EP CASTS ARMENIAN SHADOW OVER TURKEY’S EU BID

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 6 2006

The European Parliament late Monday approved a sharply critical report
on Turkey, calling on Ankara to recognize the Armenian genocide claims
before becoming a member of the European Union.

The report entitled "Turkey’s Progress Towards Accession," which was
prepared by EP Committee on Foreign Affairs Rapporteur and MEP Camiel
Eurlings, was approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee with some
amendments which made it harsher towards Turkey than it had been. It
also criticized a number of issues, including Cyprus, a slowdown in
the EU reform process, the situation in the southeast, problems with
religious minorities, cultural rights and civilian-military relations.

The report, which was approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee,
isn’t binding but plays a role in making recommendations for Turkey
and will be put to a vote by the EP’s full 732-member assembly during
Sept. 25-28 meetings.

Taking note of a Turkish proposal to set up a bilateral committee of
experts to deal with controversial past incidents and of Armenia’s
position on the proposal, the report urged the Turkish and Armenian
governments to continue their process of reconciliation leading to a
mutually acceptable proposal and asked Turkey to take the necessary
steps, without any preconditions, to establish diplomatic and good
neighborly relations with Armenia and open their land border as soon
as possible.

It also claimed that Turkey committed "genocide against the Pontic
Greeks and Assyrians."

EU rebukes Ankara on pace of reforms

In Eurlings’ report, EU lawmakers sharply criticized Turkey over its
slow pace of reforms and warned that failure to make progress on the
Cyprus dispute risks bringing entry negotiations to a halt.

Turkey’s reservations about opening its airports and harbors to the
Greek Cypriots will have serious implications for the EU process and
could even bring it to a halt, warned the draft report, calling on
Turkey to take steps towards the recognition of the Greek Cypriot
administration during its accession process. It also raised the idea
of an early withdrawal of forces from the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC). It also called on the European Council to renew efforts
to implement trade regulations with Northern Cyprus.

Report urges progress in human rights

The toughly worded report also called on Ankara to take steps towards
making progress on freedom of expression and raised concerns about the
country’s treatment of religious minorities, the Kurdish population
and women.

Noting that certain progress has been made in women’s rights after
the revised Turkish Penal Code (TCK) came into force last year,
the report however then stressed that a lack of respect for women’s
rights in Turkey remains a matter of serious concern.

The EP report also urged Ankara to take concrete steps to remove
obstacles facing religious minorities related to, in particular,
their legal status, the training of clergy, and their property rights,
and called for an immediate stop to all seizures and selling off of
property belonging to religious communities by the Turkish authorities
and the immediate reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki seminary and
public use of the "ecclesiastical title of the ‘ecumenical’ patriarch."

It also called for the protection and recognition of Alevis, including
the recognition of cemevis as religious centers, and for all religious
education to be voluntary and not cover just the Sunni branch of Islam.

Taking into consideration the amendment requests of MEPs Joost
Lagendijk and Cem Ozdemir, the report also called on Ankara to find
a solution to the headscarf ban in universities.

Solidarity with Turkey in fighting terror

The EP also condemned a resurgence of violence in the southeast by
the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and stressed that there
can never be an excuse for violence against Turkish citizens in any
part of the country. The report also expressed solidarity with Turkey
in fighting terrorism.

The report severely condemned May’s killing of a Council of State
judge, expressing concern over the low level of security offered to
judges by the police despite clear and public threats, and called on
the government to rectify the situation.