EU REPORT CONTAINS STINGING CRITICISM OF TURKEY
Financial Mirror, Cyprus
Nov 8 2006
Freedom of speech in Turkey is not guaranteed, the military still plays
a "significant" political role and non-Muslim religious communities
face discrimination, the European Commission is set to say in a report
due out Wednesday, according to a report by EUobserver.
Just over a year after Turkey started membership negotiations with the
EU in October 2005, the European Commission will on Wednesday release
both a specific progress report on Turkey and a general enlargement
report which also deals with Ankara’s EU accession bid.
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn will present the enlargement
strategy paper and progress reports for candidate countries, including
Turkey, in Brussels at 12.00 local time (1100 GMT).
A draft version of the general report says that "Turkey has continued
to make progress in reforms," but adds that "the pace of reforms
has slowed."
"In 2007, it will be important to undertake determined efforts to
broaden the reform momentum throughout Turkey," the document says.
The draft progress report – detailing specific policy areas – kicks
off with a chapter on Turkey’s compliance with the EU’s political
and human rights standards which according to the commission leaves
a lot to be desired.
"The armed forces have continued to exercise significant political
influence. Senior members of the armed forces have expressed
their opinion on domestic and foreign policy issues," the draft
says referring to generals interfering in issues such as Cyprus,
secularism and the Kurdish issue.
Further highlighting the uncontrolled role of Turkey’s army, the draft
continues by stating that "no further progress has been achieved
in terms of strengthening parliamentary overseeing of the military
budget and expenditure."
The report is highly critical of restrictions on freedom of speech
in the EU candidate country – targeting in particular the notorious
article 301 of Turkey’s recently adopted penal code, which penalises
insults against "Turkishness".
"The prosecutions and convictions for the expression of non-violent
opinion under certain provisions of the new Penal Code are a cause
for serious concern and may contribute to a climate of self-censorship
in the country."
"Freedom of expression in line with European standards is not yet
guaranteed in the present legal framework," Brussels concludes in the
draft, which was however prepared before Turkish leader Recep Tayyip
Erdogan over the weekend indicated he is ready to revise article 301.
The European Commission on Monday welcomed Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to revise a key article of the Turkish penal
code which is widely viewed as a serious breach of freedom of speech.
The commission insisted, however, that Erodogan’s promise must be
followed by quick action to change the code’s disputed article 301,
that makes it illegal to dispute the national policy, including
the denial of discussing, let alone adopting, views related to the
Armenian genocide and the persecution of Kurds.
Under the code a number of journalists and authors have been charged
for ‘insulting Turkishness,’ including Nobel Literature laureate
Orhan Pamuk.
Brussels in the report welcomes a "downward trend" in the number
of cases of torture and ill-treatment but notes at the same time
that torture cases are "still being reported, in particular outside
detention centres."
The report further says that non-Muslim religious communities
"continued to face restricted property rights" while "full respect
of women’s rights remains a critical problem, particularly in the
poorest areas of the country."
Two local TV stations have been allowed to air in the Kurdish language
– but they are not allowed to show educational programmes in Kurdish.
— No progress on Cyprus
As expected, Brussels has condemned Turkey’s continued blocking of
trade from EU member state Cyprus.
"Turkey has continued to deny access to its ports to vessels flying
the Republic of Cyprus flag or where the last port of call is Cyprus,"
Brussels notes, adding Ankara’s restrictions "infringe the customs
union agreement" it signed with the EU.
A passage added to the report after the weekend and cited by
the Financial Times said however that Brussels will postpone
a recommendation on whether or not to suspend the accession talks
because of Turkey’s stance on Cyprus – until a later date before an
EU leaders’ summit in December.
— Some positive notes
Despite the generally critical tone of the report – with "limited"
or "no" progress reported also in the areas of agriculture, the
environment and in many internal market-related areas – the commission
also has some praise for Turkey.
"Turkey’s overall alignment with EU common foreign and security policy
has continued," the document says referring to the country’s positive
role in the Middle East.
As for education and culture, "alignment is nearly complete and overall
Turkey is well prepared for accession in this area," according to
the draft.
"Education and culture" is among the next negotiating chapters waiting
in line to be opened as part of the accession talks – but Cyprus has
said it will veto the opening of any new chapter unless Turkey gives
in on opening its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic before the
end of the year.