EC ISSUES WEAK REPORT ON TURKEY, FAILS TO ADDRESS ARMENIAN ISSUE
Financial Mirror, Cyprus
Nov 9 2006
The European Commission released its regular report on Turkey in
Brussels on Wednesday.
The political dimension of the negotiation process has been removed
from this document and is now included in a second report, entitled,
"Enlargement strategy and the and Main Challenges 2006-2007."
In their report, the Commission alleges that "Turkey continues to
sufficiently fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria," and that "in
2006, Turkey has continued to make progress in reforms," pointing out,
however, that "the pace has slowed down." Taking note of Turkey’s
infringement of the Ankara protocol, the Commission decided that
"it will make relevant recommendations prior to the December European
Council regarding whether Turkey has failed to fulfil its obligations."
The document also addressed, for the first time, the EU executive
body’s linkage between the possible future enlargement and the
implementation of constitutional reforms within the EU institutions.
Regarding the Armenian issues, the regular report failed to denounce
the denial campaign waged by Turkey, both on its own territory and
throughout the Union. Previous mentions of the Genocide in previous
reports – characterized euphemistically as "tragic events" – were
not reflected in this new document.
On freedom of speech, only Article 301 of the Turkish penal code was
mentioned. The Commission failed to denounce the other provisions
of Turkish law aimed at freedom of speech, especially Article 305,
which penalizes the affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.
Finally, in the technical chapters related to the Acquis Communautaire,
the illegal blockade of Armenia is described using the dismissive
terminology, "closed border."
The European Armenian Federation is troubled by the Commission’s
failure to fairly and meaningfully address Armenian issues,
particularly the issue of Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide.
"The Commission’s report, most notably it failure to challenge
Turkey’s many restrictions of freedom of speech, represents a true
setback in terms of the credibility of this European institution,
particularly in light of its eagerness to criticize France for its
law penalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide," stated Hilda
Tchoboian, the Chairperson of the European Armenian Federation.
The Federation announced that the European citizens it represents
expect the Commission to fairly and honestly perform its task of
accurately assessing Turkey’s progress, without bowing to political
pressures.
Otherwise, European public opinion will turn against the Commission’s
double standards," added Tchoboian.
The Federation also denounces the arrogance of the Turkish leaders
who attempt to force Europe to abandon its values. "The talks over
Turkey’s candidacy have devolved from a negotiation into a race to
see which side can walk away from European values," she concluded .