20 July 2004

1. "Turkey Fails to Eradicate Torture, Group Says", Turkey hasn’t done enough to stamp out the use of torture in police stations and prisons, the Human Rights Association said in a report, just five months before the European Union decides whether to start accession talks.

2. "Turkey’s EU entry still long way off", Turkey is making progress towards European Union membership but its entry is still a long way off, France said before talks on Tuesday between Turkey’s prime minister and French President Jacques Chirac.

3. "Billion-dollar bargaining with Chirac", the most important foreign visit regarding Turkey's relations with the European Union has started.

4. "Cyprus Celebrates a Dubious Birthday", thirty years after Turkey invaded it, Cyprus remains a divided island. The Greek side is now part of the EU, but the northern Turkish half still suffers economic isolation despite UN and Brussels' efforts to reunite it.

5. "Northern Cyprus is test for EU, says Turkey", Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Tuesday that the EU was facing a test of its ties with the breakaway Turkish statelet in Cyprus, as the divided island marked the 30th anniversary of Turkey's invasion.

6. "Turkey takes child to heart as a symbol for anti-gun movement", "We received a letter from the Human Rights Commission in Turkey, who say that they are working on a change to the law, not just gun laws, but they are going to look at the whole system over there, with things like honour killings which carry small sentences.

1. - Bloomberg - "Turkey Fails to Eradicate Torture, Group Says":

19 July 2004

Turkey hasn’t done enough to stamp out the use of torture in police stations and prisons, the Human Rights Association said in a report, just five months before the European Union decides whether to start accession talks.

``There’s still torture in Turkey, it’s widespread and systematic,’’ Husnu Ondul, the group’s president, said in a statement. ``The processes the government is currently following to eradicate it are neither convincing nor sufficiently effective.’’

About 692 people were tortured in the first half of the year, the report said. While that is down on last year, it shows the government hasn’t implemented enough steps to fulfill a pledge to the EU for ``zero tolerance’’ of torture, the Ankara-based association said.

Turkey must do more to stamp out torture to convince EU leaders that it can begin accession talks, said Hansjoerg Kretschmer, the head of the European Commission’s Ankara office, July 1. The EU will decide in December whether to start negotiations with Turkey. Accession talks would attract more foreign investment to the economy, the government has said.

The EU should embrace Turkey as soon as possible to prove it’s committed to a Europe of diverse cultures and religions, say British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Politicians in France and Austria are more cautious.

EU Report

The commission, the EU’s executive arm, will in October publish a report recommending whether negotiations with Turkey should commence. The government would be ``well advised’’ to press on with democratic changes, including steps to improve freedom of speech, religion and minority rights, Kretschmer said.

Turkey, a nation of 70 million people, has done enough to start membership talks, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in televised comments today. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to press Turkey’s case at a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac tomorrow in Paris.

The government and Kurdish rebels must work to resolve a two- decade conflict in Turkey’s southeast by peaceful means, Ondul said. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, called off a unilateral five-year cease-fire on June 1.

The association said the fighting had left 55 people dead during the second quarter of the year, more than the 41 who were killed in the first half of 2003.

Turkey has fought a two-decade war against the PKK at the cost of more than 30,000 lives, most of them Kurdish.

Army Role

Ondul criticized a statement this month by Turkey’s military that called on the government to act against Kurdish former parliamentarian Leyla Zana and three colleagues after they spoke in Kurdish at public meetings in the southeast.

The government hasn’t prevented the army from speaking in public about non-military issues, a practice that wouldn’t be allowed in EU countries, the EU has said. Turkey has moved to reduce the military’s role in public life, which Europe’s leaders have said blocks its path to membership.

Zana and her colleagues, jailed in 1994 for links with Kurdish rebels, were released on June 9 after parliament passed EU- inspired laws widening freedom of expression. Turkey has also implemented legislation strengthening language rights for the nation’s 12 million Kurds.

Ondul also criticized the government for allowing Turkey’s State Security Courts, which are opposed by the EU, to retain most of their powers as new courts used to try ``serious crimes’’ such as terrorism. Zana and her colleagues are expected to appear in the revamped courts in a retrial later this year.

The military’s recent opening of a case against a leading trade union should not be allowed in a democracy, Ondul said. Prosecutors are demanding the closure of Egitim-Sen, a teachers’ union, because the group has defended the right of Kurds to education in their native tongue, the daily Sabah said last week.

2. - Reuters - "Turkey’s EU entry still long way off":

PARIS / 20 July 2004

Turkey is making progress towards European Union membership but its entry is still a long way off, France said before talks on Tuesday between Turkey’s prime minister and French President Jacques Chirac.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan held a breakfast meeting with French business leaders ahead of lunch with Chirac at the Elysee Palace where they were set to discuss Turkey’s EU drive.

“We have to be truthful -- Turkey is not going to enter the European Union tomorrow,” French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told Europe 1 radio.

“The road is still long, but it is on this path and has been making progress for some time.”

EU leaders will decide in December whether to open entry talks with Ankara. France is seen as the only large EU member state still with reservations about admitting Turkey.

Erdogan briefed French officials on Monday about Turkey’s drive to bring its laws into line with EU rules. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said afterwards an EU Commission report this October on Turkey’s readiness would be key.

Barnier said even if the Commission gave the green light for entry talks, full Turkish membership was not imminent: ”Afterwards, there will be a certain delay (before entry).”

France’s political class is deeply divided over admitting its NATO ally to the European Union, with critics citing Turkey’s poverty and human rights record as barriers.

Chirac, who told a NATO summit in Istanbul in June that Turkey’s EU drive was “irreversible”, faces opposition on Turkish entry from within his governing conservatives.

Alain Juppe, a close Chirac ally and former head of the conservative UMP party, has said the entry of a Muslim nation of 70 million would distort the 25-nation European Union.

The opposition Socialists support Turkish membership in principle, but party chief Francois Hollande has linked the start of entry talks to Ankara’s recognition of the 1915 killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide.

France is home to a significant Armenian population. Pro-Armenian groups were to demonstrate in Paris later on Tuesday against Erdogan’s three-day visit.

TRADE AND REFORM

Erdogan, who is accompanied by a trade delegation, met top French employers’ association, MEDEF, on Tuesday morning.

During his visit he is expected to discuss the possible purchase of jets from Airbus EADS.PA for the national carrier Turkish Airlines THYAO.IS.

The state-run airline, which is slated for privatisation, has said it is talking to both European-based Airbus and to US rival Boeing Co. BA.N amid a boom in Turkish air travel.

Turkey’s ruling centre-right AKP party, which has its roots in political Islam, has introduced a flurry of liberal political and economic reforms ahead of December’s decision.

A top Turkish diplomat told CNN Turk television only two major pieces of EU-linked legislation still awaited parliament’s approval -- a revised penal code bringing criminal law closer to EU norms and a law easing limits on freedom of association.

The diplomat, Murat Sungar, said he hoped parliament would approve them at a special session in September.

Turkish financial markets are closely watching the run-up to December, fearful that a ’no’ could trigger a fresh economic crisis, unseat the government and perhaps reverse some reforms.

Britain, Germany, Italy and Greece have pledged strong support for Turkey’s EU bid. Diplomats expect negotiations to start in 2005 but say full membership is a decade away.

3. - Turkish Daily News - "Billion-dollar bargaining with Chirac":

20 July 2004

The most important foreign visit regarding Turkey's relations with the European Union has started.

The elite ruling France are prejudiced against Turkey's EU membership and its gradual integration with Europe. Due to psychological and historical reasons, they cannot accept the possibility of Turkey becoming a member of the European club. This state of affairs is especially awkward for the government and President Jacques Chirac.

Chirac's opinion on the matter is different. Chirac believes that Turkey should become a member of the European family, should it fulfill the admission criteria. However, he needs to persuade and prepare the public during the run-up to December, during which the decision to admit Turkey or not will be made.

This is the main purpose of the visit by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that began yesterday.

He will first wait for the EU Commission's report to ease the pressure on him. If the commission report is positive, he will turn to his people and say: "Turks fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria. No longer can they be refused admission." He will then emphasize the importance of the Turkish market.

That is why State Minister Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim are accompanying the prime minister.

Joint projects will dominate the meetings between French and Turkish officials, even more so than France's decision on Turkey's membership.

Chirac had already aired his opinion on the matter at a press conference during the NATO summit in Istanbul.

No one should expect any additional or alternative statements to be made.

Shopping list is quite long

The list of packages on Turkish-French economic and commercial relations is quite long.

Planes: Turkish Airlines (THY) is preparing to buy new planes. The French want THY to buy the planes from Airbus. There is also the traditional supplier Boeing to consider. Most probably the purchasing contract will be divided in two between Airbus and Boeing.

Military Investment: France wants to be involved in the modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) with large projects. It is planning to transfer modern technology to land and naval forces and make joint investments. A package of billions of dollars is under consideration. The only problem is that the funds Turkey can put aside for this package is very small. That's why France is in favor of carrying out joint production alternatives.

Privatization: France is especially interested in the privatization process in Turkey. The sectors where French involvement is being considered are: nuclear energy, banking, iron and steel, tobacco, telecommunications and the media.

A single visit is not adequate to resolve all these matters. However, this visit will concentrate on understanding reciprocal attitudes and finding out whether they may possibly lead to an agreement.

While Erdogan's visit was described as a working visit, Chirac implemented B-type protocol for him (A-type is only reserved for heads of state) in order to show both the Turkish and the French media the importance he attaches to Turkey. For example, Erdogan entered through the state VIP foyer and was welcomed by guards of honor at a special ceremony.

We will see whether this process to persuade the French public, which is described by those who follow Turkish-French relations as an education campaign, will fulfill its objectives.

Armenian pressure will be constantly felt

The most heated part of the visit will most probably be during the rallies Armenians have said they would hold. The Armenian lobby, which is very strong in France, wants to secure some rewards from Turkey as it gets closer to the EU. Knowing that it will be impossible to force Turkey to accept the so-called "genocide," they are demanding the opening of the border with Armenia and an increase in the number of flights over Turkey.

Turkey never accepted the inclusion of the Armenian problem into its relations with the EU and it continues to reject it. However, it knows that the matter will become a headache.

In short, the prime minister's visit to Paris is the most critical, and maybe his last, before the EU Commission releases its report in October. After the report's release, we should expect a series of visits to European capitals during the October-December period.

Chirac's attitude towards Turkey

This is exactly what the French president says about the start of EU membership negotiations with Turkey at the NATO Summit in Istanbul.

"Historically, Turkey is a European country and Turkey has been provided with a membership perspective for the past 40 years. I speak in the name of France when I say that whoever served as the head of state, or the government, France has always supported this perspective. Turkey's candidacy was approved once again at the 1999 Helsinki summit. France was represented by both Barnier and Prime Minister Jospin in Helsinki.

I believe integration is appropriate, because our economic and political interests demand that Turkey, which has been secular since 1923, become a part of our group. Its membership might set an example. However, just like in other clubs, members should adhere to certain rules. These rules are the Copenhagen criteria. Human rights, freedoms and rights and a free market economy should be at the level designated by the criteria. We know about Turkey's incredible attempts in recent years to fulfill this criteria. No one is disputing this fact. That's why the EU Commission will release a report in October. The report will say whether Turkey has fulfilled all the criteria outlined or not. It will provide an answer to the question: 'Has Turkey implemented all the reforms?' It is not possible for me to say anything about it just yet.

If the EU Commission report is positive, the European Council can decide to start the membership negotiations, but the negotiations will be long and arduous for both Turkey and Europe, because it will take time to learn how to cooperate in economic, cultural and social areas. If the commission says Turkey is not ready yet, then we will look at what it has recommended. However, I personally believe that if Turkey's integration with Europe is deemed possible in the future, it will be an irreversable process."

4. - Deutsche Welle - "Cyprus Celebrates a Dubious Birthday":

19 July 2004 / by Rainer Sollich

Thirty years after Turkey invaded it, Cyprus remains a divided island. The Greek side is now part of the EU, but the northern Turkish half still suffers economic isolation despite UN and Brussels' efforts to reunite it.

Though the Greek portion of Cyprus became a European Union member after May's "big bang" round of enlargement, the Mediterranean island nation remains divided. Three decades after Turkish troops invaded Cyprus following a putsch attempt by former Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios, who wanted the island to be annexed by Greece, the question of responsibility still galvanizes.

The island's Turks insist Greek Cypriots were at fault because, for years, they tolerated attacks on the Turkish minority, they tried to mount a coup and they wanted to annex the island as part of the Greek mainland. Meanwhile, the island's Greek majority accuse the Turks of having used the putsch attempt as an excuse to expel close to 200,000 Greeks from the northern half of the island as a manifestation of its desire to create an independent state on the island.

A diplomatic U-turn

For years, the international community leaned towards the Greek interpretation of events -- for decades, it always seemed to be the Turks who blocked the UN's efforts toward reunification. But last year, the island's Turkish residents made a dramatic U-turn -- a move motivated by the EU prospects for the isolated and economically undeveloped northern half of the island in the immediate term, and Turkey's own EU membership hopes in the future.

Against this optimistic backdrop, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan developed a reunification plan that was put up for an April referendum on both sides. The plan called for a relatively weak central government and strong Greek and Turkish bodies.

The resulting vote is already history: 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the plan. But 76 percent of the island's Greeks voted against it, despite a decades-long push for reunification. Unlike the Turkish Cypriots, the Greeks had nothing to lose: EU membership for the island's Greek half was already a done deal.

The results of the reunification referendum angered officials in Brussels. "I'm going to say something totally undiplomatic," EU Expansion Commissioner Günter Verheugen said at the time. "I personally feel deceived by the government of the Republic of Cyprus." Verheugen said he had worked for months to create the conditions for a "yes" vote by the Greeks.

Brussels thumbs its nose

Deeply angered, EU officials pledged to end decades long economic isolation of the island's Turkish denizens. The European Commission has proposed providing a €259 million economic aid package to the Turkish Cypriots. Brussels is also calling for the creation of a direct trade agreement that would allow northern Cyprus to open up trade to the international community and to be given preferential treatment by Brussels.

But there are even problems with that deal: As a full voting member, the Greek Cypriot government, which considers Turkey to be an occupier of northern Cyprus rather than a legitimate power, has threatened to sue the EU at the European Court of Justice if the aid is approved.

Right of return still simmers

Other problems also persist, including property rights and the right-of-return for the former residents of the northern part of Cyprus who were expelled in 1974. In addition, the Greeks are still extremely wary of the 30,000-strong Turkish military presence on the island. But Georg Ziegler of the European Commission's Cyprus Task Force said those fears are exaggerated.

"It's now 2004 -- and 1974 was a long time ago," he said. "Now, Turkey has candidate status for EU membership and negotiations could be opened this year, making it a breakthrough year for Turkey. When you consider the fact that Turkey is standing before the EU's door, on a pro-EU (political) course, you can see that, fundamentally, it's unthinkable that its military would attack Cyprus again."

Still, even though the border between the two sides has become more porous and the Greek part of Cyprus has become part of the EU, 30 years after the Turkish invasion there is still no solution to the island's division in sight.

The EU has more or less imported the problem and will have even greater difficulty trying to apply pressure to the Greek Cypriots now that the carrot-and-stick approach is no longer an option. For the time being, the UN has puts its negotiating efforts on ice.

5. - EUbusiness - "Northern Cyprus is test for EU, says Turkey":

20 July 2004

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Tuesday that the EU was facing a test of its ties with the breakaway Turkish statelet in Cyprus, as the divided island marked the 30th anniversary of Turkey's invasion.

In a show of military strength, soldiers in tanks and armored vehicles held a military parade to commemorate the 1974 intervention as a Turkish military aerobatics team overflew the ceremony venue in the northern sector of Nicosia, Europe's only remaining divided capital city.

"The European Union, and the whole world, should not forget that the promises they have made will be tested," Gul said at the ceremony.

He was referring to measures planned by the EU to ease the economic isolation of the self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognized only by Ankara, following the strong support it gave to a failed UN plan to end the island's division.

The plan, voted on both sides of the island in April, was killed off by a strong "no" vote in the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot sector.

The failure ensured that the Greek Cypriots alone joined the EU on May 1.

Gul maintained that by rejecting the UN reunification scheme Greek Cypriots showed they were not ready for a new partnership with their Turkish neighbors.

Much to to the dismay of Greek Cypriots, the EU and United States have begun to draw up measures to break the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, whose economy has been strangled by years of international sanctions and is trailing far behind that of the Greek Cypriots.

"We are closely watching the undertakings of the EU and we expect positive results," Gul said.

"Turkey will not abandon you and will continue to provide you with all kinds of political and economic support," he told the crowd.

Ankara has for years propped up the TRNC, which was proclaimed in 1983, nine years after the Turkish invasion split the island into a Turkish north and Greek south.

The Turkish army intervened in retaliation against an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot military coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. The stated aim of the intervention was to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority.

Even though the coup was short-lived, Turkey has maintained some 30,000 troops in the north ever since, citing the lack of a permanent settlement.

Greek Cypriots mark the invasion as a "black anniversary."

However, their neighbors on the other side of the UN-manned buffer zone celebrate the intervention, which followed years of inter-communal strife, as a "peace operation" that saved them from Greek Cypriot violence.

"We are very happy today... Peace has prevailed in the island since 1974 and we expect the Greek Cypriots to understand this," said 42-year-old housewife Belgin Mustafa as she enthusiastically watched the parade.

Others maintained that the separation of the two communities was the best way to ensure peace in the Mediterranean island.

"Let's live in peace -- the Greeks on the other side and we on our side here," said Mehmet Sengul, a 39-year-old security guard.

6. - The Scotsman - "Turkey takes child to heart as a symbol for anti-gun movement":

ALISTAIR Grimason has become a symbol for Turkey’s anti-gun movement.

20 July 2004 / by John Innes

His parents, David and Ozlem, launched a petition calling for tighter firearm laws after the two-year-old was shot dead. And in the wake of his death, their plight touched the people of Turkey, where he is known as "Ali Star".

Such was the public’s reaction, a street was named after the child - Ali Star Road - near where he was killed.

Mr and Mrs Grimason launched a campaign calling for stricter gun controls a month after the tragedy, after it emerged that thousands of people were being shot each year.

The couple, who live in Edinburgh, hoped they would get about 10,000 signatures - but the reaction exceeded all their expectations.

In September last year, Mr Grimason spoke at an anti-gun rally in Istanbul.

And in December, he and his wife travelled to the Turkish capital, Ankara, where they presented the country’s opposition party with a petition containing almost 200,000 signatures, which was then passed on to the parliament.

Mr Grimason said thousands of people will continue to die if the gun culture in the country is not addressed.

He said: "Anybody who commits these crimes needs to be punished, and stiffer sentences would serve as a deterrent.

"We received a letter from the Human Rights Commission in Turkey, who say that they are working on a change to the law, not just gun laws, but they are going to look at the whole system over there, with things like honour killings which carry small sentences.

"They are going to have a look at the whole thing, which could take a year, but unfortunately within that year there will be about another 3,000 deaths before it gets changed."

The Grimasons and the Umut Foundation have been working closely to try to change Turkey’s gun laws. The foundation was set up by Nezire Dedeman in 1993 in memory of her 17-year-old son, Umut.

He was shot dead, and the foundation campaigns against gun violence and for tighter gun controls in Turkey. Every year on the anniversary of his death, the Umut Foundation hosts events in Istanbul to help promote their message.

Last year, the Grimasons were invited to Istanbul for the Umut rally and were accompanied by the Gun Control Network’s Mick North, whose daughter, Sophie, five, was killed in the Dunblane massacre in 1996.