REHN SUGGESTS DATE OF PAMUK COURT CASE A PROVOCATION
NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Sept 13 2005
Rehn said that recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration is
not a pre-condition to start negotiation talks.
Guncelleme: 18:19 TSI 13 Eylul 2005 SalýBRUSSELS – Having the first
hearing of a court case against a well known Turkish author on the
same day as European Union leaders were to meet for their six monthly
summit may not be a coincidence, a senior EU official said Tuesday.
Prominent Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk is scheduled to go on trial
on December 16 to face charges he insulted the Turkish state after
saying in an interview with a Swiss magazine that up to one million
of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian citizens were killed during the time
of the First World War.
Ollie Rehn, the EU’s the Commissioner responsible for the bloc’s
expansion process, said that: “December 16 could not be a just a
coincidence. This could be a provocation.”
Speaking in Brussels, Rehn said that Pamuk’s court case raised
serious question marks over the implementation of the new Turkish
Penal Code. He claimed that the case was in breach of the European
Human Rights Convention.
However, he went on to say that despite objections over Ankara’s
refusal to recognise the Greek Cypriot state that accession
negotiations with Turkey would start on October 3 as scheduled.
However, Turkey would only be able to complete the EU accession process
10 to 15 years, Rehn said, adding that the speed of the negotiation
process would rely on Ankara’s recognition of the Greek Cypriot side.
Rehn said that Ankara’s issuing a declaration saying its signing of
an extension of its customs unions with the EU to cover the ten new
members did not signify recognition of the Greek Cypriot state was
sad and that the EU would issue a counter declaration.
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