Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

European Commission Report on Turkey Fails to Reflect Armenian Issue

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • European Commission Report on Turkey Fails to Reflect Armenian Issue

    EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT ON TURKEY FAILS TO REFLECT ARMENIAN ISSUES

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    09.11.2006 17:45 GMT+04:00

    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ This Wednesday, November 8th, the European Commission
    released its regular report on Turkey. 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." As for the Armenian issues, it
    should be noted that 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 European 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, reports the EAFJD
    communication unit.
Working...
X