Turkey is showing “slippage”

ANKARA, March 3 (Reuters) – Turkey is showing “slippage” in its reform
drive to join the European Union, though current slow progress should
not jeopardise the start of entry talks on schedule on Oct. 3, an EU
envoy said on Thursday.

Hansjorg Kretschmer cited reports of police harrassment of Turkey’s
Alevi religious minority, of petty restrictions placed on the
Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and of excessive police
force used against demonstrators.

Kretschmer said Turkey needed to complete a law on religious
foundations that would buttress the property and educational rights of
its non-Muslim minorities.

“There has been slippage in the quality of implementation,” Kretschmer
told Reuters in an interview.

He said he did not necessarily blame the conservative government for
the shortcomings but argued Turkey’s whole state bureaucracy must work
to ensure reforms were properly enacted.

He expressed concern that no senior officials had publicly condemned
or tried to act on death threats aimed at Orhan Pamuk, an
internationally renowned Turkish novelist.

Pamuk recently upset Turkish nationalists by backing Armenian genocide
claims. Armenians say more than a million of their compatriots were
killed by Ottoman Turks in 1915-22 — a claim strongly rejected by
Ankara.

“Democracy and human rights always have to be defended in in all our
countries…There are always interests which want to curtail some of
these… But the risk is much bigger (in Turkey) than in more
established democracies,” he said.

ADVERSE REACTION

Kretschmer said none of the issues cited would delay the start of
talks. He added a note of caution.

“If an impression is created in the EU (that) Turkey is no longer so
committed to conduct political reforms, there might be an adverse
political reaction in the EU.”

Many in the EU remain deeply uneasy about admitting Turkey, a large,
poor, overwhelmingly Muslim country of more than 70 million people,
even though negotiations could last a decade.

France has promised its voters a referendum before Ankara is finally
allowed to join the wealthy bloc.

Kretschmer played down fears of a French ‘no’ vote.

“To the extent that Turkey makes progress to adjust to EU standards
and becomes a liberal democracy … to that extent European public
opinion will also become more benign,” he said. On Cyprus, the biggest
threat to Turkey’s EU bid, Kretschmer also sounded a relaxed note. “I
personally am confident this will not be an obstacle to talks starting
on Oct. 3,” he said.

Turkey must sign a protocol extending its customs union with the EU to
10 new member states including Cyprus before the October deadline, but
is currently exploring the legal implications of such a move.

Turkey does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government, viewed by the
EU as the sole legal representative of the whole island of
Cyprus. Ankara instead backs a breakaway Turkish Cypriot enclave in
the north of the Mediterranean island.

“I think the political determination to get the EU talks started on
Oct. 3 will be the priority for the government,” said Kretschmer,
signalling he believed a compromise could be found.

03/03/05 21:01 ET