WRITTEN QUESTION E-2037/03 by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Council. Turkey's denial that it is engaged in genocide against the Armenian people.
Date: 2003-06-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Armenia, Armenian question, Türkiye, accession negotiations, accession to the European Union, cooperation agreement, crime against humanity, political ideology

26.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51 E/183

the Greek authorities co-financed mainly projects and actions related to non
Under this measure,
hazardous waste. The Commission has received the list of projects co-financed and their respective budgets
and would be pleased to supply a copy of it to the Honourable Member upon his request.

(2004/C 51 E/203)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2037/03

by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(18 June 2003)

Subject: Turkey’s denial that it is engaged in genocide against the Armenian people

Over the last few months the Turkish authorities’ policy of denying that they are engaged in genocide
against the Armenian people is becoming increasingly aggressive. According to the European Armenian
Federation for Justice and Democracy the Turkish Government
is
conducting a campaign to counter accusations that it is engaged in genocide against the Armenians. The
Ministry is organising indoctrination seminars for teachers and civil servants with a view to ensuring that,
in the nation’s classrooms, teachers deny that genocide is taking place (even if, in so doing, they restrict
their freedom of speech). Furthermore, in a decree of 14 April, the Ministry called upon primary and
secondary schools to organise lectures conveying the message that, in Turkey, neither Armenians nor any
other peoples against whom genocide has been perpetrated have ever suffered persecution of any nature.
Teachers have also been called upon to encourage their pupils to write essays on the topic of ‘fighting the
genocide accusations’.

(through its Education Ministry)

The distortion of historical truth in the classroom is a practice which runs counter to European education
standards. Furthermore, a genocide-denial policy goes against European values relating to the protection of
human rights and of minorities (and, therefore, against the Copenhagen political criteria).

Does the Council consider the Turkish authorities’ policy of denial to be compatible with the principles
laid down in the Cooperation Agreement and with Turkey’s acceptance as a candidate for EU membership?

Does the Council not think that public acknowledgement by the current Turkish authorities of the
genocide being perpetrated against the Armenian people (as recognised by the European Parliament in
June 1987 in its resolution A2-0033/87 (1) and in various subsequent resolutions) should be an essential
requirement to be met prior to the start of any accession negotiations with Turkey in the near future?

(1) OJ C 190, 20.7.1987, p. 119.

Reply

(13 October 2003)

The Council

1.
is fully aware of the sensitivity of the questions concerning the treatment of the
Armenian people under the Ottoman empire and is conversant with the resolutions of the European
Parliament on the subject of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

2.
The requirements to be met by Turkey in order to enable a decision to open accession negotiations
are specified in the political part of the revised Turkey accession partnership, which the Council adopted in
May this year. The genocide issue is not addressed there.

3.
The Council welcomes, however, contacts between Armenia and Turkey with a view to improving
understanding on both sides. Under the Association agreements both with Turkey and with Armenia and
in the framework of enhanced political dialogue, the Council is encouraging Turkey to work towards
establishing good neighbourly relations with Armenia.