Brussels, September 5 ,-- Turkey should
recognize the Armenian genocide as a condition for
its EU accession, MEPs argue in a highly critical
report adopted by a broad majority in Strasbourg on
Monday (4 September).
The parliamentarians in the foreign affairs
committee strongly criticised Turkey's slow pace on
reforms and urged clear progress in solving the
Cyprus issue.
They stressed that the next step in the country's
membership talks "will have to depend" on its
pre-accession talks commitments "including a
comprehensive settlement of border disputes and a
comprehensive settlement regarding Cyprus."
The report by Dutch centre-right MEP Camiel Eurlings
sparked a huge discussion in the prominent committee
with over 300 amendments filed, but deputies from
the biggest groups reached a compromise with a
slightly less strict wording on several issues ahead
of yesterday's vote.
The re-drafted document - to be voted on in plenary
three weeks from now - highlighted some positive
aspects of Turkey's performance en route to the EU -
such as opening the first chapter of EU legislation,
introducing new laws to fight corruption and
broadcasting in Kurdish. |
If Turkey joins EU, 60 Million Muslims will
enter Europe |
|
However, it insisted on "persistent shortcomings" in
sensitive areas such as freedom of expression,
religious, minority and women's rights as well as
civil-military relations.
"We could see a clear delay of reforms in Turkey
which was reflected in the report – I hope the
Turkish authorities will now take our message on
board," Mr Eurlings told EUobserver after the vote.
"We wouldn't help the country by hiding the truth,"
he added.
Some deputies expressed their concerns over the
impact of the strong language in the parliament's
annual evaluation – ahead of the European
Commission's report on Ankara due on 24 October.
"Being a hero in Strasbourg is easy but will this
report as it is written actually help Turkey's real
reformers? No, it will make their life and work
harder," argued German Green deputy Cem Ozdemir.
Armenia divisive
Dutch Socialist member Jan Marinus Wiersma commented
that a compromise text backed by the committee "is
more positive than the original proposal, but I'm
afraid that the call for recognition of genocide of
Armenians will attract the most attention in
Turkey."
"This issue has so far not been specified as one of
the formal criteria so to suggest that it is a
'prerequisite' for Turkey's accession is bound to
spark controversy," he added.
British liberal deputy Andrew Duff also criticised
the suggestion - filed by the Belgian socialist MEP
Veronique de Keyser - as "very bad, uniting the far
right and far left forces in the parliament."
He also pointed out that the parliament's foreign
affairs committee should have expressed "greater
appreciation of Turkey's contribution to the foreign
policy and security initiatives that the EU is also
involved in."
Turkey's parliament is set to vote on Tuesday on the
government's proposal to send troops to Lebanon as
part of the UN peace-keeping force, with prime
minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging deputies to
join European countries in the mission.
euobserver com
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq,Turkey,Syria,Iran,Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan, but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
Top |
® 