EU PARLIAMENT ENDORSES CRITICISM ON PACE OF TURKISH REFORMS

AKI, Italy
Sept 27 2006

Strasbourg, 27 Sept. (AKI) – Members of the European Parliament on
Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a report levelling stern criticism
at European Union candidate country Turkey over its recent progress in
implementing reforms, especially in the areas of freedom of expression,
rights of religious minorities and the issue of its recognition of
Cyprus. MEPs voted 429 in favour of the report, with 71 against and
125 abstentions.

MEPs nevertheless welcomed some recent steps by the Turkish government
in the fields of combating torture, fighting corruption and extending
women’s rights. They also rejected a controversial provision in
the report that would have made Turkey’s recognition as ‘genocide’
of the killing of over one million Armenians by Ottoman Turks during
and after World War I a precondition for EU membership.

MEPs called on the Turkish government to recognise the Republic of
Cyprus (an EU member state) and to withdraw its forces from the island
and lift its embargo on Cypriot vessels and aircraft. The report –
prepared by Conservative Dutch MEP Camiel Eurlings – reminds Turkey
that a lack of progress in normalising relations with Cypus "will
have serious implications for the negotiation process and could even
bring it to a halt." It also urges Greece and Turkey "to refrain from
tension-prone military activities."

The parliament called on the Turkish authorities to facilitate the
work of researchers, intellectuals and academics studying the Armenian
mass killings by ensuring them access to the historical archives and
all the relevant documents. MEPs urged Turkey to establish diplomatic
and good neighbourly relations with Armenia, to withdraw the economic
blockade and open the land border at an early date.

On the Kurdish question, MEPs noted the continued intimidation of
non-governmental organisations in southeast Turkey, while welcoming the
start of broadcasts in Kurdish. Eurlings’ report "strongly condemns the
resurgence of terrorist violence on the part of the banned separatist
Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK)" but also urges a democratic solution
to the issue of a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey.

Despite the recent acquittal of leading novelist Elif Shafak on
charges of "insulting Turkishness," MEPs said they remained troubled by
persisting barriers to freedom of expression in Turkey. They called for
the abolition or amendment of those provisions of Turkey’s penal code
which threaten freedom of speech, notably Article 301, which foresees
punishment for ‘denigrating Turkishness’. Charges were brought against
Shafak and, previously, another leading Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk
under Article 301.

Ahead of a debate of his report by the parliament on Wednesday,
Eurlings described it as "tough but fair." He said it regretted above
all a slowdown in implementing reforms on the role of the security
forces in public life, trade union rights, torture and ill-treatment
of prisoners, as well as individual freedoms.

The European Commission is due to release its annual report on Turkey’s
progress on 8 November. It began membership talks with Turkey on 3
October last year and Turkey is not expected to join the EU until
2015 at earliest.