TURKISH MEDIA REFLECT EU UNCERTAINTY, REMAIN DEFIANT

Agence France Presse — English
October 3, 2005 Monday 7:21 AM GMT

Turkish newspapers Monday reflected the uncertainty in Luxembourg
over whether landmark membership talks with the European Union would
get under way or not, while remaining defiant against Turkey’s EU
opponents.

Frontpage headlines varied from “Today is Day One” in Hurriyet to
“Vienna’s Hate” in Sabah to “What a Bore” in Vatan.

“Turkey has brought two Europes face to face,” commented Vatan. “A
Europe that looks to a future of absolute peace by ending religious
disparity and conflict, and a Europe that seeks to preserve its
religious identity with xenophobia and racist, nationalistic
fundamentalism.”

A columnist in Sabah said Turks have been considered a part of Europe
since Ottoman times and continue to be so despite detractors “whose
names do not appear even in the footnotes of history.”

“Ten years from now … the same fate will doubtless await (Wolfgang)
Schuessel, (Angela) Merkel and (Nicolas) Sarkozy,” he wrote, referring
to the Austrian chancellor, the Christian-Democrat German leader and
the French ruling party chairman, all strongly opposed to Turkey’s
EU bid.

Gazi Ercel, a former Central Bank governor turned columnist, wrote
in the same paper that Turkey and the EU are headed for “a shotgun
wedding”.

“It is certain that life for couples who dislike each other can be
hell,” he wrote.

“But Turkey’s field of action is not as wide as it seems … and
Europe, with this forced marriage, will pay the price of Turkey’s
growing geostrategic importance.”

A commentator in the liberal Milliyet blamed the government for being
unprepared for the start of the talks, and of “travelling to Europe
on a second-class ticket.”

But a former social-democrat cabinet minister warned in the liberal
Radikal, “don’t confuse our shortcomings with the rudeness of EU
politicians.”

An editorialist for the pro-government Yeni Safak said Turkey must
pursue the talks “in spite of the French, who are the Armenians’
sponsors; the German Christian Democrats, weaned on religious
separatism; the Austrians, who cannot rid themselves of the Siege of
Vienna syndrome; and the Greek Cypriots who, with their population
of 600,000, are spoiled enough to single-heandedly block the
decision-making mechanisms of the Union”.

A columnist in the English-language Turkish Daily News summed up
the general mood: “Turkey without Europe can flourish,” she wrote,
“but Europe without Turkey cannot”.