Yakis : We Request Support Of Belgian MPs To Turkey’s EU Bid

Anadolu Agency
Feb 16 2005

BRUSSELS, (Anadolu Agency) – “We have asked Belgian parliamentarians
to convince deputies of other EU member states regarding Turkey`s
EU membership bid,” said Yasar Yakis, chairman of the Turkish
Parliamentary Commission for Adjustment to the EU.

Yakis and accompanying delegation are currently in Belgium for a
working visit. Yakis told reporters, “we have met senators, deputies
and members of the European Parliament. We have expressed our concerns
about progress report which was published about Turkey by European
Commission on October 6th.”

Meanwhile, Sukru Elekdag, a member of the commission and a Republican
People`s Party (CHP) deputy, told reporters that leaving entry
talks open-ended would cause indefiniteness. He added, “we will have
difficulty in explaining the policies of the government to people.
This condition will affect Turkey`s foreign policy as well.”

Noting, “we are very uneasy about the possibility of permanent ban on
free movement of Turkish labor force,” Elekdag said, “it is against
the philosophy of the Union.”

Upon a question, Elekdag and Yakis said that they wanted historians
to come together to research so-called Armenian genocide but Armenians
did not want to open their archives to researchers and discuss them.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress