Author: Toneyan Mark

KURDISH QUESTION IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
By Khalid Khayati

Kurdish Aspect, CO
Oct 17 2006

The European Parliament voted in September on a report detailing
Turkey’s progress towards accession to the European Union.

A resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority that called on the
Turkish authorities to bring about further improvements in several key
areas, including that of the Kurdish question. The European Parliament
also urged the Turkish government "to take concrete steps for the
normalization of bilateral relations" with Cyprus, under the United
Nations’ settlement process. As with an earlier resolution in September
2005, the new European Union text calls on Turkey to recognize the
Republic of Cyprus and withdraw its military forces from the island,
as well as lift its embargo and end all port and airport restrictions.

Human rights abuses in Turkey were another area of concern highlighted
by the European Parliament. Whilst recognizing some recent limited
progress in this field, the parliament strongly criticized the Turkey’s
human rights record and current practices.

The MEPs were particularly concerned with the lack of religious
freedom, the inadequate protection of ethnic and cultural communities,
the use of torture and the severe curtailment of freedom of
expression. The criticism of denying ethnic minorities rights was
an obvious allusion to the Greeks of Pontos and the Assyrians, who
similarly to the Kurds, have been systematically denied their identity
and the right to political and cultural recognition. The report calls
on the Turkish government to "implement more effective measures"
for dealing with abuses of human rights by Turkish authorities.

Previous reports have deplored the lack of gender equality in Turkey’s
civil and penal codes, and the pervasive problem of domestic violence,
polygamy and forced marriage particularly among Turkey’s Kurdish
population. The report is particularly concerned with so called honor
killings and urges all involved to make an effort to put an end to
such atrocious practices. The document reemphasizes the right of
Turkish women to education.

The death penalty was another issue of concern. The issue has been
raised in the past in connection with the case of PKK leader Abdullah
Ocelan. According to the report, the European Parliament maintained
"pressure on the Turkish authorities until they abolished the death
penalty in 2002."

Although the European Parliament has not made Turkey’s EU membership
contingent upon its acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide,
Turkey has been urged to establish "good neighbourly relations" with
Armenia, and facilitate the work of researchers, intellectuals and
academics looking at the question of the genocide. However, Turkey
has described France’s recent decision to make illegal denial of the
Armenian genocide a "serious blow" to its relations with France and
has threatened sanctions.

Kurdish question on the agenda

The European Parliament also called on the Turkish government to
recognize "the cultural rights of the Kurdish minority" in Turkey,
whilst praising some positive developments, such as the decision to
permit broadcasting in the Kurdish language. The European Parliament
has also strongly condemned the resurgence of "terrorist violence"
on the part of the PKK, which the resolution accuses of resulting
in the "intimidation of civil society representatives" in Kurdish
areas. The resolution was indeed passed a few days before the PKK
declared a unilateral and unconditional ceasefire with the Turkish
military forces.

The European parliamentary resolution calls on the Turkish side to
pursue a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue following the last
year’s "encouraging statement" by Turkish Prime Minister Receb Tayyip
Erdogan, who admitted the existence of the Kurdish problem and called
for a solution. The report also urges the Turkish authorities to lift
restrictions on political parties such HADEP and to allow the Kurdish
language to be used in the education system and media. Furthermore,
it has been stressed that it was essential "to strike a balance between
the need to control the situation as regards security, avoiding civil
military strains, and effectively promoting the political dialogue
and the economic and social development of the "south-east" region
through a comprehensive strategy supported by adequate means".

What prospects for the Kurds in Turkey?

Although the European Parliament urges the Turkish Government to opt
for a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue through the promotion
of political dialogue and the economic and social development of the
"south-east" region, possibly using EU pre-accession assistance, the
parliament’s message appears muddled and insufficient. The European
Parliament’s resolution fails to deliver a well-formulated and coherent
definition of the Kurdish problem, a necessary prerequisite before
proposing any solution to it. Similarly, the Kurdish political movement
in Turkey for its part has been hitherto unable to bring clarity to
the issue. The unilateral ceasefire that was issued by the PKK on
1st October and that was welcomed by many people, will perhaps open
the way for a general amnesty for PKK members and their inclusion in
the Turkish political process, but this is far from satisfactory.

For the Turkish government, engaged in an "open-ended" process of
becoming a full member of the European Union, it is time to carry
out fundamental changes in its political and judicial apparatus
in order to facilitate a real solution to the Kurdish problem. The
Kurdish question in Turkey concerns the claim of an oppressed but
distinct people to their right to preserve and institutionalize their
national identity. As Abbas Vali has outlined, it is about promoting
the representation of the "marginal" and excluded identities in the
political and legal processes of the country. It is also about the
changing the conditions of citizenship, which insist that the Turkish
identity of the sovereign and all political power is accepted.

It is time for the Kurdish political movement in Turkey to aim for such
a vision. We should remember that achieving the political recognition
for the Kurds in Turkey can only through a purely peaceful struggle
that will give birth to the emergence of a democratic political
culture in Kurdish society.

THE CHAIRMAN OF YOK (HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL) TEZIC RETURNS HIS MEDAL

Sabah, Turkey
Oct 17 2006

The chairman of YOK (Higher Education Council), Tezic, returned his
merit medal to France in order to protest the Armenian bill.

Erdoðan Tezic wrote, in a letter enclosed with the returned medal:
"Although the Armenian bill has not yet become a law, I can not bear
this medal as this issue has become governmental policy of France."

The chairman of YOK (Higher Education Council) Tezic returns his medal

The chairman of YOK (Higher Education Council) Prof. Dr. Erdoðan Tezic
returned his Commandeur merit medal, which was given with the approval
of the president Jacques Chirac to France. Tezic sent back the medal
with a letter saying: "even though the bill which renders the denial of
Armenian genocide a crime has not yet been made a law, I can not bear
this medal as this issue has become French government’s policy." With
this decision of Tezic, the Commendaur de la Legion d’Honneur,
France’s highest ranking medal was returned for the first time.

–Boundary_(ID_2ppw68QSwteUPMRWs7DpuQ)–

CHIRAC " REGRETTE " LE VOTE DES DEPUTES SUR LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

Le Figaro
16 octobre 2006

JACQUES CHIRAC s’est entretenu avec le premier ministre turc pour
lui rappeler sa position concernant le genocide armenien, avec a la
fois le necessaire devoir de memoire turc et l’inutilite de la loi
votee par les deputes francais. À Ankara, le premier ministre turc a
confirme avoir recu un appel telephonique du president francais, dans
lequel celui-ci aurait deplore le vote en première lecture, jeudi a
l’Assemblee nationale, de la proposition de loi socialiste penalisant
le deni du genocide armenien. " M. Chirac m’a fait part de ses regrets
et indique qu’il me donnait raison " quant a la forte reaction de la
Turquie après le vote du texte, a-t-il dit lors d’un dîner de rupture
de jeûne pour le ramadan a Edirne, dans le nord-ouest du pays.

Le president francais a souligne qu’ " il fera tout ce qu’il peut dans
le processus prochain " , a ajoute le chef du gouvernement turc, cite
par l’agence Anatolie. Sans confirmer ces propos, l’Elysee a souligne
que le president francais a repete a M. Erdogan les declarations
qu’il a ­faites lors de sa recente visite en Armenie.

Interroge a Erevan, le 30 septembre, sur la proposition de loi des
socialistes francais visant a penaliser la negation de ce genocide,
le chef de l’Etat avait rappele que la France avait " pleinement
reconnu la tragedie du genocide ". " Elle l’a officiellement reconnu
de par la loi ", avait souligne M. Chirac. " Le reste relève plus,
aujourd’hui, de la polemique que de la realite juridique. " Comme on
lui demandait, lors du meme voyage, si la Turquie devait reconnaître
le genocide armenien pour entrer dans l’Union, il avait repondu :
"Honnetement, je le crois. Tout pays se grandit en reconnaissant ses
drames et ses erreurs. " Apaisement des consommateurs En Turquie,
l’appel telep­ho­nique de Jacques Chirac a Recep Tayyip Erdogan
a ete percu ­comme un signe d’apaisement et les consommateurs ont
ete invites a temperer leur reaction contre la France. Après les
sentiments d’hosti­lite suscites dans un premier temps, l’ambiance
etait un peu plus en faveur d’une approche ­rationnelle quant aux
represailles contre les produits francais. " Il faut très bien fixer
la dose du boycott des biens francais ", a estime le vice-president
de la puissante Union des chambres de commerce et Bourses de Turquie
(TOBB), Huseyin Uzulmez. " Il ne faut pas exagerer dans la reaction " ,
a-t-il dit, exhortant les consommateurs a " agir avec raison ", selon
l’agence Anatolie. La Turquie est un gros marche pour la France. Les
echanges se sont chiffres l’an dernier a 8,2 milliards d’euros. Une
reunion du comite de gestion de l’organisme officiel pour les achats
d’armement est prevue demain a Ankara et le sort d’Eurocopter, qui
est en lice pour un contrat de 52 helicoptères ­militaires et civils,
pourrait etre connu.

–Boundary_(ID_kVaQTuhcnvrvSu63QSQMxg)–

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 14 2006

OSCE MISSION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION ESTIMATION IN KARABAKH
SUMMARIZES MONITORING RESULTS

YEREVAN, October 13. /ARKA/. OSCE mission for environmental situation
estimation in Karabakh conflict zone summarized the monitoring
results on Thursday, Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry’s press office
reports.
Experts from Karabakh and Azerbaijan took part in the monitoring.
Before its departure from Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
capital, the mission thanked Karabakh authorities for support in
conducting the monitoring. The mission was comprised of
representatives of the United States, Germany, Macedonia,
Switzerland, Italy, France, Moldova and Estonia
>From Karabakhi side the mission was accompanied by NKR Deputy Foreign
Minister Masis Mailyan and other officials. M.V.-0–

Turkish Press
Oct 13 2006

The Biggest Conflict
Published: 10/12/2006

BY FEHMI KORU
YENI SAFAK- Why did politicians in France wait until 2001 to write a
law on the so-called Armenian genocide? France is the biggest
obstacle to Turkey’s EU membership. We know this from its stance when
decisions were taken about Turkey’s EU membership talks. France was
among the EU countries which was most opposed to the European
Constitution. When people talk about a `train crash` on the way to
the EU, everybody thinks of the possibility of our membership being
rejected through a referendum in France. France is different from all
the other European countries. However, Turkey might be one of the
closest countries to it. Ottoman intellectuals knew France as the
`West,’ and when the Westernization reforms were implemented, the
reformers took France as an example. The founders of the Republic
were Ottoman intellectuals. Naturally, France was the `level of
modern civilization’ for them.

The law on which Turkey based its administrative structure was the
product of the first half of the 19th century and translated from the
Napoleonic Code. Almost all the legislation aimed at turning Turkey
into a Western country is the product of the same era, and France was
taken as an example for this. During the early years of the Republic,
France maintained this `exemplary’ situation. Our intellectuals spoke
French and knew texts in French. In sum, although France isn’t our
soulmate, now it’s excluding and opposing itself to the country which
most resembles it in this region.

A similar analysis can be done of Armenians, which caused French
politicians to oppose Turkey just for votes. The Ottomans trusted the
Armenians the most. The Armenian people established the closest links
with Turkish society, and they were familiar with our culture and
contributed to our national heritage. Even today the presence of
Armenians who live illegally in Turkey shows that Armenians see
Turkey differently from their state. France, the country that we
resemble the most in the West, doesn’t consider it harmful to pass a
meaningless law which drives Turkey into a corner on the
international stage with the pressure of Armenia, which is fated to
get on well with us in the east. This is the biggest conflict that
we’re facing now. Not the Armenians in Armenia, but the Armenians who
live in other countries (the diaspora) are looking for revenge, and
the number of French politicians determined to pass a law punishing
those who deny the so-called Armenian genocide is small. When these
two facts come together, difficult circumstances might emerge against
Turkey. The question of why it’s happening now in France has only one
answer: France had great leaders in the past, but now it lacks a
leadership which can take responsibility on critical issues, turn its
back on petty interests, and look at problems from the vantage point
of history. Can we expect leadership from leaders who don’t realize
that this law will do the exact opposite of its stated intention?

CIS, BALTIC RZD COUNCIL FOCUSES ON PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION
by Tigran Liloyan and Roman Romishevsky

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
October 11, 2006 Wednesday

Prospects for cooperation in international passenger service and
railway haulage and norms of the railway timetable in 2007-2008 are
central of the 44th session of the CIS and Baltic Railway Council.

In his greetings message on Wednesday, Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan said the implementation of problems to be raised at the
session "will facilitate integration of transport systems of CIS
states and the development of international and regional cooperation
as a whole." "Nothing may bring closer peoples as free international
trade based on free movement of people and goods," he stressed.

Chairman of the Council, Russian Railways (RZD) head Vladimir Yakunin
said in the eight months a total of 1.4 billion tonnes of cargoes,
including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, cement, coal, oil and oil
products, were transported (4.5 percent more than in the same period
of the year 2005).

In his words, one of the pressing issues is rolling stock. Every
year "we should acquire 70,000-80,000 railroad cars to renovate our
rolling stock because only 62 percent of freight cars responds to
our requirements," Yakunin said.

The Council’s commercial director, David Dzhindzholiya, told
journalists, "I hope that Russian railway personnel will lift its
ban on passenger service between the two countries."

The session involves heads of railways of Russia, Armenia, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Estonia, as well as
Bulgaria and Finland.

The CIS and Baltic Railway Council was set up on the basis of the
February 14, 1992 inter-governmental agreement to coordinate the work
of CIS railways. Its major task is to coordinate rail transport at
the intergovernmental level and to work out consistent principles
for its operations.

FIRST GROUP OF TURKISH PEACEKEEPERS ARRIVED IN BEIRUT

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 11 2006

The first group of Turkish peacekeepers arrived in Beirut. Turkish
military engineers and constructors will be deployed near Tir city,
where they will be engaged in reconstruction of buildings and
infrastructures.

Ankara has already sent a frigate that will join the naval division
near Lebanese coasts to be headed by Germany.

The total number of Turkish peacekeepers within UN forces in Lebanon
will reach 681. Turkey was the first Muslim country to send its
peacekeepers to Lebanon.

COMMUNITY DISPUTES OVER LAND OF A FOREST RESERVE

Panorama.am
15:33 11/10/06

Mapping of Khosrov reserve will end late 2007, Vorontsov Barseghyan,
the deputy director of Khosrov Forest reserve, told reporters today. He
said local communities have disputes over the land of the forest.

He said the local community disregards the map of 1985-86 whereas
Barseghyan assures it is very importance document. The community
refers to a map dating back to 1962 but Barseghyan says a lot has
been changed since that time.

At present, Khosrov forest reserve covers 29 196 ha land, 15 % of
which are forests. Moufflons, bezoars, bears, leopards and other
animals live in the forest.

TURKISH MPS DROP PROPOSAL TO HIT BACK AT FRANCE WITH ALGERIA LAW

Agence France Presse — English
October 11, 2006 Wednesday

Turkish legislators Wednesday dropped proposals to brand as genocide
the killings of Algerians under French colonial rule.

The drafts had been submitted in retaliation to a French bill that,
if accepted, would provide jail terms for those who deny that Turks
committed genocide against Armenians during World War I.

"We should not fall in France’s position. We should avoid the same
mistake of writing history with parliamentary decisions," Mehmet
Dulger, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development
Party, said during the debate at the parliament’s justice commission.

Ibrahim Ozdogan from the opposition center-right Motherland Party,
and the author of one of the three drafts the commission examined,
argued that European countries should rethink the massacres of their
own colonial past.

"The murderer has come to take the judge’s seat," he said.

After a three-hour debate, commission members voted to refer the
proposals to a sub-committee for further discussion, a move that
effectively freezes the proposals.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had urged legislators Tuesday to
refrain from any retaliatory action, saying, "we do not clean filth
with filth."

The French draft, to be debated and voted at the National Assembly
in Paris on Thursday, foresees one year in prison and a 45,000-euro
(57,000-dollar) fine for denying that Armenians were victims of
genocide during World War I.

Infuriated by the move, Ankara has warned that if the bill is adopted,
bilateral ties will suffer and French companies will be barred from
major economic projects in Turkey.

Two of the drafts examined Wednesday call for the recognition of
the killings of Algerians under French colonial rule as genocide and
provide jail terms for those who deny it.

The third draft called for the imprisonment of those who assert
Armenians were victims of genocide under the Ottoman Empire.

The justice commission is the first instance where bills are debated
before being sent to a vote at the general assembly.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917.

Turkey rejects the genocide label, arguing that 300,000 Armenians
and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with invading
Russian troops as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart.

TWO ARMENIANS FOUND DEAD NEAR RUSSIAN CAPITAL

Interfax, Russia
Oct 9 2006

Moscow, 9 October: Two immigrants from Armenia have been found dead
in the village of Kartino in Moscow Region’s Leninskiy District,
a source in the region’s law-enforcement agencies told Interfax on
Monday [9 October].

The body of a 33-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, both natives
of Armenia, were found on the evening of Sunday [8 October] in a
private house, the source said. The man and woman died of firearm
wounds about five hours before they were found.

The case is currently being investigated, the source added.