26 April 2005

1. "AI Calls for Retrial of Torturers", acquittal of police officers charged with subjecting in 1999 Nazime Ceren Salmanoglu, then 16 years old, and Fatma Deniz Polattas, then 19 years old, to horrific torture including rape, arouses AI's concerns.

2. "Children Call The Goverrnment to Disarm", in the 23 April Children's Holiday in Turkey, 728 children across the country draw and paint for disarmament, in Amnesty International campaign and call the governmet to cut arms expenditures.

3. "No information on Ocalan for five weeks! - Ocalan's isolation continues!", the fact that the prevention of visitations coincide with the discussions of a possible re-trial decision by the ECHR leads Ocalan's lawyers to conclude that the visitations are prevented as a result of the heightened wave of nationalism and chauvinism in Turkey. (Press Realease by Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers)

4. "Turkish military forays into politics", the Turkish military has returned to the center of the country's political scene after a period of silence with a strong nationalist message on key domestic and international issues.

5. "Deconstructing Ankara", the comments at Istanbul’s military academy last week by Turkey’s top general, who called the European Union an “intermediary” of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and warned that “we now see the kind of pressure Turkey will face in its accession negotiations,” were particularly revealing as to the hardline establishment’s stance on the issue.

6. "Turkey must push reforms ahead of entry talks-EU", Turkey must do more to push through political reforms ahead of its planned membership talks with the European Union later this year, EU foreign ministers agreed today ahead of talks with their Turkish counterpart.

7. "Armenian tragedy remains on Europe's political map", on 24 April, Armenians worldwide commemorate the 90th anniversary of the mass deportations and killing of hundreds of thousands of their ethnic kin during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

8. "Turkey must repudiate its policy of denial", all wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to fade, as the government-fanned anti-Japanese riots that took place last week in China remind us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of 1915, which was commemorated on Sunday, is another wound that will not heal, but one that must be treated if Turkey's progress toward European Union membership is to proceed smoothly.

1. - Bianet - "AI Calls for Retrial of Torturers":

Acquittal of police officers charged with subjecting in 1999 Nazime Ceren Salmanoglu, then 16 years old, and Fatma Deniz Polattas, then 19 years old, to horrific torture including rape, arouses AI's concerns.

ISTANBUL / 25 April 2005

Amnesty International calls for Turkey's Court of Appeal to urgently re-examine the case of four police officers acquitted of the torture and rape of two teenage girls.

"This trial has already taken over four years and has been postponed more than 30 times," said James Logan, researcher on Turkey at Amnesty International. "For it to be dismissed at this stage over an entirely bogus technicality is abominable. Justice has not been served."

The police officers had been charged with subjecting Nazime Ceren Salmanoglu, then 16 years old, and Fatma Deniz Polattas, then 19 years old, to horrific torture including rape with serrated objects, beatings, suspension by the arms, and forced "virginity tests" in early March 1999.

The women say they were also denied food and drink, prevented from sleeping or using the toilet, and forced to strip and remain naked in a cold room. Confessions regarding their membership in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) obtained during the torture, were used to sentence both women to long prison terms. Nazime Ceren Salmanoglu was released at the end of last year under changes made to the Turkish penal code. Fatma Deniz Polattas is still in prison.

The court today dismissed the case against the police officers because of "insufficient evidence", based on the General Board of the Forensic Medical Institute's assessment that the psychiatric reports submitted did not constitute valid evidence.

According to Amnesty International, “This is unacceptable for several reasons.

* “First and most critically because at least one of the doctors on the Board had previously received disciplinary punishment for covering up torture.

* “In addition, many members of the Board are not specialists in these types of cases, and in any case an expert committee from the Institute had previously determined that this evidence was indeed valid.”

Extraordinary delays have marked the judicial proceedings from the outset and only after extensive psychiatric evaluations corroborated the allegations did the trial finally begin on 14 April 2000. The court then waited 28 months for medical reports to be forwarded from Turkey's Forensic Medical Institute.

Amnesty International urges the Court of Appeals to reverse this decision to allow investigations and prosecution to take place and bring those responsible for these violent crimes to justice.

"The Turkish justice system has failed victims of human rights violations once again," said James Logan. "If the Court allows this decision to stand, it will be sending the clearest message yet that the state sanctions violence and brutality committed by police and security officers."

2. - Bianet - "Children Call The Goverrnment to Disarm":

In the 23 April Children's Holiday, 728 children across the country draw and paint for disarmament, in Amnesty International campaign and call the governmet to cut arms expenditures.

25 April 2005

"Everybody knows the damages of the arms in our lives. The weapons wounded so many people, killed so many people, and burnt the hearts of so many mothers. The weapons shouldn't be used for any reason. I want deep in my heart that in our country, in our world no one uses weapons for any cause," says 12 years old Safiye from Istanbul, who has painted a picture for disarmament.

Taking the occasion of national “Children’s Holiday” Amnesty International Turkish Section, sends 728 pictures on disarmament, drawn and painted by primary school children, to the Turkish Prime Minister.

"In a world where a person is killed by a small arm every minute, some children cannot even enjoy the festivities of 23 April,” says AI media worker Ozlem Dalkiran, mentioning 12 year-old, school children Ugur Kaymaz from southeast Kiziltepe, Mardin,, who lost his life with point-blank shooting during a police raid.

A letter accompanied the drawings, calling for Turkey to support the International Arms Trade Treaty was also sent to the Prime Minister Erdogan.

The Arms Trade Treaty aims to establish an international mechanism of monitoring and registering the international arms transfers to prevent human rights violations and abuses. AI members called everyone to put pressure on their governments for the same aim.

3. - Flash Bulletin - "No information on Ocalan for five weeks! - Ocalan's isolation continues!":

The fact that the prevention of visitations coincide with the discussions of a possible re-trial decision by the ECHR leads Ocalan's lawyers to conclude that the visitations are prevented as a result of the heightened wave of nationalism and chauvinism in Turkey. Press Realease by Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers.

26 April 2005/ by the ASRIN HUKUK BÜROSU, April 21, 2005 /
translated by the International Initiative

Our visitations with our client Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, at the Imrali Island, which is legally to take place an hour, once a week (every wednesday) has not been realised since the 16th of March 2005, a total of five (5) weeks.

We believe that this application is not based on any jurisdiction but is due to arbitrary and political reasons hence constituting a serious violation if his rights, above all his right to a defence. As is known our client has been kept under isolation conditions for nearly the past six (6) years. He has been deprived of all the judiciary rights which all those arrested and sentenced in Turkey can benefit from. He is up against illicit and inhuman practices.

All rights, which are recognised by law, are being prevented based on practices that have no-credible reasoning. Our client has been kept in a solitary cell for the past six years and no human contact has been allowed during this period. All our lawful appeals against; the prevention of visitations with his family and lawyers for the past five (5) weeks, newspapers, books and letters not been given and the prevention of communication with his family and lawyers have been in vain.

We believe our client has in the last six (6) years greatly contributed to the democracy struggle in Turkey through his efforts for the development of peace and fraternity. Despite these efforts, through the abovementioned practices, a no-solution situation is being created.

In the past five (5) weeks our visitations have been prevented in the following order and reasoning; on the 23rd of March 2005 due to the coaster breakdown, on the 30th of March 2005 despite being on the way to the island and being a short distance away from the island due to weather opposition, on the 6th April 2005 a distance of 15 minutes to the island due to a defect in the coaster, on the 13th of April 2005 due to an information sent before hand stating a defect in the coaster and on the 20th of April 2005 due to weather opposition.

As a result of the latest visitation prevented, dated 20th April 2005, a meeting took place with the representative of the Bursa Republic Attorney-General . We requested that the visitation take place on the thursday or friday of the same week in accordance with the statement of the Justice Ministry dated 13.07.2004 “on the condition that 24 hour notice is given, if for any reason the visitations which are to be realised every wednesday do not occur then the visitations can be realised on the thursday or friday of the same week”. The Attorney-General had accepted this request of ours and has informed the Gemlik Gendermarie Commandership. Although we have been informed that the Gemlik Gendermarie Commadership has stated that preparations will be made so that the visitation is realised on friday. However the Commandership has not carried out the instruction of the Attorney-General because, it has been stated, they could not make the necessary preperations.

Above all the Justice Ministry, the Bursa Republic Attorney-General and Gemlik Gendermarie Commandership have responsibilities in these practices.

We find these practices against our client to be a cause of concern. The fact that the prevention of visitations coincide with the discussions of a possible re-trial decision by the ECHR leads us to conclude that the visitations are prevented as a result of the heightened wave of nationalism and chauvinism.

We believe that all should be respectful to the legal procedures. These practices, which are in violation of national and international principles of humanitarian law, are not aligned with the gravity of states, but are totally political, should be ended.

We call on our people , all the NGO’s, human rights organisations and all the public opinion to be sensitive against these inhuman practices and have initiative.

4. - The Washington Times - "Turkish military forays into politics":

NICOSIA / 25 April 2005 / by Andrew Borowiec

The Turkish military has returned to the center of the country's political scene after a period of silence with a strong nationalist message on key domestic and international issues.

The tone of the message raised diplomatic speculation about the continuing influence of the Turkish army in the nation's affairs, a role that is incompatible with Turkey's aspiration to join the European Union.

In a speech to a military audience last week, Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, chief of the general staff, accused the United States of tolerating Turkish rebels in northern Iraq, called on Armenia to stop blaming Turkey for World War I massacres of Armenians and slammed the door on the possibility of Turkish military withdrawal from Cyprus.

Some Turkish news media speculated that the tone of Gen. Ozkok's remarks would damage the atmosphere as Turkey prepares to start EU membership talks. Others were simply puzzled by the senior general's blunt assessments.

"Gen. Ozkok's speech reflected a true picture of Turkey," said Nuray Basaran, a columnist in Istanbul's Aksam daily. "Why did we not hear those opinions from a civilian official?"

The nationally televised speech of 8,000 words was delivered as an "annual evaluation" to Istanbul's Military Academy. It was taken extremely seriously by the diplomatic corps and EU representatives in Turkey as well as by the Greek and Greek Cypriot governments.

Turkey's application to join the EU requires it to limit the political role of the military, the traditional guardian of the republic created in 1923. Gen. Ozkok's speech suggested the military is reluctant to take a back seat to politicians whose excesses and incompetence it has curbed in the past.

According to the mass circulation Istanbul Milliyet daily, the Ozkok speech revealed developments "which the government has been trying to conceal." Other newspapers stressed the general's claim that Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas were tolerated by the United States in Iraq.

"It is thought provoking that no action has been taken yet against that organization," Gen. Ozkok said. "The PKK must be deprived of foreign support and have its hope of success crushed."

Equally bluntly, he reiterated that the Turkish military presence of some 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus was strategically important.

Replying to the EU's suggestion that withdrawing the troops would facilitate a solution to the partition of Cyprus, he noted the continued international ostracism of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

5. - Katherimini - "Deconstructing Ankara":

25 April 2005 / by Costas Iordanidis

The comments at Istanbul’s military academy last week by Turkey’s top general, who called the European Union an “intermediary” of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and warned that “we now see the kind of pressure Turkey will face in its accession negotiations,” were particularly revealing as to the hardline establishment’s stance on the issue.

The remarks by General Hilmi Ozkok, chief of the military general staff, who unlike successive governments represents the steadier, hardline establishment, underscored Ankara’s skepticism toward the bloc.

From this, it is clear that Greece should not base its policies on the assumption that EU membership is the only option on Ankara’s cards. Ozkok’s allegations that the EU is aiding Kurdish guerrillas is a sign that the hardline establishment is willing to examine other strategic options.

This comes at a time when a series of developments have thrown Ankara officials into confusion, notably Washington’s policy on the Kurds of northern Iraq and the election of Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party as Iraqi president, causing tension in Turkish-US relations.

The Greek-Cypriot rejection of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan for the island’s reunification and Cyprus’s entry into the EU stripped Turkey of its ability to meddle in the affairs of the country’s free, Greek part.

Unless the Greek side goes on to endorse some slightly adjusted version of the UN blueprint, any future settlement will have to be in line with the EU’s acquis communautaire.

The conditions that Europe has put on Turkey are irreconcilable with the views of the hardline establishment.

Should Ankara take steps to meet EU norms and standards, Turkey would effectively cease to exist as a unified country.

Turkey is a unique state balanced between Europe and Asia. When early last century the Ottoman Empire moved closer to the West by introducing a constitution and recognizing civic rights, it ended up losing its Balkan territories and eventually broke apart.

Europe is nevertheless an integral part of the Turkish identity, which explains its insistence on joining the EU. However, Ankara will probably end up with some “special relationship” status with the Union, despite currently rejecting such a prospect out of national pride.

Athens certainly should not be misled into viewing EU membership as Ankara’s only possible option for the future, as it did in the past.

Unlike Greece’s, Turkey’s state structure is quite complex. In its push to join the Union, it will do nothing to jeopardize its national unity and cohesion. Turkey will preserve its US ties but without putting vital national interests at risk. Above all, it will move to strengthen ties with other currently or potentially autocratic countries, such as Russia.

Although they both saw their vast empires shrink into smaller nation-states, Russia and Turkey continue to behave as imperial powers with a strong sense of autonomy. The exchange of visits between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should not be underestimated by Greece’s political class.

6. - Reuters - "Turkey must push reforms ahead of entry talks-EU":

LUXEMBOURG / 25 April 2005

Turkey must do more to push through political reforms ahead of its planned membership talks with the European Union later this year, EU foreign ministers agreed today ahead of talks with their Turkish counterpart.

The ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, expressed concern about the lack of progress on religious freedom and minority rights, and called on the Ankara government to ensure full civilian control of Turkey's powerful military.

They also called for an early signing of an agreement extending Turkey's customs union with the EU to all new member states, saying it would be ''an important step towards normalisation of the relations between Turkey and all EU member states, including the Republic of Cyprus''.

EU leaders agreed last December to open talks with Turkey on Oct.

3, but also set firm conditions for starting negotiations, saying Turkey had to see through reforms to ensure it met the bloc's standards on democracy, rule of law and civil liberties.

''It is a very clear message that Turkey has to move on many fronts and on many issues,'' Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou told Reuters.

''A lot of the laws that have been enacted are an empty letter for the time being, because they have not been put into effect, this is in particular in respect for human rights, the rights of minorities and so on,'' he said.

EU and Turkish ministers will hold regular talks tomorrow to discuss Ankara's progress towards membership of the 25-nation bloc.

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said he and his Dutch colleague had also requested that EU president Luxembourg urge Ankara to ''reassess its past concerning the Armenian genocide''.

Armenia wants Turkey to admit that the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians 90 years ago in Ottoman Turkey was genocide.

Turkey denies this, saying the numbers were smaller and Armenians were among many victims of a partisan war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives.

Turkey's planned EU entry talks has moved the dispute up the political agenda. France, home to an influential, 400,000-strong Armenian community, has promised to seek a Turkish admission of genocide, although Barnier said this would arise at some point in a long negotiating process, not as a prior condition.

In a paper outlining what Turkey needs to do, the EU expressed ''serious concerns'' about cases of torture still occurring and called on Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan's government to enforce a zero-tolerance policy to eradicate ill-treatment.

The EU also expressed concern about a lack of freedom of expression and said more should be done to boost the rights of Turkey's Kurdish and Roma minorities.

The ministers said the Turkish army continued to exercise influence in politics through ''informal mechanisms'', adding that Erdogan had to do more to control the military.

''He has to decide whether he really controls the military or he doesn't,'' Iacovou said.

The EU paper also urged Turkey to carry out unfulfilled commitments including enforcing intellectual property rights, removing discriminatory laws, reducing state aid to industry and allowing Cypriot vessels to dock in Turkish ports.

7. - RFE/RL - "Armenian tragedy remains on Europe's political map":

YEREVAN / 24 April 2005 / by Anna Saghabalian

On 24 April, Armenians worldwide commemorate the 90th anniversary of the mass deportations and killing of hundreds of thousands of their ethnic kin during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

For decades, the survivors of these massacres and their descendants have been fighting for the tragic events that unfolded on the sidelines of World War I to be recognized as genocide. Successive Turkish governments have persistently denied that the 1915 killings were aimed at exterminating the empire's Armenians. Yet, some hope Ankara may change its stance soon as it gets closer to the European Union.

On the night of 24 April 1915 about 250 cultural and religious Armenian leaders were rounded up in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and deported. Within several days, many of them died of starvation, dysentery, or at the hands of armed Muslim irregulars on state pay.

The pattern was then applied across the whole empire and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands Armenians. Those who were not decimated by illness or slaughtered en route met their death in concentration camps such as Deir-el-Zor, in Syria.
Armenians say at least 1 million of their ethnic kin died between 1915-17 as a result of a deliberate policy of extermination. They say the policy was initiated by the Committee of Union and Progress (Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti), or CUP, which then ruled over the empire.

Ankara claims the death toll is grossly inflated and that 300,000 Armenians died during these years. It also says the deaths were the result of negligence, interethnic strife, or wartime operations. It says the CUP leaders -- also known as the Young Turks -- had no intention of wiping out the empire's largest remaining Christian community.

While admitting to the massive deportations of 1915 -- which followed the massacre of 200,000 Greeks -- Turkey's official historiography says the transfers were aimed at preventing Armenians from collaborating with Russia. Tsarist Russia was then at war with the Ottoman Empire and its German ally. Turkey's official historiography also asserts that more than 500,000 Turks died at the hands of Armenians between 1910-22.

Up until the late 19th century, Armenians were referred to in the empire as the "Millet-i sadika," or loyal community. However, this perception changed after Russia's expansion in the Caucasus and the rise of nationalism throughout Europe. This led to the idea that Christians were the agents of Western powers seeking to partition the empire.

This perception remains vivid in today's Turkey.

Addressing Turkish lawmakers on 13 April, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul reiterated Ankara's traditional stance that genocide allegations originated from allied war propaganda.

"[We are] confronted with a very well-organized campaign, which makes use of every opportunity to discredit Turkey," Gul said. "This organized campaign against our country is based on bias, prejudice, slander, exaggerations, and [historical] distortions that were fabricated nearly one century ago."

Few in Turkey dare to publicly question the official version of events, for fear of retaliation.

Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk recently came under fire for telling a Swiss magazine that 1 million Armenians had been killed during the war. Although Pamuk did not refer to the massacres as genocide, Turkish newspapers castigated him as an "enemy of Turkey."
Among those few Turkish voices that openly back the genocide theory is that of Taner Akcam, an academic who fled his native country years ago to teach history in the United States.

Addressing a press conference in Yerevan on 20 April, Akcam urged the Turkish state to lift the 90-year-old taboo that has been surrounding the Armenian question.

"There is a European moral standard that says that if you want to be a member of the Western world you have [first] to allow a discussion, a debate on the past, and, second, you have to [be] ready to rectify the wrongdoings of the past," Akcam said.
Akcam also said Turkey's insistence in denying the genocide would hamper entry talks with the European Union and hinder normalization of ties with neighboring Armenia.

"The main problem is the denial policy of the Turkish government," Akcam said. "Without recognition of the genocide, there can be no solution for Turkey on its path toward the European Union and in its relations with Armenia."
EU leaders last December agreed to open accession talks with Turkey, but made no mention of the 1915 events. Yet, France -- which is among the few countries that have recognized the mass killings of Armenians as genocide -- has said it would like Turkey to come to terms with its past before joining the bloc.

Many in Turkey blame Western politicians for using the genocide allegations to prevent a predominantly Muslim country of nearly 70 million from joining the EU.

Only a small minority argues that by reassessing the 1915 tragedy Turkey would give a strong signal that it is resolutely engaged on the path toward democracy.

Etyen Mahcupyan, a columnist for Istanbul's "Zaman" daily, told RFE/RL that, instead of turning to its own historiography, Turkey should tackle the Armenian issue by making concrete political steps.

"I think history is not on Turkey's side with regard to [the Armenian issue]," Mahcupyan said. "In Cyprus, history was on our side and Turkey could dig into history to [build up] a policy accordingly. But this is not the case for the 1915 events and Turkey, I believe, should concentrate on politics rather than history."

Mahcupyan, himself an ethnic Armenian, said Turkey should, among others, should offer compensation for material losses imposed by the Young Turks on their non-Muslim subjects.

While publicly backing the state's stance, many Turkish citizens have been privately questioning the official account of the 1915 events.

"We still have problems that remind us of history," Mahcupyan said. "The property of Armenians, Jews, and Greeks that was confiscated by the [Ottoman] state has still not been returned, although it is not legitimate for the [Turkish] state to retain it. That kind of [implies] a state mentality that reminds us of the Terakki (CUP) people's mentality 90 years ago."
Yet, some observers believe mentalities are changing in Turkey.

In a book on the Armenian genocide published last year, Akcam says that while publicly backing the state's stance, many Turkish citizens have been privately questioning the official account of the 1915 events. Citing the breaking of other taboos that had long denied the existence of a Kurdish issue, or that of social classes, the historian notes that society may soon press the state to shed light on the Armenian issue.

Mahcupyan also believes things are changing in Turkey.

"I think we will [soon] hear different voices," Mahcupyan said. "We will see that at least part of the public thinks differently -- very differently, in fact -- from the state. We will then obligatorily see a discussion take place between state and society. This is, in fact, democratization."

Akcam yesterday said his secret dream is to see Ankara reconcile with its past when it joins the EU. European leaders have suggested that Turkey could enter the bloc in 2015 -- the year that will mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

8. - The Daily Star - "Turkey must repudiate its policy of denial":

26 April 2005 / by Charles Tannock*

All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to fade, as the government-fanned anti-Japanese riots that took place last week in China remind us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of 1915, which was commemorated on Sunday, and that was ordered by the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and carried out by the Kurds, is another wound that will not heal, but one that must be treated if Turkey's progress toward European Union membership is to proceed smoothly.

Most people still know little about that dark episode. It is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral homelands. But many members of today's thriving global Armenian diaspora have direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral historical tradition that keeps the memories burning.

It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey's southeastern provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in the genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a long history of violence between their own separatist forces and the Turkish Army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of discrimination and forced assimilation.

Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most progressive people in the East, but in the 19th century Armenia was divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdul Hamid II organized the massacres of 1895-97, but it was not until the spring of 1915, under the cover of the World War I, that the Young Turks' nationalistic government found the political will to execute a true genocide.

Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in public hangings in groups of 50-100. Ordinary Armenians were thus deprived of their leaders and soon after were massacred, with many burned alive. Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven months of 1915, with the majority of the survivors deported to desert areas in Syria, where they died from either starvation or disease. It is estimated that 1.5 million people perished.

Recently, the Armenian diaspora has been calling on Turkey to face up to its past and recognize its historic crime. Turkey's official line remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or exaggerated claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from combat against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces during the world war; or as a result of disease and hunger during the forced deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly suffered similar casualties.

Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to besmirch its honor and impede its progress toward EU accession. There are also understandable fears that diverging from the official line would trigger a flood of compensation claims, as occurred against Germany.

For many politicians, particularly in America, there is an unwillingness to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its record as a loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country. But, despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of Europe - ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom of speech and conscience - Turkey still punishes as a crime against national honor any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is a historic truth. Fortunately, the relevant article of Turkey's penal code is now due for review and possible repeal.

Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and government, mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally opening the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession negotiations in October near, has agreed to an impartial study by historians, although he has reiterated his belief that the genocide never occurred. In France, the historical occurrence of the Armenian genocide is enshrined in law, and denial of its occurrence is condemned in the same way as denial of the Jewish Holocaust.

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan and to safeguard its Armenian identity.

Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This is not healthy for the development of Armenia's democracy and weak economy. Nor does Armenia's continued dependence on Russia bode well for regional cooperation, given the deep resentment of Russian meddling in neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan.

There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia and the region. The future will begin only when Turkey - like Germany in the past and Serbia and Croatia now - repudiates its policy of denial and faces up to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past.

*Charles Tannock is chairman of the European Parliament's Human Rights Committee.

(This commentary is published by THE DAILY STAR in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).