Eye On Turkey

[Rasputin]

BRUSSELS - The European Commission dealt a sharp blow on Wednesday to Turkey's hopes of joining the European Union, recommending a partial suspension of entry talks after Ankara refused to open its ports to Cyprus.

The EU executive proposed freezing eight of the 35 policy areas or "chapters" into which the negotiations are divided and said no chapter should be concluded until the Cyprus trade dispute was resolved.

Turkish television quoted Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as calling the recommendation "unacceptable." Britain, Turkey's strongest ally in the EU, called it "disappointingly tough" and Spain also expressed concern.

"We confirm these negotiations must continue although at slower pace," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said. "There will be no train crash. There is a slowing down because of works further down the tracks."

But Turkey's lira currency and stock prices firmed as analysts said the news from Brussels was not as bad as feared, and analysts said Turkey-EU ties would weather the setback.

EU foreign ministers will decide whether to back the recommendation on December 11. Rehn said Turkey could yet score "a golden goal" by complying before the ministers meet.

This seems very unlikely, however, not least because Erdogan faces elections next year and does not want his increasingly nationalist public opinion to perceive him as weak on Cyprus, seen in Turkey as an issue of national honor.

The Commission move came after the latest round of talks on the Cyprus stand-off failed on Monday.

Many EU countries, reflecting public anxieties, are worried about the prospect of the overwhelmingly Muslim and comparatively poor country joining the Union.

POLITICAL REALITY

"(The decision) clearly contains the signal that we want to continue negotiations with Turkey," said Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, a supporter of Ankara's EU bid.

The sectors to be frozen concern free movement of goods, the right to establish a business and freedom to provide services, financial services, agriculture, fisheries, transport policy, customs union and foreign relations.

Commission sources said the list was based on legal advice on which chapters were relevant to the Cyprus issue but the number also reflected political reality in the member states.

So far, Turkey has provisionally concluded just one chapter science and research since it began talks last year.

Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in 1974 in response to a Greek Cypriot coup backed by Greece and it does not recognize Cyprus. Ankara is alone in recognizing a breakaway Turkish Cypriot mini-state in the north of the island.

Turkey has said it will open its ports to shipping from Cyprus only if the EU fulfils a pledge to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriot northern Cyprus, which the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia has blocked.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Commission decision showed Turkey had to honor its agreement with the EU to open its ports to Cyprus. She also urged better checks on Turkey's progress in the talks and a review in about 18 months.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the EU should not send a negative signal to Turkey as this could be "a serious mistake for Europe long-term."

Turkish officials had expected only three or four chapters to be suspended but there was some comfort that Brussels did not seek a total freeze and set no new deadline to comply on Cyprus.

Egeman Bagis, a foreign policy adviser to Erdogan, said the EU should not create a linkage with solving the Cyprus problem which it had not applied to Cyprus's own accession in 2004.

"Important reforms have taken place in Turkey and the EU has been a very important vehicle in ensuring these reforms. If Europe wants to encourage Turkey to continue with these reforms ... then the talks should continue," Bagis told Reuters.

[Rasputin]

Greece to further consult EU partners on Turkey's accession plans: PM

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said on Monday that Athens was in continuous consultation with its EU partners on how to establish the right framework for Turkey's accession into the European Union (EU).

Turkey had not actively demonstrated its intention to adopt European principles and values, Karamanlis said after meeting his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi.

He said "Turkey must realize that its progress in the accession negotiations depends on its progress in fulfilling the criteria and conditions it has agreed with the EU."

Prodi said the EU should "leave a door open" for Turkey while at the same time clarifying that the accession criteria were the same as those applying to other candidate countries.

The two prime ministers also discussed the situation in Kosovo, expressing support for Serbia's European orientation.

Karamanlis stressed that a solution for the future status of Kosovo should be accepted by all the sides involved, and that the European orientation of southeastern Europe serves as an important factor in the stability of the broader region.

[Rasputin]

Austrian Rightists Demand End To EU-Turkey Talks

Austrian rightist leader Heinz-Christian Strache demanded an end to negotiations between the EU and Turkey over the country's membership in the European Union.

"Even the current EU chairman Vanhanen calls for a partial stop to the Turkey-talks, so the EU should make a clean sweep at its December summit, and finally end its ill-fated Turkish adventure," Strache said in a press release on Tuesday.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, who currently holds the EU Presidency, said on Tuesday in Brussels talks with Turkey should be partly frozen, as suggested by the EU Commission.

Strache, who leads the extreme right Freedom Party, made prominent by its former leader Joerg Haider, said the suggestion made by Vanhanen showed that even the "enlargement fanatics" in Brussels meanwhile feared that negotiations would fail.

"Instead of freezing some chapters or pause some parts of the negotiations, the EU should freeze the accession talks with Turkey completely and never unfreeze them again," Strache said.

The difficult negotiations showed clearly that the Freedom Party had been right all along with its opposition to Turkey's EU membership, he said.

"If we had had our way, the talks would have never started. But again - a lot of pain, no gain," Strache said.

[Rasputin]

France and Germany backed a plan to partially suspend Turkey's EU membership talks due to its refusal to open trade links with Cyprus, and called for a full review in 18 months of Ankara's troubled effort to join the bloc.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country will chair EU meetings next week, also on Tuesday backed the plan to freeze eight of 35 negotiating chapters that Turkey must complete to join the EU.

"Something we expected didn't happen. It must have certain consequences," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, referring to Turkey's refusal to open its ports and airports to ships and planes from Cyprus.

At a meeting in Germany with French President Jacques Chirac and Polish Prime Minister Lech Kaczynski, Merkel called the European Commission's plan for a partial freeze a "good basis" for a decision next week. Chirac said he agreed.

The plan has provoked an angry reaction from Turkey.

"To distance Turkey from the negotiating table would be a grave mistake," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "Turkey has nothing to lose. If anyone will lose it will be the EU."

Vanhanen said EU foreign ministers should decide on Monday whether the partial freeze will go ahead.

EU nations are split over the plan and the issue is likely to spill over to the bloc's year-end summit Dec. 14 to 15.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called a partial suspension a "serious mistake."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, meanwhile, has urged the EU to "work intensively" to keep the doors open to Turkey.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has warned the commission's recommendation risked destabilizing the region.

At the meeting in Mettlach, Germany, Merkel called for the commission to report back to EU leaders between Turkish elections next fall and European elections in early 2009 for a review of Ankara's progress toward membership.

"We don't want to set any kind of ultimatums, but we want ... the commission to say to us what has been achieved and how we could proceed," Merkel said.

German officials have said that details of the review still have to be worked out.

The European Commission currently produces an annual report on the progress of Turkey and other candidates toward meeting EU membership standards.

Since the EU and Turkey began negotiating entry terms in October last year, relations have become strained and mutual public misgivings have increased.

Anger over EU demands has seen a sharp drop in support among Turks for the plan to integrate the Muslim nation of 70 million into the European bloc.

Among EU nations, too, opinion is divided between those who see Turkish membership as a way to anchor a moderate Muslim nation in the West and those concerned over the impact on immigration, EU finances and Turkey's commitment to democracy and human rights.
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[Rasputin]

Turkey shows signs of bowing to EU pressure

In an unexpected move yesterday Turkey conceded it is ready to open one of its ports to Cypriot vessels, signalling it will be bowing to EU pressure.

This development arrived following last week's European Commission recommendation to put Turkey's ongoing accession negotiation to join the EU on a "slow mode" until Ankara decides to adhere to its pre-negotiations commitments, particularly on Cyprus.

A short statement yesterday by the Finnish EU presidency confirmed that recent developments may lead to the reversing of the current stalemate.

Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said Turkey informed the Finnish presidency of its intention to provisionally open a major seaport to Cypriot vessels.

"Turkey's initiative is a positive step towards full implementation of the Ankara protocol, but still needs clarification. If Turkey is ready for such an unconditional move, this positive step will influence the Council's discussions on the continuation of Turkey's EU accession process," the minister said.

EU Foreign Ministers are set to discuss the situation on Monday during a meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels, a few days before the EU summit meeting later on in the week.

In its recommendation, the Commission said it should not open negotiations with Turkey on chapters covering policy areas relevant to Turkey's restrictions with regard to Cyprus until the Commission confirms that Turkey has fulfilled its commitments.

The main row which led to this stalemate was the refusal of Turkey to open its ports and airspace to Cypriot vessels and planes.

Turkey still does not recognise Cyprus.

[Rasputin]

پس از آنکه ترکيه به رغم درخواست اتحاديه اروپا اجازه استفاده کشتی ها و هواپيماهای قبرسی را از بنادر و فرودگاه هايش صادر نکرد، وزيران خارجه اعضای اتحاديه اروپا گرد هم آمده اند تا بر سر نحوه مجازات اين کشور تصميم گيری کنند.
دولت ترکيه و اتحاديه اروپا درگير مذاکرات دشواری هستند تا اين کشور که اکثريت مطلق جمعيت آن را مسلمانان تشکيل می دهند، در آينده به اتحاديه اروپا بپيوندد.

پيشتر کميسيون اروپا پيشنهاد کرده بود بخش هايی از اين مذاکرات که از سال گذشته برای عضويت ترکيه در اتحاديه اروپا شروع شد به حال تعليق درآيد؛ پيشنهادی که مخالفت برخی اعضای اين اتحاديه را به همراه داشت و تونی بلر، نخست وزير بريتانيا، آن را 'يک اشتباه جدی' خواند.

فرانک والتر اشتاينماير، وزير امور خارجه آلمان، در حاشيه جلسه روز دوشبنه (11 دسامبر) از نزديکتر شدن مواضع اعضای اتحاديه اروپا بر سر نحوه برخورد با ترکيه خبر داده اما افزوده اختلاف نظرها همچنان بيش از آن است که بتوان از اين جلسه انتظار حصول توافق داشت.

در صورتی که نشست وزيران امور خارجه اتحاديه اروپا به نتيجه نرسد، موضوع پيوستن ترکيه به اين اتحاديه و برخورد با اين کشور به نشست سران دولتها در آخر هفته جاری ارجاع می شود.

مذاکرات ترکيه با اتحاديه اروپا پيچيدگی های فراوانی دارد و موضوع مناقشه ترکيه با قبرس يکی از موانع بزرگ بر سر ادامه اين مذاکرات به شمار می رود.

ترکيه تنها کشوری است که 'جمهوری ترک قبرس شمالی' را - که پس از حمله و اشغال نيروهای ترک به جزيره قبرس در سال 1974 ميلادی اعلام موجوديت کرد - به رسميت می شناسد.

قبرس از سال 2004 ميلادی به عضويت اتحاديه اروپا درآمده و به دليل مواضع کاملا متفاوت اين کشور با ترکيه، تلاش های گسترده برای حل اين معضل تا کنون ناکام مانده است.

[Rasputin]

Turkish Airlines gets the hump

Some say camel meat tastes like 'coarse beef'
A job well done is worth celebrating, but Turkish Airlines say staff went too far when they sacrificed a camel.
To mark the last delivery of 100 aircraft, maintenance workers clubbed together to buy the beast - and then consume it.

The sacrifice took place at Istanbul international airport.

"They didn't ask permission," a spokeswoman for the airline told the BBC, adding that the boss of the offending staff had been suspended.

He will remain off work while the incident is investigated.

Camel is eaten in Turkey, while the sacrifice of animals - usually sheep - is performed during the Festival of Sacrifice, marking the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.

"But it wasn't anything to do with that," said Belgin Alisan of Turkish Airlines, which was last week accepted into the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance.

"They went too far. We are really quite shocked."

Top-selling daily Hurriyet said 700kg of camel meat had been distributed among the workers.

[Rasputin]

مذاکرات امریکا با ژنرال های ترک

برای پیوستن ترکیه به ائتلاف علیه ایران

روزنامه الوطن چاپ عربستان سعوی فاش ساخت که یک هیات بلندپایه از مقامات نظامی و سیاسی امریکا به سرپرستی "پیتررودمن" معاون مشاور وزارت دفاع امریکا با ژنرال های ترکیه به سرپرستی "آرغین صایغون" معاون ستاد مشترک ارتش ترکیه، در ترکیه پیرامون پیوستن این کشور به جبهه ائتلاف علیه ایران مذاکره کرده اند. تاکنون هیچ منبع خبری در باره چنین ائتلافی گزارش نکرده بود و معلوم نیست چه کشورهای عضو آن هستند که اکنون تلاش برای پیوند دادن ترکیه به آن در جریان دارد.

همین روزنامه درگزارش خود نوشت که اخیرا مقامات نظامی اسرائیل و ترکیه نیز در دیدار مشترکی که در تل آویو پایتخت اسرائیل داشته اند پیرامون توان نظامی – بویژه موشکی- ایران مذاکره و تبادل نظر کرده اند. الوطن انگیزه این تبادل نظر عکس العمل های ایران نسبت به قطعنامه شورای امنیت سازمان ملل اعلام کرده است، اما آشکار است که واکنش به قطعنامه شورای امنیت از جانب ایران نمی تواند نظامی باشد، مگر آنکه واکنش ایران نسبت به حمله نظامی به ایران مورد مطرح باشد.

تبادل اطلاعاتی که از طریق منابع جاسوسی علیه ایران- بویژه از طریق ماهواره- بدست می آید نیز از جمله موارد مورد مذاکره بوده است.

ترکیه و اسرائیل قرار است بزودی یک مانور مشترک دریائی برگزار کنند که در آن امریکا نیز شرکت خواهد داشت.

[Rasputin]

وزير انرژى تركيه با اشاره به خسارات وارده به اين كشور در اثر قطع صادرات گاز ايران اعلام كرد، عليه اين كشور به داورى بين*المللى مراجعه كرده است.
به گزارش الزمان، شركت بوتاش تركيه خواهان جبران خسارات ناشى از قطع صادرات گاز ايران به اين كشور شده است.
سلتوك ديزيول، مديرعامل شركت دولتى بوتاش تركيه كه در جريان يك كنفرانس خبرى به همراه وزير انرژى اين كشور سخن مي*گفت قطع مكرر صادرات گاز ايران به تركيه را كه در اثر افزايش مصرف داخلى اتفاق افتاده است نقض موافقت*نامه منعقده ميان دو كشور دانست و خواهان جبران خسارات وارده به تركيه از سوى ايران شد.
وى گفت چنانچه دولت ايران از پرداخت خسارات وارده امتناع كند تركيه براى احقاق حقوق خود به واحدهاى بين*المللى مراجعه مى كند.
در عين حال وى گاز ايران را براى تركيه حائيز اهميت ارزيابى كرد و گفت ,علي*رغم قطع مكرر گاز همچنان ايران منبع مهم تامين كننده گاز طبيعى براى تركيه است,
براساس اين گزارش هلمى گولر وزير انرژى تركيه نيز در جريان اين كنفرانس گفت با مقامات ايران تماس گرفته شده است تا اين مشكل حل شود.
وى با اعلام اين كه تركيه در حال حاضر موضوع قطع مكرر صادرات گاز ايران را به داورى بين*المللى ارجاع داده است گفت در عين حال ما خواهان ابطال موافقت*نامه منعقده نيستيم.
براساس اين گزارش از چند روز گذشته در اثر افزايش مصرف داخلى ايران صادرات گاز طبيعى ايران به تركيه قطع شده است.
در حال حاضر با افزايش واردات گاز از روسيه مشكل مصرف در تركيه تا حدودى مرتفع شده است.

[Rasputin]

تركيه با بيش از ۱۰۰كشته در عراق، بعد از آمريكا و انگليس بيشترين تعداد تلفات را در بين كشورهاى ديگر در عراق داده است.

به گزارش پايگاه اينترنتى "ان.تى.وى."، قريب به تمامى تلفات تركيه در عراق را غيرنظاميان تشكيل مي*دهند.

"ان.تى..ى." با يادآورى اين كه به دليل بيكاري، اتباع تركيه همچنان به عزيمت به عراق براى اشتغال ادامه مي*دهند، نوشت: "بخش عمده اتباع تركيه در عراق، به كارهاى ساختماني، آشپزى و رانندگى اشتغال دارند."
بيشتر اتباع تركيه*اى شاغل در تركيه اهل شهرهاى آدانا، شانلى عرفا و عثمانيه هستند.

به نوشته "ان.تى.وى."، از شهر آدانا پنج هزار و از شهر شانلى عرفا نيز ۷۰۰تن در عراق اشتغال دارند.

اين پايگاه در ارزيابى شرايط كارى شاغلين ترك در عراق نوشت: "به دليل ناآرامي*هاى موجود، اتباع تركيه در ازاى هر چهار ماه اشتغال در عراق، به مدت ۱۵روز براى مرخصى به تركيه مي*آيند."
به نوشته "ان.تى.وى." شاغلان ترك در عراق كه قبلا از طريق زمينى به آن كشور عزيمت مي*كردند، در سال*هاى اخير به دليل ادامه ناآرامي*ها عمدتا با هواپيما به آن كشور عزيمت مي*كنند.

[Rasputin]

Turkish-Armenian editor shot dead in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A high-profile Turkish-Armenian editor, convicted of insulting Turkey's identity, was shot dead outside his newspaper office in Istanbul on Friday.

Hrant Dink, a writer and journalist and a frequent target of nationalist anger, was shot by an unknown assailant as he left his newspaper Agos around 1300 GMT in central Istanbul, the paper said.

"Hrant was a perfect target for those who want to obstruct Turkey's democratization and its path toward the European Union," Agos writer Aydin Engin told Reuters.

Broadcaster NTV said Dink been shot three times in the neck and police were now looking for a 18 or 19-year-old man.

CNN Turk television said two men had been detained in connection with the shooting.

The attack is bound to raise political tensions in would-be EU member Turkey, where politicians of all parties have been courting the nationalist vote ahead of presidential elections in May and parliamentary polls due by November.

Protesters at the scene chanted "the murderer government will pay" and "shoulder-to-shoulder against fascism".

Television footage showed his body lying in the street covered by a white sheet, with hundreds of bystanders gathering behind a police cordon.

"This bullet was fired against Turkey ... an image has been created about Turkey that its Armenian citizens have no safety," said CNN Turk editor Taha Akyol.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement it "forcefully condemned" the "loathsome attack".

Last year Turkey's appeals court upheld a six-month suspended jail sentence against Dink, a Turkish-born Armenian, for referring in an article to an Armenian nationalist idea of ethnic purity without Turkish blood.

The court said the comments went against an article of Turkey's revised penal code which lets prosecutors pursue cases against writers and scholars for "insulting Turkish identity".

The ruling was sharply criticised by the EU.

INSULTING TURKISHNESS

Dink was one of dozens of writers who have been charged under laws against insulting Turkishness, particularly over the alleged genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One.
Turkey denies allegations that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic genocide. It says both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks were killed in a partisan conflict that raged on Ottoman territory.

But the government has promised to revise the much criticised article of the penal code amid EU pressure.

Dink was editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish and Armenian newspaper and one of the most prominent Armenian voices in Turkey.

"I will not leave this country. If I go I would feel I was leaving alone the people struggling for democracy in this country. It would be a betrayal of them. I could never do this," Dink said in an interview with Reuters last July.

Tensions have been growing ahead of presidential elections amid a rise in nationalism.

Turkey's powerful secularist establishment fears the ruling AK Party, which controls parliament and has roots in political Islam, will elect Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as president.

Secularists, including powerful army generals and judges, fear Erdogan -- a former Islamist -- would try to erode Turkey's strict division between state and religion if elected president.

Erdogan denies he or his party have an Islamist agenda.

[Rasputin]

Turkish-Armenian writer shot dead

A prominent Turkish-Armenian editor, convicted in 2005 of insulting Turkish identity, has been shot dead outside his newspaper's office in Istanbul.
Crowds of Hrant Dink's colleagues and supporters gathered at the scene, chanting their outrage at his murder.

Dink was given a six-month suspended sentence in October 2005 after writing about the Armenian "genocide" of 1915.

The US, EU and Armenia have condemned his murder and Turkey's leaders vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

"A bullet has been fired at democracy and freedom of expression," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a hastily convened news conference.

Prominent voice

The attack on Dink was an attack on Turkey and on Turkish unity and stability, Mr Erdogan said, adding that the "dark hands" behind the killing would be brought to justice.




Obituary: Hrant Dink

The murder is likely to increase political tensions in Turkey, where politicians have been courting the nationalist vote ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, correspondents say.

Mr Erdogan said two people had been detained in connection with the killing but Turkish media later reported that they had been released.

Turkey's NTV television said police were searching for a teenager wearing a white hat and a denim jacket in connection with the murder.

The channel showed pictures of a white sheet covering the journalist's body in front of the newspaper building's entrance.

Dink, the editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish and Armenian weekly Agos newspaper, was one of Turkey's most prominent Armenian voices.

He was the frequent target of anger from Turkish nationalists who viewed him as a traitor, correspondents say.

Penal code

Dink, 53, was found guilty more than a year ago of insulting Turkish identity after he wrote an article which addressed the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians nine decades ago.


Dink was gunned down in broad daylight

He always said his aim was to improve the difficult relationship between Turks and Armenians, but in one of his last newspaper columns, he admitted he had been getting deaths threats.

His computer hard drive was full of them, he wrote, amounting to what he called psychological torture.

Dink was among dozens of writers in Turkey who have been charged under 301 of Turkey's penal code with insulting Turkish identity, often for articles dealing with the killing of Kurds and Ottoman Armenians.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, in what many Armenians say was a systematic massacre at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.

Turkey denies any genocide, saying the deaths were a part of World War I.

Turkey and neighbouring Armenia still have no official relations.

[Rasputin]

The main suspect in the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink has been arrested, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
The governor of Istanbul said police captured Ogun Samast, aged 16 or 17, on a bus in the Black Sea city of Samsun.

Mr Samast was earlier named as the suspect pictured in security camera images near the scene of the killing.

Mr Dink, 53, was shot dead in broad daylight outside his newspaper offices in Istanbul on Friday.

He was well-known for writing controversial articles about the mass killing of Armenians by Turks during World War I.

'Tip off'

Istanbul governor Muammer Guler announced the details of the capture in a live television broadcast.

He said Mr Samast had been detained at Samsun bus station while apparently returning to his hometown of Trabzon from Istanbul.


Hrant Dink was one of Turkey's most prominent Armenian voices

The governor added that Mr Samast was carrying a gun at the time, and that six other suspects had been detained in Trabzon.

All seven will be brought to Istanbul for questioning on Sunday and police are investigating whether they were part of a group, Mr Guler said.

The governor emphasised that Ogun Samast - who he said was born in 1990 - had been detained after 32 hours.

The suspect was identified by his own father when he saw television images taken at the scene of Friday's killing.

A clear image taken from security camera footage showed a man apparently running from the scene, tucking what officials said was a gun into his belt.

Dink's secretary told investigators Mr Samast had asked to meet Mr Dink earlier on Friday, before the killing, Mr Guler said.

After the request was turned down, the secretary saw Mr Samast waiting on the street outside Mr Dink's office, he said.

Three suspects detained in Istanbul on Friday shortly after the killing have been released.

'Genocide'

Mr Dink's murder shocked Turkey and Prime Minister Erdogan vowed repeatedly that his killer would be caught.

Journalists and politicians in Turkey have expressed outrage at the killing, which many described as a political assassination, while the US, EU, France, and several human rights groups also voiced shock and condemnation.

Following the murder, Turkey should not even dream about joining the European Union

Tigran Torosyan
Armenian parliament speaker


'Frightened pigeon'
Obituary: Hrant Dink
Turkish press outrage
Mr Dink had received multiple death threats from nationalists because of his views on the mass killings of Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

He was convicted in October 2005 for writing about the Armenian "genocide" in 1915, a claim denied by the authorities in Ankara.

The issue is a sensitive subject in both Armenia and Turkey. Many Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide.

The Armenian government condemned Mr Dink's murder.

Its president, Robert Kocharian, said the killing "raises numerous questions and deserves the strongest condemnation".

The speaker of Armenia's parliament, Tigran Torosyan went even further.

"Following the murder, Turkey should not even dream about joining the European Union," the Armenian news agency Arminfo quoted him as saying.

The two countries still have no official relations since Armenia gained independence after the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

[Rasputin]

رسانه های ترکيه تصاوير جنجال برانگيزی منتشر کرده اند که ماموران امنيتی اين کشور را در حال گرفتن 'عکس يادگاری' با اوگون ساماس، نوجوان ترک که به قتل هراند دينک روزنامه نگار سرشناس ارمنی، اعتراف کرده، نشان می دهد.
تصاوير ويدئويی و عکس هايی که به رسانه ها درز کرده، نوجوان هفده ساله ترک را نشان می دهد که کنار تعدادی مامور امنيتی با يک پرچم ترکيه ايستاده و پشت سر آنها تقويمی ديده می شود که روی آن نوشته شده: "خاک سرزمين مادری مقدس است، نمی توان آن را به حال خود رها کرد."

مقام های مسئول در ترکيه می گويند اين عکس ها در واحد ضد ترور پليس در شهر سامسون - همان شهری که اوگون ساماس سی و دو ساعت پس از کشته شدن آقای دينک در آن دستگير شد - گرفته شده است.

هراند دینک که مقالات جنجال برانگيز متعددی درباره کشتار ارامنه به سال 1915 ميلادی - و در واپسین روزهای امپراتوری عثمانی - نوشته بود، روز نوزدهم ژانويه در شهر استانبول در برابر دفتر روزنامه آگوس، که وی سردبیر آن بود به ضرب دو گلوله کشته شد.


تصاوير نشان می دهد که قاتل و امثال او تنها نيستند، که حاميان آنها ... در همه بخش های اين حکومت [ترکيه] رخنه کرده اند


عصمت برکان، سردبير روزنامه راديکال

پليس ترکيه ساعاتی پس از آنکه پدر نوجوان مظنون به قتل از روی تصاوير ويدئويی پسرش را شناخت، او را در شهر شمالی سامسون دستگير کرد.

اينک انتشار تصاوير نيروی امنيتی ترکيه با نوجوان متهم به قتل، بحث شديدی را در برخی رسانه های اين کشور به راه انداخته و موجب انتقادهای جدی به عملکرد اين نيروها شده است.

روزنامه راديکال، که از روزنامه های ليبرال ترکيه به شمار می رود، روز جمعه در مطلبی به رفتار 'همراه با تأييد' ماموران امنيتی با آقای ساماس اعتراض کرده و نوشته است: "فقط کم مانده بود بوسه ای هم بر پيشانی قاتل زده شود.. اين تصوير طرز فکری است که دينک را کشت."

عصمت برکان، سردبير روزنامه راديکال، در ادامه آورده: "اين تصاوير نشان می دهد که قاتل و امثال او تنها نيستند، که حاميان آنها ... در همه بخش های اين حکومت [ترکيه] رخنه کرده اند."



اين تصاوير [متهم به قتل و ماموران امنيتی کنار هم] به اندازه خود عمل قتل هرانت دينک بد است


روزنامه وطن

روزنامه های پرتيراژ ترکيه همچون وطن و صباح نيز اين موضوع را منعکس کرده و اين تصاوير را به همان بدی قتل دانسته اند.

آقای دینک یکی از معروف ترین افراد جامعه ارمنی ترکیه بود و به رغم تهدید ها وی هرگز سکوت اختیار نکرد و به رغم تنش هایی که فعالیت های هراند دینک را در بر گرفته بود، محافظی در اختیار وی قرار نگرفته بود که این مساله این منجر به بروز این انتقاد شده که چرا مقامات اقدام کافی برای محافظت از جان آقای دینک انجام ندادند.

ترور روزنامه نگار سرشناس ارمنی، که بسياری در ترکيه علت قتل او را نوشته های جنجالی اش در مورد کشتار صدها هزار ارمنی در ميانه جنگ جهانی اول می دانند، موجب بروز اعتراضات خشم آلود در ترکیه شد.

کشتار ارامنه هم در ارمنستان و هم در ترکیه موضوع بسیار حساسی به شمار می رود و بسیاری از ارامنه تلاش کرده اند که این کشتار در سطح بین المللی به عنوان قتل عام مورد شناسایی قرار گیرد.

ترکیه اتهام قتل عام ارامنه را رد می کند و می گوید که این مساله جزئی از جنگ جهانی اول بود.

هراند دینک يک بار در اکتبر 2005 پس از نوشتن مقاله ای درباره کشتار گسترده ارامنه به علت توهین به "هویت ترک" متهم شناخته شد.

[Rasputin]

ترکیه اعلام کرد که در تلاش برای روشن کردن وضعیت معاون وزیر دفاع پیشین ایران است که در خاک آن کشور گم شده است.
سفارت ترکیه در تهران طی بیانیه ای اعلام کرد که آنکارا با استفاده از تمام واحدهای اطلاعاتی و امنیتی در تلاش برای روشن کردن موضوع گم شدن علی رضا عسگری است.

علی رضا عسگری، معاون وزیر دفاع ایران در دوره وزارت علی شمخانی، چندی پیش پس از ورود به استانبول ناپدید شد. وی از دمشق وارد استانبول شده بود.

ترکیه اعلام کرده که در حال همکاری نزدیک با مقام های ایرانی و تحقیق بر روی این مساله است.

سفارت ترکیه گفته است که این کشور اطلاعات خود را در این زمینه در اختیار مقام های ایران قرار داده و تبادل اطلاعات همچنان ادامه خواهد داشت.

زمان ناپدید شدن آقای عسگری مشخص نیست. پیشتر گفته می شد که وی در ماه فوریه ربوده شده اما خانواده معاون وزیر دفاع پیشین ایران می گویند که وی بیش از سه ماه است که مفقود شده است.

همسر علی رضا عسگری، معاون وزیر دفاع ایران در دولت محمد خاتمی که در ترکیه ناپدید شده پیش از این خواهان پاسخگویی دولت ترکیه در برابر گم شدن شوهرش در خاک این کشور شده بود.

خانم زیبا احمدی مدعی آن شده که آقای عسگری توسط نیروهای اسرائیل و آمریکا با کمک نیروهای امنیتی ترکیه ربوده شده است.

ترکیه این موضوع را رد کرده و یک دیپلمات ترک گفته است که "ترکیه با مقام های ایرانی همکاری بسیار نزدیکی در مورد این پرونده دارد و انتشار چنین گزارش ها و اظهارنظرهایی کمکی به پیشرفت این مساله نمی کند."

سفارت ترکیه نیز در بیانیه خود گفته است که برخی اخبار و گزارش هایی که در رسانه های بین المللی منتشر می شوند غیر واقعی و گمراه کننده است.

شایعه های بسیاری در مورد ناپدید شدن علی رضا عسگری مطرح شده است.

برخی رسانه های عربی از ربوده شدن وی توسط سرویس جاسوسی موساد خبر دادند در حالی که روزنامه های غربی موضوع پناهنده شدن آقای عسگری را مطرح کردند. هیچکدام از این شایعات تا کنون تائید نشده اند.

احتمال ربوده شدن

سرتیپ اسماعیل احمدی مقدم، فرمانده نیروی انتظامی جمهوری اسلامی برای اولین بار در 15 اسفند امسال به طور ضمنی به احتمال ربوده شدن معاون وزیر دفاع پیشین ایران در ترکیه توسط سرویس های اطلاعاتی غربی اشاره کرد و گفت که ممکن است این اقدام به دلیل سوابق آقای عسگری در وزارت دفاع صورت گرفته باشد.

بررسی های پلیس ترکیه نشان داد که معاون پیشین وزیر دفاع ایران از خاک ترکیه خارج نشده و اثری هم از وی در بیمارستان ها و مراکز پزشکی قانونی ثبت نشده است.

خبر ناپدید شدن معاون وزیر دفاع پیشین ایران را که گفته می شود اطلاعات مهمی درباره فعالیت های نظامی ایران دارد برای اولین بار روزنامه های عربی منتشر کردند.

روزنامه واشنگتن پست نیز اخیرا نوشت که علی رضا عسگری به طور داوطلبانه (به غرب) روی آورده و درحال ارائه اطلاعاتی به سازمان های اطلاعاتی غربی درباره حمایت ایران از گروه حزب الله لبنان است. خانواده آقای عسگری این ادعا را رد کرده است.