TURKS COOL TOWARDS ‘UNFAITHFUL’ EUROPE
By William Horsley
BBC European Affairs analyst
BBC News, UK
Nov 6 2006
Is Europe losing Turkey? New tensions threaten to harm a strategic
bond that has long been seen as vital to the West’s security.
Turkish membership would show the EU was not just a Christian club
Turkey became a member of the Nato alliance before Germany, and
remains a bastion of stability in a region marked by undemocratic
regimes and plagued by conflicts.
But a year-end deadline for Turkey to make important concessions
in its talks on EU membership is casting doubt on the future of the
country’s integration with Europe, which began back in 1963.
Cyprus is the main sticking-point. Turkey’s relations with Europe
may suffer lasting damage unless a solution is found quickly.
Anti-French anger
In a recent opinion poll only one in three Turks said they definitely
want their country to join the EU – about half the figure in similar
polls two years ago.
France’s bill on Armenian ‘genocide’ denial triggered angry protests
Turkey is the only candidate ever to have been obliged to start
accession talks on the basis that it may never be granted full
membership, even if it passes every test.
And last month the French parliament sought to embarrass Turkey over
the nation’s past history, by voting for a bill which would make it
a crime to deny Turkish responsibility for "genocide" against the
Armenians in World War I. That provoked a wave of angry anti-French
demonstrations in Turkey.
In fact, Europe’s reputation for arrogance among the Turks has united
the main political currents there in protest against what they see as
"unfair" treatment.
Consider these recent statements by influential Turkish figures:
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would rather see
the suspension of the EU membership talks than bow to what he calls
"unreasonable" demands over Cyprus.
Former Turkish president and prime minister Suleyman Demirel says EU
demands for legal rights for Turkey’s Kurdish minority may threaten
the unity of the state, which Turkey "will not accept."
Onur Oeymen, deputy leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party
and a former ambassador to Nato, accuses the EU of seeking excuses
to delay or block Turkish membership. He complains that Europe’s
present leaders lack "strategic vision", and fail to understand the
importance of supporting Turkey, as the only secular democracy in
the Muslim world.
Mehmet Ali Birand, a popular TV newscaster, says Turkey has been
faithful to Europe for 45 years, but Europe has not. Now he fears
that Europe is going to "break the dream".
Marriage hopes
In Europe, the cooling of political attitudes towards Turkey,
fuelled by public fears of immigration and suspicion towards Islam,
has been dramatic.
We will not do it!
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on an EU demand to open ports to
Cypriot shipping Some opinion polls suggest that opponents of Turkish
membership account for two-thirds of the population in France, Greece
and Cyprus. In Austria it is around 80%.
A turning-point was last year’s referendums in France and the
Netherlands, when voters rejected the draft EU constitution.
After that, conservative leaders such as Angela Merkel in Germany and
Nicolas Sarkozy in France spoke out loudly against full EU membership
for Turkey, even in 15 or 20 years time.
Turkey’s Muslim make-up has also become an issue.
Hans-Joerg Kretschmer, the EU’s ambassador in Ankara, says Europe
wants to see "for the first time in the history of mankind whether a
Muslim country is able and willing to embrace the values of Western
civilisation".
But Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul says Turkish EU membership
would prove that the EU "does not belong to a single religion".
He insists his government is fully committed to a long-term political
"marriage" with Europe, and speaks proudly of Turkey’s radical
pro-European reforms as a "silent revolution".
Promises
The European Commission itself has praised Turkey for abolishing the
death penalty, taking action against police torture and changing the
constitution to rein in the influence of the army.
But now the Commission is focusing again on shortcomings in Turkish
democracy. It has warned of a "train crash" unless Turkey bends to
EU demands over Cyprus and moves to bolster civil rights.
"We will not do it!" was Mr Gul’s terse reply, when asked whether his
government would fulfil the EU’s demand to end its embargo on ships
from Cyprus using Turkish ports.
"The Europeans must first fulfil their promises", he said, meaning
that the EU should first take steps to facilitate direct trade with
the Turkish Cypriots in northern Cyprus.
In 2004 the Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of an international peace
plan to unite the divided island. The Greek Cypriots, who represent
the only internationally recognised government there, voted against
the plan but were anyway admitted as EU members. Now they, like every
member-state, hold a veto over Turkey’s progress.
Trade and investment
Still, a "train crash" is not inevitable. Turkish leaders now say they
may amend a much-criticised law banning insults against "Turkishness",
which has been used against authors who have written critically on
Kurdish and Armenian issues.
Britain, Finland and other supporters of Turkey’s case argue that
its progress must not be seriously held back.
It is clear that the EU itself could hardly escape without damage in
case the relationship turned sour.
Turkey is now one of the most attractive partners for European trade
and investment. French car-makers and Austrian banks are among those
profiting from Turkey’s booming economy and liberalising market.
Michael Lake, a former EU envoy to Turkey, warns that to block Turkey’s
EU prospects would harm the EU’s credibility.
And Onur Oeymen says it would be a massive strategic mistake for the
EU to write Turkey out of its future plans – because then, he said,
"you are going to make Turkey your competitor, if not your enemy".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
