Turkey would make EU a ‘real global power’
by Deaglan de Breadun, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

The Irish Times
November 3, 2006 Friday

TURKEY: Having Turkey as a member would help the European Union to
become a "real global power", the country’s chief negotiator for EU
accession, Ali Babacan, told the Forum on Europe yesterday.

"Turkey’s membership will help strengthen the EU’s role as a global
actor. If the EU wants to be one of the major players in the global
scene, a real global power, Turkey will help to achieve this,"
he said in a speech entitled Turkey’s case for membership of the
European Union.

Addressing a crowded forum session in Dublin, Mr Babacan stressed
Turkey’s strategic importance for the future of the EU. "As a key
regional actor and ally located in close proximity to many existing
and potential hotspots that are high on the European and international
agenda, Turkey can help enhance stability and promote welfare in the
Balkans, the Caucasus, central Asia and the Middle East."

A total of 29 speakers from different parties and organisations
responded to Mr Babacan’s speech, many of them raising issues about
human rights – particularly the rights of women – and free speech in
Turkey, the position of the Kurdish population and the alleged genocide
committed against Armenians by Turkish forces from 1915 to 1917.

Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy said the Government
was "disappointed" that progress in the negotiations with Turkey
"hasn’t been as fast as it might be" and he called on Ankara to lift
its current ban on Cypriot vessels and aircraft.

Fine Gael delegate Charles Flanagan criticised restrictions on freedom
of expression under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, but added:
"Our party, Fine Gael, firmly supports your application."

Labour TD Joe Costello reminded Mr Babacan that Ireland "was left
waiting for 12 years" before joining the European Economic Community,
as it then was. He criticised the lack of trade union rights in Turkey.

Sinn Fein’s Daithí Doolan said the Turkish government had "an appalling
human rights record" and called for the "freezing" of accession talks
until there was clear evidence of an improvement.

Senator Martin Mansergh of Fianna Fail said: "It would be quite wrong
for a party that was closely associated with a paramilitary campaign
to be so vehemently lecturing from a height Turkey on the question
of human rights".

Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said a section of European opinion
"do not want the EU to become another imperial power". Expressing
concern that Turkish accession could weaken workers’ rights in the EU,
he said the Irish experience with Turkish firm Gama Construction had
been "incredibly disastrous".

Green Party councillor Brian Meaney praised the efficiency of the
Turkish workers and management from Gama Construction in relation
to the Ennis bypass which was "going to be completed well ahead of
schedule and well within the budget". Several speakers, including
Independent Senator Mary Henry and Fianna Fail delegate Una McGurk
raised the issue of women’s rights.

Responding at the end, Mr Babacan sharply criticised the Greek Cypriot
government, which he said had campaigned for a "No" vote in the
referendum on the Annan Plan for the reunification of Cyprus in 2004.

Greek Cypriot (Republic of Cyprus) vessels and aircraft could not enter
Turkish seaports and airports but there were also trade restrictions on
northern Cyprus as well as on Turkish trucks entering Austria, Italy
and Belgium. "Why don’t we lift all the restrictions at once?" On the
issue of free expression, he said that when Turkish prime minister
Racep Tayyip Erdogan was mayor of Istanbul, he was imprisoned for
four months because he had recited four lines from a poem on the
school syllabus.

Mr Babacan said he was not happy with the situation regarding
Article 301, but there was a separation of powers in Turkey and he
was "quite puzzled" when his government was asked to interfere in
judicial decisions.

Meanwhile, Finland’s European presidency yesterday cancelled a weekend
meeting between the Turkish and Cypriot foreign ministers scheduled
to take place in Helsinki on the issue of access to ports in Turkey
and trade restrictions on northern Cyprus.

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