The European Commission, being EU's executive body, has officially announced about its readiness to negotiate with Turkey for its political and economic integration into the European community. The leaders of European states have to give their consent to start the talks over Turkey's accession to EU at the forthcoming EU summit.

No other EU bid has ever aroused so many controversial responses in the European public and governments as Turkey's appeal did. Despite Turkey's wide-ranging efforts to enlarge the circle of the supporters, the polls show that only 1/3 of Europeans is ready to boost latter's bid.

Membership in the united family of the European nations supposes that a country should secure human rights and freedom, follow the principle of true democracy, peace and good neighborhood.

Yet, the whole history of the Turkish state and the history of its relations with the Armenian nation give all the grounds to doubt that Turkey will stick to European principles and values in case it is admitted to the EU. Unfortunately the fact that the Ottoman Turkey was once admitted to the family of the civilized nations for its participation in the Crimean War of 1854-1856 did not turn Turkey into a country with European civilization. Just the contrary, Turkey implemented the policy of systematic elimination of enslaved nations - Armenians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Assyrians, Maronites and many others.

The present-day Turkey refuses to recognize the fact of the cruelest crime against humanity, elimination of 1.5 million Armenians in the Western Armenia, carries on the decade-long illegal blockade of the Republic of Armenia thus maintaining tension in the Armenian-Turkish relations and the threat of genocide reoccurrence.

Turkey ignores continual appeals of the European parliament to recognize the Armenian Genocide and the request to take off the blockade thus creating a ground for reconciliation and solution for the Armenian Cause. EU's this claim should become one of the preconditions of Turkey's accession. Turkey is ignoring EU's other standards too, particularly in securing social and civil rights of national minorities, in renouncing its chauvinistic policy and genocidal practice that are obligatory conditions of the Copenhagen criteria for EU accession. Turkey's approaches to justice and international law should be real and not ostentatious.

The World Armenian Congress considers that Turkey's refusal to denounce the crime of Armenian Genocide, refusal to apply international standards in settling quarrelsome issues with Greece, refusal to submit to UN's numerous decisions disapproving of Turkey's occupation of Cyprus and division of its territory, refusal to recognize the rights of Kurdish national minority, continual suppression of individual, group and religious freedoms make this country unacceptable for the EU.

How is the united Europe going to become a common house for Turkey if its authorities do not realize the need of following the principals and standards of a civilized community?

We are sure that the West, particularly Europe, that was putting morality as a cornerstone in the policy of Bosnia and Kosovo, will apply the same criterion in considering Turkey's accession to EU.

By Ara Abrahamian
AZG Armenian Daily

Ara Abrahamian, President of the World Armenian Congress, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador