Turkish Press
May 9 2005

A Hopeless Love?

BY NAGEHAN ALCI

AKSAM- Looking at the portrait, this is the situation. Turkish Prime
Erdogan is running away and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is
pursuing. Don’t think that I’m making this `absolute nonsense’
comparison, as Erdogan says. I’m only telling you Germany’s stance
following Schroeder’s visit to Turkey last week. Yes, maybe for the
first time respectable German newspapers described a political visit
in such a clear way. They made psychological analyses and described
the two prime ministers’ relations this way. According to the
portrait, Schroeder came to Turkey as a friend. It didn’t aim to
mention his hesitations about the European Union or make criticisms.
He even ignored the general thinking that reforms in Turkey have
slowed down and said that Turkey’s EU bid shouldn’t be hindered just
because of a few faulty minds. In the German daily Frankfurter
Allgemeine, German columnist Nicolaus Blome described the honorary
doctorate ceremony held for Erdogan as `exaggerated praise’ and
`flattery’ not based on truth, that is, a `typical Turkish work.’ He
added that even the soft style used by Schroeder concerning the
Armenian issue wasn’t sufficient to warm up the ice-like Erdogan.
Blome also claimed that it was easy for Europe to make things more
difficult for Turkey and that Schroeder’s soft style actually gives
the message that a Turkey which changes its point of view will be the
one ready for membership talks.

Schroeder’s visit fueled discussions that reforms in Turkey have
slowed down, and Erdogan described such criticism as absolute
nonsense, which is another issue of discussion. This opinion has
strengthened Erdogan’s reputation as uncompromising and damaged his
`democratic’ image. Erdogan should be more even-tempered and make
statements more appropriate to political dialogue. In addition, it
seems the EU wants to make us tense. EU Commission Representative in
Turkey Hansjoerg Kretschmer said that Turkey is far from completing
necessary reforms and that even if the Armenian issue wasn’t a
criterion for membership, it had an indirect effect. This statement
gives the impression that the EU is playing a political game on us.
For this reason, Erdogan should avoid impulsive statements and
behavior. As we get closer to Oct. 3, Europe is using the so-called
Armenian genocide as a trump card, forcing us to make concessions and
present us with a fait accompli. In such a critical period, Ankara
should avoid rash statements which might damage its determined path.