European Commission President: Turkey Should Acknowledge Armenian Genocide and Open A

[Reincarnated Am]

European Commission President: Turkey Should Acknowledge Armenian Genocide and Open Armenian Border

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We should bear in mind that Turkey is an important state and has big potential from the viewpoint of the social and economic future of Europe,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated when delivering a speech at Harvard University. “However the problem of Kurds and national minorities still remains a very delicate matter for Turkey. National minorities in that state constantly face infringement of human rights,” he noted. When touching upon the Armenia-Turkey relations Jose Manuel Barroso said that Ankara is developing relations with Greece and should set the same line towards Armenia. “Turks should acknowledge the reality of the Armenian Genocide. Orhan Pamuk’s case is an inadmissible step from the standpoint of freedom of speech. Turkey should refrain from simplified attitude towards the Armenian issue. Europeans dislike the words “there was no Genocide”. Ankara’s best move would be the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide and opening the borders with Armenia,” European Commission President stated.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=15193

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Yerevan Suffers Because Of Baku Again

YEREVAN SUFFERS BECAUSE OF BAKU AGAIN

Pan Armenian
22.10.2005 GMT+04:00

The dates of starting negotiations on the involvement of Armenia in
the program of new neighborhood have not been fixed yet.

The official visit of Armenian president to Brussels has
finished. During the visit Robert Kocharyan has had meetings with
the Prime Minister, the chairman of parliament of Belgium and with
the leadership of European and Transatlantic structures located in
Brussels. Kocharyan met the President of European Commission Jose
Manuel Barozzo, EU Foreign Policy and Security Commissioner Javier
Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Noteworthy was Robert Kocharyan's meeting with the chairperson of
European Parliament Joseph Borel who came up with very important
statements at the end of the meeting. The head of the European
Parliament said that the negotiations on Turkey's EU membership will
touch the issue of blocked Armenian borders with Turkey.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Should we consider that statement a success? Most
likely no, because Josep Borel said that the raise of blockade will
be an obligatory condition for Turkey's EU membership. The speaker of
European Parliament could afford a tougher formulation but preferred
not to do so and did not say anything clear about the recognition
of Armenian genocide. He only said that the issue will be touched
upon in the course of negotiations with Ankara. At the same time,
Josep Borel mentioned that the European Parliament has "repeatedly
declared about the necessity of Ankara's recognition of Armenian
genocide". The European Parliament has not only declared but also
demanded the inclusion of the issue of genocide recognition among
preliminary conditions for Turkey's EU membership.

However, for some reasons Mr. Borel avoids saying anything distinct
about that. The speaker would not lie if he risked to say that
according to the decision of European Parliament Turkey will be
accepted to EU only after the recognition of Armenian genocide in
Ottoman Empire.

The European Parliament speaker also touched upon the dates of
starting negotiations with Armenia on the plan of actions of new
neighborhood policy.

According to Josep Borel, the negotiations have to be started
immediately, but again he does not express his thoughts distinctly,
as if avoiding responsibility in case his opinion does not correspond
with real events in future. A person who is at the head of the
legislative power of united Europe is expected to be braver in making
statements. Borel did not even assure that the negotiations with
Armenia will start at least in December.

He only said that "it will be strange if the problems between Cyprus
and Azerbaijan hinder negotiations with Armenia".

Here, it should be mentioned that as a result of the provocative
policy of Baku leaders, who entered into direct negotiations with
the administration of self-proclaimed "Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus", Nicosia demanded not to start negotiations with Azerbaijan on
their joining the "Expanded Europe - New Neighbors" program. Actually,
Azerbaijan received an ultimatum and in case of its fulfillment Cyprus
promised to withdraw their veto.

However Azerbaijan did not give any guarantees of non support to
separatism of the Turks living in the North of Cyprus. Because of
the problems in the relations between EU and Azerbaijan the start of
negotiations with Armenia was postponed and the reasons of that are
still unknown. However it seems that it is because of the notorious
parity principle which is applied to Yerevan and Baku in issues
connected with European integration. Up to now, all the European
structures accepted Armenia and Azerbaijan simultaneously and it is not
a secret that almost always Armenia suffers because of Azerbaijan and
their difficulties to fulfill conditions set for the candidate states.

One of the main objectives of Robert Kocharyan's visit to Brussels
was the decision of issues connected with the start of negotiations
on the plan of actions within the frames of new neighborhood European
policy. However, the Armenian president did not receive any clear
answer about how long will Yerevan suffer because of Azerbaijan's
inability to fulfill necessary conditions for taking part in the
"Expanded Europe - new neighbors" program.

There are still no guarantees that the plan of actions will be ready
by the end of his year.

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department

[Gavur]

Kocharian's Brussels Visit Was A Huge Success For Armenia

Turkish Sources Confirm This Fact Too

During his Brussels visit, Armenian president Robert Kocharian held meetings with Josep Borrell, president of the European Parliament, Javier Solana, high representative for the CFSP, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO secretary general, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, as well as Belgian prime minister and Senate chairwoman. Accompanied by Senate chairwoman Anne-Marie Lizin, Robert Kocharian laid a wreath to the memorial of Armenian genocide victims in Brussels.

The Turkish mass media headed by Zaman daily and NTV touched upon Kocharian's visit proving once again that the visit was indeed a success.

Still on October 21, NTV responded to Kocharian-Borrell meeting noting that the Armenian President urged the EU to exert pressure on Turkey in the issues of Armenian Genocide acknowledgement and opening Armenian-Turkish border. The NTV said meanwhile: "At the end of his meeting with Kocharian European Parliament's president Josep Borrell emphasized that Turkey should recognize genocide claims."

In an article titled "Kocharian Leaves Brussels Satisfied; Solana Opposes Kars-Ahilkalak Line" Zaman daily wrote on October 24: "European Parliament President Borrell, in his meeting with Kocharian, justified that Turkey's acceptance of the Armenian "genocide" and the removal of the "blockage" towards Armenia are conditions for its membership to the Union and that he supports the European Parliament’s attitude regarding the issue."

The Turkish paper writes that Kocharian was "satisfied with "support" he received from the European Union regarding making the acceptance of "Armenian genocide" a condition for Turkey's membership and about the issue of opening the Armenian border" and singles out Kocharian-Solana meeting.

Zaman refers to European Armenian Federation in its statement concerning Kocharian-Solana meeting and says that "Solana and Kocharian handled the Kars-Ahilkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway project opposed by the Armenia and that Solana supported the Armenian thesis against this project."

EU representatives told Zaman: "Solana approached the issue in a very pragmatic way. Such a railway will not be necessary if the problems between the two countries are solved and that not using the current line would be a waste, but all these are totally pragmatic considerations. Solana is fully aware of Turkey's sensitivities about the issue and he understands these concerns."

Zaman also touched on the visit of RA President and Belgian parliament chairwoman to the monument of Genocide victims and adds: "The senate, which could not pass the law that imposes punishment on those denying the Armenian "genocide," is preparing a new draft resolution concerning the "genocide". The proposal presented to the Senate is expected to come to the agenda in the Senate Foreign Affairs Commission in the upcoming weeks."

By Hakob Chakrian

http://www.azg.am/?lang=EN&num=2005102701

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European Commission Takes Unprecedented Step Of Calling On Turkey To

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice & Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +322 732 70 26
Tel/Fax:+322 732 70 27
Email: [email protected]


PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
October 26th, 2005
Contact :Talline Tachdjian
Tel :+322 732 70 26

EUROPEAN COMMISSION TAKES UNPRECEDENTED STEP OF CALLING ON TURKEY TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

-- Request Represents the First Time the Commission has Directly Pressed
Ankara to end its Campaign of Armenian Genocide Denial --

Brussels, Belgium (26 October 2005) - In an unprecedented move welcomed
by the European Armenian Federation, the President of the European
Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has directly called upon Turkey to
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.

During a recent speech at Harvard University (United States),
Mr. Barroso stressed that, "We should bear in mind that Turkey is
an important state and has great potential from the viewpoint of the
social and economic future of Europe. However the problem of Kurds and
national minorities still remains a very delicate matter for Turkey.
National minorities in Turkey constantly face infringement of their
human rights."

In his remarks about European relations with Turkey, Mr Barroso stated
that Ankara is developing relations with Greece and should adopt a
similarly constructive approach toward Armenia. He explained that,
"Turks should acknowledge the reality of the Armenian Genocide.
Orhan Pamuk's case is an inadmissible step from the standpoint of
freedom of speech. Turkey should refrain from simplified attitude
towards the Armenian issue. Europeans dislike the words 'there was
no Genocide.' Ankara's best move would be the acknowledgment of the
Armenian Genocide and opening the borders with Armenia."

"We welcome the unprecedented statement by Mr. Barroso as both
a reflection of true European values and a return to a principled
approach on the part of the European Commission and the European Union.
With this declaration by the Commission's president, the three main
bodies of the E.U. - the Parliament, Commission and Council - have
all taken a common stand - a firm position that can no longer be
ignored by Turkey," said Hilda Tchoboian, chairwoman of the European
Armenian Federation.

"We expect that this renewed determination on the part of European
institutions will impress upon Turkey that regional peace and stability
requires that Turkey come to terms with its responsibilities for
the Armenian Genocide," she continued. "As a next step, we will work
toward the Commission incorporating these demands into the relevant
chapters of the Acquis and into screening procedure for Turkey's EU
application," concluded Tchoboian.

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European Commission Refuted Information on Statements by José Manuel Barroso on Armen

European Commission Refuted Information on Statements by José Manuel Barroso on Armenian Genocide
28.10.2005 08:51 GMT-08:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso did not state that Turkey should acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, Deputy Spokesperson for the European Commission Leonor Ribeiro da Silva said in a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In her words, the information on the statements by the European Commission President does not correspond to reality.

To note, earlier PanARMENIAN.Net published some information picked up from Hurriyet Turkish newspaper. Hurriyet wrote that when delivering a speech at Harvard University José Manuel Barroso stated, “We should bear in mind that Turkey is an important state and has big potential from the viewpoint of the social and economic future of Europe. However the problem of Kurds and national minorities still remains a very delicate matter for Turkey. National minorities in that state constantly face infringement of human rights.” According to the Turkish newspaper, when touching upon the Armenia-Turkey relations Jose Manuel Barroso said that Ankara is developing relations with Greece and should set the same line towards Armenia. “Turks should acknowledge the reality of the Armenian Genocide. Orhan Pamuk’s case is an inadmissible step from the standpoint of freedom of speech. Turkey should refrain from simplified attitude towards the Armenian issue. Europeans dislike the words “there was no Genocide”. Ankara’s best move would be the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide and opening the borders with Armenia,” the European Commission President allegedly stated.