FINAL DECLARATION

The Fourth Turkish-Greek Media Conference was held in İstanbul on June 9-12 with great success as indicated by the largest ever attendance by the Greek media and the constructive tone of deliberations.

The fact that the Conference was opened by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Abdullah Gül of Turkey and Dora Bakoyani of Greece, contributed to the success of the conference.

All participants underlined the importance of journalistic understanding and vigilance in light of the recent tragic events in the Aegean and ensuing media coverage. The conference focused on concrete measures that can lead to better understanding between the media organs and peoples of the two countries.

It was proposed that the informal media contact group system which has worked very well thus far may no longer be adequate and that a more formal institutional structure may be needed for the future. It was decided that a Working Group made of three journalists from each country should be formed to study alternative organizational models and submit its recommendations to the Fifth Conference.

The Conference also gladly accepted an offer by the Kappa Research Agency which operates in both countries to carry out a public opinion poll focusing on public attitudes having a bearing on Turkish-Greek relations. The findings will also be submitted to the next conference.

The Conference also supported a resolution for contacting universities in both countries to look into the possibility of conducting comparative content analyses of media coverage in the two countries.

The Conference noted with gratitude promises of support by the Türkish-Greek Business Council and its Greek counterpart.

The participants agreed that, on the whole, the raprochement between Turkey and Greece in which the media played a big role has been a great success, but more effort is needed to create an atmophere inducive to the resolution of longstanding political problems.

All decisions were taken unanimously.