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March 2004
2. "Turkey not ready for EU negotiations: German report", The report said that Turkey was not ready to compete in the European Union market and that Turkey was not ready to be given a date to begin European Union membership negotiations at the bloc’s December summit
3. "Ethnic Tensions Rising in Iraqi City of Kirkuk", Turkmen leaders in Iraq called Monday for international help in keeping the peace in Kirkuk, where ethnic tensions between Kurds and Turkmens have flared in recent days.
4. "Iraq: Kurdish Question Looms Large In Interim Constitution Negotiations", Iraq's new interim constitution reportedly leaves the final details of the status of the country's Kurdish areas for a future elected national assembly to decide.
5. "Turkey-Germany: Ankara ‘on the right path’ for EU membership", German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has urged Turkey to press on with its reform drive to meet European Union standards, saying it was on “the right path” to achieve its goal of starting accession talks with the EU by year end.
6. "Greek Cypriots Reject Turks' Proposals, Denktash Says", Greek Cypriot leaders rejected the Turkish side's suggestions for changes to a United Nations- sponsored plan to reunify Cyprus, said Rauf Denktash, who's negotiating over the UN proposals on behalf of Turkish Cypriots.
1. - The Washington Times - "Historic Iraqi concord":
By Hiwa Osman / 2 March 2004 / Baghdad
Marathon talks in Baghdadthat ended in the early hours of Monday
will go down in history for the creation of a consensus-built road
map that can lead the country toward a modern democratic state.
The Fundamental Law passed by the Governing Council lays out a new
vision for the Iraqi state by acknowledging individual rights without
undermining the special character of various ethnic and religious
groups — Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans; Shia, Sunnis, Christians and
others.
The outcome surprised those who were expecting — or even hoping
for — failure.
Iraqis outside the process say that the document is a brave one. The
ethnically and religiously diverse nature of the country forced the
various negotiating parties to settle for less than what each group
hoped for but, significantly, created a workable framework through
which each feels recognized and respected.
Unlike the past, the new state is not to be built on a foundation
that pits one group against the other. "It was on everyone's
terms," says one Governing Council member.
This fundamental law is seen by many as a turning point in the history
of the country, a move that will herald a new culture of politics.
The politics of the past were extremist — all or nothing. But
this weekend witnessed a remarkable spirit of compromise.
The compromises made by all groups will shape the thinking of the
Iraqi people because the outcome illustrates that in politics, nothing
is absolute. The successful American-supervised negotiations struck
the death knell for the "all or nothing" principles that
have dominated Iraqi politics for decades.
The agreement on the transitional constitution creates fertile common
ground upon which a permanent constitution can be hammered out in
the next years.
A central element of the document is a bill of rights that cannot
be repealed by any future legislation. The individual rights enshrined
provide the Iraqi people important assurances that, unlike the bloody
past, their human rights will not be undermined by the political and
economic interests of one group at the expense of others.
Another noteworthy principle in the document is the right to form
federal regions from as many as three existing governorates. This
is particularly important for the Kurds and Shia who were historically
marginalized by a powerful, highly centralized and often racist and
sectarian government.
Federalism will empower the people. It acknowledges their ethnic and
religious differences and turns these differences into strengths by
trusting each group to run their own affairs while maintaining larger
political and economic ties with Baghdad.
This point is particularly significant for the Kurds as it will allow
them to maintain autonomous control of their current region. In addition,
they will no longer be accused by the average non-Kurdish Iraqi of
being separatists. Other Iraqis will be able to have similar control
over their own affairs and yet stay within the Iraqi state.
The recognition of Islam as "a source" of future legislation
was a hotly debated issue, but included in the final draft. Some consider
this a double-edged sword. The wording could lead to a theocracy.
But it may also moderate hard-line Islamist groups when it comes to
writing future law. Although the document provides that "no legislation
shall be passed if it contradicts Islamic tenets," it also clearly
states that laws made should conform to the principles of democracy
and the freedoms enshrined in the Fundamental Law.
This clause gives moderate Islamists ammunition with which they can
fight more extremist elements by showing that they too uphold Islamic
values.
Despite all the positive elements in the document and the way in which
it was developed, a lingering fear remains in the mind of many Iraqis.
Some fear the Fundamental Law could be repealed by those who come
to power in forthcoming elections, which the document states will
be held no later than December 2004.
International guarantees that this document will remain in force until
a permanent constitution is written will assuage those fears.
Diverse ethnic and religions groups are the building blocks of today's
Iraq. Consensus will continue to cement the blocks until a permanent
constitution is ratified by the Iraqi people.
2. - MSVNBC - "Turkey not ready for EU negotiations: German report":
March 1, 2004
The report said that Turkey was not ready to compete in the European Union market and that Turkey was not ready to be given a date to begin European Union membership negotiations at the bloc’s December summit, according to the results of a report published in the German press.
The study, conducted by the German East European Institute and commissioned
by the German Finance Ministry, said that Turkey had not met the required
standards of democracy and that human rights abuses were still prevalent.
According to an article carried by the German newspaper Handels-Blatt
based on the report, despite the efforts made by the Turkish government
it would be hard for Turkey to meet all the Copenhagen criteria by
the time the EU issued its next progress report.
However, the study said that a date could be given to Turkey even
if it had not met all the Copenhagen criteria but it warned that this
would lead to a long negotiation process.
3. - Reuters - "Ethnic Tensions Rising in Iraqi City of Kirkuk":
KIRKUK (Iraq) / 1 March 2004 / By Adnan Hadi
Turkmen leaders in Iraq called Monday for international help in keeping the peace in Kirkuk, where ethnic tensions between Kurds and Turkmens have flared in recent days.
Both Turkmens and Kurds feel Kirkuk, Iraq's northern oil hub, should rightfully be theirs. Under Saddam Hussein, both communities were driven away, forcibly replaced by Arabs in an attempt to exclude non-Arabs from controlling oil wealth.
But in recent months, many Kurds and Turkmens have started to return. Both communities are trying to shore up their influence in Iraq, and tensions have been rising.
Turkmen leaders said the Kirkuk branch of the Iraqi Turkmen Front was attacked Sunday by scores of Kurds, who vandalized computers and furniture. Protesters rampaged through the building, breaking glass and scattering paper.
Police extended a short nightly curfew, telling people to stay at home from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., as minor violence broke out across the city.
Witnesses said Kurds ripped apart Turkmen and Iraqi flags and vandalised shops owned by Turkmens. Officials said two people were injured.
Local leaders said they feared that if unchecked the situation could get out of control.
"We demand the United Nations and the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference send peacekeeping forces to maintain security in Kirkuk to prevent events which may lead to civil war," a Turkmen leader in Kirkuk, Saad al-Din Arkij, told Reuters.
A Kurdish official with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said no political parties were involved in the violence.
"We condemn any acts that seek to undermine the security situation in Kirkuk," Arif Qurbani said.
He said Turkmens provoked the crowds by firing into the air. Turkmens said they were celebrating the return of a political delegation from Baghdad.
An interim constitution for Iraq, agreed by the U.S.-appointed Governing Council Monday, included a controversial reference to the federal structure of the new Iraq, as demanded by Kurds who have ruled an autonomous region of northern Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War.
A decision was postponed on the highly divisive question of whether
Kurds should be able to expand their autonomous zone to include Kirkuk
and other northern areas.
4. - Radio Free Europe - "Iraq: Kurdish Question Looms Large In Interim Constitution Negotiations (Part 2)":
Prague / By Valentinas Mite / 1 March 2004
Iraq's new interim constitution reportedly leaves the final details of the status of the country's Kurdish areas for a future elected national assembly to decide. For now, the interim constitution grants continued autonomy to the country's Kurdish minority. Iraqi Kurdish politicians say they are happy with the result, but the status of Iraqi Kurdistan still remains the most difficult problem of Iraqi federalism.
Kurds make up some 20 percent of Iraq's population and have lived outside the control of the country's central government since 1991. They enjoy an autonomous government, their own armed forces, and other attributes of an independent state.
Though Iraq's new interim constitution -- to be signed into law on 3 March -- recognizes the continued right of the country's Kurds to autonomy, decisions on the region's final status have been postponed for the future. The main stumbling blocks that prevented a final decision from being reached include the question of the region's borders and the future of the Kurdish armed forces -- the "peshmergas."
"Turkey is extremely scared about Kurdish autonomy."
Mahmud Uthman is an independent Kurdish member of the Iraqi Governing
Council. He says these problems cannot be solved in the present situation.
However, he says he is optimistic and satisfied with the agreement
reached last night.
"These two points -- mainly the peshmerga and the territory's borders -- [remain] because these are the security points [and cannot be solved]. You know, security totally lies with the American coalition forces. They have their own policy. They can't change it for us. That's why these things will remain. There will be more discussions about them, and in the future they will be settled. I am happy about the document, about the agreement," Uthman said.
Uthman says the Kurds retained the right to keep their militia until a final solution is reached. He says the peshmergas are "not just a militia but a force of the whole nation. They are like an army of the Kurdish people. These forces exist already for 50 years, and they cannot just be disbanded and sent home."
Uthman thinks the peshmergas might be transformed into regular Iraqi forces. Some of them could become part of a police force. Others might become border guards or national guards in the Kurdish region or join the New Iraqi Army.
The question of the region's borders is more difficult. The Kurds would like to have the oil-rich region around Kirkuk included in its autonomous region, but Turkomans and Arabs living in Kirkuk object.
Kurdish activists say they have collected 1.7 million signatures on a petition demanding a referendum on the future status of Iraqi Kurdistan. Organizers want the Kurds to be given the opportunity to decide whether the region should declare its independence or become a part of a federal Iraq.
Uthman believes the campaign greatly strengthens the Kurdish bargaining position.
"This pressure from the Kurdish street, from the Kurdish population, it is there, always it is there, including [among] the Kurdish leadership. And I think the Kurds, they have the right for self-determination, and they have the right to have a real say in what will go on in Iraq in the future. So it is within that -- that question of a referendum -- and obviously it creates a constant pressure on everybody who deals with the Kurdish question," Uthman said.
Uthman believes Iraq's Kurds should have the right to self-determination but that the best solution now is to be included in a federation in a democratic Iraq, "at least for this period of time."
Fuad Hussein is a Kurdish expert and academic who is currently working as an adviser with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. He says Kurdish politicians negotiated the best agreement possible under the circumstances.
"I am not calling it a victory. I am calling it a realistic solution for this period. And I think the Kurdish leaders who were there -- and they were participating heavily in the discussion -- [think the same], and I think they have reached good results," Hussein said.
Hussein believes the question of the status of the peshmerga will be less difficult to negotiate than the problem of borders. Hussein says the "main player in the border question is money" because the area is rich in oil. Hussein says Kirkuk is not the only disputed area. The border of the district around Mosul must also be settled, among others.
Ali Reza Nourizadeh is the director of the Center for Arab-Iranian studies, a private think tank in London. He says the interim constitution represents a historic victory for Iraqi Kurds.
"I think what has happened last night, they recognized the right of the Kurds for self-determination and self-governing, and also they promised that the boundaries will be decided by the elected government. Therefore, they have sort of assurances, and I think L. Paul Bremer [head of the U.S. civil administration in Iraq] also gave them that assurance, that it is not the final [solution] and that it will be studied carefully in the future," Nourizadeh said.
However, Nourizadeh says the Kurdish drive toward autonomy and self-determination may complicate the situation in the region, especially in Iraq's neighbors Turkey, Iran, and Syria, which also have large Kurdish populations.
"Turkey is extremely scared about Kurdish autonomy," Nourizadeh
says, "and will use all its influence and other means to put
it in check."
5. - Monday Morning (Lebanon) - "Turkey-Germany: Ankara ‘on the right path’ for EU membership":
1 March 2004
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at a press conference in Ankara with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has urged Turkey to press on
with its reform drive to meet European Union standards, saying it
was on “the right path” to achieve its goal of starting
accession talks with the EU by year end.
“Thanks to its reform process, Turkey is on the right path”,
Schroeder told a press conference in Ankara after talks with Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But the German leader underlined that Turkey must fully implement
reforms, to ensure a favorable report from the European Commission,
the EU’s executive arm, and increase its chances of getting a
date for membership talks.
“There are good chances to see that at the end of the year”,
said Schroeder, the first head of German government to officially
visit Turkey in 11 years.
Turkey signed its first economic partnership with the European Economic
Community, a forerunner of the EU, in 1963 and has been a formal candidate
for EU membership since 1999.
EU leaders will decide in December whether the mainly-Muslim country
has made sufficient progress in meeting the ‘Copenhagen criteria’,
a set of political and economic standards, which include respect for
democratic rule and human rights, to begin accession talks.
“When Turkey fulfills the Copenhagen criteria... accession talks
must begin... The European Union must stand by its previous word”,
Schroeder said during a lunch hosted by Erdogan in his honor. Ankara
argues that it has fulfilled the majority of the political criteria
and that it is entitled to start negotiations, but Brussels has pointed
to some concerning judicial independence, fundamental freedoms, the
political influence of the military and the rights of its sizeable
Kurdish minority.
“We are awaiting with great confidence a positive decision in
December 2004 on our negotiation process”, Erdogan said, adding
that his government was determined to press ahead with the implementation
of reforms. “Turkish-EU ties have gone 40 years with promises.
We should now go forward and bring these promises to life”.
Schroeder, for his part, pledged his government’s unwavering
support providing Turkey does its homework.
His stance was in sharp contrast to that of Angela Merkel, the leader
of the main Christian Democratic Union opposition party in Germany,
who proposed a “special partnership” with Turkey, rather
than full membership, during a visit to Ankara the previous week.
Erdogan termed her proposal “out of the question”.
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country with a population of almost
70 million and a NATO member, would be the most populous country in
the EU after Germany if admitted to the bloc today. UN forecasts indicate
that it would overtake Germany within a few years. Schroeder, who
was accompanied by business leaders, addressed an economic forum in
Turkey’s financial capital Istanbul later.
Germany is Turkey’s largest trading partner in the EU, with bilateral
trade in 2002 at 14.2 billion euros (18 billion dollars at today’s
rates).
The largest German investment in Turkey is a coal-fired power station
near Iskandaroun, in Southeast Turkey, near the Syrian border, which
Schroeder inaugurated during his visit.
Germany is also home to 2.5 million people of Turkish origin -- the
largest such community in Western Europe -- more than half a million
of whom have acquired German citizenship and the right to vote.
6. - Bloomberg - "Greek Cypriots Reject Turks' Proposals, Denktash Says":
1 March 2004
Greek Cypriot leaders rejected the Turkish side's suggestions for changes to a United Nations- sponsored plan to reunify Cyprus, said Rauf Denktash, who's negotiating over the UN proposals on behalf of Turkish Cypriots.
Greek Cypriot negotiators say Turkish proposals on issues such as ensuring Turks have a fixed number of seats in the reunified state's legislature are based on ethnic discrimination and aren't acceptable, Denktash said at a televised news conference today in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia.
Denktash, 80, met earlier today with Tassos Papadopoulos, the Greek Cypriot president, for the latest session of UN-sponsored unity talks that are due to continue until March 29. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan then will mediate on issues where the two sides can't agree. The resulting plan will be put to a vote in April on both sides of the island, allowing a reunified Cyprus to enter the European Union in May.
Denktash said the Greek Cypriots today submitted their proposals for changes to the UN plan, including speeding the handover of Turkish Cypriot land. Greek Cypriots oppose spreading the transfer over three years, and say instead that the territory should immediately be put under UN control, Denktash said.
That would cause ``misery'' among Turkish Cypriots, Denktash said. Greek Cypriots have shown in the negotiations that they're not prepared to allow political equality for the Turkish community, he said.
Papadopoulos
Papadopoulos, 70, said after the meeting that his proposals were intended to be functional and don't undermine the rights of Turkish Cypriots, Greece's state-run Athens News Agency reported without elaborating.
Cyprus has been split since Turkey invaded in 1974 after supporters of union with Greece overthrew the island's government in an Athens-backed coup. Turkey is the only country to recognize the breakaway Cypriot state in the north, led by Denktash, and maintains more than 30,000 soldiers there.
Reunifying the island would ``greatly help'' Turkey's bid for EU
membership, European Commission President Romano Prodi said in January.
The EU is due to decide at the end of this year whether Turkey is
ready to open accession talks.