Turkish Press
April 14 2005

Yakis: Turkish – German Relations Will Be Negatively Affected If
Armenian Bill Passes From German Parliament

BERLIN – ”Turkish-German relations will be negatively affected if
the bill prepared by German Union Parties’ (CDU/CSU) parliamentary
group defending Armenian claims of genocide passes from the German
Parliament,” Yasar Yakis, chairman of the Turkish parliamentary
commission for EU adjustment, said on Thursday.

Yakis, speaking at a press conference staged to give information
about his meetings with the German officials, said they conveyed the
uneasiness felt over the bill.

Yakis stated that CDU politicians told him that the bill was prepared
to contribute to Turkish-Armenian relations. ”We have told them that
Turkish-Armenian relations in fact would be damaged from the bill,”
Yakis noted.

Yakis said the bill was used as a tool for domestic policy by some
parties, and reiterated that the bill was full of mistakes.

Yakis and the other group members later left for Istanbul.