21 th March 2001

1. "Markets give Turkey thumbs-up", Kemal Dervis' reform plan pleases financial markets.

2. "Turkey's Kurds prepare for peaceful New Year feast", jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has issued an appeal to Kurds to mark their new year, Newroz, on Wednesday peacefully.

3. "Reforms leave Kurds cold", Kurdish leaders in Turkey expressed disappointment yesterday at a programme of reforms announced by the government to prepare the country for possible membership of the European Union.

4. "'An assassination is being planned against our President'", PKK Council of Leaders member Osman Ocalan said they had obtained serious information that an assassination attempt against PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was being planned before the next hearing of his case in the European Court of Human Rights on May 31.

5. "National Distraction Program approved", the National Program which Turkey was obligated to prepare for EU membership, after being long delayed, has turned out to be a dud.

6. "Not too negative, not too positive", Diplomats of EU member countries in Ankara have a cautious approach to the National Program of Action calling it `not too negative and not too positive'

7. "Mazlum-Der: National Program is version of 1982 Constitution", Mazlum-Der criticizes the National Program and argues that it is far from satisfying both the expectations of the Accession Partnership Document and the Turkish people.

8. "Opportunity is big, step is small", the National Program, which Turkey prepared in the framework of the Accession Partnership Document (KOB) for the EU membership, became definite but according to some circles, the program, which is full of indefinite expressions, does not reflect the will of full membership.

1. -BBC - "Markets give Turkey thumbs-up":

Kemal Dervis' reform plan pleases financial markets

The financial markets have given Turkey's plans to tackle its financial crisis the thumbs-up with strong demand for an auction of government bonds.

The bonds were also sold at interest rates well below expectations, implying greater confidence in the country's new economic policy.

The government sold 2.2 trillion lira ($2.1bn) of three-month government bonds at an annual yield of 124.9%, under analysts predictions of between 130% and 140%.

The auction was almost three times over-subscribed, which was considered unthinkable one week ago.

The treasury sold a further one trillion lira to institutional investors in a non-competitive sale.
Turkey needed to borrow the money in order to repay $3bn it owes in domestic debt on Wednesday.

Market reaction

The Turkish stock market closed up 4% and the lira also firmed boosted by international investors taking part in the auction.

The market had been depressed on Monday ahead of the auction over fears that there would be enough buyers.

The size and length of the debt on sale had been scaled back after the financial crisis that hit Turkey a month ago forced interest rates up.

Financial aid

On Monday Turkey and the International Monetary Fund agreed the new economic programme after weeks of talks.

IMF director Michael Deppler said it had agreed to bring forward $6.25bn in loans left over from a previous economic plan, which collapsed at the height of Turkey's financial crisis.
Economy minister Kemal Dervis has also made it clear that Turkey seeks further aid from its allies, including the European Union and the US.

The new economic programme aims to bring annual inflation, which is at 30%, to below 20% by 2002, although Mr Dervis has warned it would rise in the next few months.

He expressed hope that economy would recover later this year despite an expected 2% fall in growth.

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations welcomed the new plan.
They praised the emphasis on low inflation and sustainable public finances, as well as structural reform.

The recent financial crisis prompted the government to scrap its policy of fixing the level of the currency, a decision which has since led to the Turkish lira losing 30% of its original value.

2. - AFP - "Turkey's Kurds prepare for peaceful New Year feast":

DIYARBAKIR

Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has issued an appeal to Kurds to mark their new year, Newroz, on Wednesday peacefully.

The appeal was issued through his lawyer from the Turkish jail where he is under a death sentence for treason

In the past the festival has often been marred by bloodshed. But the majority Kurds in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir hope this year it will pass off peacefully.

Lawyer Irfan Dundar, who pays Ocalan regular weekly visits at the prison island of Imrali in northwestern Turkey, said the Kurdish leader "appeals on the Kurds to celebrate Newroz in a spirit of peace, unity and brotherhood."

"He underscores the necessity to refrain from acts that could provoke violence," said Dundar.
Authorities in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeastern provinces said they had stepped up security measures ahead of the feast but were also doing all they could to ensure the celebrations go ahead peacefully, according to officials in Diyarbakir.

The authorities have allocated an area several kilometers outside Diyarbakir capable of hosting up to 60,000 people for the festivities.

They have also allowed the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP), for a second year in a row, to organize the festivities in Diyarbakir and neighboring Batman.

Taking "ecological" considerations into account, officials in Batman have distributed wood to residents for the traditional Newroz fires to try to stop people burning tyres which let off polluting smoke.

The tradition stems from a legend dating back to the first revolt of the Kurdish people -- gainst the ancient Persian ruler Dehaq -- when they started fires in the mountains.

Newroz has in the past triggered deadly clashes between security forces and Ocalan's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which used the occasion to press its campaign for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast region.

In 1992 about 50 Kurds were killed by police during violent demonstrtations in several southeastern cities.

The 15-year Kurdish conflict in the southeast has subsided considerably since September 1999 when, in response to peace calls from Ocalan, the PKK announced it was laying down its arms and withdrawing from Turkish territory.

Since 1984, when the PKK began fighting for Kurdish self-rule, the conflict has claimed some 36,500 lives.

Newroz is also marked in western Turkish cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mersin and Adana, home to millions of Kurdish migrants.

Newroz, a pagan festival of Zoroastrian origin, marks the awakening of nature at the March 21 equinox.

It is also celebrated in Iran and other Muslim communities in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

3. - Guardian - "Reforms leave Kurds cold":

ISTANBUL

Kurdish leaders in Turkey expressed disappointment yesterday at a programme of reforms announced by the government to prepare the country for possible membership of the European Union.

The programme was described by the government as a "a fundamental revision of Turkey's political, economic, social and administrative structures".

As part of the process leading to eventual EU membership for Turkey, Brussels had asked Ankara to loosen restrictions on the use of languages other than Turkish - though the request carefully avoiding a direct reference to Kurdish.

The reform programme appeared to give some ground on language but fell well short of meeting Kurdish demands for greater cultural rights in education and broadcasting. "This is much less than people expect," said Hasan Kaya, of the Kurdish Institute in Istanbul. "We believe this programme will be insufficient."

The document produced by the government is circumspect. It states that Turkish is the country's official language which should be used in education, but it also recognises the right of people to use other languages and dialects.

There is a division in the government about the extent of reforms. The far-right Nationalist Action Party and the military argue that allowing Kurds to broadcast or teach in their language would encourage Kurdish nationalism.

Leading Kurdish activists disagree. The mayor of the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, Feridun Celik, said he believed only about 10% of Kurds now support independence - but the majority want greater cultural rights.

European officials have reacted cautiously to the reform programme. "We need time to examine the document in detail", a European commission spokesman said yesterday.

It contains plenty that will please the EU if carried out. The programme requires the implementation of 89 new laws and sets as a priority the development of freedom of speech in accordance with EU norms. The programme also promises to review the death penalty.Turkey became a formal candidate for EU membership in 1999.

4. - Kurdish Observer - "'An assassination is being planned against our President'":

PKK Council of Leaders member Osman Ocalan said they had obtained serious information that an assassination attempt against PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was being planned before the next hearing of his case in the European Court of Human Rights on May 31.

Participating in the Gundem (Agenda) program on MEDYA-TV by telephone, PKK Council of Leaders member Osman Ocalan made a startling statement. Ocalan began his talk by saying that the US, Russia, European countries, Turkey and the Kurdish people should take the important statement he was about to make seriously, and then said that an assassination attempt against PKK President Abdullah Ocalan was being planned before the next hearing of his case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on May 31.

Osman Ocalan said they had obtained serious information in recent days that the PKK President might be physically destroyed and warned Turkish state officials to take the necessary precautions to secure his life. Ocalan continued to say the following: "Some information reached us recently. Our President's case in the ECHR is beginning on May 31. There are plans to physically destroy our President before it begins. The assertion that an assassination would be attempted was relayed to us by serious circles. Our President foiled plans to start a war that would ruin peace of the two peoples and circles that could not tolerate this have once again begun to take action. This time also internal and foreign powers, forces that want to push Turkey into war, have brought the plan for an assassination against our President onto the agenda. We are therefore calling on Turkish state officials to secure the safety of our President and straighten out the conditions under which he is staying. We are stating this with importance. We want to live in unity, in peace, in brotherhood. Therefore, withdraw your hands from this dirty game."

'They wanted to kidnap Ocalan'

Osman Ocalan also said that certain international forces and certain circles which had included some powers inside Turkey had come to them twice, the first time in April 1999 and the second time in March 2000, with "serious offers with sound confidence" to kidnap Abdullah Ocalan from Imrali Island, where he is being held. Osman Ocalan said that in the first offer made to them in April 1999, they had said he could be kidnapped with a "certain guarantee to bring him to any place in the world." "This offer was before the court process," Ocalan said, continuing, "These forces had adjusted their interests in accordance with Turks and Kurds in conflict. We thought our President would reject this. When they also knew that our President would reject this, they said, 'Let's do it without asking him'. We said that we would not accept a decision that did not include our President's approval. Our President was genuinely seeking a solution. He showed this with the cease fires he had declared before. We believed that, despite all difficulties, the court would begin a historic process. We believed that even if this was a compelling process, even if it hurt the pride of our nation, this event would turn into a democracy and peace platform. Therefore, we, as the authorized organs of our party, rejected this offer despite its seriousness."

'We rejected the offers'

Ocalan said that the same circles brought them a different offer in March 2000, continuing: "Again, we didn't find such an initiative to be right. The first offer was brought by forces who wanted the war to continue. The plan was this: If our President is kidnapped, the war will begin again. They did not want the war to stop." Osman Ocalan explained that this plan had been considered by the PKK side but that they said that they could not accept such a plan, continuing to say: "Our party rejected the offer despite its seriousness. Thinking 'they didn't trust us,' a second offer came. They were believing this: Despite everything,, the war will not stop. We rejected the second kidnapping offer, too, so as not to abandon the peace process that was limping blindly along. We said, 'Even if our President is kidnapped and brought outside the country, he will return to Turkey and seek peace and a solution,' because our Leadership's issue was not staying in the dungeon, but to solve a problem that was causing blood to be lost."

'We are ready to march to Ankara'

Osman Ocalan pointed to the example of the "Zapatur March" begun by the Zapatistas and said, "If the legal environment is brought about, We are ready to march with 10,000 guerrillas to Ankara upon the call of the state." Ocalan said the following on this subject: "The Mexican President gave guarantees. The Zapatistas came. We, too, could march for peace with 10,000 people from South [Iraqi] Kurdistan to Ankara. This could happen with constitutional guarantees for democratic and cultural rights. The path to come out of crisis is this. This call is a call made by our President and the whole party council. This is possible; we are ready for this as the entire party. We are in a position of answering this call made by our President. If the legal environment is made sufficient and steps are taken on this subject without delay, we, upon a call from the state, could carry out a march similar to that of the Zapatistas. Our forces will not be a problem in Turkey, just the opposite, they are in a position to find a solution to Turkey's problems. We are waiting for Turkey to take a step. On this point, we want not war but peace, not destruction but establishment, not pressure but freedom, not dictatorship but democracy. This is befitting the spirit of Newroz."

5. - Ozgur Politika - "National Distraction Program approved":

The National Program which Turkey was obligated to prepare for EU membership, after being long delayed, has turned out to be a dud. In the National Program, which some procrastinated on in order to secure economic input from the EU, regulations concerning mother-tongue education, the lifting of the death penalty, securing freedom of thought and expression, OHAL and the National Security Council (MGK) were once again neglected. The program, full of the use of an indefinite future tense, carries the spirit of fulfilling the "medium term" aims of the military and the MHP.

After the Council of Ministers met to discuss and approve the National Program that Turkey was obligated to prepare in response to the Accession Partnership Document in order to enter the EU, the National Program was announced by the coalition government's No. 1 member responsible for EU relations, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz.

European Union General Secretary Volkan Vural, the highest state official in Turkey's EU relations, had said that "EU membership is the most important project since the foundation of the republic." But the National Program that came out is very far from meeting this criteria. The National Program that was prepared after long bargaining by the government partners was discussed in the Council of Ministers meeting under Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on Monday morning and approved. The first statement concerning approval of the National Program was made by government spokesman Rustu Kazim Yucelen.

No Kurdish

The National Program prepared by Ankara is extremely far from the "road map" for European Union membership as set out in the Accession Partnership Document (APD). Whereas the APD calls for legal obstacles to Turkish citizens using their native tongue in broadcasting on radio and television and in education, the National Program stresses that Turkish is the official language and the language of education in Turkey, adding, "But this does not constitute an obstacle to citizens freely using different languages, dialects, and accents in their daily lives. This freedom may not be used for separatist aims." The Program defends the view that, citizens "have the right to use dialects and languages other than Turkish and there is no legal obstacle on this subject." The terms "Kurdish" or "education in mother tongue" do not appear in the program.

Moratorium to continue

Concerning the death penalty, while the APD had called in the short term for the moratorium to continue and for it to be abolished in the medium term, the National Program does not assure that the death penalty will be abolished. Instead, it says that the decision to carry out death penalties is the authority of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), and adds "The issue of abolishing capital punishment will be taken up by the TBMM in the medium term."

Glossing over MGK

Another of the medium-term goals of the APD was to make the constitutional role of National Security Council (MGK) be as an advisory body to the government and to bring it into line with the implementation in member countries of the Union. But this was glossed over in the National Program, saying, "The Constitution and related laws to define this board's structure and function in a clearer fashion will be reviewed in the medium term."

312 protected

Another of the short-term goals listed in the APD was the lifting of obstacles to freedom of thought and expression, On this subject, however, the National Program said that TCK 312 would be reviewed "without harming the values it protects" and says, "It is foreseen that the Constitution and other related regulations will be reviewed in the framework of Article 10 of the European Accord on Human Rights by measures foreseeing protection of territorial integrity and national security and the secular Republic, on the basis of criteria protecting the unitary structure of the state and national unity."

Story of the National Program

The preparation of the National Program which Turkey has turned into a dud has a two-year story behind it. Following the PKK' cease fire and its subsequent halting of the armed war that assured that Turkey could breathe easy, the European Union accepted Turkey as the 13th candidate for full membership at the Helsinki Summit of December 1999. The Kurds, who had supported the efforts by the PKK in order to open the path to political reforms in Turkey, approved this candidacy with their actions.

The real difficulties, however, began after this historic summit, because Turkey was not ready, either with its economic or political structure, to enter the EU in the short term. It was fulfilling virtually none of the Copenhagen Criteria which the EU had decided were necessary for membership.

Following a year of contacts with Ankara, the EU Commission officially announced from Brussels on November 8, 2000, the Accession Partnership Document (APD) which includes the reforms Turkey needs to make. The APD was approved at the EU Foreign Ministers meeting held in Brussels on December 4 and then at the EU leaders' summit held in the city of Nice in France, term president of the EU of the time, on December 7-9, and became official. But while it was necessary for Turkey to respond to the APD by January, this date was constantly delayed due to internal disagreements and crises, until it was finally accepted in Monday's Council of Ministers meeting.

The APD. while not mentioning the Kurds in the official sense, had listed a number of democratic demands. Among the short-term goals (by 2001) were securing the freedoms of thought and expression, as well as of assembly, beginning the fight against torture, continuation of the moratorium against the death penalty, and rearrangement of justice in accordance with international standards. One of the demands Turkey was to fulfill in the year 2001 was TV in native tongue. The related item discussing Kurdish TV in the APD says: "Legal arrangements, if they exist, that prohibit Turkish citizens from using their mother tongues in television and radio broadcasting must be lifted." But in the program Turkey announced on Monday, sufficient response to this article was not thought necessary, just as a great number of political criteria were glossed over.

As for the medium term, Turkey is asked to completely secure human rights and basic freedoms. Other medium-term goals are the complete abolition of the death penalty, making the MGK an advisory organ, lifting OHAL (Emergency Rule), and guaranteeing all the cultural rights of Turkish citizens, including education in mother tongue. The National Program that was announced, however, is not of a nature to give response to these criteria.

6. - Turkish Daily News - "Not too negative, not too positive":

Diplomats of EU member countries in Ankara have a cautious approach to the National Program of Action calling it `not too negative and not too positive'

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's meeting with EU ambassadors seems to have convinced diplomats that NPA was not a catalogue but a process and certain changes could be made in the course of time

ANKARA

As Ankara has announced the long-awaited National Program of Action (NPA) to fulfill the Accession Partnership Document demands, both the EU Commission and the EU diplomats in Ankara have adopted a cautious approach towards it. EU diplomats stress both the advantages and the shortcomings of the program but want to see the implementation of it.

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's meeting with EU Ambassadors Monday have created a certain positive impact on the diplomats as has assured them on two points. Cem reportedly stressed that there was nothing in the NPA that was contradicting the Accession Partnership Document. The second point he assured EU diplomats on was NPA would be implemented in the spirit of Accession Partnership Document. Cem has also indicated that some changes were possible in the course of time to revise or broaden the scope of reforms which signalled that the NPA was not a catalogue but rather introduction to a process of far-reaching reforms.

Ambassador of an EU member country told Turkish Daily News that some parts of the NPA were either ambiguous, vague or general but underlined that it was a big project. He stressed that they were assured by Cem that there will be change in the NPA in the course of time and in the spirit of Accession Partnership Document. The same ambassador said the implementation of the NPA was very important and they now focus on how the plan would be realised. He said they applauded the good intentions of the Turkish government.

Another EU diplomat said the outcome was not that negative under current circumstances referring to the delicate balance among coalition partners. Indicating that there would be a progress report on Turkey's EU candidacy in Autumn, the same diplomat said the report would be very important to see how much Turkey would achieve until that time. He, too, said that Cem had interpreted the NPA as a process rather than a prescription.

The EU Commission cautious as well

The European Commission gave a cautious welcome on Monday to news that Turkey planned to abolish the death penalty and remove curbs on free speech as part of its drive to join the European Union.

Turkey was accepted as an official candidate for EU membership in 1999 but has yet to begin accession negotiations due to concerns over its human rights record. The new pledges on human rights came in a "national programme" for EU membership.

"The Commission welcomes the adoption by Turkey of its national programme for the adoption of the acquis (EU legislation)," the EU's executive arm said in a statement. "(The programme) signifies an important step forward under the current pre-accession process with Turkey," it said. "The Commission will study the programme in detail and a coordinated reply will be given to the Turkish government."

Diplomats in Brussels noted that the programme, however radical, would be difficult to implement given Turkey's political and economic problems. Turkey's coalition government is battling a deep financial crisis.

Greece, Turkey's arch-rival in southeast Europe, was equally cautious in its initial reaction to the news from Ankara. "We welcome any positive reforms and that is exactly what we expect in the European Union... that Turkey use this process towards the EU to develop European standards which will allow them to open up negotiations," Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou told Reuters. Papandreou, in Brussels for a meeting of EU foreign ministers, noted that the national programme was Turkey's response to the EU's Accession Partnership approved earlier this month by the Union.

This document maps out the political and economic reforms Ankara needs to make to qualify for EU membership. "The final test will be whether they (the Turks) live up to the accession partnership or not," said Papandreou.

Despite a thaw in their tense relations, Turkey and Greece remain at odds over territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea and over the status of the divided island of Cyprus, also an EU candidate country.

The new national programme lists abolition of the death penalty, which Turkey has not used since the mid-1980s, as a medium-term goal, leaving the decision to parliament.

Turkey, a mostly Muslim country of 65 million, has coveted EU membership for decades, but in recent years has watched a dozen other countries, mostly from ex-communist eastern Europe, leapfrog over its own bid.

7. - Turkish Daily News - "Mazlum-Der: National Program is version of 1982 Constitution":

Mazlum-Der criticizes the National Program and argues that it is far from satisfying both the expectations of the Accession Partnership Document and the Turkish people

ANKARA

The Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity For Oppressed Peoples (Mazlum-Der) has criticised the National Program of Action (NPA) for the European Union, indicating that it is a version of the 1982 Constitution. Mazlum-Der Chairman Yilmaz Ensaroglu has indicated in a written statement that the National Program that has been worked on for months did not include surprises.

Stressing that the government has invented a method of reiterating its values on "national democracy," "national human rights" and "national secularism" that were all in contradiction of the lines of the NPA, the statement said the program would not usher any radical changes to the existing system. Characterizing the NPA as a post-modern version of the 1982 Constitution, the statement said the Document was far away from guaranteeing the fundamental rights of Turkish citizens, or meeting the expectations of the Accession Partnership Document.

8. - Turkish Daily News - "Opportunity is big, step is small":

The National Program, which Turkey prepared in the framework of the Accession Partnership Document (KOB) for the EU membership, became definite but according to some circles, the program, which is full of indefinite expressions, does not reflect the will of full membership

While Economic Development Foundation (IKV) says "not the content but the step is important", HADEP claimed that the National Program did not show the national will. Prof. Ergil and Hasan Kaya said that the program did not include the will to be a member of the European Union (EU)

ISTANBUL

The National Program, which Turkey prepared in the framework of the Accession Partnership Document (KOB) was approved by the Council of Ministers and took its last form. After the National Program was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, debates began. Did the National Program, which plans to make new 89 laws and make changes in 94 laws, satisfy the public opinion?

Even though the program did not show the duty of Turkey in the framework of the KOB, at least it reveals the good intention of the government about the membership to the European Union (EU). Some circles evaluated the National Program, in which there are indefinite expressions, as a superficial document.

The test of the governments

According to the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), which plays a great part in the coordination of Turkish private sector with the EU, the program created an important opportunity for an administrative reform, which Turkey urgently needs. IKV, which explained its views about the National Program by sending a written document, stated that now it should be put effort to put the program into effect instead of focusing on the deficiencies of the program.
Pointing out that the government approved the National Program and undertook to carry out its obligations in the process of accession to the EU, IKV stated that the steps, which sould be taken to put the program into effect, would reveal the sincerity and will of both the governments and the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) about the membership to the EU.

Political criteria are important

Noting that Turkey delayed to act compared to other candidate countries, could not take a concrete step since the Helsinki Summit, IKV pointed out that adaption to the Copenhagen political criteria was a condition for membership deliberations to start. IKV recalled that the most important thing was to adapt political criteria for the time that Turkey lost, and said "For this reason the basic goal of the implementation of the program should be to start the deliberations as soon as possible."

Recalling that the recent crisis damaged Turkey's respect internationally and caused a lack of confidence, IKV stated that these developments revealed that it was needed an administrative reform including political, economic and social areas. IKV said the following: "We recall our government and the assembly that Turkey has no time to loss anymore, and we expect the concrete steps to be taken"

The government program

While the IKV recalled the government and the assembly to take concrete steps, Public's Democracy Party (HADEP) stated that the document, which was announced, was not a National Program but a government program. Stating that the program seemed like to be prepared to gain time instead of meeting the expectations of the public, HADEP Deputy Chairman Mehmet Metiner said that a number of important matters were passed over with indefinite expressions.

Claiming that the program planned to bargain with the EU rather than including the concrete steps that Turkey should take in the framework of the Copenhagen criteria and KOB, Metiner said that the program expressed the view "what we can do is that in this level". HADEP Deputy General Chairman Metiner said the following:

"The program does not consider the demands of both the public and the EU. It is not possible to call it National Program. We evaluate it as the government program of the existing three parties. Because the program did not shed light on the matters such as the abolishment of death sentence, rearrangements of the function of the National Security Council (MGK), rearrangement of the articles on democratic right and freedoms including the article 312 and Kurdish broadcast and education. These matters were passed over with indefinite expressions such as "it will be considered."

Expressions are not clear

Is the reason of using indefinite expressions instead of clear ones, caused by Turkey's own conditions? Opposing this view intensely, Mehmet Metiner stated that the danger of divisiveness and political reaction did not exist today, the powers which are afraid of such dangers, put the society under pressure.

Noting that the National Program was prepared without getting the opinion of the political parties and civic society organizations, Metiner said "While Mesut Yilmaz had been announcing the program, he said 'government program' instead of National Program. It seems that even he is not comfortable with the program. The government may have good intentions about the EU membership but it is not enough. Turkey will either take necessary steps or won't be the member of the EU. There is not another alternative."

Bargaining instead of agreement

Claiming that Turkey wanted to bargain with the EU instead of showing its will about the EU membership, Prof. Dogu Ergil evaluated the National Program as a strategy to gain time. Noting that the National Program was the concern of Turkey but not of the EU, Ergil said "We try to bargain with the EU by saying that 'Turkey has own conditions', but Turkey loses time. This program shows the will to postpone the EU membership but not the will to be the member of the EU. The government considers the National Program as much as it supported the stability program in which it failed."

Stating that the National Program was important for Turkey, Prof. Ergil said "The membership conditions are determined by the EU, we will be the member of it if we adapt the conditions."
The program is weak

Hasan Kaya, Istanbul Kurdish Institute Chairman, evaluated the National Program by saying that it would not meet the expectations. Stating that the program did not shed light on matters such as the function of the MGK, death sentence, Kurdish broadcast and education, Kaya said "We found the program insufficient and weak. We were not satisfied with it. It is suspicious that concrete steps will be taken even for the matters in the program."