Ankara criticizes European Parliament over Cyprus vote
Friday, January 29, 2010
FULYA ÖZERKAN
LONDON - Hürriyet Daily News
While Ankara slams a Council of Europe report on Cyprus that comes amid ongoing intensified talks for reunification of the divided island, it welcomes another European report calling on both Turkey and Greece to fulfill responsibilities toward their minorities
Ankara has advised the European Parliament to watch television after the foreign affairs committee adopted a controversial report on the divided island of Cyprus.
"While the intensified talks are ongoing in Cyprus, such decisions demonstrate the European Parliament's detachment from the process," diplomatic sources told the Hürriyet Daily News Wednesday. "Those who vote for this report should watch television."
The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday adopted a draft motion. Sixty committee members voted in favor of the draft report prepared by Dutch parliamentarian and the parliament's Turkey rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten, while 11 abstained.
The draft calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus, resolve the issue of Turkish citizens settled on the island as well as allowing Greek Cypriot access to Maraş, or Varosha.
It urges the Turkish government to seek solutions to preserve the bicultural character of the Turkish islands Gökçeada and Bozcaada, and to address the problems encountered by Greek people with regard to their education and property rights.
At a news conference following the committee voting, Dutch European Parliament rapporteur Oomen-Ruijten held Socialists and Liberals responsible for tougher paragraph on Cyprus. She said, the report was quite balanced nevertheless.
The European Parliament is scheduled to debate the report on February 10, followed by a final parliamentary voting the next day.
Ankara welcomes Council of Europe report
To the contrary, Ankara welcomed another report urging both Turkey and Greece to treat their religious minorities in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, saying it is the first time a Council of Europe report acknowledged the responsibilities that should be fulfilled by Greece.
"The criticism posed to Turkey in the report is nothing new but it is important that the criticism of Greece is cited for the first time in a report of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe [PACE]," said a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomat.
The report PACE called on Turkey and Greece not to implement reciprocity by considering the rights of religious minorities as stated in the Lausanne Treaty and to act in compliance with the standards as set forth by the European convention. The report further indicated that the two countries should not conduct discrimination against members of religious minorities.
It called on the two countries to recognize the ethnic identity of individuals and contribute to the solution of the religious and educational problems of such minorities.
"We are already working to enhance the standards of our minorities. The elements criticized in the report are already on our agenda," said the diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity. He was referring to European calls for Ankara to recognize the ecumenical title of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and open the Halki seminary.
The PACE General Assembly approved a report by French parliamentarian Michel Hunault on "religious freedoms of non-Muslim minority in Turkey and Muslim minority in Western Thrace and other human rights" and a relevant resolution. 102 parliamentarians voted "yes" while 18 voted "no". Four parliamentarians abstained.