Patience My Donkey(Olme Esegim Olme)

[Gavur]

Erdogan Warns EU on Cyprus

By Selcuk Gultasli
Published: Friday, October 28, 2005
zaman.com


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attending his first European Union (EU) summit since the beginning of the negotiations on October 3, issued a warning to Brussels on the subject of Cyprus.

Erdogan said that unless the bans imposed on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) were lifted the opening of the Turkish ports and airports to Greek Cypriot ships and planes would be out of question. “Whatever the consequences, the ports won’t be opened until the bans are lifted.” Prime Minister Erdogan reminded that Turkey was given a promise and that although Turkey was told to approve the plan and not be concerned with the rest, Greek Cypriots had joined the EU within a week of their rejection of the Annan plan. After joining the EU leaders at lunch in the interim EU summit, Prime Minister Erdogan held a news conference during which he delivered harsh statements about Cyprus and also warned Iran.


Noting that he was not at all worried that Austria would succeed Britain as EU term president, the Prime Minister said, “the negotiations will certainly begin during the Austrian term.”


Prime Minister Erdogan underlined that unless the bans imposed on the TRNC were lifted Turkish ports and airports would not be opened a second time at the address he delivered in the London School of Economics (LSE), in the opening of the Program on Contemporary Turkey. Reminding that according to the EU acquis communautaire countries with border disagreements could not become members, Prime Minister Erdogan indicated that the Southern Cyprus had become a member despite having United Nations (UN) soldiers settled on the island.


As soon as the embargos are lifted, the Turkish government will deal promptly with the situation, said Erdogan, adding that the solution to the Cyprus question needs to be worked out in accordance with United Nations (UN) regulations.


With regard to the statement of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad that Israel needs to be removed from the world map, Erdogan articulated his thoughts against such an attitude. Iran should keep its composure at any rate, warned Erdogan. In connection with Ahmadinajad’s words to Turkey, Erdogan’s response was as follows: “[Iran] does not have any right whatsoever to dictate a particular way in which one country will take certain approaches to another.” Ahmadinajad was speaking on Wednesday to Muslim leaders who acknowledge the presence of an Israeli authority with the warning that wrath that is bound to befall them. Turkey is the first Islamic country to officially recognize Israel. The European Union (EU) summit also lashed out at Iran. As long as Iran maintains its current attitude towards having nuclear weapons as well as to the question of Israel, argued Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, currently holding the EU term presidency, Iran is most likely to be considered as an actual threat against the worldwide peacefulness and stability. Israel’s response was even more drastic: They called to throw Iran out of the UN.


First chair of Turkish studies in Europe


One of the things that Erdogan was busy with in Britain yesterday (on Thursday) is the inauguration of the Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies. London School of Economics (LSE), founded in London and known as one of the most respected universities, will host this chair which is funded by Turkish Republic, Central Bank, Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges (TOBB) and Dogan Group. These institutions are said to have made a contribution of £2.5 million to the Chair. The official inauguration of the Chair marks LSE as the first faculty to contain both Turkish and Greek departments. Erdogan also re-asserted the wish of Turkey that all archives about the Armenian issue be opened.




Brussels


Note:Would you buy a used car from anyone of this fellows?

[Gavur]

Merkel Insists on ’Privileged Partnership’

By Foreign News Desk
Published: Friday, October 28, 2005
zaman.com


Germany's prospective Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said "As Union parties, we are faithful to the target of setting up a privileged partnership between Turkey and the European Union."

Membership negotiations with Turkey will not be a breaking point, Christian Democrat leader said. "Now, we will prepare for the negotiations according to the principle of pacta sund servanda, but we will focus especially on the issue of open-endedness."

[Gavur]

Angela Merkel Turns Down Erdogan's Suggestion To Meet

Yet, it is Imperative for Turkey to Create Atmosphere for a Dialogue

The victory of Angela Merkel in the race for German chancellor's post not only crushed Turkey's hopes but also put Turkey before an imperative of creating necessary atmosphere for a dialogue with Angela Merkel as the country heads for the EU.

On November 1, Abhaber news agency informed from Brussels that "Merkel 'politely' turned down Erdogan's suggestion to meet." Chancellor Merkel is among those European officials who rebuff Turkey's full membership and offer a status of "a privileged member." Contrary to her, the outgoing chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was doing his best to see Turkey in the EU. Abhaber agency quotes Schroeder as advising prime minister Erdogan "to congratulate and to persuade" Merkel to give in.

Following Schroeder's advice, Erdogan congratulated Merkel but failed to talk her into changing her position concerning Turkey. Moreover, Angela Merkel turned down Erdogan's proposal of meeting which, according to the agency, was under wraps.

It transpire that on November 6 Erdogan was getting ready to leave for Germany to open the Union of Turkish Democrats. Together with Schroeder, Angela Merkel was also invited to partake in the opening in Cologne. The later refuses to come after which the Turkish side informs the office of Christian Democrats of its decision to go to Berlin on November 7 to meet Mrs. Merkel. But the reply leaves the Turks astonished.

Merkel's office refuses to host the Turkish PM providing the following explanation: "Mrs. Merkel has full daily schedule. She has no time at all. We would gladly receive Mr. Erdogan in future." The refusal stirs displeasure in official Ankara limiting Erdogan's visit to a dinner with Schroeder in Cologne. In a earlier phone conversation with Recep Erdogan, Merkel gave consent to the meeting "in nearest days" encouraging the Turkish side to turn to the Christian democrats for a Berlin meeting with her.

Abhaber is the Turkish service of EU's news service. Perhaps its not accidental that it is this very agency that uncovers Angela Merkel's refusal to meet with PM Erdogan. This refusal may well be attached to the tension in Turkey-EU relations so apparent in recent days.

By Hakob Chakrian

[Gavur]

Angela Merkel To Receive Abdullah Gul

On November 1, Abhaber news agency informed that Germany's new chancellor Angela Merkel turned down Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan's offer to meet. Official circles in Ankara immediately responded to this information stating that Mrs. Merkel was not offered a meeting.

Abhaber agency turned to Merkel's office where the information was confirmed adding: "Owing to works connected with form of the new cabinet the November 7 meeting with Erdogan proposed by the Turkish side will not take place. But on November 18 Mrs. Merkel will receive Abdullah Gul in Berlin." The spokesperson of the Christian Democratic Union underlined that the Turkish side showed comprehension.

By Hakob Chakrian
© AZG Daily, 2001

[Gavur]

Erdogan Arrives In Germany

Published: 11/6/2005
COLOGNE - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Germany on Sunday to open the headquarters of European Turkish Democrats Union.

Erdogan is accompanied by state ministers Mehmet Aydin and Ali Babacan. There is also a crowded group in the delegation including parliamentarians and authors.

Erdogan is expected to return to Turkey in the evening of November 6th after having dinner with Schroeder.

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=78083

[Gavur]

Action against Turkey's EU Membership Held in Paris

“Turkey should be removed from the map of Europe,” cried out a group of demonstrators, who gathered to protest against Turkey’s accession to the EU. Besides, the action participants spread the following statements “You should say “no” to Turkey in Europe” and “65% of the European population against Turkey’s accession to the EU.” According to Zaman Turkish newspaper, the rally was initiated by major opponent to Turkey’s EU membership Philippe de Villier.
© PanArmenian

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NY Times: Courting Europe, Turkey Tries Some Soul-Cleansing

Kaynak: NY Times
Yer: Van
Tarih: 8.12.2005





By STEPHEN KINZER
Published: December 4, 2005
VAN, Turkey

THE 10th-century Akhtamar Church, its stone facade alive with vivid images of birds, animals, saints and warriors, dominates a small island just off the southern shore of Lake Van. For nearly a millennium, this spectacular Armenian monument was a seat of great religious and political power.

Then the Ottoman Empire expelled and wiped away the Armenian population here in the massacres of 1915, and the church fell into near ruin. Its condition symbolized the abysmal relations between many Armenians, who believe their ancestors were victims of genocide in 1915, and the Turkish Republic, which rejects that claim.

This fall, at Turkish government expense, restoration workers began repairing the church. They have cleaned the exterior and replaced the collapsed roof, and plan to return next summer to work on the interior.

Although this is an act of historical preservation and tourism promotion, it also reflects something much larger. To the horror of conservative nationalists, there is a new sense of freedom taking hold in Turkey. The government is promoting democratic reforms that will one day, it hopes, allow Turkey to join the European Union. In the process, old taboos, like admitting the possibility that the Christian Armenians were the victims of genocide, are falling.

Whether steps like restoring the Akhtamar church will ease Turkey's entry in the European Union, however, is far from certain.

In Europe, resistance to Turkish membership has in fact been growing. It was one reason that voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the union's draft constitution last spring. A magazine poll a year ago found that French opposition to Turkey's entry had risen to 72 percent, from 58 percent two years earlier. More recent polls suggest that Europe's resistance has not abated. French officials have promised a referendum on any plan to approve Turkish entry into the European Union.

Here in Turkey, even as the church reconstruction was under way, a court was giving Hrant Dink, editor of a newspaper for Istanbul's Armenian community, a suspended prison term for making comments "disrespectful to our Turkish ancestors." A prosecutor has indicted Turkey's leading novelist, Orhan Pamuk, on similar charges, and several other such cases are pending.

To outsiders, it sometimes seems that Turks cannot decide whether they want to embrace the standards of human rights and free speech that the European Union demands of its members.

In fact, however, many Turks say they fervently want their country to meet those standards. So, on most days, does the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But defenders of the old order, including prosecutors, judges and officials with influence in the army and bureaucracy, fear that steps to open Turkish society will weaken national unity, and are trying to suppress them.

Nationalists have prevented the government from reopening Turkey's land border with Armenia, and have tried to prevent serious investigations into incidents like a recent bombing in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which was made to look like the work of Kurdish terrorists but turned out to have been carried out by police agents.

Tension within Turkey's political class is intensifying as citizens begin voicing opinions that have long been anathema.

In September, for example, a group of historians and other academics, most of them Turkish, met in Istanbul to challenge the taboo on suggesting that the Ottoman regime committed brutal crimes, perhaps even genocide, in 1915. It turned out to be a historic conference on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians.

The event had been postponed twice, once after Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said it would constitute a "stab in the back" to Turkey and again after a judge banned two universities from playing host to it. It was finally held at a third university.

Participants had to walk through a gantlet of angry protesters, but once they found their seats, and began to speak, they observed no limits to their debate. Their papers had titles like "What the World Knows but Turkey Does Not" and "The Roots of a Taboo: The Historical-Psychological Suffocation of Turkish Public Opinion on the Armenian Problem."

The conference produced an avalanche of news coverage and led to weeks of analysis. Some columnists and opinion-makers objected to parts of what they heard, but nearly all welcomed the breakthrough to open debate on this painful topic.

"I was there, and it felt like we were making history, like something incredible had suddenly happened," said Yavuz Baydar, a columnist for the mass-market daily Sabah. "Everyone was conscious of it. This is not a taboo anymore."

The response to the conference suggests that other longstanding taboos may also be ripe for challenge. If people here can now argue freely that the Ottomans were guilty of genocide in 1915, it may not be long before they promote other long-suppressed ideas like Kurdish nationalism, with which some Europeans sympathize, or political Islam, which nearly all of them detest.

The recent rioting in France in alienated Algerian immigrant communities, however, raises new questions about Europe's willingness to accept Turkey's application in any event. The anti-immigrant French leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, for example, was quick to use the riots as a further argument for not admitting "another 75 million Muslims" into Europe.

It could easily be 10 years or longer before Turkey is ready to join the European Union, and this fall's riots may well be forgotten by then. Omer Taspinar, director of the Turkey program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said he was not worried by the impact of unrest like this.

"The Turks responded to those riots in a very interesting way, saying that they show how urgent it is to give Muslims in Europe a sense of belonging, and that admitting Turkey to the E.U. would be a way to do that," he said. "Plenty of politicians in Europe, like Tony Blair, are saying the same thing."

"I do have another worry, though," Mr. Taspinar said, "and that is terrorism." If there is another attack in Europe that is linked to Al Qaeda, he said, "then I think the balance of opinion could turn against Turkey. Europeans might conclude that they don't want the E.U. to have a border with Iran, Iraq and Syria, which is what admitting Turkey would mean. In that scenario, even if the Turks do everything right, developments over which they have no control could prevent them from joining."

http://www.hyetert.com/haber3.asp?AltYazi=Haberler+%5C%3E+D%FCnya&Id=18796&DilId=2

Last Taboo Amid democratic reforms, Turks have been confronting their past, including the 1915 massacres of Armenians.

[Gavur]

All quiet on the Western front

Ercan Citlioglu

[email protected]01 April 2006





2006 The New Anatolian



It's interesting to observe the recent silence in Turkey on the European Union, the one issue which certainly shouldn't be displaced among the country's ever-shifting headlines.

Although it was promised after last Oct. 3 that the screening process would be completed in January and negotiations would start on chapters, the start of negotiations was postponed to May a short while ago and with even the name of the first chapter to be negotiated being set.

Reports from EU circles indicate that an issue that seemed to be the least problematic was prioritized but that the start of de facto negotiations before October is out of the question.

I think the government's loss of enthusiasm about the EU before the negotiations is partly due to a situation which used to be a secret but now is out in the open.

At the beginning the Justice and Development (AK) Party government seemed to have assumed the initiative of using the slogan "Always one step ahead" over resolving the Cyprus problem, although this tactic doesn't seem compatible with diplomatic negotiations. However it seems to have failed to understand that resolving such a deep-rooted and multifaceted problem needs a endurance runner rather than a sprinter.

The Greek athletes, who were trained by the EU, overtook the AK Party at the start of the race, as the AK Party, lacking the stamina, muscle power and tactics needed for a marathon, had paced itself for a 100-meter race.

The majority of funds promised to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by the EU never materialized due to the statute of limitations and it was decided to use the rest as project loans under the umbrella of the Greek Cypriot administration. Hence the EU verified once more that the only authority on Cyprus is the Greek Cypriot administration.

Meanwhile, both the EU and the Greeks are demanding that Ankara keep promises made in the Customs Union to open Turkish ports and airports to Greek Cypriot ships and airplanes.

The prospect of relaunched Cyprus talks, supported by Ankara and under the auspices of the UN secretary-general, was damaged even at the outset due to the one-sided attitude and statements of the special representative appointed by Kofi Annan. Turkey started to have a bad time, both with the EU and the UN.

As the Cyprus problem is becoming more and more of an obstacle for Ankara in its EU process, there are also other signs that will trouble Turkey regarding domestic politics and social balance.

The EU has started to raise its voice about minority rights, prioritizing Kurds on an ethnic basis and Alevis on a sectarian one, and is now demanding the opening of seminaries and that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate be given ecumenical status. All these demands indicate that Ankara is headed for trouble.

Although traces of silence can be seen in the media and political circles regarding Turkish-EU relations, this silence isn't enough to mask the symptoms of a depression that has been going on for a while which can now even be seen on the surface as well.

I don't know whether it would be useful to recall at this point that one of the key signs of depression is avoiding and neglecting problems.

[Gavur]

The rose that wilted before blooming

Kemal Balci

[email protected]29 April 2006


Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is a politician who used to believe in the necessity of change and who promised a lot. I believed that he was sincere. Including his brief stint as prime minister (while Recep Tayyip Erdogan was clearing up his political ban), he's been one of the rulers of the country for the last 41 months. When we compare the current foreign policy problems Turkey faces to the ones back when he assumed power, we can see very few marks in his win column. Why?

1. The first government of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party lifetime lasted just a few short months, so it wouldn't be wrong to take the second AK Party government, set up under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the continuation of the one that was set up under Gul's leadership. When the AK Party governments assumed power, Turkey had four fundamental foreign policy problems, the most urgent of which was the country's relations with the European Union. The AK Party concentrated on that issue with all of its strength and energy. The start of negotiations with the EU for full membership could have been a major mark in the win column. However, as it was quickly seen, the road ended with the decision to start negotiations. The accession process, started in December 1999 during Finland's term presidency, is heading towards a total train wreck in December, seven years later, again under the term presidency of Finland. The roadmap that the AK Party was following with great hope didn't achieve full democratization for
the country, and didn't suppress the calls for a special EU status voiced by some European politicians either.

2. When the AK Party assumed power, Turkey's relations with the U.S. were promising. Erdogan was received with great hospitality in the White House during a visit when he wasn't even a deputy, stoking hopes that strategic cooperation between the two countries would develop and strengthen even further. The rejection of Parliament's March 1, 2003 resolution, officially deciding not to send troops to Iraq because of AK Party votes, reduced the level of the Turkish-U.S. relations from strategic to just logistic. When talks with Hamas, the Arab League, Syria and Iran were added to the equation, relations with the U.S. fell below what they were when the government assumed power. Even this week's "Strategic Vision Document" couldn't manage to get the relationship out of its deep hole. The document, reported to be one-and-a-half pages, will be filled even if only the official names and name of the two top diplomats of the countries are written on it.

3. The Cyprus issue is still at exactly where it was when the AK Party assumed power. In the last 41 months, there have been some risky developments, such as the Turkish Cypriot side's approval of the Annan plan, which was seen as the ultimate solution to the problem for the AK Party. But if there is a Cyprus problem, it's right where it used to be. Empty statements by AK Party deputies saying that we are no longer the "blamed side" mean little in terms of the realities of foreign policy. The sad truth is that the Greek Cypriot administration became a full member of the EU, and the start, much less the finalization, of our negotiations with the EU will never happen unless Turkey officially recognizes it as a member.

4. When the AK Party assumed power, Iraq was still a unified country and there wasn't a de facto Kurdish state in northern Iraq. The reflection of that situation in Turkey was the interruption of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) armed attacks. Until the AK Party government came to power, Turkey was able to conduct "hot pursuit" operations into terror bases in northern Iraq and could cut off the PKK's logistical support. Today, we can neither talk about the territorial integrity of Iraq nor prevent the authority of the autonomous Kurdish state, even in Turkmen areas such as Kirkuk and Tal Afar. The PKK started to conduct armed attacks again, and the funerals of soldiers are held every day throughout the country.

The AK Party also made a very strategic mistake by turning its back on the Turkic states in the Caucasus. On the other hand, the improvement of ties with the Arab world, which was highly stressed and touted as a great success by the government, backfired. The success of assuming the general secretary post in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) couldn't make up for losing the support of the Jewish lobby in the international arena as a result of our country's estrangement with Israel.

The AK Party has lost all the hopes for change pinned on it and its new rhetoric. As Turkey is rapidly heading towards elections, the AK Party will focus on the nationalist rhetoric that so far it has opposed based on such bones of contention as the headscarf issue, to shore up the votes of political Islamists, and on policies that object to all Western values including the EU. The dream is over; it's now time to face the facts. We don't see an energetic and hopeful AK Party anymore. Makeovers can't mask tired democrats and fed-up conservatives. Abdullah Gul is trying in vain to look energetic by changing his hairstyle and accent, and to refresh his image with the support of a couple of columnists he's in close contact with. The truth is, Gul (meaning "rose" in Turkish), is a rose that wilted before ever blooming.