|
Ankara, 1 July (AKI) - Turkish authorities in
Ankara warned regional governors in southeastern
Anatolia not to hold "official contacts" with a
German Lutheran Church delegation visiting the area
in June to check on the condition of Kurdish
refugees, a Turkish newspaper has revealed.
The foreign ministry also warned the Turkish
Parliament ahead of a scheduled visit by the church
delegation to the Parliamentary Justice Commission,
the Turkish daily Zaman, said in a report on Friday.
A secret note sent to the Parliament said that the
Evangelische Landeskirche in Germany supported the
"terrorist organisation Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
and "carried out activities" aimed at preventing
Turkey from joining the European Union (EU).
The 11-member Evangelische Landeskirche delegation
visited Turkey from June 8-17.
The delegation had expressed its intention to visit
the southeastern Anatolina towns of Van, Midyat
Mardin and Diyarbakir during the trip. It also
requested a meeting with the Turkish gendarme
paramilitary commander in Van for information on
Kurdish refugees from Iran and Iraq.
According to Zaman, these demands "caused
discomfort" in Ankara.
Turkey's Embassy in Berlin, acting on foreign
ministry directives, apparently told Church
officials ahead of the visit that the delegation was
"not acting in line with procedures for its visit to
southeastern Anatolia."
The Embassy proposed that the delegation meet with
government officials in Ankara before proceeding
with the visit to southeastern Anatolia.
Despite "this warning", Zaman said, the Lutheran
representatives went directly to Van, Midyat, and
Diyarbakir where they tried to obtain appointments
through "unofficial ways, though they failed to have
any contacts with province and district governors."
This latest development comes amid a cooling in
relations between Turkey and Germany, whose ruling
Social Democrat and Green parties were once among
the strongest supporters of Ankara's bid to join the
EU.
Recently, senior officials in Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder's Social Democratic party have warned
Turkey it must abide with EU demands to recognise
the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia as well as
continue fulfilling human rights requirements and
other conditions for EU membership.
Germany's main opposition party, the Christian
Democrats, is opposed to Ankara's membership of the
EU, with their leader Angela Merkel - the daughter
of a Lutheran pastor - calling for a partnership
arrangement with Turkey as an alternative to EU
membership.
www.adnki.com
Top |
® 