Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Some of the major points of tension between Turkey and the European

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

  • Some of the major points of tension between Turkey and the European

    Some of the major points of tension between Turkey and the European Union

    Associated Press Worldstream
    November 3, 2006 Friday 6:01 PM GMT

    CYPRUS

    EU: Turkey must open its ports and airspace to Greek Cypriot ships
    and recognize Cyprus' customs union with the EU.

    Turkey: Before it recognizes the government of Greek Cyprus, the EU
    must keep its promise to help lift the international isolation of
    the Turkish side of the divided island.

    FREE SPEECH:

    EU: Turkey must amend or abolish an article in the Turkish penal code
    that makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness" and which is frequently
    used to try academics and authors, notably Orhan Pamuk, this year's
    Nobel literature laureate.

    Turkey: No one has gone to jail for expressing opinions so far,
    and the problem is not with the article itself but with its
    implementation. More time is needed.

    HUMAN RIGHTS:

    EU: Turkey is regressing after years of steady improvement.

    Turkey: Rights have been strengthened and laws overhauled even
    as Turkey deals with resurgent violence by Kurdish separatists,
    considered terrorists by the United States and the EU.

    WOMEN, MINORITIES:

    EU: Expand their rights.

    Turkey: It takes time to modernize a largely conservative Islamic
    society, and granting greater rights to minorities particularly Kurds
    could threaten the unity of the state.

    ARMENIANS:

    The EU: Turkey must recognize that the killing of as many as 1.5
    million of its Armenian minority around the time of World War I
    was genocide.

    Turkey: Calling it genocide is "an international lie"; they died in
    interethnic fighting as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
Working...
X