WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE NOW?
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is scheduled to
travel to Iran today in order to attend the summit
of eight developing Muslim countries (D-8) in
Tehran. Sezer is expected to hold bilateral
meetings with the leaders of the attending
countries, including the host President Muhammad
Khatami. During his meetings, the president is to
focus on economic issues as well as diplomatic and
political ones, including Iraq’s reconstruction.
/Sabah/
In the runup to new Cyprus talks set to begin
Thursday on the island, the Turkish Parliament is
scheduled to discuss recent developments on the
issue during a special session today. In line with
a motion on the matter submitted to the Parliament
Speaker’s office by the main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP), Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul is expected to brief deputies about recent
events on the island. Furthermore, deputies from
the ruling and opposition parties will express
their groups’ views on the matter. /Turkiye/
Angela Merkel, the head of Germany's opposition
Christian Democrats (CDU), yesterday arrived in
Ankara together with a seven-member delegation to
discuss Turkey's European Union bid. After
visiting Ataturk’s mausoleum (Anitkabir), Merkel
first met with Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu
and was then received by Parliament Speaker Bulent
Arinc. Since Germany’s Christian Democrats have
been vocally opposed to Turkey’s EU bid, she
reaffirmed her party’s stance in Ankara. During
her meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, Merkel reiterated that the CDU is in
favor of a “special privileged” EU-Turkey
partnership. Citing security and geopolitical
factors, she underlined that the CDU wanted a
special partnership, a “third way” with Turkey.
But Erdogan firmly dismissed Merkel’s proposal,
also cautioning German conservatives not to make
Turkey's EU membership bid a campaign issue during
this year's European parliamentary elections.
“Turkey is a country which has fulfilled the
Copenhagen criteria, which is why privileged
partnership or any other similar formula is out of
question,” said the premier. /Sabah/
Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil
Cicek said yesterday that Ankara was pleased with
this week’s resumption of Cyprus talks aimed at
resolving the issue. Following a Cabinet meeting
chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Cicek told reporters that Erdogan and Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul had briefed their fellow
ministers on recent developments in foreign
affairs. Stressing that both Turkey and Turkish
Cyprus had displayed a very affirmative stance
during preliminary talks last week in New York,
Cicek underlined that the process set to begin on
Thursday would be a very difficult period
requiring hard work. In addition, Cicek thanked
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas and other members of the
Turkish delegation for their efforts during the
negotiations. /Turkiye/
Negotiations on the future of Cyprus are due to
restart in the Cypriot border zone on Thursday.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cyprus President
Tassos Papadopoulos are expected to meet three
times a week during the negotiations, which will
be conducted in English. In addition, technical
committees are set to meet daily to make
preparations on three separate issues, namely the
law, international agreements and economic issues.
Special UN Envoy to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto and
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement
Guenter Verheugen are also due to travel to the
island today. /Aksam/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas, who returned to his
country from Istanbul yesterday, said that his
administration would do what a Cyprus resolution
requires, but added that it was too early for
congratulations over the new talks since no
resolution has been reached as yet. “We will do
our best for a resolution, but nobody can
guarantee this,” said Denktas, who is to represent
the TRNC at the talks. “The responsibility will
belong both to Turkish Cypriots and Turkey.
Ankara’s Parliament will make the final decision.”
He stated that there were certain issues that were
vital for the Turkish Cypriots, including two
equal states and Turkey remaining a guarantor
state. Denktas added that the Greek Cypriots also
wanted changes made to the United Nations Cyprus
plan, which would become clear during the
negotiations set to begin on Thursday. In related
news, TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said
yesterday that changes could be made to the plan
in order to reach an agreement which protects the
rights of both the Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
/Cumhuriyet/
Appearing on television yesterday, Special UN
Envoy to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto said that the
island’s three guarantor countries should approve
a possible agreement by April 21, when Turkish and
Greek Cypriots are expected to hold separate
referendums on such a pact. “We should get the
approval of the guarantor states before
referendums,” he said. “We expect Turkey, Greece
and Britain to support the process. We don’t want
to meddle in domestic affairs.” He further praised
Turkey’s recent stance concerning Cyprus, lauding
its “courageous steps” on the issue. /Cumhuriyet/
Frits Bolkestein, a member of the European
Commission, yesterday held separate meetings with
Greek Cyprus’ foreign minister and finance
minister. Speaking afterwards, Bolkestein said
that the commission would contribute to the
island’s peace process. For his part, the foreign
minister said that no one could possibly ignore
the EU’s views on the issue. Later, Bolkestein
travelled to the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) to meet with Prime Minister Mehmet
Ali Talat. /Aksam/
Claudia Roth, the German government’s human
rights commissioner, yesterday criticized German
Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel’s proposal
to give Turkey a “privileged partnership” with the
European Union, stating that such proposals
effectively classify Turkey as a second-class
country. “Not only Turkey, but also the EU itself
has undertaken certain responsibilities,” said
Roth in a written statement. “The [EU] membership
negotiations must begin if Turkey manages to
fulfill all the necessary criteria.” She also
underlined that a EU candidate need not be a
Christian country, but must respect the Union’s
basic values and principles. At its summit this
December, the EU is set to decide whether or not
to begin membership negotiations with Ankara. /Hurriyet/
Georgian Homeland Forces Commander Major Gen.
Gogi Tatuhasvili yesterday arrived in Ankara at
the invitation of Gen. Sener Eruygur, Tuýrkey’s
head of Gendarmerie Forces. During their meeting,
Tatuhasvili conveyed best wishes from Georgia’s
new president, Mihail Saakasvili, and asked for
support to apply the structure of the Turkish
Gendarmerie in his country. Pointing to ongoing
good military relations between Ankara and Tbilisi,
Eruygur replied that Turkey’s contributions to the
its northern neighbor would continue in order to
ensure peace and stability there. /Turkiye/
Tassos Yannitsis, Greece’s new foreign minister,
said yesterday that it was highly probable that
the Cyprus issue would be resolved during talks
set to begin this week. Speaking to reporters
after taking over the post from ruling socialist
PASOK party leader George Papandreou, Yannitsis
said, “Thirty years after the [Cyprus Peace
Operation], Cyprus will be integrated into the
European Union in 2004, and its problem of
division will be largely resolved.” He remarked
that if the issue could be solved in the coming
weeks, Greece’s own position in the EU would also
be strengthened. /Turkiye/
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday
congratulated German-born Turkish movie director
Fatih Akin for receiving top honors at this year’s
Berlin Film Festival, best picture (the Golden
Bear) for his highly acclaimed Gegen die Wand (Head-On).
Erdogan conveyed his congratulations to Akin via
Turkey’s Embassy to Berlin for the director’s
portrayal of the difficulties a second-generation
Turkish family faces in the northern German city
of Hamburg. Head-On, the first German film to win
the top prize since 1986, beat out competition
from 23 contenders. /Hurriyet/
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Turkey’s
place in Europe. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“In the years to come, counting the members of
the European Union will be pointless. It will be
easier to list the handful of European countries
unable to get into the EU. Actually the Union,
which is about to set foot on the Asian continent
via Cyprus, will extend comfortably to Asia with
Turkey. When Serbia-Montenegrin President Svetozar
Marovic invited Turkey to enter the EU in 2010
together with his country, I was mortified. Way
back in 1959, Turkey declared that it would
participate in the EU’s core with six members, and
it signed an agreement two years later, but now
it’s behind Serbia! Serbia, the perpetrator of an
incredible genocide, can invite Turkey to
cooperate without blushing.
Countries outside the EU will be treated this
way. Bulgarian citizens, under our sovereignty as
late as 1908, can now cross European borders
without a visa. However, Turks must suffer in
waiting in visa queues. We waste our power by
staying outside Europe and against the United
States. However, it would be easier to be rescued
from such a situation by joining Europe. Every
Turkish intellectual must find truth. Is it so
hard to see where our love for the status quo has
led us?”
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the Cyprus
issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
“For 40 years, we’ve seen many negotiation
processes on Cyprus. Many plans were brought to
the negotiating table, and sometimes the parties
even came close to a solution. But ultimately
these efforts failed to bear fruit, and the
problem persisted till today. Last week’s Cyprus
summit in New York raised hopes that the issue
will be solved this time. In this optimistic
atmosphere, the two parties will start
negotiations on Thursday. Are these negotiations
different from previous ones? Yes, there is a
difference, but we must say that this atmosphere
is no guarantee that the new process will end in
success. Yet the significant differences this time
justify this optimism. And just what are these?
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s latest
initiative – with his plan for the island – formed
a mechanism that effectively binds the parties.
This time the involved parties are not only the
Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides but also
Ankara and Athens. All of them signed onto Annan’s
method and timetable. Annan will fill in the
blanks wherever the parties fail to reach
agreement, and the final text will be presented to
the Parliaments of Turkey and Greece as well as to
the public of the two populations of the island.
The parties ushered in a solution process in New
York. Turning back would be difficult…
The European Union is also involved this time.
The Union is pressing the Greek side for a
solution by May 1 [when Greek Cyprus is due to
join the EU]. This was obvious at the New York
summit. The EU is aware of the drawbacks of
accepting a divided Cyprus for EU membership.
Another power that is involved is the United
States. Washington also wants the new process to
end in success. American diplomacy will play a
leading role in the process in Nicosia, as it did
in New York.
Turkey’s diplomatic moves have also had a huge
effect on starting the new process. Overcoming
many internal obstacles, the Erdogan
administration took courageous and resolute steps
to put an end to the unresolved situation. If
Ankara continues acting like this, then it could
affect the negotiations in Nicosia positively.
The recent elections in the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) showed there is an
environment favoring a solution. TRNC President
Rauf Denktas showed himself a different leader
than in the past. His manner was affected by the
leading role of the Turkish government as well as
by the TRNC’s new political realities.
The elements that created the main differences
in the Cyprus problem will be discussed in the new
process, which is set to start in Nicosia. Among
them are also issues that Denktas called ‘vital.’
It won’t be easy to reach a compromise on these
issues. If the negotiations were done under other
conditions, then we could say that it’s an old
story whose ending we already know. But this time
there are different factors, the ones listed above.
And this has boosted the hopes that the process
will end in a different way, that is, a solution.”
