Turkish Daily News
20 December 2004
Government gets hero’s welcome at home, but worries are high for future
Fending off criticism
Foreign Minister Gül accuses critics of the Dec. 17 outcome of ‘lacking
vision’ for the future and says Turkey is set to strive for settlement in
Cyprus
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Having sealed a historic deal to start accession talks with the
European Union on Oct. 3, 2005, which critics at home attacked as
“submissive,” the government took its case to the public and the
president yesterday and assured them that there would be no recognition
of the Greek Cypriot government.
“Nobody should attempt to overshadow this momentous development. Those
who try to do so lack vision for the future,” Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gül told a meeting of his Justice and Development Party
(AKP) yesterday. He and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan later
met with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to explain to him what Turkey
had won at a Dec. 16-17 summit in Brussels. At the two-day summit,
EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with long-time aspirant
Turkey on Oct. 3 only after the sides forged a compromise deal under
which the government pledged to sign a protocol extending Turkey’s
1963 Association Agreement to 10 new members of the union, including
Greek Cyprus.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has denied that this amounted
to recognition of the Greek Cypriot government, but conservative
critics lashed out at the government, saying it “sold out Cyprus”
for an insufficient nod from Brussels for the start of talks.
“The second Sevres talks are set for Oct. 3, 2005,” said the
headline of Islamic Milli Gazete. Nationalist Ortadoðu said Erdoðan
“Surrendered,” and conservative-secular Cumhuriyet described the
outcome of the Brussels summit as a “date in return for Cyprus.”
“I ask the government, ‘What is it that you are celebrating?’ Is there
a victory unknown to the nation?” said Mehmet Aðar, chairman of the
True Path Party (DYP), earlier yesterday Democratic Left Party (DSP)
Zeki Sezer warned “the price of recognizing Greek Cyprus” could be
too high for the government to pay.
Gül responded to critics, saying the summit outcome was a
success. “Those who want to overshadow this success are trying to make
things look like a deal under which gains came in return for Cyprus,”
he told the AKP meeting. He emphasized that Turkey would not sign
any bilateral protocol with the Greek Cypriot administration. “This
is out of the question,” he said.
According to Gül, failure to forge a deal in Brussels would be
tantamount to putting the future of 70 million Turks at risk because
of Greek Cyprus with its 600,000 people.
The government also conferred with Turkish Cypriot leaders after the
close of the EU summit. Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktaþ has
praised the government’s stance, which he said was “firm” and added
that the Turkish government had not given in.
New effort for solution
The Dec. 17 deal effectively gives Turkey 10 months until Oct. 3 to
sign the protocol with the EU Commission, which diplomats say would
be equivalent to de facto recognition of Greek Cyprus.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly said Ankara would not recognize Greek
Cyprus unless it were to become part of a comprehensive settlement
on the island.
Gül said Turkey would undertake efforts to ensure that the Cyprus
issue gets a lasting solution and added that preparations were already
under way, without elaborating further.
Greek Cypriot newspapers carried reports of plans for a new round
of talks on a solution in Cyprus and added that such plans had the
support of the EU. While in Brussels Annan said his good offices were
available whenever the Cypriot parties were ready to resume talks.
Greek Cypriots rejected a reunification plan drafted by U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in an April 24 referendum. Turkish
Cypriots voted in favor of the plan, which is named after its author.
New era or ‘test of fire’
According to Gül, the fact that the EU had set out a definite date
for the start of talks was a marker in the history of Turkey.
“As of Friday, life in Turkey has changed,” Gül said in praise of the
summit decision in an interview with private CNN Türk. “The important
issue is that Turkey’s direction has become definite. Turkey has
entered a period of permanent stability.”
A majority in Turkey is hopeful that Turkey will have a bright future
now that its EU bid is on a definite path. This optimism was the main
feeling that motivated a colorful welcome-home ceremony for Erdoðan
and Gül in Ankara on Saturday, when thousands presented them with
flowers and applauded Erdoðan as the modern-day “conqueror.”
But that new era is no doubt full of uncertainties, including whether
Turkey can really become a member of the EU one day. One Associated
Press analysis described the difficulties once the talks open as a
“test of fire” for Turkey.
Yesterday, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said there was a big
chance Turkey would in the end not join the European Union because
of the referendums France and Austria will hold on its accession.
“There is a big chance (that Turkey will not become a member) and I
find that not a pleasant idea. In a way the rules of the game have
changed during the match,” Bot told the Dutch television program
Buitenhof. Also yesterday, Austria pledged to push for an EU-wide
referendum on Turkish entry, saying the issue of Turkish accession
should not be settled in an “ivory tower.”
In Cyprus, Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos said his government
could still block Turkey’s path to EU membership if it does not sign
the protocol.
If the customs agreement is not signed, “then the Republic of Cyprus
has the right not to consent to the start of the entry talks,”
Papadopoulos said in a televised address.
In addition to leaving the Cyprus issue open until Oct. 3, the
summit outcome is also raising worries over the process of accession
itself. Most important of all, the EU summit said the accession talks
would be “open-ended” and that there would be no guaranteed outcome
at the end.
Heeding strong domestic opposition, the EU leaders may come up with
additional hurdles to delay Turkey’s entry. One such hurdle could be
recognition of an alleged genocide against Armenians, a charge that
Turkey categorically rejects.
Several critical newspapers in Europe said the deal with Turkey would
mark the end of the EU’s political ambitions to become a power on
the world stage.
Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder, who staunchly backed Turkey’s bid, “could go down in history
… as the German chancellor during whose term in office and with
whose approval the idea of a politically united Europe was abandoned.”
Turkey will have to deliver results in meeting “benchmarks” on a number
of key issues, from Kurdish rights to ensuring “zero-tolerance” of
torture, and in passing additional penal code reforms. Erdogan will
also have to make good on recognizing Greek Cyprus.
Overcoming that first hurdle, Turkey then faces a test in a vast
array of policy areas to meet minimum standards before talks begin
in such complex policy issues as environmental protection laws and
food safety standards. And during the negotiations, any of the EU’s
25 nations can call for a freeze in the talks if they feel Turkey is
backtracking on reforms.
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