ISTANBUL - The meeting of Socialist International Committee on Peace, Democracy and Human Rights, hosted by Turkish Republican People's Party (CHP), ended in Istanbul on Saturday.
CHP leader Deniz Baykal and Peace, Democracy and Human Rights Committee Chairman Piero Fassino held a news conference at the end of the meeting.
Baykal noted that issues taken up in two-day meetings would be made public with an ''Istanbul Declaration''.
This declaration reflected Socialist International's view about developments in Iraq and the Middle East, Baykal stated and noted that the declaration also included proposals for improvement of effectiveness of international organizations against terrorism and violence in the world.
Baykal noted that NATO Summit was also discussed in the meeting, stating that problems which might stem from NATO's military intervention in Iraq were also taken up. Baykal said that necessary conditions on this issue were expressed in detail in the Istanbul Declaration.
Stating that an article on Turkey's European Union (EU) membership was also put to the declaration, he said that Socialist International assumed a very clear and definite attitude towards Turkey's EU membership and it expressed this attitude in the declaration.
Fassino said that they focused on implementation of United Nations (UN) no: 1546 resolution which was approved unanimously in Iraq in the meeting.
Fassino stated that they also focused on military security in Iraq, noting that they believed that military security issue in Iraq could be solved with a multinational army under the control of the United Nations.
Stating that terrorism was one of issues that should be discussed and solved for international community, Fassino noted that they believed that terrorism should be stopped by international police, intelligence, exchange of information and revealing countries which supported terrorism.
Fassino said that regional, international solidarity and cooperation organizations should be set up, and global organizations should be strengthened to bring a more democratic approach to globalization.
Fassino added that he hoped that a definite date would be given to Turkey to start membership negotiations in the EU summit due in December.
(EÖ-BRC) 26.06.2004