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12/16/2004
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1) Chirac Gives a ‘Yes, But’ for Turkey’s EU Membership
2) Youth in Athens Convey Opposition to Turkey EU Membership
3) Oskanian Commends European Parliament’s Resolution as Joint Victory
4) Karabagh Leader Calls for Stronger Ties with Population
5) BRIEFS
1) Chirac Gives a ‘Yes, But’ for Turkey’s EU Membership
PARIS (AP/AFP)–President Jacques Chirac, beset by opposition to Turkey’s
drive
to join the European Union, told a divided France that the mostly Muslim
country belongs in the EU–but that Paris will block negotiations if Ankara
fails to meet membership conditions.
“Does Europe, and particularly France, have an interest in Turkey joining it?
My answer is, ‘Yes, but,'” was how Chirac summed up his position on national
television late Wednesday, explaining that adhesion could only occur after up
to 20 years of negotiations and each current EU state, including France, could
slam the door at any time.
The French would have the “last word” in a referendum, he said, giving the
three principle criteria as a commitment to peace and stability, democracy,
and
economic and social development.
France also wants the issue of the massacre of Armenians in 1915-23 to be on
the table during membership negotiations, although Foreign Minister Michel
Barnier has said France will not demand official recognition of the
killings as
a condition for entry.
Turkey vehemently denies its genocide of 1.5 million Armenians, under its
Ottoman Empire.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament called on EU leaders to open membership
talks with Turkey “without undue delay.” However, it urged Ankara to carry out
more democratic reforms, move toward recognizing Cyprus and acknowledge the
Armenian killings.
The summit, gathering the leaders of the 25 member states of the European
Union, was expected to give the green light to the start of negotiations with
Ankara.
But Chirac’s ruling conservative UMP party has pronounced itself against EU
membership for Turkey, a large, relatively poor Muslim country, and surveys in
France show most of the public was also against.
Chirac’s support for Turkey’s eventual membership has been met with grave
misgivings among ordinary citizens worried about an influx of cheap labor to
France, already stung by 10 percent unemployment. Many also question Turkey’s
human rights record.
A poll published earlier this week by the newspaper Le Figaro suggests two in
three French oppose bringing Turkey into the 25-nation bloc. The Socialist
Party is divided over the issue, and Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the
far-right
National Front, insists Turkey is a country that “cannot be European.”
“Only a rejection of the European constitution can save the French from this
trap,” Le Pen said Wednesday. “This willingness to integrate an Asian and
Muslim country, against the will of the European people, illustrates the
noxiousness of Brussels’ Europe.”
By throwing his support behind Turkey, Chirac also has broken ranks with his
own party, the conservative Union for a Popular Movement, which favors a
“privileged partnership” between the EU and Ankara that would fall far
short of
membership.
Although Chirac favors full membership for Turkey, while conceding it could
take up to 20 years, a skeptical Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin argues
that the influence of Islam in Turkey would clash with Judeo-Christian
European
values.
Confronting that argument head-on, Chirac contends that bringing the
nation of
70 million people into the EU is the best way to tamp down Islamic extremism
and eliminate what some Europeans see as a threat
Chirac had previously evoked a negotiating period of just 10 years.
Suggesting
talks could drag out twice as long with no certain result was latched upon by
the French media Thursday.
“Even though he was forced to steer a straight course, Chirac seemed hesitant
sometimes to pull on the oars,” the left-leaning newspaper Liberation said of
the interview.
It noted that Chirac’s real reason for reiterating his position at such a
crucial time was to save another referendum he has proposed for next year, and
which he holds more dearly: a plebiscite on adopting the European Union’s
first
constitution.
The French president fears that though two-thirds of voters are in favor of
the constitution, they may reject the constitution as a way of registering
their opposition to Turkey’s EU membership.
In his interview, Chirac said that referendum “must not be distracted from
its
very important goal by considerations which have nothing to do with it.”
Le Figaro, a conservative daily that was the only national newspaper to put
Chirac’s interview on its front page, said that the event was forced upon the
president because he was “completely out of step with his country’s public
opinion and isolated within his own camp.”
2) Youth in Athens Convey Opposition to Turkey EU Membership
ATHENS (Aztag Daily)–Armenian youth picketed European Union offices in Athens
on Wednesday to protest Turkey’s aspirations to join the European Body.
“Turkey’s criminal past casts a shadow on it European dreams,” read one of
their placards, while another declared, “Recognition of the Armenian genocide
is the only way to Turkey’s EU membership.”
Organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Youth
Organization, the protest drew more than three hundred, including the youngest
of ARF youth, the “badanees.”
In conveying their message to the EU, the youth presented the head of
Athens EU office a statement of protest.
3) Oskanian Commends European Parliament’s Resolution as Joint Victory
YEREVAN (Arminfo)–Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian hailed the European
Parliament’s adoption of three strongly worded measures by the European
Parliament calling on Turkey to properly recognize the Armenian genocide, lift
its blockade of Armenia, and abandon it hostile policies toward Armenia and
the
Armenian people.
In an interview with Public Television of Armenia, Oskanian stressed the
political significance of the measures. Calling the resolution the joint
victory of Armenia’s diplomacy and the diaspora, particularly European
Armenian
organizations, Oskanian was cautiously optimistic. “If during the first stage,
Turkey does not conform to the political criteria, including improvement of
relations with Armenia, negotiations will not necessarily be broken off,” he
noted.
The provisions were added on the eve of the December 17 vote of the European
Council on opening membership talks with Turkey as amendments to a
Parliamentary report on Turkey’s progress toward accession to the European
Union.
4) Karabagh Leader Calls for Stronger Ties with Population
STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL)–The president of Mountainous Karabagh Republic Arkady
Ghukasian said on Thursday that his government has lost touch with its people.
Meeting with a large group of government officials and public figures in
Stepanakert, Ghukasian promised a cabinet reshuffle and other “resolute steps”
to boost his administration’s standing.
“Government officials are often indifferent to citizens’ problems. There is
mistrust towards the authorities,” he said.
“Judges often hand down wrong verdicts for profit-making considerations,” he
said without elaborating.
His criticism came amid the improving economic situation in the
Armenian-populated territory. Ghukasian declared that the local economy is on
course to expand by 30 percent this year on the back of growing foreign
investment. He also said that the government will have more money at its
disposal next year.
At the same time, he noted that many Karabagh Armenians live in poverty and
are unaffected by the positive change. He urged local business people to do
more to help the poor.
5) BRIEFS
EU Talks ‘To Settle’ Cyprus Issue
ANKARA (BBC)–As European Union leaders are set to hold accession talks at
the
two-day summit now under way in Brussels, commission head Jose Manuel Barroso
urged them to reject any half measures during discussions of the membership
bid.
Asked about the latest progress on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan told
reporters in Brussels it “will be resolved tomorrow,” without elaborating.
Barroso urged Turkey to “go the extra mile” and recognize Cyprus, which is an
EU member. He asked what kind of message Turkey was sending if it did not
recognize all the members of the club it wanted to join. Turkey, however,
which
occupies northern Cyprus, has said it will not bow to demands to recognize the
country, calling the issue a “red line.”
Powell, Gul Discuss Turkey’s EU Accession
WASHINGTON, DC (AFP)–US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke Wednesday with
his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, on Turkey’s EU accession. “The
secretary
spoke this morning with Foreign Minister Gul, just to check in and see where
things are,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
“We’ll continue to keep in touch with Turkish leaders on the subject,”
he told reporters. The European Union is waiting to give its approval to
Turkey’s negotiated accession during a summit which opened late Thursday in
Brussels.
No Change in Ties with Armenia over Dispatch of Military to Iraq
YEREVAN (Itar-Tass)–Speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower chamber Boris
Gryzlov, said on Wednesday that a possible decision by Armenia to send
military
specialists to Iraq will not change relations between the two former Soviet
republics.
“Armenia is a sovereign state and the decisions it makes are decisions of a
sovereign state,” Gryzlov told a press conference in reply to a query
concerning Armenian authorities’ intentions to send military specialists to
Iraq.
Gas Leak Kills Family in Armenia
YEREVAN (RFE-RL)–A natural-gas leak from a homemade heater killed a
family of
five in Armenia, officials said Thursday.
The accident Wednesday in the city of Echmiadzin killed a married
couple
and their three small children, the Prosecutor General’s Office said. It said
the heater was set up without regard for safety standards. The family was
among
a growing number of victims of accidents resulting from the improper use of
homemade heaters and from insufficient oversight by officials charged with
enforcing safety standards.
OSCE to Send Monitoring Mission to Karabagh
BAKU (Interfax)–The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) will send a monitoring mission to Karabagh to check reports from Baku
about Armenia’s plans to establish settlements in the area, Azerbaijan’s
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists in London.
An agreement to organize a monitoring mission was reached with Armenia
during talks between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in Sofia and
Brussels in early December, he said, adding that the co-chairman of the Minsk
Group directly settling the conflict should join the monitoring mission.
Exhibition Captures Essence of Childhood
YEREVAN (Arka)–Photographer Zaven Khachikyan’s latest exhibition, “We are
all
from Childhood,” opened in Yerevan on December 16. Devoted to the 10th
anniversary of UNICEF’s efforts, Khachikyan captures the essence of the
children’s daily lives. He said, “In order to go forward, it is necessary
to go
back to childhood for some time and to see the reality of children’s lives in
Armenia in order to improve it in future.” The exhibition, organized by the
Armenian representative office of UNICEF and “West-East” center of
photojournalism, will last until December 19.
UN Food Program to Halt Food Aid for Azeri Refugees
BAKU (Combined Sources)Food distribution for 140,000 Azeris displaced by the
Karabagh conflict with Armenia a decade ago will come to a complete halt next
month because of a $10 million shortfall in aid sought for the three-year
operation by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
WFP country director Rahman Chowdhury said the agency had halved rations for
refugees last month in an effort to stretch food stocks. The WFP faces a $10
million shortfall this year, he said, in part due to higher retail prices and
rising gasoline and natural gas prices. “Most of the displaced are so poor
they
don’t have the means to buy food. It’s a dreadful situation, especially in
winter, when temperatures drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius.”
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