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Zaman, Turkey
July 9 2005
Armenian Lobby Makes British Deputy to Retreat
By Selcuk Gultasli
European Parliament (EP) British Member Richard Howitt who supported
Armenian allegations in a statement he made together with the
European Armenian Federation defended his stance saying he was not
sufficiently informed about the panel he chaired last month.
A European Armenian Federation (AEF) statement said that Howitt
welcomed the panel without knowing the subject of discussion. The Ari
Movement was blamed for not informing Howitt about the purpose of the
panel in the statement that implied he was deceived by the Ari
Movement.
After the June 15 forum, the American Armenian Lobby sent a
delegation to Brussels to gather support for the AEF and also lobbied
the EP. The Armenian lobby pressurized Howitt in particular and the
Socialist Group that he is a member of. Howitt, who said several
times that he wanted to be known as "Mr. Turkey in Brussels," related
that they had discussed about another meeting with Howitt after the
forum and negotiated some activities in September. The Ari Movement
issued a statement of condemnation opposing the EAF statement. The
Movement also sent a letter to Howitt and asked for an explanation
about the inconsistency in his remarks. The letter said Howitt's
remarks were unethical and he should give an official explanation for
that. It was observed that the French members of EP influenced
Howitt's statement.
Howitt: I am not regretful
The Ari Movement's statement which claims that Howitt was not
properly informed about the issue is incorrect and he urged the
cooperation should continue. The statement ended with the sentence:
"the reactions of EAF will not affect Ari Movement's fight to have
the 1915 events evaluated from a different perspective in Europe."
In a telephone conversation with Zaman, Howitt stressed he did not
regret welcoming and leading the panel and he did not imply that he
was deceived by the Ari Movement. He further said he was one of the
members of EP who supported Turkey's European Union (EU) bid most and
he did not want to offend Turkey and Turkish people with his remarks.
He said he wanted to send the same message to Armenians by signing
the same statement with them and added that the peace between Turkey
and Armenia will be one of the main issues of Turkey-EU relations.
Meanwhile the Armenian Lobby, which has been busy with heavy lobbying
in Brussels since June 15, the day the panel was organized, made a
similar attempt at influencing the European Policy Center (EPC) but
the Center did not issue any pro- Armenian statement.
July 9 2005
Armenian Lobby Makes British Deputy to Retreat
By Selcuk Gultasli
European Parliament (EP) British Member Richard Howitt who supported
Armenian allegations in a statement he made together with the
European Armenian Federation defended his stance saying he was not
sufficiently informed about the panel he chaired last month.
A European Armenian Federation (AEF) statement said that Howitt
welcomed the panel without knowing the subject of discussion. The Ari
Movement was blamed for not informing Howitt about the purpose of the
panel in the statement that implied he was deceived by the Ari
Movement.
After the June 15 forum, the American Armenian Lobby sent a
delegation to Brussels to gather support for the AEF and also lobbied
the EP. The Armenian lobby pressurized Howitt in particular and the
Socialist Group that he is a member of. Howitt, who said several
times that he wanted to be known as "Mr. Turkey in Brussels," related
that they had discussed about another meeting with Howitt after the
forum and negotiated some activities in September. The Ari Movement
issued a statement of condemnation opposing the EAF statement. The
Movement also sent a letter to Howitt and asked for an explanation
about the inconsistency in his remarks. The letter said Howitt's
remarks were unethical and he should give an official explanation for
that. It was observed that the French members of EP influenced
Howitt's statement.
Howitt: I am not regretful
The Ari Movement's statement which claims that Howitt was not
properly informed about the issue is incorrect and he urged the
cooperation should continue. The statement ended with the sentence:
"the reactions of EAF will not affect Ari Movement's fight to have
the 1915 events evaluated from a different perspective in Europe."
In a telephone conversation with Zaman, Howitt stressed he did not
regret welcoming and leading the panel and he did not imply that he
was deceived by the Ari Movement. He further said he was one of the
members of EP who supported Turkey's European Union (EU) bid most and
he did not want to offend Turkey and Turkish people with his remarks.
He said he wanted to send the same message to Armenians by signing
the same statement with them and added that the peace between Turkey
and Armenia will be one of the main issues of Turkey-EU relations.
Meanwhile the Armenian Lobby, which has been busy with heavy lobbying
in Brussels since June 15, the day the panel was organized, made a
similar attempt at influencing the European Policy Center (EPC) but
the Center did not issue any pro- Armenian statement.