Tweet
SWISS MAKE GIFT OF TABLE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Hurriyet
Nov 12 2008
Turkey
ANKARA - The first-ever Swiss presidential visit to Turkey saw
an exchange of gestures etched in history yesterday, when the two
countries marked the 80th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
Swiss President Pascal Couchepin presented Turkey with the historic
table on which the founding treaty of the Republic was concluded in
1923 at Lausanne. "This table, that is large, strong and solid, is a
good symbol of the intense relations between Turkey and Switzerland,"
said the visiting president. "I'd like to touch the table before
I leave."
The historic gift was witness to the creation of the modern Republic,
said Turkish President Abdullah Gul, assuring that it would be
exhibited in Turkey in the best way.
Turkey has been strictly implementing the Lausanne Treaty for
decades that provided it with full sovereign rights over all its
territory. According to an anecdote, the secretary of the Lausanne
Conference extended a feather quill pen to Ä°smet Pasha, chief
negotiator of the Turkish delegation at the time, but Ä°smet Pasha
refused to take it and instead took a golden pen out of his pocket that
he had brought only to put his signature on the landmark agreement.
The treaty also guarantees the rights of minorities. But key European
reports from time to time challenge Turkey's redlines and opens to
question the definition of minorities in the multi-ethnic country,
given the only recognized minority groups spelled out in the Lausanne
Treaty are Jews, Greeks and Armenians.
"One should not forget the Montreux Convention," said Gul, while
highlighting that the milestone agreements of Turkish history
were concluded in Switzerland. The Montreux Convention of 1936,
which governs the passage of military ships that do not have coastal
access to the Black Sea, occupied Turkey's agenda in the wake of the
Georgia-Russia war last summer when the U.S. military announced plans
to dispatch huge military ships to Georgia through the Turkish straits.
The dispute over the divided island of Cyprus, of great interest to
Turkey, was also discussed in Switzerland. The final round of Cyprus
talks under the UN auspices was held in the Burgenstock resort,
leading to the twin referenda of a peace plan for reunification of
the island's Turkish and Greek Cypriots. But the plan was voted down
by Greek Cypriots.
Couchepin said there was close interaction with Turkey in the culture
sphere as well. Turkey is guest of honor at the annual Swiss festival
"CultureScapes" in Basel this year and the country will be promoted
at the International Book Fair of Geneva next year, he noted.
Political disagreements
But despite the historic links between the two countries, political
ties are beyond what is expected. The relations have soured over a
number of disagreements, including a controversial Swiss law on the
alleged genocide of Armenians as well as claims of money laundering
in Swiss banks by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party,
or PKK. The recent measures announced by Swiss authorities in the
fight against terrorism have been far from meeting expectations,
Turkish officials earlier said. Switzerland does not blacklist the
PKK as a terrorist group.
On the controversial anti-racism law penalizing denial of the alleged
genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Couchepin
said late Monday it was a legal matter that was up to judges to
interpret.
--Boundary_(ID_8vZ0jOwx8Ial/Xe2DWjh ww)--
Hurriyet
Nov 12 2008
Turkey
ANKARA - The first-ever Swiss presidential visit to Turkey saw
an exchange of gestures etched in history yesterday, when the two
countries marked the 80th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
Swiss President Pascal Couchepin presented Turkey with the historic
table on which the founding treaty of the Republic was concluded in
1923 at Lausanne. "This table, that is large, strong and solid, is a
good symbol of the intense relations between Turkey and Switzerland,"
said the visiting president. "I'd like to touch the table before
I leave."
The historic gift was witness to the creation of the modern Republic,
said Turkish President Abdullah Gul, assuring that it would be
exhibited in Turkey in the best way.
Turkey has been strictly implementing the Lausanne Treaty for
decades that provided it with full sovereign rights over all its
territory. According to an anecdote, the secretary of the Lausanne
Conference extended a feather quill pen to Ä°smet Pasha, chief
negotiator of the Turkish delegation at the time, but Ä°smet Pasha
refused to take it and instead took a golden pen out of his pocket that
he had brought only to put his signature on the landmark agreement.
The treaty also guarantees the rights of minorities. But key European
reports from time to time challenge Turkey's redlines and opens to
question the definition of minorities in the multi-ethnic country,
given the only recognized minority groups spelled out in the Lausanne
Treaty are Jews, Greeks and Armenians.
"One should not forget the Montreux Convention," said Gul, while
highlighting that the milestone agreements of Turkish history
were concluded in Switzerland. The Montreux Convention of 1936,
which governs the passage of military ships that do not have coastal
access to the Black Sea, occupied Turkey's agenda in the wake of the
Georgia-Russia war last summer when the U.S. military announced plans
to dispatch huge military ships to Georgia through the Turkish straits.
The dispute over the divided island of Cyprus, of great interest to
Turkey, was also discussed in Switzerland. The final round of Cyprus
talks under the UN auspices was held in the Burgenstock resort,
leading to the twin referenda of a peace plan for reunification of
the island's Turkish and Greek Cypriots. But the plan was voted down
by Greek Cypriots.
Couchepin said there was close interaction with Turkey in the culture
sphere as well. Turkey is guest of honor at the annual Swiss festival
"CultureScapes" in Basel this year and the country will be promoted
at the International Book Fair of Geneva next year, he noted.
Political disagreements
But despite the historic links between the two countries, political
ties are beyond what is expected. The relations have soured over a
number of disagreements, including a controversial Swiss law on the
alleged genocide of Armenians as well as claims of money laundering
in Swiss banks by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party,
or PKK. The recent measures announced by Swiss authorities in the
fight against terrorism have been far from meeting expectations,
Turkish officials earlier said. Switzerland does not blacklist the
PKK as a terrorist group.
On the controversial anti-racism law penalizing denial of the alleged
genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Couchepin
said late Monday it was a legal matter that was up to judges to
interpret.
--Boundary_(ID_8vZ0jOwx8Ial/Xe2DWjh ww)--