Armenia{n} patriarch {in Turkey}: Turkish EU bid critical
Fri, Sep. 30, 2005
Associated Press
LOUIS MEIXLER
ANKARA, Turkey - The head of the Armenian church in Turkey warned European leaders that postponing Turkey's bid for EU membership could undermine efforts to bring together the Muslim East and the Christian West.
Turkey has worked hard to implement criteria required by the European Union and has "been steered toward real change on the democratic road," the leader of the largest non-Muslim group in Turkey, Patriarch Mesrob II of the Armenian church, wrote in a letter released Friday.
"However, because of oppositionist and suspicious attitudes directed toward Turkey, it seems as though it is being forced to take backward steps and turn in on itself," he wrote.
The Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's 200 million Orthodox Christians also released a statement in support of Turkey's bid to join the 25-nation European Union amid growing frustration over delays in membership talks.
[...]
Minorities in Turkey have strongly supported the country's EU bid in the hopes it will lead to greater democratic reforms and freedoms. Turkey already has enacted sweeping changes aimed at gaining EU membership, such as abolishing the death penalty and passing laws that improve democracy.
Mesrob urged EU leaders not to postpone Turkey's quest for membership. There are fears that if the EU bid collapses, nationalism in Turkey will rise.
"Such undesired developments will be a blow not only to Turkey and Europe but to reconciliation between East and West," he wrote in the letter, which was sent to EU foreign ministers ahead of their Sunday meeting.
Armenian Christians, numbering 70,000, belong to the remnants of a community largely destroyed by deportations and massacres at the time of World War I.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of Orthodox Christianity, said in his statement that "Turkey definitely has the right to be part of this union."
The patriarchate dates back to the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which ruled the region from Constantinople, now called Istanbul.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Associated Press
LOUIS MEIXLER
ANKARA, Turkey - The head of the Armenian church in Turkey warned European leaders that postponing Turkey's bid for EU membership could undermine efforts to bring together the Muslim East and the Christian West.
Turkey has worked hard to implement criteria required by the European Union and has "been steered toward real change on the democratic road," the leader of the largest non-Muslim group in Turkey, Patriarch Mesrob II of the Armenian church, wrote in a letter released Friday.
"However, because of oppositionist and suspicious attitudes directed toward Turkey, it seems as though it is being forced to take backward steps and turn in on itself," he wrote.
The Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's 200 million Orthodox Christians also released a statement in support of Turkey's bid to join the 25-nation European Union amid growing frustration over delays in membership talks.
[...]
Minorities in Turkey have strongly supported the country's EU bid in the hopes it will lead to greater democratic reforms and freedoms. Turkey already has enacted sweeping changes aimed at gaining EU membership, such as abolishing the death penalty and passing laws that improve democracy.
Mesrob urged EU leaders not to postpone Turkey's quest for membership. There are fears that if the EU bid collapses, nationalism in Turkey will rise.
"Such undesired developments will be a blow not only to Turkey and Europe but to reconciliation between East and West," he wrote in the letter, which was sent to EU foreign ministers ahead of their Sunday meeting.
Armenian Christians, numbering 70,000, belong to the remnants of a community largely destroyed by deportations and massacres at the time of World War I.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of Orthodox Christianity, said in his statement that "Turkey definitely has the right to be part of this union."
The patriarchate dates back to the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which ruled the region from Constantinople, now called Istanbul.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:21 PM
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