AZG Armenian Daily #227, 17/12/2004
Turkey-EU
WAC’S ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF TURKEY’S BID TO ENTER EU
The European Commission, being EU’s executive body, has officially
announced about its readiness to negotiate with Turkey for its
political and economic integration into the European community. The
leaders of European states have to give their consent to start the
talks over Turkey’s accession to EU at the forthcoming EU summit.
No other EU bid has ever aroused so many controversial responses in
the European public and governments as Turkey’s appeal did. Despite
Turkey’s wide-ranging efforts to enlarge the circle of the supporters,
the polls show that only 1/3 of Europeans is ready to boost latter’s
bid.
Membership in the united family of the European nations supposes
that a country should secure human rights and freedom, follow the
principle of true democracy, peace and good neighborhood.
Yet, the whole history of the Turkish state and the history of its
relations with the Armenian nation give all the grounds to doubt
that Turkey will stick to European principles and values in case
it is admitted to the EU. Unfortunately the fact that the Ottoman
Turkey was once admitted to the family of the civilized nations
for its participation in the Crimean War of 1854-1856 did not turn
Turkey into a country with European civilization. Just the contrary,
Turkey implemented the policy of systematic elimination of enslaved
nations – Armenians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Assyrians, Maronites
and many others.
The present-day Turkey refuses to recognize the fact of the cruelest
crime against humanity, elimination of 1.5 million Armenians in the
Western Armenia, carries on the decade-long illegal blockade of the
Republic of Armenia thus maintaining tension in the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the threat of genocide reoccurrence.
Turkey ignores continual appeals of the European parliament to
recognize the Armenian Genocide and the request to take off the
blockade thus creating a ground for reconciliation and solution
for the Armenian Cause. EU’s this claim should become one of the
preconditions of Turkey’s accession. Turkey is ignoring EU’s other
standards too, particularly in securing social and civil rights
of national minorities, in renouncing its chauvinistic policy and
genocidal practice that are obligatory conditions of the Copenhagen
criteria for EU accession. Turkey’s approaches to justice and
international law should be real and not ostentatious.
The World Armenian Congress considers that Turkey’s refusal to
denounce the crime of Armenian Genocide, refusal to apply international
standards in settling quarrelsome issues with Greece, refusal to submit
to UN’s numerous decisions disapproving of Turkey’s occupation of
Cyprus and division of its territory, refusal to recognize the rights
of Kurdish national minority, continual suppression of individual,
group and religious freedoms make this country unacceptable for the EU.
How is the united Europe going to become a common house for Turkey if
its authorities do not realize the need of following the principals
and standards of a civilized community?
We are sure that the West, particularly Europe, that was putting
morality as a cornerstone in the policy of Bosnia and Kosovo, will
apply the same criterion in considering Turkey’s accession to EU.
Ara Abrahamian, President of the World Armenian Congress, UNESCO
Goodwill Ambassador