Sarkozy insists: Turkey not part of EU
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-259157-sarkozy-insists-turkey-not-part-of-eu.html
07 October 2011, Friday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a tour of Caucasus countries, repeated his well-known opposition to Turkey's membership in the European Union on Friday, saying his country does not consider Turkey a part of the 27-nation bloc.
"Located in Asia Minor, Turkey has an important role in the world. It is a bridge between the East and the West," Sarkozy was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying at a news conference during his visit to Armenia, his first stop on his Caucasus trip. "But this role is outside the EU. France does not see Turkey in the EU."
Sarkozy, who has said he wants Turkey to be given special partnership status with the EU rather than full membership, is regarded by many Turks as the embodiment of European prejudice towards a Muslim country. The French leader, who seeks to boost his ratings before an April presidential election, said Turkey was "successful," apparently in reference to its growing activism in the region. "But my thoughts on Turkey's EU membership have not changed and there is no reason why they should change," Sarkozy was quoted as saying.
During his visit to Armenia, Sarkozy also urged Turkey to recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians as genocide, threatening to pass a law in France that would make denying this a crime. "The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial," Sarkozy told reporters. "Turkey, which is a great country, would honor itself to revisit its history like other great countries in the world have done."
Turkey, in response, said France should confront its colonial past before giving lessons to others on how to face history. "Those who will not be able to face their own history for having carried out colonialism for centuries, for treating foreigners as second-class people, do not have the right to teach Turkey a history lesson or call for Turkey to face its history," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters on Friday.
Turkey calls on Sarkozy to look in the mirror on history controversy
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-259138-turkey-calls-on-sarkozy-to-look-in-the-mirror-on-history-controversy.html
07 October 2011, Friday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Amidst of the row between the two countries, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant met with Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin to sign an agreement on cooperation in domestic security.
In harsh response to recent remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who called on Turkey to face its history and recognize the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide, Turkey said on Friday that France should look in the mirror before asking Turkey to revisit its history.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters after his meeting with Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on the country's foreign policy that he finds Sarkozy's remarks as an example of "political populism." He said his statements were wrong and were aimed for [France's] domestic politics. … Any state or society who has a colonial past and cannot face its own history does not have the right to give lessons to Turkey. Those who want Turkey face its history should look into mirror," the minister said. Sarkozy on Thursday urged Turkey to recognize the 1915 incidents as genocide, threatening to pass a law in France that would make denying this a crime.
"The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial," Sarkozy told reporters.
"Turkey, which is a great country, would honor itself to revisit its history like other great countries in the world have done," the French president added. On Friday, Sarkozy made further comments on the issue, calling Turkey to "make a gesture of reconciliation," and warning that if Turkey refrained from taking any steps, France would consider amending its legislation to penalize denial, Reuters reported. Sarkozy did not give a date for such a move, but noted that measures could be adopted "in a very brief time."
Turkey's Minister for European Union Affairs Egemen Bağış was also highly critical of Sarkozy's remarks and called on the French president to "think over how he would save his country from the economic turmoil it has fallen into instead of assuming the role of historians."
More senators quit over dual nationality
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=42062
7 October 2011
By Raed Omari
AMMAN - More senators holding dual nationalities on Thursday submitted their resignations in compliance with the new Constitution, which prohibits Jordanians who have another nationality from holding ministerial, senatorial and parliamentary posts.
Senators Muhammad Hamdan and Abdul Hamid Shoman submitted their resignations to Senate President Taher Masri.
Their peers Talal Abu Ghazaleh, Khaled Sharif and Suhair Al-Ali also resigned earlier this week for the same reason.
Under the amendments made to Article 75 of the Constitution, which went into effect Saturday, "no person can become a deputy, senator, minister or a high-ranking official if he/she holds dual nationality".
Masri confirmed the resignations in a telephone interview with The Jordan Times Thursday. "With these new resignations, I think there are no Upper House members now holding dual nationality," he said.
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