANYAN

YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan
considers the resolution on Turkey concerning the admission of the
Armenian Genocide adopted by the European Parliament to be positive
and natural. At his press conference on the upcoming visit of the
Special Representative of the European Parliament to the South
Caucasus, Minister Oskanyan said that if Turkey wants to be admitted
to the EU, it must meet the standards of European countries.
Therefore, it has to re-open the border with Armenia, take a sober
view of its past and make an appropriate assessment of the 1915
events.
EU Special Representative to the South Caucasus Heikki Talvitie
shared Minister Oskanyan's opinion, pointing out that the European
Parliament's resolution means that the issues of Armenian-Turkish
relations will be settled during negotiations for Turkey's admission
to the EU. On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted for
negotiations with Turkey. On the other hand, it adopted a resolution
recommending Turkey to admit mass murders of Armenians. In his turn,
Turkish Premier Recep Tayip stated that Turkey will not admit the
Armenian Genocide during WWI. P.T. -0--

[Hovik]

Voice of America
Sept 30 2005

Standoff Threatens Start of Turkey's Membership Negotiations with EU
By Roger Wilkison
Brussels


European Union foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in
Luxembourg Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to break a deadlock over
the scheduled beginning of the bloc's membership negotiations with
Turkey a day later. The standoff has been caused by Austria's
insistence that the EU should only open talks if a clear alternative
to full membership for Turkey is inserted in the negotiating
framework.

Last December, all 25 EU members, including Austria, agreed that
Turkey's long-sought membership talks should begin on October 3.
They promised Turkey that the goal of the negotiations, which are
expected to take at least a decade, would be full membership in the
bloc and nothing else.

But that was before voters in France and the Netherlands turned down
the EU's draft constitution. Among the reasons they gave for doing
so was a concern about the EU's ability to absorb such a huge, mostly
poor and overwhelmingly Muslim country like Turkey.

Whereas most EU states think they should stick to their commitment to
begin talks with Turkey, given Ankara's fulfillment of EU demands
that it improve human rights, reform its judicial system and move
towards a market economy, most European citizens are either opposed
or indifferent to Turkish membership.

Austria is the only EU country to publicly oppose the start of talks
with Turkey. Vienna says the negotiations should only begin if
Turkey is offered an option to full membership that Austrian
diplomats describe as a "privileged partnership" with the bloc.

Turkey says it will not accept any goal for the negotiations other
than full membership and has warned the EU it will not show up for
Monday's talks unless that is made clear.

Fadi Hakura, a specialist on Turkey at London's Chatham House
research institute, says the Austrian government is trying to score
points with its Turco-skeptic voters and may also be trying to force
the EU to start negotiations with Croatia, whose membership it has
long supported.

"Austrian public opinion at the present time is hostile to Turkey's
EU accession hopes," said Fadi Hakura. "Also, Austria is trying to
use, it seems to me that it is trying to use [Turkish] accession as a
leverage to open accession talks with Croatia. And also, for
domestic political consumption, it has adopted somewhat of a tough
position."

British diplomats, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency,
are scrambling to work out a deal with the Austrians to soften their
opposition to Turkey. One possibility is a commitment for the EU to
begin membership talks with Croatia in the near future, under certain
conditions. The EU has suspended such talks with Croatia because of
what it says is Croatia's failure to cooperate with the war crimes
tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Diplomats in Brussels say there are two other options to resolve the
impasse and arrive at the consensus the EU needs to proceed with
opening the talks with Turkey. One is to craft a declaration that
could mollify Austria's demands without alienating the Turks, a
difficult challenge at this point. And the second is for the other
24 EU members to stare Austria down and remind it that it is going
back on the commitment it made last December to begin negotiations
with Turkey.

Even if membership talks do begin on schedule, Turkey will have a
rough time in the years ahead. The European Parliament demanded this
week that Turkey recognize the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire during World War I as genocide. Cyprus threatens to block the
negotiations if Turkey does not soon recognize the island's
government. And France says it will hold a referendum on Turkish
entry into the EU once negotiations are concluded.

In Turkey, meanwhile, there is anger and frustration at what Turks
see as the EU's backpedaling on its pledge to admit their country.

Deniz Baykal, the head of the Republican Peoples' Party, the only
major opposition group in parliament, reflects Turkish public opinion
when he says the EU keeps moving the goal posts.

"We have taken important reforms during the last several years," Mr.
Baykal said. "We changed our constitution. We changed our
legislation. We changed our practices...Now, the European Union is
saying that Turkey's being a member of Europe does not depend on
Turkey's performance, but [on] our capability of having Turkey as a
big country in Europe. They were asking Turkey to meet certain
criteria. Now they begin to say that they themselves are not ready
to accept Turkey."

Turkish diplomats in Brussels say the combination of opposition among
Europeans to Turkey's membership and EU demands on such issues as
Kurdish rights, Cyprus and the killing of Armenians have inflamed
deep-seated Turkish nationalism. They say that most Turks still
support EU membership, but that the percentage is steadily
decreasing. And they say that, as Turkey and the EU get down to the
nitty-gritty of negotiations, that support could fall even further.

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ArmInfo News Agency
Sept 29 2005

UNION OF GEORGIAN ARMENIANS: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS MISDEED AGAINST THE
WHOLE MANKIND


YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29. ARMINFO. "Armenian Genocide is the misdeed not
only against Armenian people, but also against the whole mankind",
says the appeal of the co-chairmen of "New Generation" Union of
Georgian Armenians to the EC delegation head in Georgia Torben
Holtze.

"We welcome the EU position as we hope that it will help Turkey to
humble its past and overcome the complex that is passed across the
generations and causes problems with neighbors. On behalf of all the
Armenian community of Georgia let me to express the deepest
confession for this constructive decision, as well as for the exerted
efforts in recognizing Armenian Genocide", the appeal says.

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ArmInfo News Agency
Sept 29 2005

ACTION WITH DEMAND TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD IN
TBILISI

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29. ARMINFO. An action supporting the adoption of
Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 as an obligatory
condition for Turkey's accession to the EU will take place at the
European Commission building in Tbilisi, Sept 29, at 17:30 PM.

As ARMINFO was informed in the press-service "New Generation" Union
of Georgian Armenians, the action organizer, they plan to light out
candles in memory of Genocide victims. About 100 people will
participate at the action. They will carry posters with thanks in all
the state languages of the EU member-countries, including in Georgian
and Armenian.

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ArmInfo News Agency
Sept 29 2005

ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED DURING NEGOTIATIONS
BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE EU


ARMINFO, SEPTEMBER 29. ARMINFO. "According to the text of European
Parliament resolution, the Armenian-Turkish relations will be
considered in the framework of negotiations between the EU and
Turkey," reported Mr. Heikki Talvitie, the Special EU Representative
at South Caucasus.

In his turn the Minister for Foreign Affairs of RA, Vardan Oskanian,
appreciated the European Parliament initiative of including the
"Armenian questions" in the agenda of EU-Turkey talks. "If Turkey
wants to join the EU, it has to open the borders and to reconsider
the historical events of 1915," he said.-A-