TANGO IN THE SECURITY CONFERENCE
BY GURAY OZ (CUMHURIYET)
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is scheduled to travel to Iran
next week to attend the D-8 meeting of eight developing
Islamic countries. Sezer is also expected to meet with his
Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami there. /Cumhuriyet/
Answering questions of reporters yesterday on board of the
airplane on his way back from South Korea to Turkey, Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas’s withdrawing
from negotiations was out of question. Asked about his
expectation from the Cyprus talks in New York, Erdogan said,
“At the moment we expect what we want to get. If it does not
happen, we will do what is necessary. I believe that solution
of this has to be put forward by protecting both Turkey’s and
TRNC’s interests and the other side’s interests, too.” Asked
what he thought about his visit to South Korea, Erdogan said
that he had seen Koreans very excited about Turkey. “Among the
countries to which we had visited so far, meetings among the
sectors in which businessmen showed great interest were held
in South Korea,” added Erdogan. /Milliyet/
After completing his official contacts in Poland, Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday returned to Ankara. Speaking
to reporters at Esenboga Airport, Gul said that his visit was
very important and fruitful. Stressing that during his
meetings with Polish officials, bilateral relations had been
taken up, Gul said that they had agreed to bolster economic
and trade relations. He also pointed to Poland’s fully support
to Turkey’s European Union membership. /Turkiye/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf
Denktas, Greek Cyprus leader Tassos Papadoulos and United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday hold a two-hour
meeting in New York to discuss the Cyprus issue. TRNC Prime
Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas
also participated in the meeting. Speaking before the meeting,
Denktas said that both sides would tell about possible changes
they want to be made to the plan. Denktas, Papadopoulos and
Annan are expected to meet again today. Speaking afterwards,
UN Speacial Envoy to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto said that the
discussions were constructive. “Annan wanted both sides to
continue negotiating,” said de Soto, adding that he hoped an
agreement to be reached, but that there was still time for it.
In related news, addressing the UN Security Council before the
meeting, Annan said that if both sides agree, some changes
could be made to the UN plan. He further stated that the UN
plan would ease Turkey’s European Union membership bid.
/Aksam/
Upon a motion given by the main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP), Parliament is set to debate recent
situation of the Cyprus issue today. Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul is expected to brief on the developments on the matter. In
related news, Gul yesterday met with Cabinet ministers
including State Ministers Abdulllatif Sener and Mehmet Ali
Sahin, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, Defense Minister Vecdi
Gonul and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu. During the two-and-a-half-hour
gathering, a preparatory work was done for Parliament today’s
session on Cyprus. /Turkiye/
Speaking to the International Policy Magazine published in
France, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin stated
that it would be a grave mistake to oppose Turkey’s European
Union membership because of religious reasons. De Villepin
warned that refusing Turkey because it is a Muslim country
would only incite hatred among societies. /Cumhuriyet/
The European Commission Representative to Turkey Hansjorg
Kretschmer yesterday stated that the Turkish government
recently made significant progress on its path towards the EU
membership. “You’re on the right track,” said Kretschmer. “If
Turkey goes on like this, there is no reason for it to fail.”
/Cumhuriyet/
German Ambassador to Turkey Wolf Ruthart Born yesterday
praised recent positive developments regarding the Cyprus
issue, adding that he had believed a resolution could be
reached by May, when Greek Cyprus is scheduled to join the
European Union. He stated that the Cyprus issue was an “ethnic
approach problem.” Born further criticized the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) government, saying that there were
conflicts between its Iraq and Cyprus policies. /Aksam/
As part of his tour of political party leaders to exchange
views on the Cyprus issue, Nationalist Action Party (MHP)
leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday visited main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. After the
meeting, CHP Deputy Chairman Onur Oymen told reporters that
the gathering had been very fruitful. He added that both
parties shared similar views and they would continue to carry
out contacts on the matter. /Turkiye/
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) high-level
official Berham Salih yesterday met with Turkey's Special
Envoy to Cyprus Osman Koruturk in Ankara. Salih argued that
the Turkish troops must peacefully leave northern Iraq,
reiterating the Kurdish claim that Kirkuk belonged to Kurds.
“Kirkuk is a part of Iraqi Kurdistan,” claimed Berham. “The
people of Kirkuk should find a democratic solution to the
current administrative problems.” Salih also informed Turkish
officials about IPUK’s plans on Iraq’s reconstruction,
stressing that his organization also supports Iraq’s
territorial integrity. /Cumhuriyet/
The head of Amnesty International began a weeklong visit to
Turkey yesterday to put a spotlight on the country's human
rights record - an issue central to its hopes of joining the
European Union, stated the Financial Times. The daily quoted
Amnesty’s Secretary-General Irene Khan as saying that she was
“encouraged” by human rights reforms introduced by the Turkish
government. “Khan will hand a memorandum outlining Amnesty's
concerns to Erdogan on Thursday,” added the Financial Times.
“Amnesty's view on Turkey's human rights reforms will be a
crucial test of its ambitions to join the EU. Turkey's
membership credentials will be assessed in December at a
summit in Brussels, when member states will decide whether to
start formal accession negotiations with Ankara. Khan said the
pre-accession work done by Erdogan's government was bearing
fruit, but she was unsure whether the need for reform was
“internalized” at all levels of the administration.”
/Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Turkey’s relations with
the EU. A summary of his column is as follows:
“We are focused on the Cyprus issue due to its urgency and
deep relation with the EU. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
even paid a useful visit to South Korea but we shouldn’t
forget that the most important matter for us is the EU. Even
the most urgent and important developments shouldn’t distract
our attention. Turkey can’t have any other vital issue other
than the EU membership bid. This way the quality of life to be
led by the following Turkish generation will be determined.
It’s also the most important development of our history of
innovation because it will show that we have finally reached
the level of contemporary civilization.
25 European countries might take offense, thinking that we
have deprived Europe of the importance we attached to the US
and even UN concerning the Cyprus issue. We know that they’re
sensitive. Therefore Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
should tour the European capitals. They should be in
continuous contact with European statesmen and businessmen so
there won’t be something unpleasant in December 2004 both for
the EU and Turkey. The real politicians of Europe comprehended
it. However, preventing such unpleasant situations are
possible by starting membership negotiations with Turkey as
well. The tension is at its peak on the eve of great events.
We should get used to consider such a complicated atmosphere
natural. This is the conflict between those favoring the
contemporary civilization and preferring to remain at the
conventional line.”
Columnist Guray Oz comments on the conference on security
in Munich. A summary of his column is as follows:
“While anti militarists protested the war, belligerents
discussed the past end planned the future. The 40th
‘Conference on Security’ was held Munich last weekend. The
German Police Union was in the opinion that the conference was
nothing more than a prodigality. Both the organization and the
security of the conference were costly for Germany. If only it
is worth for ‘security.’ If you ask ‘whose security?’ the
answer could be ‘the security of the new world order, the
eternal declared system and the market economy, which even
found its place in the European Union draft constitution. The
system, according to the claim, is under the heavy and
dangerous attack of ‘terrorism’ and it should be protected by
force. This is what ‘security’ and security conferences are
for.
What is the aim of this conference? The aim of this
conference is to discuss policies on security in depth,
‘declare’ reciprocal positions, handle regions that pose a
threat, drawing political and theoretical limits of sharing,
sometimes kissing and sometimes biting the other side.
Certainly, another aim is also to show the newcomers,
observing the conference, the new world order in depth and
inform them.
The main subject of the conference were the situation in
Iraq, NATO’s position in Afghanistan and the question on
whether it can have a role in Iraq or not and of course
Palestine. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was one of the
most important people attending the conference. Rumsfeld
parried reporters’ questions. It’s not an easy job. Could it
be easy to come across with those who have tolled their doubts
before the war, and to claim your opinions with the same
stubbornness after it came out that the attack in Iraq was
based on a big lie? ‘We have reached a good point in our
searching but we also couldn’t find a big store of weapons,
our works are going on. President Bush set up a research
commission on the CIA reports’ said Rumsfeld. You attack first
and afterwards look whether the information is true or not. It
is difficult to make policies based on lies. It is difficult
if those who strip you as a liar are not only the people on
the streets but also experienced European politicians, who you
labeled as ‘old’ and acted against their interests in Iraq.
For this reason, Rumsfeld is careful with his wordings.
‘Every country should do what it finds right to do, but it
should also envisage to live with its consequences,’ says
Rumsfeld. But the most cheerful moments were his answer to the
question of a correspondent from Suddeutsche Zeitung: ‘Could
you remove your doubts on the EU army?’ He laughed and said,
‘There is no other army like the European army.’ The parties
attending the Security Conference in Munich made tango. They
didn’t have another chance. They had to share and reach an
agreement at the same time.”
