TURKEY CALLED TO RECOGNISE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Financial Mirror, Cyprus
Aug 5 2006

Strasbourg, September 5 – The European Parliament Committee on Foreign
Affairs (AFET) voted late last evening on the Eurlings report on
"Turkey’s progress towards accession" and its 343 amendments. This
mostly critical report of Turkey was adopted by 53 votes, with 6
against and 8 abstentions.

With regard to the question of the Armenian Genocide which was
constantly discussed during the debates, a majority of MEPs from
the main political groups (EPP, PSE, ALDE, GUE) adopted two similar
amendments which reiterates its call on Turkey to acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide as a precondition for its accession.

In addition, the AFET "strongly condemns the racist and xenophobic
‘Talaat Pasha committee’ [.] for gravely infringing European
principles, and the denialist demonstrations in Lyon and Berlin"
organised by those same organisations. It calls on Turkey to abolish
this committee and end its activities.

The European Armenian Federation informs that the AFET also adopted
a compromise amendment disputed by many MEPs, which expresses a whole
series of obscure proposals such as the opening of the Turkish archives
and reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey.

The AFET committee also invites Turkey "to establish, without
preconditions, good neighbourly relations with Armenia and to end
the economic blockade and to open the land border [.] in order to
fulfill the priorities of the Accession Partnership and the obligations
defined within the Negotiating Framework".

"It is a victory for the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) which
confirms that it can resist the pressures of Ankara. We congratulate
the rapporteur and the many members of Parliament who reaffirmed
the political line of the Parliament, which consists in making the
recognition of the Genocide into a prerequisite for accession,"
declared Hilda Tchoboian, the chairperson of the European Armenian
Federation.

"However, we regret the amendment called the ‘compromise amendment’,
which in fact only copied the position of some isolated MEPs who still
support Ankara in its attempt to deny the Genocide and to escape the
political problem that it constitutes," continued Hilda Tchoboian.

The European Armenian Federation will continue its consultations with
all the MEPs before the vote in the plenary session of the European
Parliament, which will take place at the end of September.