Category: Main Issues

Sarkozy challenges Turkey to face its history

* Sarkozy visits memorial to Armenian genocide

* Sarkozy to urge Georgia to mend ties with Russia

* Revives memories of mediating role over 2008 war (Adds Russia finalising military base deals)

By Emmanuel Jarry

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and Armenian President Serge Sarkisian lay flowers at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia. -AP Photo

YEREVAN, Oct 6 (Reuters) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a brief trip to the Caucasus, urged Turkey on Thursday to recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide, threatening to pass a law in France that would make denying this a crime.

Visiting a genocide memorial and museum in Yerevan, Armenia, with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan, Sarkozy challenged Turkey — which is seeking membership of the European Union — to face up to its past.

“The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial,” Sarkozy told reporters.

“Turkey, which is a great country, would honour itself to revisit its history like other great countries in the world have done.”

Armenia was the first stop on a two-day trip to the region by Sarkozy, who is keen to raise his profile on the international stage before an April presidential election. He visits Azerbaijan and Georgia on Friday.

France is opposed to Turkey’s bid for EU membership and his comments on the sensitive subject are likely to be viewed as unwelcome meddling by Ankara.

Turkey denies the deaths of Armenians in 1915 was genocide. It says both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in large numbers as the Ottoman empire collapsed.

Sarkozy suggested that the French parliament might consider a law making denial of the deaths of Armenians as genocide a crime, similar to the French law against Holocaust denial.

FROZEN CONFLICT

While in the region, Sarkozy will try to encourage Sarksyan and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to resolve a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan.

France plays a leading role in the Minsk Group of countries from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is trying to resolve the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian-backed forces wrested Nagorno-Karabakh from Azeri control after the Soviet Union collapsed. When the conflict ended in a ceasefire in 1994, 30,000 people had been killed and about 1 million had been driven from their homes.

During a three-hour visit to Georgia, Sarkozy will also urge Georgia to improve relations with Russia, reviving memories of his mediating role when the two countries went to war in 2008.

Sarkozy’s success in brokering a ceasefire in that conflict guarantees a warm welcome in the capital Tbilisi, where he will meet President Mikheil Saakashvili and address a crowd in the central Freedom Square.

Sarkozy will urge Saakashvili to look beyond the countries’ differences, including over how they interpret the ceasefire terms, and rebuild trust in relations with Moscow.

Each side accuses the other of acting provocatively and sabotaging relations. Moscow has angered Tbilisi and the West by recognising Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions as independent states.

In Moscow on Thursday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met Abkhazia’s new president and signed legislation ratifying treaties that enable Russia to operate military bases in the two separatist regions for at least 49 years.

It was not clear whether Sarkozy would discuss Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization which Georgia, as a member, could block. Moscow hopes to complete its entry to the 153-member trading body this year.

HOPING TO BOOST RATINGS

Sarkozy mediated the 2008 ceasefire on behalf of the European Union as France held the bloc’s presidency at the time.

That ended the war over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but Georgia says Russia has violated the terms by not withdrawing troops to the positions they held before the war.

TV images of Sarkozy addressing jubilant crowds will do him no harm as he tries to improve his poor ratings before the two-round election on April 22 and May 6. An opinion poll on Tuesday put Socialist Francois Hollande well in the lead.

Sarkozy will also promote business during his visit to the region but officials gave no details of any planned contracts.

French oil group Total said last month it had made a major gas discovery at Azerbaijan’s Absheron block in the Caspian Sea. French companies could also be in the running to help extend the Baku metro, or subway. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi and Emmanuel Jarry in Paris, Writing by Timothy Heritage and Alexandria Sage; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

via UPDATE 2-Sarkozy challenges Turkey to face its history | Reuters.

October 7, 2011
Sarkozy tells Turkey to ‘revisit’ Armenia killings

French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Turkey on Thursday to “revisit” its history regarding the 1915 massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which France views as a genocide but Turkey does not.

“Turkey, which is a great country, would be honorable to revisit its history like the other great countries in the world have done: Germany, France,” Sarkozy told journalists at a joint press conference with Armenian counterpart Serge Sarkisyan.

“The genocide of Armenians is a historic reality that was recognised by France. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial,” he said.

“We are always stronger when we look our history in the face, and denial is not acceptable.”

Sarkozy was speaking after visiting Armenia’s Genocide National Museum to pay respects to Armenians killed in the massacre, an extremely sensitive issue that has kept Armenia and Turkey from establishing formal diplomatic relations.

Asked whether France should adopt a law prosecuting anyone who denies that the massacres were “genocide”, Sarkozy replied that “if Turkey revisited its history, looked it in the face, with its shadows and highlights, this recognition of the genocide would be sufficient.”

“But if Turkey will not do this, then without a doubt it would be necessary to go further,” he said.

Sarkozy angered Turkey ahead of his election in 2007 by backing a law aimed at prosecuting those who refuse to recognise the event as a genocide.

The French lower house of parliament later rejected the measure, infuriating an Armenian diaspora of some 500,000 people.

Sarkozy was to dine with Sarkisyan later Thursday and continue his tour of Caucasus states Azerbaijan and Georgia on Friday.

© 2011 AFP

October 7, 2011
French-Armenian Citizen Detained in Diyarbakir, Turkey

Epress.am — A French citizen of Armenian descent was taken under police custody during the Mesopotamia Social Forum which took place from Sept. 21–25 in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir. News of his being detained was disseminated only today, when Tigran Yegavian returned to France and contacted the French Consulate in Istanbul to investigate the issue.

Ahead of the forum, police stopped and searched Yegavian, along with others. After they found phone numbers of MPs of Turkey’s main Kurdish party, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), in his possession, police called him in to be questioned about his meetings with members of Turkey’s Kurdish community, because they, according to police officials, are tied to “the acts of terrorism supported by the European community.”

Yegavian, according to the Epress.am correspondent in Istanbul, is a member of a very important Armenian foundation in France. He had travelled to Turkey to conduct studies on Armenians and had meetings with some public figures in order to write articles, as well as to support dialogue among Armenian, Turkish and Kurdish peoples.

Note, on Sept. 20 members of the French branch of Yerkir Union (Yerkir Europe) met with Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir of Kurdish descent to discuss possible joint intercultural programs between the civil societies of Armenia, Turkey and the Armenian diaspora, which, most likely, was the reason Turkish authorities called forum participants in for questioning.

Updated on 6 pm, same day: “Two French-Armenian citizens” changed to one French-Armenian citizen and his name, Tigran Yegavian, added.

via ArmeniaDiaspora.com – News from Armenia, Events in Armenia, Travel and Entertainment | French-Armenian Citizen Detained in Diyarbakir, Turkey (updated).

October 6, 2011
EU says Turkey’s foreign policy promotes peace, but Cyprus remains an issue

A draft version of the annual EU Progress Report on Turkey speaks favorably of Turkey’s continuous support for negotiations between the Turkish and Greek communities of Cyprus, but a final version expected on Oct. 12 may have a cooler tone, including criticism of Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean drilling crisis.

“Turkey continued to express public support for the negotiations between the leaders of the two communities under the good offices of the UN Secretary-General, aimed at finding a fair, comprehensive and viable solution to the Cyprus problem,” the draft report noted in a chapter devoted to Turkey’s approach to the long-standing Cyprus issue. The draft report also notes that Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have reiterated their support for the negotiation process on several occasions, while stressing that Turkey’s “commitment and concrete contribution” are crucial to a comprehensive settlement of the issue.

However, the report also pointed out that no progress has been made on normalizing bilateral relations with Greek Cyprus, a country Turkey does not recognize. Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to Greek Cyprus before a solution on the ethnically divided island is reached has remained at the heart of the EU’s criticism of Turkey, on the grounds that this creates an obstacle to the free movement of goods within the union.

The final version of the report is expected to harden its tone against Turkey with regard to the recent drilling crisis off the coast of Cyprus, where Turkey and Greek Cyprus are engaged in heated debate over the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbon resources under the seabed. Greek Cyprus has been conducting preliminary site research for potentially rich pockets of natural gas and oil in its self-proclaimed exclusive economic zone, which was recently reciprocated by Turkey on the northern shelf between Turkish Cyprus and Turkey’s south coast. Turkey has repeatedly called on Greek Cyprus to delay research until the reunification process on the island is concluded under the auspices of the UN, but the Greek Cypriots, facing desperate economic straits, says it is the country’s sovereign right to exploit these natural resources.

The report nevertheless notes that Turkey’s bilateral relations with other countries and neighboring EU member states have been positive, saying that Turkey “significantly intensified contacts in the Western Balkans, expressing a firm commitment to promoting peace and stability in the region.” Turkey was also recognized as supporting the European integration of all countries in the region.

Much like in previous monthly reports, the EU hailed Turkey’s good progress on implementing civilian oversight of security forces, citing August’s Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), at which a possible crisis brought on by the resignations of the country’s top military commanders was contained by the joint efforts of the president and prime minister, who quickly appointed new generals. It also noted that civilian judicial review of YAŞ decisions was made possible, but said there is still progress to be made.

The report is in a way a combination of 12 monthly reports, which are issued to candidate countries to evaluate the progress they have made each month toward EU accession criteria. The annual report summarizes developments between Turkey and the EU over the year, analyzes Turkey’s improvement in terms of political and economic criteria and evaluates the country’s ability to assume the obligations of membership, a step that highlights how close a country is to becoming a member of the 27-nation bloc. Turkey was granted EU candidacy in 1999, but accession negotiations were opened in 2005, since which time one negotiating chapter of a total of 13 has been concluded.

The report also noted that Turkey is the bloc’s seventh biggest trading partner, while the EU is Turkey’s biggest. Bilateral trade between the EU and Turkey was estimated at 103 billion euros in 2010. While the report notes that there has been improvement in Turkey’s adherence to the EU’s customs union, Turkey still needs to remove its remaining restrictions on the free movement of goods, a request that signals the EU’s expectation that Turkey will open its ports to Greek Cyprus in order that customs regulations can be fully implemented.

via EU says Turkey’s foreign policy promotes peace, but Cyprus remains an issue.

October 5, 2011
LEBANON – TURKEY In a letter to Erdogan, Aram I says the Armenian people still waiting for justice

The Armenian Orthodox Catholicos of Cilicia says returning part of the assets seized from Churches by the Turkish government after 1936 is not enough. He wants the return of everything seized and lost after the genocide as well as the recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Monday, October 03, 2011

Beirut – Recent steps by Turkish authorities to return properties seized from religious minorities after 1936 are “incomplete”, Catholicos Aram I Kechichian said in an open letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

For the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, whose titular see is located in the Turkish province of Cilicia, justice for the Armenian people will come only when Turkey acknowledges the genocide of 1915 and when private and Church assets seized at the time are returned.

Here is the text of his letter (translated by AsiaNews):

By way of the press, we have learnt that your government plans to return properties seized from religious minorities after 1936. Such a decision undoubtedly stems from recent rulings by the European Court of Human Rights as well as inquiries by the US Congress into Turkish pressures on Christian minorities (See Nat de Polis, “Historic decision: Erdogan returns seized property to religious minorities,” in AsiaNews, 29 August 2011).

As spiritual and lawful head of the Holy See of Cilicia (Armenian Orthodox), which was uprooted from its historic see and installed in Lebanon, and as representative of the children of the Armenian Church who were exiled from Turkey and dispersed throughout the world, we consider your decision of 27 August 2011 to be incomplete and unjust.

The Holy See of Cilicia remains the lawful owner of numerous buildings, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, cemeteries and other properties that belong to the church, seized by Turkish authorities at the time of the Armenian genocide of 1915.

The same is true for the children of the Armenian people, who are the lawful owners of houses, businesses, estates and other assets passed down from their ancestors and lost during the genocide planned and executed by the Ottoman Turkish government.

Your government’s decision may meet the requirements of the European Union, but it may never be considered as just or legally relevant.

Mr Prime Minister, although taken in the name of justice, your decision is biased and selective and denies history and democratic values and principles.

Of course, international institutions like the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament and its parliamentary bodies are tasked with defending democratic principles and values and ensure that they are respected; however, the people is the conscience and memory of such principles and values.

As League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Nobel Peace Prize winner for 1922 Fridtjof Nansen said in Armenia and the Near East that the Armenian people never lost hope, bravely working and waiting. “They continue to wait,” he wrote.

Allow me to add that the Armenian people will never cease to demand justice from Turkey for the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian people will never cease to demand the restoration of their human rights.

Mr Prime Minister, your attachment to justice and human rights will gain in credibility only when you recognise the Armenian Genocide.

via LEBANON – TURKEY In a letter to Erdogan, Aram I says the Armenian people still waiting for justice | Spero News.

October 4, 2011
Turkey’s EU bid on the rocks as tensions with Greek Cypriots escalate

ANKARA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) — Turkey’s EU negotiations are at a bottleneck amid rows with Cyprus and strong objections to its bid for European Union (EU) membership from Germany and France.

Macedonia will enter the EU before Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday during a joint press conference with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski.

During his visit to Macedonia last week, Erdogan said the country’s EU membership process “continues with a fast pace,” adding that “Turkey is the country that conducts entry negotiations with the EU. However, Macedonia will enter the EU before Turkey.”

The EU has started accession talks with Turkey and Croatia in 2005. Six years later, Croatia has finalized its negotiations and is now on the verge of becoming the 28th member of the EU.

However, Turkey has only been able to open talks on 13 out of 35 chapters thus far, and talks have been provisionally completed in only one chapter. The membership talks are frozen since some 18 negotiating chapters are blocked.

Dispute with Cyprus is at the epicenter of the problem, since not only the Cypriot administration but also some other EU member states, which do not favor Turkey’s full membership to the union, raise it as political obstacles.

Countries such as France and Germany oppose Turkey’s full membership to the union, instead propose a privileged membership to the EU, which is strongly refused by Ankara.

“Europeans should first of all let Turkey finish its EU membership process successfully, instead of holding debates over whether Turkey should become a full member or not,” Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul said recently during an official visit to Berlin.

Blocking some negotiation chapters, France and Germany, along with Greek Cypriots, ask Turkey to meet its commitment vis-a-vis the Ankara Protocol, opening its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels. However, Ankara refuses to do so, saying that Turkey will not meet those countries’ demand if embargoes on Turkish Cypriots, northern part of Cyprus whose administration is recognized just by Turkey, were not lifted mutually.

Tension between Turkey and Cyprus escalated recently due to potential offshore gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. Cypriot administration vowed recently to keep Turkey’s EU talks on hold as long as Ankara challenges the island’s rights to launch gas drilling activities.

This was compounded by Turkey’s announcement that it will suspend relations with the EU in July 2012 if the bloc handed over its rotating presidency to the Greek Cypriots, unless talks for the reunification of the island will have been successfully concluded by then, which is highly unlikely.

As Turkey’s negotiations with the EU for membership have entered a period of siesta, Ankara intensified its efforts to urge the EU for visa exemption process for Turkish nationals.

Turkish EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis attended a meeting on Schengen visa in Strasbourg last week, pushing the union to produce concrete result in its pledge to ease visa requirements for Turks.

“We expect the words given to Turkey be honored and we want to see results,” Bagis told reporters on last Thursday following his talks at the European Parliament.

The minister’s remarks came after the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malstrom said the union would “draw a road map to remove visa requirements completely” for Turkish nationals as a move to ease visa procedures.

However, many attempts of the European Commission to ease visa requirements for Turkish citizens were hindered, when some of the member countries blocked the EU Council to give consent to the commission’s work on visa facilitation process with Turkey.

Editor: yan

via Turkey’s EU bid on the rocks as tensions with Greek Cypriots escalate.

October 4, 2011