EN
10 June 2004 - 13:31 AMT

ARMENIANS OF FRANCE CALL TO ADHERENCE TO PRINCIPLES WHEN DECIDING ISSUE OF TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO EU

June 12 Armenians of France will hold a rally next to the monument to Armenian composer Komitas in Paris. As reported by the Armenian National Committee of France, the French president is expected to convey his final opinion on Turkey’s accession to the European Union, and the Armenian community of France is calling upon the country to take into account Turkey meeting a range of demands, put forward by European structures. Specifically, the matter concerns respecting the 1987 and 2004 resolutions of the Council of Europe, which set forth the following preconditions for Turkey’s accession to the Union: withdrawal of Turkish troops from the northern part of Cyprus, seized in 1974, release of political prisoners, ensuring rights of the Kurdish minority, recognizing the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire, and lifting the blockade of Armenia.