CYPRUS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO BLOCK TURKISH EU BID, SAYS JAGLAND

Hurriyet
Feb 9 2010
Turkey

Although the Cyprus problem has been used to block Turkish accession to
the European Union, Turkey has still contributed enormously to Europe,
according to Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of
Europe. ‘We cannot let the Cyprus issue block accession,’ he says

Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland.

Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders are running out of time
to reach a settlement on the divided island, according to Council of
Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland.

"Now, we’re in hurry. We can only hope things can be sorted out before
the elections," said Jagland in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily
News & Economic Review in Ankara.

Jagland said it was "very unfortunate" that the Greek community had
said "no" to a 2004 settlement backed by the United Nations. "They
did not use the opportunity at that time to solve the conflict."

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was on the island a few days ago.

It could be good sign that the U.N. [is putting] pressure on the
parties to move forward," he said.

The Cyprus issue may continue blocking Turkey’s accession to the
European Union as long as no settlement is reached, he said. "This
is a matter of fact. A unanimous decision is needed for accession of
new members."

Outlining the severity of the matter, Jagland said: "I really hope
everyone understands that this issue is important for not only Cyprus,
but [all of] Europe. It has been used to block Turkish accession."

Jagland said he has emphasized a number of times how much Turkey is
contributing to regional stability. "Turkey is now contributing to
solving conflicts in the Middle East and South Caucasus, which is
enormously important for Europe," he said, adding that the Cyprus
issue could not be allowed to derail these contributions.

Turkish deputy Mevlut CavuÅ~_oglu was recently elected president
of the council’s parliament while Turkey is also slated to assume
the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the pan-European
organization’s decision-making body from November 2010 to May 2011.

"Turkey is playing such a pioneering role in Europe and in its
neighborhood; that should be appreciated," he said, adding that it
was impressive that Turkey is continuing its reform process despite
the negativity of some European leaders to the country’s EU accession.

"Turkey is moving rapidly in the right direction. They could be more
pessimism due to the remarks of some European leaders."

Islamophobia in Europe and the Turkish example

Touching on the issue of Islam in the West, Jagland said, "What
worries me is that people relate very much Islam to terrorism."

In reference to Switzerland recently banning the construction of new
minarets, he said: "The vote in Switzerland worried me a lot. People
are afraid of and go against Muslims. It is a dangerous development
when they mix up migration, unemployment and social frustration in
the big cities."

He suggested the council could do much more for intercultural an
inter-religious dialogue through educational programs, adding that
terrorist attacks have nothing to do with Islam.

"Therefore, what you’re doing in Turkey is very important, showing
the opposite example, that Islam and democracy and the rule of law
can be reconciled," he said.

New Constitution

The Constitutional Court should prosecute politicians individually
rather than closing the entire party, Jagland said. "When you ban the
entire party, it must be absolutely clear that the party is concretely
contributing to terrorist activities. Otherwise individuals should
be prosecuted."

Furthermore, he said, "Many politicians in Turkey say the Constitution
should be changed so that is not so easy to ban a party."

No involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh settlement

Asked whether the council has considered taking steps to produce
a permanent settlement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict given that
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are member states, Jagland said his
body had not been asked by the parties to mediate in the process.

"First of all, I very much appreciate the protocols between the two
countries and hope it can get through both parliaments," he said. "I
think it is important that this process is being handled by national
political bodies and [receiving] support from public opinion. Without
that, it will fail."

In the end, he said there was only a little role the council could
play in the matter. "I don’t see any need for interference or any
kind of assistance to the process if the parties do not ask for it."

Opposition leader Baykal declines meeting Jagland

Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland, who has been
arranging appointments with politicians, officials, academics and
NGOs, applied for a meeting with Deniz Baykal, leader of the main
opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP.

Baykal, however, failed to agree to a meeting with the
secretary-general. According to Baykal’s office, the CHP leader was
engaged in a group meeting in Parliament and had no time to talk
with Jagland.