[lg policy] Re: Scottish Government signs a formal agreement for the use of the Gaelic in the EU

[Davyth Hicks]

Scottish Government signs a formal agreement for the use of the Gaelic 
in the EU
http://www.eblul.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=240&Itemid=1 
<http://www.eblul.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=240&Itemid=1>

best regards,

Davyth Hicks
Eurolang - EBLUL
Brussels
www.eblul.org
www.eurolang.net

Harold Schiffman wrote:
> October 10, 2009
> Turkey and Armenia to Sign Accord
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
> Filed at 10:24 a.m. ET
>
> ZURICH (AP) -- The foreign ministers of the United States, Russia,
> France and the European Union gathered Saturday in Switzerland to
> watch Turkey and Armenia sign an accord establishing diplomatic ties
> in hopes of reopening their border and ending a century of acrimony
> over their bloody past. Nationalists on both sides are seeking to
> derail implementation of the agreement. U.S. Secretary of State
> Hillary Rodham Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and
> French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner were among the leaders who
> arrived in Zurich on Saturday for the signing later in the day.  ''We
> have a very strong interest in promoting peace and stability in that
> part of the world,'' said a senior State Department official traveling
> with Clinton.
>
> The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
> agreement doesn't directly involve the U.S., noted that President
> Barack Obama spoke to Armenian President Serge Sarkisian to reaffirm
> his support for the normalization process. Better ties between Turkey,
> a regional heavyweight, and poor, landlocked Armenia are a priority
> for Obama. They could help reduce tensions in the troubled Caucasus
> region and facilitate its growing role as a corridor for energy
> supplies bound for the West. Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy
> chief, thanked Turkey, which is a candidate for membership.
>
> ''This is an important cooperation, no doubt, of Turkey to solve one
> issue that pertains to a region which is in our neighborhood,'' Solana
> told AP Television News after arriving in Zurich.
>
> Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was taking
> steps with ''goodwill'' to restore ties with Armenia but that it was
> keen on seeing Armenian troops withdrawn from Nagorno-Karabakh.
>
> ''We are trying to boost our relations with Armenia in a way that will
> cause no hard feelings for Azerbaijan,'' Erdogan told reporters in
> Turkey.
>
> Erdogan said Turkey's relations with Armenia after the agreement is
> signed Saturday will run parallel to the resolution of the
> Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
>
> Switzerland, which mediated six weeks of talks between Turkey and
> Armenia to reach the accord, is hosting the signing.
>
> The contentious issue of whether the killing of up to 1.5 million
> Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted to
> genocide is only hinted at in the agreement, which calls for
> diplomatic ties for the first time and the opening of the border
> within two months.
>
> .
>
> The foreign ministers of both countries are expected to sign the deal
> and both parliaments are expected to ratify it. Clinton was meeting
> separately with the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers before the
> signing.
>
> Necati Cetinkaya, a deputy chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and
> Development Party, defended the deal, saying ''sincere steps that are
> being taken will benefit Turkey.'' He said Turkey is aiming to form
> friendly ties with all its neighbors and could benefit from trade with
> Armenia.
>
> But Yilmaz Ates of the main opposition Republican People's Party said
> Turkey should avoid any concessions.
>
> ''If Armenia wants to repair relations ... then it should end
> occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, that's it,'' Ates said Saturday.
>
> About 10,000 protesters rallied Friday in Armenia's capital to oppose
> the signing, and a tour of Armenian communities by Sarkisian sparked
> protests in Lebanon and France, with demonstrators in Paris shouting
> ''Traitor!''
>
> The agreement calls for a panel to discuss ''the historical
> dimension'' -- a reference to the genocide issue -- that will include
> ''an impartial scientific examination of the historical records and
> archives to define existing problems and formulate recommendations.''
>
> That clause is viewed as a concession to Turkey because Armenia has
> said that genocide was confirmed by international historians, and
> further discussion could lead to deadlock. Turkey denies genocide,
> contending the toll is inflated and those killed were victims of civil
> war.
>
> Another source of dispute is Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in
> Azerbaijan that is occupied by Armenian troops. Turks have close
> cultural and linguistic ties with Azerbaijan, which is pressing Turkey
> for help in recovering its land. Turkey shut its border with Armenia
> to protest the Armenian invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993.
>
> Turkey wants Armenia to withdraw some troops from the enclave area to
> show goodwill and speed the opening of their joint border, but Armenia
> has yet to agree, said Omer Taspinar, Turkey project director at the
> Brookings Institution in Washington.
>
> ''We may end up in a kind of awkward situation where there are
> diplomatic relations, but the border is still closed,'' Taspinar said.
>
> ------
>
> Associated Press Writers Matthew Lee and Bradley S. Klapper in Zurich,
> Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Christopher Torchia in
> Istanbul contributed to this report.
>
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/10/world/AP-EU-Turkey-Armenia.html?
>   
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