Hürriyet, Turkey
Dec 15 2006

Armenian leader Mesrob II tells EU: Get Turkey relations back on track

Mesrob II, the Patriarch of the Turkish Armenian religious community,
has written a letter to leaders of Europe calling for pressure to be
put on EU leaders at today’s summit in Brussels to get relations
between Turkey and the EU back on track. The letter, which was sent
not only to heads to state, but also to royal family members across
the EU, said in part:

"Turkey’s EU accession process is a matter of primary importance for
the Turkish people. Promises to Turkey that it might one day become
an EU member have played a crucial role in encouraging economic and
political reform in our country. Due to reforms which have taken
place in these past years, the basic human rights of not only
religious minorities, but all Turkish citizens, have improved. The
founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned the
face of this country during the 1920s towards the West. The Turkish
people long ago made their choice for political and economic
modernity. The EU should not make decisions which will push Turkey’s
accession process off the tracks, or which force it to carry out very
one-sided sets of pre-conditions."