Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 12, 2005, Thursday
15:48:00 Central European Time

Hungary backs Turkish E.U. push

Budapest

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany met visiting Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Budapest Thursday and pledged the
support of his country for Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

“Turkey can count on Hungary,” Gyurcsany told reporters following
talks with the Turkish premier, who arrived in Hungary earlier in the
day for a two-day official trip.

Budapest’s backing comes amid concerns over Turkey’s human rights and
justice record, under the spotlight this week after the European
Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Turkey’s trial of Kurdish
leader Abdullah Ocalan was “unfair”.

Gyurcsany said the E.U. had provided Turkey with a clear “catalogue
of reforms” to implement before membership would be considered.

Erdogan, commenting on the Ocalan judgement, said his country’s
justice system would closely examine in the case as soon as the E.U.
Council of Ministers had given its opinion on the matter.

“There is no doubt,” said Erdogan, “that Turkey is a constitutional
state”.

Commenting on the controversy surrounded the alleged massacres of of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks during and after the First World War,
Erdogan said the “so-called genocide” was not an obstacle to E.U.
entry.

As many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed during mass deportations
and massacres when Armenians rose up against the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey disputes the numbers killed and denies that the deaths in any
way constitute genocide, but has come under increasing international
pressure to reexamine the issue. dpa kl ch sc