17 December 2001

1. „Human Rights Watch says torture still exists in Turkey”, a major international human rights organisation has criticised Turkey for lack of progress in the field of human rights and stated that torture still exists in the country.

2. „Turkey delighted with developments at EU's Laeken summit”, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Sunday that he was delighted that Turkey had been put on an equal footing with other candidate countries for the next wave of European Union enlargement.

3. „Iraqi Kurds buoyed by US visit”, Iraqi Kurds have hailed the visit of a US State Department delegation to their region as a gesture of continued US commitment to their protection.

4. "Compromise with Turkey on ESDP", Laeken Summit: European defence operational without NATO agreement.

5. „European Security and Defense Identity Concept”, let’s have a look to the history of the European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) concept.

6. „IMF Readies New Loan for Turkey”, the International Monetary Fund said Friday that it had agreed in principle to support Turkey's three-year economic program with a new standby credit.

1. – AFP – „Human Rights Watch says torture still exists in Turkey”:

ANKARA

A major international human rights organisation has criticised Turkey for lack of progress in the field of human rights and stated that torture still exists in the country. "In the two years since Turkey became an official candidate for European Union (EU) membership, we have seen little but superficial and half-way measures," Elizabeth Andersen from the Europe and Central Asia department of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a communique received by AFP.

Turkey is currently in the early stages of applying for membership of the 15-member European Union. In a detailed report issued on November 13, the European Commission warned that Ankara had to make significant progress in several areas, including human rights and democracy, before it could begin formal accession talks. Despite welcoming new human rights commitments and institutions which have been put into place by the Turkish government, Andersen said that "torture remains rampant and free expression is severely limited" in the country.

"There has been no meaningful change so far - just tinsel and varnish," she added. The communique also drew attention to the "obstructive role" played by the Turkish military and demanded that army representatives be included in negotiations between the European Union and Ankara. The Turkish National Security Council, attended by senior civil and military figures, though dominated by the army, confers monthly over major policy issues affected the country. Turkey's EU candidature, which depends on compliance with the Copenhagen Charter on Human Rights and Democracy, has received a push forward recently following a series of amendments to the constitution, put in place by the army in the wake of a military coup in 1980.

But these changes have yet to satisfy the criteria for EU membership. The death penalty has been abolished but left in place in time of war or for terrorist crimes. And another constitutional change allowing for greater use of the Kurdish language in the media may be revised in order to protect national security and the "indivisibility" of the Turkish nation and state.

2. – AFP – „Turkey delighted with developments at EU's Laeken summit”:

ISTANBUL

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Sunday that he was delighted that Turkey had been put on an equal footing with other candidate countries for the next wave of European Union enlargement.

"It's the first time that a declaration by the European Union has made such concrete references to our chances for membership," Ecevit said in a statement, according to Anatolia news agency. In the Laeken declaration, made at its summit in Belgium on Saturday, the EU said Turkey had made progress towards complying with the political criteria established for accession, in particular through the recent amendment of its constitution. This has brought forward the prospect of the opening of membership negotiations with Turkey, the declaration said. "We consider that an important development," Ecevit's statement said. NATO member Turkey was accepted as a candidate for EU enlargement talks at the Helsinki summit in November 1999, but a European Commission report last month said Ankara had not yet made the necessary political and economic reforms to be allowed to start negotiations.

The report said that of 12 other candidates, 10 may finish accession negotiations by the end of next year. The Union plans to begin the first wave of enlargement in 2004. Anatolia also reported that the government was delighted with the fact that Turkey will take part in the European constitutional convention, which starts work in March. "Our country can bring much to the convention given its rich historical experience," Ecevit said, adding that the development would help to strengthen relations between Ankara and Brussels.

3. – BBC – „Iraqi Kurds buoyed by US visit”:

By Hiwa Osman

Iraqi Kurds have hailed the visit of a US State Department delegation to their region as a gesture of continued US commitment to their protection.

The delegation, led by senior State Department official Ryan Crocker, met the leaders of the two main parties - Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The PUK said the Americans had reaffirmed the commitment of President Bush's administration to the protection of the Kurdish region and its 13% share of the UN oil-for-food programme.

At the same time, the Kurdish parties played down speculation that Washington was planning to use the region as a base for attacking Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime.

The US visitors also discussed the implementation of a peace treaty between the PUK and KDP signed in Washington in 1998.

In an interview with BBC News Online, the PUK's prime minister, Barham Salih, described the visit as "an important reminder of American engagement with the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan".

Hoshyar Zebari, the KDP's foreign relations chief, told the BBC for his part that the visit had been "timely" and was very well received by the KDP and PUK leaders.

"It will have a substantial affect on the morale of the people," he said.

Saddam's approaches

The visit comes amidst growing speculation that the US is planning to extend its war on terror to Iraq.

Baghdad and Washington are engaged in an ongoing undeclared rivalry to woo the Kurds.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has made calls for dialogue in a softer and more compromising tone than he did in November when he vowed to "cut out the tongue of whoever refuses".

The Iraqi president's repeated calls for dialogue are seen by observers as an indication of an increased conviction by Baghdad of the certainty of a US-led attack.

A likely scenario in such attack would be for the Kurdish region to be used as a launch-pad for attacks against the Baghdad government.

"Any talk of attacking Iraq or turning Iraqi Kurdistan into a launch-pad or replicating the northern alliance scenario in Afghanistan is premature and this was never raised in the talks," said the KDP's Mr Zebari.

Iraqi threat

The position of the Kurds in the case of an attack remains unclear, but it seems it will be dictated by American intentions about the future of Iraq.

"It depends on whether this attack is part of an overall policy of regime change or a determent policy to bring a new Iraq where the Kurdish people would be fully represented," said Mr Zebari.

Another factor the Kurds are taking into account is the ever-present risk of Iraqi reprisals.

"We are very mindful of the implications of any evolving situation on the plight of the Kurdish people," said the PUK's Mr Salih.

He added that Iraqi Kurds had made "an important statement about the viability of democracy" which could have "important bearings" on the future of Iraq.

4. – Eurobelga - "Compromise with Turkey on ESDP":

Laeken Summit: European defence operational without NATO agreement

BRUSSELS

The Heads of State and Government of the fifteen EU Member States have Saturday at the Laeken Summit declared the European Union "operational" for the management of crises, said diplomatic sources. However, an agreement between the EU and the NATO has not yet been reached.

"The Union is from now on capable to carry out operations of crises management. The development of means and capacities which are at its disposal, will allow the EU to take on, step by step, more and more tasks", says a declaration which the Fifteen accepted, according to a diplomatic source.

The Belgian EU Presidency did not manage to convince Greece.

Athens demands guarantees, after the EU made a compromise with the NATO member state Turkey about the "permanent and garantueed" access to the means of NATO.

"The EU is determined to finish the cooperation agreements with NATO rapidly. These agreements will enhance the capacities of the EU to carry out these operations which correspond with the so-called 'Petersberg'-tasks", is written, according to a diplomatic source, in the declaration which was accepted at the European Summit of Laeken.

With the approval of this political text - because it does not correspond with the politico-military reality - the Fifteen have declared that they are ready to adopt an increasing responsibility in the domain of crises management. The Fifteen know that the EU will dispose only in 2003 of a rapid intervention force of 60.000 man which can carry out the Petersberg-tasks (evacuation of subjects from a conflict region, humanitarian operations, peacekeeping and peace inforcement).

5. – Zaman – „European Security and Defense Identity Concept”:

Let’s have a look to the history of the European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) concept. In the post-WWII period the Western European countries having lost all their forces felt the need of defense against the Soviet threat and the spreading of communism.

This need had facilitated firstly the foundation of the Western European Union (WEU) by the Brussels Treaty of 1948.

This was followed by the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by the Washington Treaty of 1949 for the double reason of Western Europe’s disability to deal with the Soviet threats on its alone, and USA’s unrest with the spreading process of the Soviets.

In the establishment of NATO’s structure the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) that was created during the WWII was taken as a model.

The defeated countries of the WWII, namely Italy and Federal Germany joined the WEU by the Paris Treaty of 1954 and became members of the NATO.

By the Rome Declaration ESDI replaced WEU and was suggested as an addition to the political and economic integration of the European Union. It can be said that the ending of the Cold War and the will of the European Union to open to the East played significant role in this decision.

While the political and economic structure of the European Union was settled by the Maastricht Treaty of 1991, it was decided that the WEU would turn into ESDI and a security identity would be created under the umbrella of NATO.

The European members of NATO aimed to utilize the infrastructure of NATO that was created in almost 50 years with billions of dollars of spending diminishing the security expenditures.

The Petersberg Duties expressed in the 1992 Petersberg Declaration were enumerated in the 5th article of the declaration as such:

Humanitarian aid, save and rescue operations,
Peacekeeping tasks,
Tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking.

Turkey became a member state of WEU in the 1992 Rome Meeting. By the 1996 Berlin Conference it was accepted that ESDI will develop within the NATO. The member states of NATO were given full membership rights in the decision taking mechanisms of the WEU operations.

In the WEU Ministerial Council held in Erfurt in 1997, Turkey was given the right to join the decision taking process of the Council, regardless of the NATO facilities’ being used or not.

The Vienna meeting of the EU Defense Ministers in November 3-4, 1998 and the following Franco-British Declaration on European Defense in St-Malo, December 4, 1998 called for the urgent implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and for EU’s obtaining a structure and capacity to interfere to the crises instantly. In this conjuncture and with the crises experienced in the European arena (e.g. Yugoslavia) it was decided that NATO would be modernized and its functionality be enhanced.

And in December 7, 1998 meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in the General Affairs Council the EU members of NATO tried to create a structure that would not be vetoed by the USA and Turkey. Thus the EU member countries, realizing that without a defense dimension the integration process would never finalize, decided to utilize the facilities of NATO for crises resolution and peacemaking operations.

Thus, while EU was overtaking peace making and crises management tasks, NATO was to continue to its Nuclear deterrence and reply to the cases that will emerge according to the 5th article’s principles and duties on case of joint operation on the face of assaults. According to these decisions establishment of a Joint Allied Duty Force was decided upon. Turkey, being left face to face with a possibility of being out of the decision making cycles in risky and dangerous interferences where the NATO facilities would be used, and Turkey is in the middle of the World crises areas, was irritated by these developments.

But these considerations of Turkey were all answered in the 1999 Washington Summit, together with the USA support and the new global political conjuncture’s impact, and her wills were adapted in the final resolution and they took place “Strategic Concept” document.

Thus;
Turkey’s position in WEU will be protected in case ESDI substitutes the WEU.
Turkey will have a say in the European Security and Defense Model.

But the decisions taken in the EU Summit of Köln, in June 1999, were not satisfactory for Turkey.

Although in the Article 17 of the Strategic Concept the non-EU members of NATO were included in the decision mechanism fitting to the arrangements in NATO and WEU, and in the Article 30 of the same concept, in line with the 1996 Berlin Decisions, ESDI would be developed within the NATO, a case by case consensus formulation was adapted with very vague statements.

In the 3-4 June 1999 summit of the EU, while it was decided to develop an effective crisis management apparatus within the EU, an arrangement for full participation of both the non-EU members of NATO and the Partner Members in the possible highest level, was also suggested. Thus it was decided to abolish the WEU and include the EU within the ESDI by 2001 and this decision was carried on by the spring of 2001.

In the Helsinki Summit of EU it was decided to establish an army of 50-60 thousand soldiers, with 15 brigades of 4000 soldiers each. This army would be called European Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) and would be deployed within 60 days. It was decided to create this army till 2003 and be ready to be deployed in operation zones within one year.

In the Feira Summit of EU, in June 2000, the 15 members of the EU decided on these targets:

Independent decision right,
Establishment of ad-hoc committees for NATO-EU relations,
EU advisory formulations for the third countries.

In order to reach these aims the EU decided on the coming princibles in the December 2000 Nice Summit:

Determining the collective criteria and aims,
Establishment of permanent political and military structures in the possible nearest future,
Shift of the functions of the WEU to the EU,
Arrangement of the roles of the third countries in the EU crises management and the relations with NATO,
The civil face of the crisis management,
Dialogue with the non-EU members of NATO and EU candidates on counseling and cooperation, Arrangements on joining the activities,
Respect to the EU independent decision right,
A united structure for the EU members of NATO and the EU candidates,
Information exchange with the NATO members in order to utilize the NATO facilities.

The method of achieving these goals took the 15 EU members as the base and it was decided that biannual meetings would be held between the EU and NATO members and annual meetings would be held among the EU members.

Taking into considerations that decisions are effected by political positions and that they are subject to change in the future also, Turkey has to use its NATO card as good as possible and not consume it for empty promises. Turkey has to keep in mind that in the near future the equilibrium may change and thus Turkey must considers scenarios where she will be not in the EU forces, but against them.

Turkey has to utilize her power and cards within the NATO and the advantages created by the global conjuncture and has to play with the cards with utmost care in order to attain her political aims. In the past, Turkey lost her advantages believing in various promises and than regretted her loses.

The opportunities Turkey has today for full EU membership, are not easily obtained on the face of often changing decisions, principles and concepts. The promises have to be turned into binding international treaty texts and Turkey must not fall into the diplomatic games of additional letters, extensions, appendixes or promises that do not have any binding legal stand.

It has to be known that Turkey’s importance and weight, as the sole Muslim-secular member of NATO is increasing as a result of current developments and its existence in the decision making processes of the EU defense mechanism, is becoming a notion more and more important every day.

6. – International Herold Tribune – „IMF Readies New Loan for Turkey”:

WASHINGTON

The International Monetary Fund said Friday that it had agreed in principle to support Turkey's three-year economic program with a new standby credit.

The accord clears the way for new aid from the lender to close a $10 billion financing gap next year.

"The new arrangement will support a medium-term economic stabilization and reform program designed to protect the Turkish economy against future crises and address impediments to rapid sustainable growth," the IMF said.

Talks between negotiators from the IMF and Turkish officials "reached agreement in principle" on a loan program to start in 2002, the IMF representative for Turkey, Odd Per Brekk, said.

The statement from the Fund showed that it was not ready to give Turkey its third bailout in a year without evidence of commitment to a program designed to help it emerge from its deepest recession since 1945.

The statement was issued two days after the Turkish Parliament approved a 2002 budget, in line with pledges aimed at securing fresh cash from the IMF.

"The IMF and government are building up confidence among investors," said Oner Ayan of Raymond James Securities in New York, a brokerage. "The confidence game is continuing, but it will still take some time."

The announcement of the agreement came after the close of Turkish financial markets, which drifted sideways after weeks of gains in anticipation of an accord. Markets will be closed until Wednesday because of a holiday.

The IMF emphasized the need for structural reform. A new agreement would commit Turkey to slashing spending by "reducing overstaffing" in the public sector, speeding privatization and completing the overhaul of a banking sector, which is seen as a key cause of the crisis this year.

The economy is expected to shrink about 8 percent this year, after a financial crisis struck in February.