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=?UNKNOWN?Q?Schr=F6der?= Criticizes Turkish Democracy

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  • =?UNKNOWN?Q?Schr=F6der?= Criticizes Turkish Democracy

    04.05.2005
    http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1574355, 00.html

    Schröder Criticizes Turkish Democracy

    A Turkish journalist protesting threats to press freedom

    German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Wednesday criticized Turkey
    for a string of deficiencies in its democracy, urging the country to
    correct them if it wants to join the European Union.

    "Mistreatment by security forces, limits on freedom of expression and
    discrimination against women are incompatible with our common values,"
    Schröder said at a speech at Marmara University after official talks
    in Ankara.

    The German leader also spoke of the "necessity of reform" in religious
    freedoms in this mainly Muslim country, specifically mentioning a
    meeting earlier in the day with the Istanbul-based spiritual leader
    of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.

    Turkey is under pressure to remove legal obstacles for non-Muslim
    religious foundations to fully exercise their property rights and to
    reopen a Greek Orthodox seminary in Istanbul closed down more than
    30 years ago.

    Schröder, who was receiving an honorary doctorate from the university,
    called on Ankara to address problem areas before it begins accession
    talks with the European bloc on Oct. 3 and urged it to swiftly
    implement reforms it has already adopted to achieve European norms.

    Turkey "should not diminish its efforts," he said. "Turkey has achieved
    many reforms so far but there is still much to do."

    Investigating Armenian killings

    Earlier on Wednesday, Schröder told reporters after meeting Turkish
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the EU is determined to open
    accession talks with Turkey on time.

    He brushed aside concerns that a May 29 referendum in France on the
    European constitution could undermine Turkey's bid.

    "No referendum anywhere in Europe will affect Turkey's EU process,"
    he said.

    Schröder also backed a Turkish proposal to Armenia to create a joint
    commission of historians to study allegations that the Ottoman Turks
    committed genocide against their Armenian subjects during World War I.

    "We want Turkish-Armenian relations to improve," Schröder
    said. "Germany is ready to do its best to help in this issue and open
    its archives."

    Germany and the Ottoman Empire, from which the present-day Turkish
    Republic was born, were allies during World War I, when the Armenian
    massacres occurred.

    Turkey has come under mounting international pressure to recognize
    the 1915-1917 killings as genocide; some EU politicians, including
    the German opposition, argue that Ankara should address the genocide
    claims if it wants to join the European bloc.

    Erdogan, meanwhile, denounced an appeal issued by the German parliament
    last month calling on Ankara to face up to its history. He said he
    "conveyed our serious concerns and expectations" on the issue to
    Schröder.

    Support in Cyprus conflict

    The two leaders said they also discussed the Cyprus conflict, a major
    stumbling block to Turkey's EU membership bid. Schröder pledged he
    would work for the release of a 259-million euro (335-million dollar)
    EU aid package earmarked for the breakaway Turkish Cypriot community
    and the activation of measures aimed at easing trade restrictions
    imposed on the island's Turkish sector.

    The EU promised the aid last year as a reward for the strong support
    Turkish Cypriots gave to a UN peace plan, which was killed off due to
    an overwhelming "no" by the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot
    side. The measures have been blocked, however, because of opposition
    by the Greek Cypriots, who joined the EU last year.

    © 2005

    --Boundary_(ID_hAikhhEBzAc0EO+XWuyYng)--
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