Armenian Assembly of America 122 C Street, NW, Suite 350 Washington, DC 20001 Phone: 202-393-3434 Fax: 202-638-4904 Email: info@aaainc.org Web: www.armenianassembly.org PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2004 CONTACT: David Zenian E-mail: zenian@aaainc.org
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian Assembly Tuesday raised the question of human rights in Turkey and specifically issues regarding reported calls for introducing laws to allow the removal of the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul at a panel discussion on Turkey’s EU Prospects and Europe’s Domestic Policies.
Debating the pros and cons of Turkey’s membership in the European Union were Turkish and American journalists and policy experts invited by the Western Policy Center to evaluate where Europe and Turkey stood on the thorny question of whether Turkey should be allowed to become a full member of the European family of nations.
Among the panelists, Soner Cagaptay, coordinator of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute, was the most vocal supporter of full Turkish membership. Cagaptay was also critical of European nations who, he said, were using double standards in their approach to Turkey.
“For some European nations the cup is half empty and not half full when it comes to Turkey. We have fulfilled all their demands, and yet, we are treated differently. In some and even most cases we are not worse than several East European countries,” he said.
Repeating often stated remarks by Turkish government officials that Turkey had introduced and implemented laws to safeguard human rights as underlined by the “Copenhagen criteria” of the European Union, Cagaptay said:
“We are in full compliance on issues involving respect of minority rights and separation of church and state and many other key points.”
While several members of the audience raised questions involving economic integration, demographic changes and cultural issues, Armenian Assembly Director of Public Affairs David Zenian asked Cagapray for his views on recent Turkish newspaper reports involving the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul.
“We read in a recent report published by the Turkish newspaper Cumhurriyet that the Turkish Interior Ministry is pressing for the passage of laws which will allow more control over the election process of the Armenian Patriarch including a clause giving the government authority to depose the head of the Armenian church.
“Imagine the Italian government enacting laws which not only dictates that the Pope be an Italian citizen – the Turkish government already demands that the Patriarch be a Turkish citizen – but also giving itself the right to depose the Pope if it regards the election to be irregular or flawed?”
Zenian asked.
Cagaptay had no comment. Instead he returned to his earlier grievances, repeating his allegation of European double standards.
Yorumlar kapatıldı.