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Annan's Five Lessons:
A striking divergence
between words and deeds
By Alex Efthyvoulos

KOFI Annan decided to end his ten-year sojourn as Secretary-General of the United Nations by taking on the role of teacher, and by passing on five lessons which, he says,"the community of nations needs to learn," as a basis for settling international problems.
In a brief introductory paragraph to his presentation of the Five Lessons, Annan explains that all his life "has been a learning experience."

"Now I want to pass on five lessons I have learned during ten years as UN Secretary-General, lessons which I believe the community of nations needs to learn, as it confronts the challenges of the 21st century.''

These Five Lessons are, in effect, a guide to how international relations must be conducted, with emphasis on the twin imperatives, respect for human rights and international law. If Annan had himself applied these five lessons as a basis for a Cyprus settlement, the problem would have disappeared overnight and the island would have emerged reunited, with all its people, Greek and Turkish Cypriots treated as equal citizens.

It is totally weird and incomprehensible, however, that while taking on the role of teacher, and telling the rest of the world what needs to be done for the sake of international peace, security and understanding, Annan himself sees no need to comply with what his own five lessons dictate as he deals with the Cyprus problem.

This hypocritical approach is perfectly illustrated by Annan's prolonged close involvement in the search for a Cyprus settlement that culminated with the presentation of the notorious Annan Plan, a document whose provisions amount to a gross violation of the teachings of the five lessons he now presents as a basis for solving the world's problems.

As stated above. Annan's 'Five Lessons' would lead to an overnight settlement if applied in the case of Cyprus; the notes that follow clarify how this would come about:

FIRST LESSON: ETHNIC CLEANSING

Annan's first lesson speaks of the "shared responsibility (of all the people of the world) to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity."
It refers to these types of crimes inflicted on the people of Darfour, but avoids any reference to the ethnic cleansing and other war crimes committed by Turkey against Cyprus, a case in which he has been closely involved for many years.

What is even more startling, while Annan gives emphasis to this aspect, listing it as the first, and most pre-eminent of his five lessons, he ignored it completely in his Cyprus plan. His notorious plan glaringly denied the right of all the ethnically-cleansed Greek Cypriots to return to their homes and to regain their usurped properties, despite the fact that this right is fully supported by the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, that Turkey refuses to implement, just as it rejects the similar demands of the numerous UN Security Council resolutions that also back the refugees' right to return.

SECOND LESSON: SOLIDARITY

In his second lesson, Annan declares that "we are all responsible for each other's welfare, and that without a measure of solidarity, no society can be truly stable."
Yet, in the case of Cyprus this 'solidarity' has been remarkably absent from Annan's dealing with the problem. In addition, he has also shown a parallel lack of concern for the restoration of the 'welfare' of the tens of thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees by failing to pressure Turkey to restore their usurped rights.

What is worse, his reunification plan rejected the right of all the refugees to return, even though this is right to return is repeatedly stressed in all the UN resolutions dealing with Cyprus. How's that for solidarity?

THIRD LESSON: RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Kofi Annan, the teacher, waxes lyrical in his third lesson. He stresses that "both security and prosperity depend on respect for human rights and the rule of law.''
He adds that "if our communities are to live in peace, we must stress also ...the need for our human dignity and rights to be protected by law.''

Here again, the stress that Annan places on the need for respect for human rights and the rule of law was completely ignored by him in his Cyprus plan, which, as mentioned above, took no notice of the judgements of the Rights Court recognising the right of the ethnically cleansed Greek Cypriots to return to their homes and to regain their properties.

FOURTH LESSON: GOVERNMENTS MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE

In his fourth lesson Annan declares that "governments must be accountable for their actions, in the international as well as the domestic arena." In this respect, one would have expected that Kofi Annan, as the UN Secretary-General, the official regarded as epitomising the world's conscience, would have adopted a firmer stand in his periodic reports on Cyprus on Turkey's culpability and continuing violation of international law and human rights, and, more importantly, that he would have done the same in his settlement plan.

FIFTH LESSON: LACK OF LEADERSHIP

In his fifth lesson, Kofi Annan speaks of the need for a functioning global system and of the lack of leadership in international affairs.
What is vastly amiss in connection with Annan's role as a teacher, and, by extension, his own leading role as Secretary-General of the United Nations, is that he, himself, instead of setting an example to the rest of the world by adhering strictly to the lessons he wants the rest of the world to embrace, he has studiously avoided adopting a leadership role in connection with Cyprus by insisting forcefully that the only acceptable settlement is one based on full respect for the numerous UN resolutions demanding the reunification of the island, the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation troops and mainland settlers and the return of the refugees to their homes. Instead of adopting such a leadership role he chose instead to lend his name to a plan that shamefully ignores all these basic demands of the UN resolutions and the judgements of the Rights Court!

MISSING SIXTH LESSON: WORDS AND DEEDS

It is clear from the above that Annan should have included a sixth lesson in his list, one dealing with words and deeds. This would simply state that leaders must always back their words with deeds and stick to fundamental principles of law and human rights in all cases, and not only when it suits them.

Here is Mr Annan's article:

Five Lessons
By Kofi A. Annan

NEARLY 50 years ago, when I arrived in Minnesota as a student fresh from Africa, I had much to learn – starting with the fact that there is nothing wierd about wearing earmuffs when the temperature is 15 below. †All my life since has been a learning experience. Now I want to pass on five lessons I have learnt during ten years as UN Secretary-General - lessons which I believe the community of nations needs to learn, as it confronts the challenges of the 21st century. †
First, in today’s world we are all responsible for each other’s security. †Against such threats as nuclear proliferation, †climate change, global pandemics, or terrorists operating from safe havens in failed states, no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others. †Only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves. †
This responsibility includes our shared responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. That was accepted by all nations at last year’s UN summit. But when we look at the murder, rape and starvation still being inflicted on the people of Darfur, we realize that such doctrines remain pure rhetoric unless those with the power to intervene effectively – by exerting political, economic or, in the last resort, military muscle – are prepared to take the lead.
It also includes a responsibility to future generations – to preserve resources that belong to them as well as to us. †Every day that we do nothing, or too little, to prevent climate change imposes higher costs on our children. †
Second, we are also responsible for each other’s welfare. †
Without a measure of solidarity, no society can be truly stable. †It is not realistic to think that some people can go on deriving great benefits from globalization while billions of others are left in, or thrown into, abject poverty. †We have to give all our fellow human beings at least a chance to share in our prosperity. †
Third, both security and prosperity depend on respect for human rights and the rule of law. †
Throughout history human life has been enriched by diversity, and different communities have learnt from each other. But if our communities are to live in peace we must stress also what unites us: our common humanity, and the need for our human dignity and rights to be protected by law. †
That is vital for development, too. †Both foreigners and a country’s own citizens are more likely to invest when their basic rights are protected and they know they will be fairly treated under the law. † And policies that genuinely favour development are more likely to be adopted if the people most in need of development can make their voice heard.
States need to play by the rules towards each other, as well. No community anywhere suffers from too much rule of law; many suffer from too little – and the international community is among them. †This we must change.
My fourth lesson, therefore, is that governments must be accountable for their actions, in the international as well as the domestic arena. Every state owes some account to other states on which its actions have a decisive impact.
As things stand, poor and weak states are easily held to account, because they need foreign aid. †But large and powerful states, whose actions have the greatest impact on others, can be constrained only by their own people. That gives the people and institutions of powerful states a special responsibility to take account of global views and interests. And today they need to take into account also what we call “non-state actors”. States can no longer – if they ever could – confront global challenges alone.
Increasingly, they need help from the myriad types of association in which people come together voluntarily, for profit or to think about, and change, the world.
How can states hold each other to account?
Only through multilateral institutions. So my final lesson is that those institutions must be organised in a fair and democratic way, giving the poor and the weak some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong.
Developing countries should have a stronger voice in international financial institutions, whose decisions can mean life or death for their people. And new permanent or long-term members should be added to the UN Security Council, whose current membership reflects the reality of 1945, not of today’s world.
No less important, all the Security Council’s members must accept the responsibility that comes with their privilege.
The Council is not a stage for acting out national interests. It is the management committee of our fledgling global security system.
More than ever today humanity needs a functioning global system. And experience has shown, time and again, that the system works poorly when its Member States are divided and lack leadership, but much better when there is unity and far-sighted leadership and engagement of all major actors. The world’s leaders, of today and tomorrow, have a great responsibility. The people of the world must see that they live up to it.
The author is Secretary-General of the United Nations. This article is based on an address he gave this week at the Truman Presidential Museum & Library in Independence, Missouri.

European leaders get tough
BRUSSELS (AP)
European Union leaders gathered Thursday for a summit where they were expected to endorse a partial freeze on entry talks with Turkey - and make it harder for other aspiring countries to join.
Leaders at the two-day, year-end summit will make clear to the Turks, Serbs and other Balkan aspirants that they must meet the EU's political and economic criteria for membership if they want to join the bloc - and should anticipate a tough path to entry.
"The prospect of joining is no guarantee for later membership. ... The criteria must be fulfilled," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament in Berlin yesterday before heading to Brussels. "I don't say this as a threat but rather as an encouragement to the countries that want to join."
Two years after the bloc took in 10 new members, most of them ex-communist countries, European leaders are calling the eastward expansion an unqualified success that ended Cold War divisions and united 470 million people from Portugal to Poland.
But with Bulgaria and Romania joining the EU in January and a half dozen other nations waiting on the bloc's doorstep, many Europeans are wary about admitting even more countries. Leaders are expected at the summit to adopt a harder line on expansion.
"We really need a strong consensus on enlargement. I hope the summit will make progress on that," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said as he arrived yesterday for a meeting of conservative leaders before the start of the summit.
Turkey already has been given a taste of the EU's tough new approach. On Monday, EU foreign ministers suspended part of its membership talks over its failure to honor an agreement to open up its ports to EU member Cyprus, which joined the bloc in 2004 but whose government Ankara does not recognise.
EU leaders are expected to endorse that decision, despite concerns from some that the punishment is too harsh.
France, Italy and Spain also are expected to push for a new peace initiative in the Middle East, calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians and backing efforts to form a Palestinian national unity government.
Leaders also will discuss immigration and fighting crime, as well as the failed EU constitution - a document meant to serve as a blueprint for how to govern an expanded EU.
The French and Dutch rejections last year of the proposed EU constitution laid bare concerns about enlargement. Many said they feared expansion would dilute old members' influence, and let in too much cheap labor that would cost them jobs, undercut their wages and threaten western Europe's cherished social welfare.
No new members should be admitted until the EU has a constitution in place, some leaders say.
"The pace of enlargement must take into account the capacity of the union to absorb new members," a draft summit declaration said.
The final wording will be a compromise between countries such as France, Austria and the Netherlands that are wary about bringing in new members and Britain, Sweden and Poland, which insist that the EU's doors must remain open.
Serbia is expected to remain frozen out of the EU's induction process. Italy and Spain want the EU to open talks on inviting Belgrade into a program that would prepare it for membership, but France and Britain lead those insisting there will be no progress unless Belgrade turns over fugitive war crimes suspects.
Leading candidate Croatia hopes to join in 2009. Its Balkan neighbours - FYROM, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia - also are engaged in some stage of negotiation with the EU, but face a long wait. Merkel said "a great many preparations" are needed before they can join.
Larger nations face yet more obstacles.
Ukraine has been classified by the EU as a "neighboUr," like Morocco and Israel, rather than potential candidate.
And although Turkey began formal negotiations last year, its bid to become the first mainly Muslim EU member faces widespread opposition. Leading European politicians have deep reservations and an opinion poll conducted for the EU early this year indicated that just 39% of EU citizens back Turkey's membership - even if it meets all the conditions.


 

Euro-Parliament to fund churches study in north
THE European Parliament yesterday voted in favour of funding a study on the state of churches in the occupied areas.
The majority of the plenum voted in favour of part of the EU’s 2007 budget being used for the purpose, following an initiative by Cypriot Euro MP Panayiotis Demetriou, of Disy.
To take place as part of the Culture 2007 programme, the study will focus on documenting and describing the state of churches in the occupied areas and calculating how much repairing them would cost.
According to Demetriou, the budget approval is a positive outcome following efforts that began in April with the submission to the European Parliament of a petition for the preservation of the northern section of the island’s religious heritage, and which the European Parliament adopted with 403 signatures.
Demetriou continued that his efforts would not stop here and that he aimed to request funds for the churches’ repair once this study was complete.

‘Cyprus File’ probe to resume
MORE than three decades after the “Cyprus tragedy”, the House of Representatives is to launch a new inquiry into the events that led to the coup and the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974.
Socialist Edek MP Marinos Sizopoulos, who is to head the probe team, said the committee of the House dealing with the Cyprus File, is expected to start hearing testimonies from various people by the end of January.
A special meeting of the committee this week dealt with procedural matters.
“A list of people who have something important to say has already been drawn up,” he said.
The necessary funds have also been secured, while the whole investigation will be conducted in cooperation with scholars from the Cyprus University.
Another inquiry was held in the 1990’s led by former Edek MP Takis Hadjidemetriou, but that committee never finished its work.
Various ministries, the Police, the CIA and leading political figures are expected to cooperate in the whole process.
But one obstacle still remaining is the reluctance of the Greek Parliament to send the minutes of its own inquiry into the 1974 events.
People who testified previously have been asked to come forward again if they have something new to say or can produce important papers.
A special room in the House will be used to store all the documents forming the Cyprus File.
Sizopoulos said: “We will not act as interrogators or police investigators. Our task will be to let people speak freely about what happened, provide any information they have, so that we can compile a report that will be useful for future generations, for younger people and historians.”Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous, who hailed the relaunch of the inquiry, said younger people should draw “useful lessons from the mistakes of the past.”
The hearings are expected to deal with the Eoka B campaign to unseat President Makarios in the early 1970’s, the July 15 coup against the Archbishop instigated by the junta then ruling Greece, and the Turkish invasion that followed on July 20.
The whole process is scheduled to be completed by 2009.

15 December 2006 , 1656634 visitors


Iacovou presents credentials to Queen
Cyprus set to ban mobiles from schools
Four killed on Cyprus roads
Staff shortage causes big problems at new hospital
Free labour market access for Romanians, Bulgarians
Days that shook the World
Turkey centre stage in enlargement debate
Windmills could be turning in two years
Arsenal agrees to lower ‘TRNC’ flag
Akel stands firm against phone tapping
Defence urges acquittal of two Britons in hit-run case
Death threats against TCs helping in missing search

Iacovou presents credentials to Queen
CYPRUS’S High Commissioner in London, George Iacovou, presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth.
During the presentation ceremony, Iacovou with his wife Jennifer and members of the diplomatic staff and consulate of the High Commission, went to Buckingham Palace in a carriage, according to British custom.
The Queen, accompanied with a senior officer of the Foreign Office, received the High Commissioner and, after the presentation of the credentials, a talk followed which lasted more than ten minutes.
The former Foreign Minister and the Queen discussed different issues and many aspects of developments in Cyprus.
Iacovou’s wife and members of the High Commission staff were entertained in the ceremonial hall.

Addressed
The return to the Ambassador’s residence was also in a carriage in the company of Sarah Gillet Protocol Acting Chief, who addressed Iacovou during the ceremony.
She spoke with warm words for his service as Foreign Minister and referred to his studies and work in London, before he returned to Cyprus.
She proposed a toast for the Cyprus President and the Cypriot Ambassador, in his address, returned the complements and proposed a toast for the Queen.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the British Foreign Office, the advisor of the Greek embassy Theodoros Theodorou, Archbishop Gregorios, Tropaiou Bishop Athanassios, the president of the National Cypriot Federation of the UK, Haris Sophoclides and other members of the overseas Cypriot community in the UK.



Cyprus set to ban mobiles from schools
By Athena Karsera
CYPRUS looks set to follow the lead of Greece in banning mobile phones from schools.
The Greek ban followed revelations that schoolchildren were filming sexual and violent acts on their mobiles and distributing them
Last Saturday, Cyprus Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades said that his ministry was currently also looking for ways to avoid problems such as mobile phones going off or being used in classrooms. This was an issue that needed to be solved by at least the beginning of next year, he said.
The Minister’s comments sparked reaction from pupils fearing a ban, insisting that they were entitled to use their phones during break-times, and parents whose opinions were divided between a total ban during school hours and allowing pupils to keep mobile phones at hand to help ensure their children’s safety.
A Nicosia Gymnasium meanwhile has moved ahead with a pilot programme of constructing lockers for the safe storage of the phones during lessons.
However, since upper high school pupils move from classroom to classroom, setting up indoor lockers could prove difficult.
Georgiades on Wednesday said that a two-month study has been launched into mobile phones in schools to see how the problem can be resolved.
Georgiades said there would be a dialogue between the Ministry, parents and also students to come up with a solution.
“I would prefer if this issue was resolved in collaboration with the students,” said Georgiades: “If it is resolved jointly with them the results will be much better.”
The Minister said it was not decided yet whether there would be a total ban. Various possibilities would be looked at, he said including a special area where phone could be kept during school hours, and the idea of blocking the signal in schools.
Pupils had initially reacted angrily to the Ministry’s concerns, on Monday issuing a statement, through the Pancyprian Co-ordinating Student Committee, that they felt they had every right to use their mobile phones during break time.
The pupils said that banning phones would cause unnecessary tension between teachers and pupils and turn educators “into policemen.”
The Committee called on all pupils to uphold the current regulations that forbid the use of mobile phones during class.
The students also called on the Ministry to include them in the discussion of any further action connected to the use of mobile phones.
According to a recent study prepared by the Athens University of Economics and Business, 74 percent of children between the ages of 12 to 14 in Greece own a mobile phone. The same study also found that nearly 100 percent of young people aged 15- 18 had a mobile phone.
Two-thirds of students said that they own cell phones so that they can exchange text messages and play games.
Although figures on the ages of mobile phone owners in Cyprus are not currently available, a whopping 84.9% of households in the country owned a mobile phone in 2005, according to the results from the ‘Information and Communication Technologies Usage in Households’ annual survey (2005), conducted by the Statistical Service.

Four killed on Cyprus roads
FOUR people died over the last week as the result of separate traffic accidents.
Christos Alexandrou, 23, from Episkopi died in the early hours of Sunday, December 10, after the car in which he was a front-seat passenger collided with another vehicle.
The accident happened on Limassol’s Makarios III Avenue at 4.30am.
Also on December 10, a 20-year-old foreign man died at Nicosia General Hospital from injuries he sustained in a November 29 accident in Kissonerga, Paphos.
Two people died on Thursday, December 7 - a 20 year-old Klirou man and an 85 year-old man from Nicosia.
Andreas Andreou, 20, was driving his motorcycle along the Palaichori-Nicosia road near Anayia when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, collided with the roadside railings and plunged down an 8m embankment.
Andreas Nicholaou, 85, died after being hit by a car as he was trying to cross Tseri Avenue on foot. The accident happened at 7pm.
Investigations into the circumstances of all the accidents are underway.


Staff shortage causes big problems at new hospital
A MAJOR staff shortage is creating huge problems at the new Nicosia General Hospital with employees working around the clock and feeling exhausted.
A chief nurse in the hospital’s casualty department said that there was a shortage of all staff, from doctors, nurses, and paramedics to messengers, creating huge problems.
“The result is that we have to work double shifts, even on our days off and we are very tired. We are exhausted. Something needs to be done,” she said.
The other problem faced by hospital staff, she noted, is its huge size and connections from one department to the other.
Speaking to the local press after a lengthy meeting on the hospital, Health Minister Haris Charalambous said the main problems regarding the new hospital’s organisation, administration and staff shortages had been discussed.
As soon as the hospital’s main organisational and administration problems are solved, the rest would follow, said the Minister.
The Minister said that steps had already been taken to ensure these two areas were dealt with.
He added that the problem of nursing staff and the lack of radiologists and anaesthetists was acknowledged as there were not enough newly-trained people to fill the posts.
The Minister admitted that staff needs had increased since the start of operations of the new hospital and that language standard requirements were lowered so that foreigners could fill posts.
Another senior nurse at the new hospital said: “ We have a serious staff shortage problem, too much work and not enough people to do it. We are also faced with problems of coordination within specific departments and also between different departments. There is also a serious shortage of messengers taking things from one department to the other,” the nurse said.
Free labour market access for Romanians, Bulgarians
WORKERS from Romania and Bulgaria will be allowed to enter the island without any restrictions as from next month, as the two countries formally join the European Union on January 1, 2007.
The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers this week, despite concerns expressed by local unions that the uncontrolled influx of workers from such countries could “deregulate” the labour market and push up the number of unemployed.
According to reports, there are already some 6,000 Bulgarian and Romanian nationals working in Cyprus, mainly in the catering and hotel industry, bakeries, farming and other fields of economic activity.
Sek labour federation recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Labour urging the government to take steps to curb uncontrolled mobility of labour from the two countries, after their accession to the EU.
Restricting
Similar policies restricting the number of workers from these countries have been adopted by other EU members.
An official statement announcing the council of ministers decision said that the government would retain the right to impose restrictions at any time if there was a serious danger of “upheaval” in the labour market.
Romanian and Bulgarian nationals have been working in Cyprus on the basis of one-year employment permits.
As from next month, they will be allowed to change employer and type of work without any formal permission, and they will also have the right to register as unemployed at the government labour exchanges seeking work.
According to Sek, there are now more than 10,000 workers from EU countries employed on the island, in addition to some 37.000 workers from third countries, mainly Asian - not to mention the thousands of others working illegally.
It is estimated that foreign workers account for 15% of the island’s workforce .
Their presence has pushed up the number of Cypriots registered as unemployed to more than 5%, Sek noted.



Days that shook the World
THE events that took place in Poland in August 1980 marked a turning point in the history of post-war Europe, Polish ambassador Zbigniew Szymanski said.
The history of those 18 days (from August 14-31) encompasses, in a nutshell, the entire journey from enslavement to freedom, he added.
“The Poles were the first to demonstrate that a united public stand against the communist authorities could change the course of politics”.
The Ambassador was speaking at the opening of an exhibition “Roads to Freedom - through Solidarity to Europe” held in Famagusta Gate, Nicosia.
On August 14, 1980, the workers of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk went on a strike led by Lech Walesa, a laid-off shipyard electrician.
While occupying the shipyard, the strikers formulated the far-reaching 21 demands, including the granting of civil rights and the creation of independent trade unions.
On August 31, an agreement was signed with the authorities and the independent “Solidarnosc” (Solidarity) was founded. Membership in this great socio-political movement quickly rose to 10 million.
The ambassador said just as the shipyard became “an oasis of freedom’, reaching out to the whole nation, so Poland, too, would soon begin to influence the whole of eastern Europe.
Poland’s example of challenging the Soviet empire was taken up by other countries of central and eastern Europe. Waves of rebellion followed in Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia,, the Baltic Republics. The fall of the Berlin Wall was the culmination of a process that had been brewing for many years.
All this was proof that “the desire for freedom cannot be quelled in any society. And it all started with those 18 days which shook the world,” the ambassador added.


Turkey centre stage in enlargement debate
TURKEY was back at the centre of attention on Wednesday as the European Parliament held a keynote debate on enlargement.
At issue were two reports, the first by German EPP MEP Elmar Brok on progress in the enlargement process and the second by Finnish EPP MEP Alexander Stubb on the institutional aspects of the EU’s capacity to integrate new Member States.
Brok set the scene when he said it was a pity that Turkey was not fulfilling its legal obligations – a reference to Ankara’s refusal to open its ports and airports to Cyprus.
“What is happening now doesn't mean Turkey can for ever put off meeting its legal obligations," he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Finnish EU presidency, Trade and Development Minister Paula Lehtomaki said the Presidency has done everything in its power to keep Turkey’s EU accession negotiations going.†
“We are happy with the Council's decision taken on Monday.† It is a basis on which to proceed," she said.† Progress in the accession process can only happen on the basis of internal reform and the accession conditions being actively met, she added.
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn thanked the Finnish Presidency for Monday's decision on how accession negotiations with Turkey should proceed.† "This is a clear signal to Turkey that there will be consequences if it does not live up to its obligations", he said.†
"The decision demonstrates that the EU is able to take decisions on delicate and difficult decisions without ... turning the whole thing into a major crisis," he added.
†On behalf of the Socialists, Austrian MEP Hannes†Swoboda said Turkey must certainly meet its obligations. But in the EU "we must also politically do our job on Cyprus," he added.†
Speaking on behalf of the Liberals, Belgian MEP Annemie Neyts-Uytterbroeck backed the Commission's approach onnegotiations with Turkey as "not shutting the door but being fair and balanced".†
Dutch MEP Joost LAGENDIJK, for the Greens emphasized that, while he was in favour of the western Balkan countries and Turkey as EU candidates, he was sure further enlargement "will not work with the current institutional framework".†
Moreover, public support was essential and to get this, "credible arguments, stressing the Union's long-term interests" must be made by leaders who did not just listen to the latest opinion polls.† This particularly applied in the case of Turkey. "We cannot base ourselves on rumour and fear in the Union", he concluded.
Neo-liberal
Dutch European left MEP Erik Meijer said the "neo-liberal attitude of our economies", worries about migratory flows and poor working and housing conditions for migrant workers, and concern over human rights in Turkey mean that "we risk closing the door to these countries, and hence damaging their prospects."
For the non-attached members, Philip Claeys of Belgium, warned that "horse-trading" with Turkey over its refusal to implement the customs union needed to be handled very carefully. "We have always told citizens that negotiations would be suspended if conditions were not met, but now we seem to be doing the opposite," he said.†
Mary Lou†McDonald, an Irish European Left MEP expressed support for the accession of Turkey but added that the issue of Cyprus must be sorted out, saying the situation was one of continuing illegal occupation.
Cyprus’s Disy MEP Panayiotis Demetriou said that the right messages would never go to Turkey as long as Europe continued a policy of unlimited tolerance.
“This stand does not help the Europeanisation of Turkey. On the contrary it cultivates the mentality that it is the EU that needs Turkey and not Turkey that needs the EU,” he said.
Disy MEP Yiannakis Kasoulides said Cyprus had been presented as the possible cause of a collision between the EU and Turkey.
Now that the collision has been avoided, it is time to recognise reality.
“Turkey ignored, and provocatively states that it will continue to ignore its obligations emanating from the Customs Union agreement, obligations which existed before the so called ‘isolation’ of the Turkish Cypriot community,” he said.
Real problems
The real problems still lay ahead – freedom of speech, the rights of religious minorities, human rights in south eastern Turkey, the treatment of women, torture, article 301, the involvement of the army in political life and justice.
Turkey has so far given ample proof of how it can avoid turning into a European democracy, he added.

Arsenal agrees to lower ‘TRNC’ flag
FOLLOWING a campaign by thousands of Greek Cypriots, Arsenal football club has agreed to ban the display of a ‘TRNC’ flag but has had to bar all national emblems as a result.
“Some of our fans have been upset with the flying of certain flags denoting particular regions of the world.
"Arsenal as a club prides itself on being inclusive with respect to all nationalities, cultural and ethnic groups," said an official Arsenal statement issued this week.
†"We have therefore decided that in order that all of our fans can enjoy their experiences at Emirates Stadium we are asking all fans to only fly flags in support of Arsenal Football Club with no national emblems," it added.
This policy will be enforced with immediate effect starting with Arsenal's home game against Portsmouth on Saturday.
The appearance of the flag at the Emirates Stadium, the newly-built home of Arsenal, caused an outcry among London's Greek Cypriot community, many of who follow the "Gunners".
Two Greek Cypriots set up the www.igreek.co.uk website as a Greek community website where fans from across the world could connect, they then added the petition as a link from their site so people could add their names to the petition in protest at the flag.
In fact, the site became so popular it is now under reconstruction due to it being unable to cope with the volume of traffic.
The issue snowballed with the Cypriot diaspora in London going on the offensive to ensure Arsenal made a U-turn on the divisive flag issue.
Over 10,000 football fans lodged their disapproval on the igreek site where a petition was launched and submitted to the top-flight London club and last season's European Champions Cup finalists.
Due to the strength of opposition Arsenal had no other alternative but to withdraw its consent concerning the "TRNC" flag.
"We didn't expect them to come up with this option," said the founders of igreek.
"We brought our petition to the table and reflected the voice of the people. This decision was made by Arsenal Football Club."
Those who fought for the removal of the flag want to stress that this issue had nothing to do with racism or trying to fan the flames of hatred, but the exact opposite.
"We don't want politics to get into our local club," said igreek.
"There are people who have been watching Arsenal for thirty years who have lost their homes (in Cyprus) they don't want to be reminded of that every time they go to a game."
Some Arsenal season ticket holders even refused to go and watch home games until the flag issue was resolved.
Moreover, the petition is said to have taken on global proportions with fans from Australia to Romania supporting the flag's removal.
The illustrious north London club can call on a huge Greek Cypriot following in the English capital but their allegiance to the 'gunners' came under threat with the presence of the offending flag that symbolises Turkey's occupation of Cyprus.
Arsenal has received complaints about the flag making regular appearances at home games but said it would take no action.
The club previously argued that the flag was being displayed by an individual during games and then removed afterwards.
Arsenal sought legal advice that determined the unfurling of the flag in a public place is not illegal.
However, Arsenal conceded to being stuck between "a rock and a hard place" as it enjoys support from both sides of the Cyprus divide.
It also argued that the ‘TRNC’ flag flies over the Turkish Cypriot representative office in London and has done so for years without incurring so much as a fine.
The new multi-million pound stadium, in Ashburton Grove, is situated in an area where there is a visible Turkish community.
Around 250,000 Greek Cypriots live in the London area alone and Arsenal fans in the community rallied strong support against the flag.
However, Arab supporters have also complained about the appearance of Israeli flags at the stadium as well.
Arsenal moved into their new 60,432 capacity home in July making the Emirates Stadium the second largest stadium in the Premiership after Old Trafford.

Death threats against TCs helping in missing search
TURKISH Cypriots helping in the search for missing persons have received death threats from a shadowy extremist group in the occupied north.
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika reported that a group calling itself the “Turkish Revenge Brigade” threatened the lives of Turkish Cypriots assisting a committee leading the search for the missing.
The paper said the threats came by way of a proclamation signed by the mystery group that was slipped under the doors of homes in the occupied village of Tziaos.
In the proclamation, the group threatened the lives of Turkish Cypriot villagers it branded “traitors” for pointing out a gravesite thought to contain the remains of Greek Cypriot missing persons.

Leaked

The villagers identified the site to members of the UN-led Committee of Missing Persons (CMP) tasked with the exhumation and identification of remains on both sides of the divide.
The paper said a group that went by the same name had become active in the 1990s. But it’s unclear whether that group has resurfaced or if it is a new one altogether.
Afrika also said that the names of those who are involved in the disappearance of Greek Cypriots during the 1974 Turkish invasion have been leaked to the Greek Cypriots.
The paper quotes the proclamation as saying: “The time has come to become a single fist against those among you who are as few as the fingers of a hand. These traitors will get in line, whatever their name, surname and position.”
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris said that the CMP-run anthropological laboratory set up near the disused Nicosia airport has examined the remains of at least 150 people.
According to the paper, the Greek Cypriot side has provided the laboratory with the remains of 50 people, while the Turkish Cypriot side has handed over the remains of 100 individuals.
The paper said 70% of all grave sites where the remains of Turkish Cypriots are believed buried have been identified.
For Greek Cypriots, that percentage is 50%.
There are around 1,500 Greek Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots currently listed as missing.
Laboratory work on freshly unearthed remains is a necessary precursor to full-fledged DNA identification carried out at the Institute of Neurology and Genetics.
Relatives of the Missing Committee Chairman Nicos Theodosiou said identified remains unearthed during the latest CMP-led exhumation effort will hopefully be returned to relatives as early as next month if everything goes as planned.

Pressure

Theodosiou told a Committee meeting that he’s received assurances that the Council of Europe isn’t satisfied with exhumations alone.
He said the CoE is putting pressure on Turkey to proceed with investigations into the disappearances of Greek Cypriots last seen alive in the hands of invading Turkish troops.
He said both UN Chief of Mission to Cyprus Michael Moller and UN-appointed CMP member Christophe Girod share the view that investigations should be carried out.
Moreover, the Committee called on President Tassos Papadopoulos to everything in his power to initiate a proper investigation into each and every disappearance.
In twin petitions, relatives also urge CoE Chief Terry Davis to pile pressure on Turkey to proceed with the investigations as per a European Court of Human Rights ruling.
In both petitions, relatives expressed bitterness and disappointment over the fact that the issue of the missing has dragged on for so long.
They also appealed to Papadopoulos to accord state honours to the missing and their families and offer financial assistance to relatives.
MH

Turkey accuses EU of bowing to Greek Cypriot pressure
(archive article - Thursday, December 14, 2006)

TURKEY yesterday accused the European Union of bowing to Greek Cypriot pressure and being hesitant to take bolder steps on the Cyprus stand-off, and said that a solution to the long-running dispute could only be found at the United Nations.

“The EU has once again refrained” from taking steps, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a weekly news conference.

“We don't accept the EU's bowing to pressure, especially pressure from Greek Cypriots.” Tan argued that the EU could not provide “the right formula for a comprehensive solution.”

“The place for a comprehensive solution is the United Nations,” Tan said.

The comments came after EU ministers agreed to partially suspend membership talks with Turkey because it refuses to open up to trade with Cyprus.

“It is out of the question for Turkey to take unilateral steps” to open its ports and airports to Cyprus, “unless the isolation of Turkish Cypriots is lifted,” Tan said.

Turkey says the Cyprus dispute must be resolved at the United Nations because the EU cannot be impartial with Cyprus as a member.

“Our stance on this has not changed, and won't change,” he said.

“We will closely monitor the decision to lift the isolation” of Turkish Cypriots.

Tan also urged the EU to take a broader look at its relations with Turkey and reconsider the country's strategic importance. (AP)

Tassos: forget the ports offer today
By Jean Christou
(archive article - Thursday, December 14, 2006)

PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos warned yesterday that if Turkey tried to dupe the EU during today’s summit by resubmitting its proposals on Cyprus, Nicosia would re-table its own demands.

Papadopoulos was speaking on his departure for Brussels to attend the two-day EU Heads of Government summit, which is expected to adopt the recommendations of the bloc’s foreign ministers reached on Monday.

Speculation was rife yesterday that Britain was urging Turkey to resubmit its proposal in writing to open one port and airport to Greek Cypriot traffic as a means of wriggling out of the recommended partial freeze in its accession.

On Monday the EU25 foreign ministers meeting decided to impose the measures on Ankara for its consistent failure to normalise relations with Cyprus under the customs union protocol.
The EU deemed Turkey’s offer of one port and airport in return for the opening of Famagusta port and Tymbou airport in the north as being inadequate to fulfil its EU obligations.

However information from Brussels suggested a renegotiation might be on the cards.

“We have no objection to re-negotiation of the conclusions, but our demands which were not met at the Council will also be resubmitted”, Papadopoulos told reporters yesterday.

Asked if it were possible that a renegotiation could happen, Papadopoulos said theoretically it was but it seldom happened where there was a unanimous decision by the foreign ministers meeting.

Commenting on the issue of direct trade between the north and the EU, Papadopoulos said next EU president Germany would begin work on the handling of Cypriots goods which come from the north.

“Our effort is to show that direct trade does not constitute an embargo or a blockading of Turkish Cypriots, because its contribution will be insignificant, bearing in mind the volume of the production in the occupied areas”, said Papadopoulos.

He said the Green Line regulation provided the facilities for Turkish Cypriots, “if they consider themselves under an embargo”, to export their goods through the legal ports of the Republic.

Direct trade reports dismissed
By Jean Christou and Simon Bahceli
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday dismissed reports in European media that the Greek Cypriot side was ready to back down on direct trade to the north as of January.

Reports in two German newspapers said the government would lift the blockade on Famagusta port and Tymbou airport in the north next month.
Using almost identical wording, both the Frankfurter Algemeine and the Sueddeutscher Zeitung both claimed that “resistance against direct trade and the EU-financial supports will be stopped by Nicosia in January, due to legal and political reasons”. The same story was repeated later in the day by the Euronews TV channel.

Although neither of the two papers, nor Euronews, made clear the exact source of the alleged Greek Cypriot turnaround, it is believed one or more participants at the EU Council meeting on Monday may have told a German journalist that the Greek Cypriot government could be forced to back down over the continued isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community in the north. The German government, which takes over the presidency of the EU in January, is believed to be keen to see an end to the north’s political isolation.
However government spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis said there was “no such decision” on the part of the Greek Cypriot side. “We are ready to discuss the issue but we have well-known positions on this,” Pashiardis told the Cyprus Mail.

EU ministers, when they agreed on Monday to partially freeze Turkey’s accession course also agreed in principle to end the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, as they did first before accession in 2004.

But diplomats told Reuters in Brussels that arrangements would still have to be worked out under the German presidency in January, and the EU rejected any direct linkage with Turkey's treaty obligations.

Questioned earlier yesterday at his daily press briefing, Pashiardis said the relevant EU regulation did not refer to any particular ports or airports through which trade would be taking place.

Under current EU regulations Turkish Cypriot produce is allowed to be shipped through the legal ports of the Cyprus Republic.

Pashiardis said: “Our side does not object to discussions. We are not against commercial activities of Turkish Cypriots when they are conducted through the legitimate procedures.”

Dutch Green and Chairman of the European Parliament’s Turkey delegation, Joost Lagendijk said yesterday that if the EU foreign ministers agreed to ending the isolation in January, Turkey would then be able to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic without objection.

“Turkey has stated from the beginning that it will open its harbours and airports to Greek Cyprus if the isolation of Turkish Cyprus is ended. If this is realised, then the suspension of negotiating 'chapters' is no longer relevant, so the accession process can continue,” Lagendijk said.

Turkey is obliged under the customs union protocol to open up to Greek Cypriot traffic without conditions. Ankara has tried to make the move conditional on acquiring direct trade for the north but this has been rejected by the EU.

EU Foreign Ministers on Monday froze eight of Turkey’s negotiating chapters relating to the protocol, and agreed to an annual review of the situation but set no deadline for Ankara to actually comply.

“We are not overjoyed with this outcome. But at the same time we do not underestimate its importance,” Pashiardis said. “It was not an easy outcome. The conclusions of the Council meet to a great extent the basic goals we had set.”

In the north there was cautious optimism over the outcome of Monday’s EU Council meeting.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat expressed pleasure at statements by the Finnish EU presidency that efforts to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community would be redoubled in 2007.

“The foreign ministers repeated their determination to see the isolation lifted, and have stated they will seek this ‘without delay’,” Talat’s spokesman Hasan Ercakica said.

Ercakica said he believed the Greek Cypriot government got little out of Mondays’ EU meeting. “They asked for a date but didn’t get one,” he said.
Others conceded, however, that the EU Council’s decision on Turkey was not all good news for Turkish Cypriots.

“What makes this different from 2004?” said Rasid Pertev, chief advisor to the Turkish Cypriot leader. He believes that while Monday’s decision may spark debate in the EU little would change unless there is action to back the words.

Pertev said the EU “has to prove itself to Turkish Cypriots”.

“Turkey is being punished for supporting the Turkish Cypriots,” he added.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29616&archive=1

Turkish PM slams EU decision but vows more reforms
By Hidir Goktas
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

TURKISH PRIME Minister Tayyip Erdogan yesterday condemned a decision by the European Union to partially suspend his country's accession talks but vowed to press on with reforms aimed at preparing Ankara for membership.

EU foreign ministers decided on Monday evening to suspend Turkey's accession talks in eight of the 35 chapters, or policy areas, into which the process is divided following Ankara's continued refusal to open its ports to traffic from Cyprus.

"This decision is unfair to Turkey ... Despite our efforts, Turkey-EU relations are passing through a serious test," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party.

"Our reform process will continue with the same decisiveness," said Erdogan, whose government has pushed through a heavy programme of political, social and economic reform in a bid to meet EU demands.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the EU ministers' decision betrayed "a lack of vision".

EU debate over 'punishing' Turkey mirrors deeper-running differences within the bloc over the desirability of admitting a large, relatively poor and predominantly Muslim country. France and Austria, among others, view Turkey's candidacy sceptically, while Britain backs membership as an important strategic move.

In encouraging news for Ankara, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday the bloc was ready to open new negotiating chapters with Turkey soon.

"Turkey is ready to proceed as soon as possible ... with the opening of chapters for which technical preparations have been completed," Rehn told a news conference in Strasbourg, France.

"This proves some progress is being made in those parts of negotiations not affected by non-compliance with the Ankara protocol," he said, referring to Turkey's obligation to open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus under an EU customs union.

Rehn praised Erdogan’s response with a vow to press ahead with reforms.

"This I can fully endorse, and we trust that Turkey will now resume the reform process in full," the commissioner said.

A senior EU official said the Finnish EU presidency hoped to clinch agreement by December 21 at the latest to open the negotiating chapter on economic and monetary affairs.

The move would test Cyprus' willingness to stop blocking the entire negotiations as it has done since September.

On the vexed Cyprus issue, Erdogan sounded a defiant note, saying Turkey would take no unilateral moves to resolve the row.

Last week, Turkey had mooted the possibility of opening one port to Cypriot shipping for one year, on a unilateral basis. His latest remarks suggested that proposal no longer stood.
Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Cyprus.

Ankara says it will not open its ports to the Greek Cypriots until the EU lifts trade restrictions against the Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish financial markets ended narrowly mixed as investors digested the full impact of the EU decision amid a general sense of relief that the EU had not punished Ankara more.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the decision should be seen as a message of encouragement to reformers and democrats in Turkey, because the EU was pressing for progress on freedom of expression and human rights.

Deniz Baykal, head of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), accused the government of mishandling EU ties.

"Despite this government being ready to make every kind of concession in EU relations, we have reached this stage of deadlock... Lots of talking has brought us to a quick divorce," Baykal told his centre-left but nationalist-minded CHP.

Turkey began EU entry talks barely 15 months ago but is not expected to join the wealthy bloc for many years, if ever. Polls show support for EU membership falling here. (R)

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29619&archive=1

Cyprus seeks answers and closure on missing
By Michele Kambas
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

THE SKELETON lying on the white sheet, identified only by a serial number on the wall above, is a stark reminder of years of conflict in divided Cyprus and the legacy of bitterness that remains.
Nobody knows who this man was: all they know is that he wore dark grey trousers, a pale shirt, probably lace-up shoes and pale brown socks, which remained surprisingly intact during years buried in the damp earth.

It's not much to go on.

"How many men were wearing grey trousers back then?" a researcher asked as he picked up a small piece of linen and examined it. "About two-thirds of the population."

The nameless man, and scores of others like him who disappeared decades ago, offer a poignant reminder of the disputes keeping Turkish and Greek communities apart on the island.

The political reunification process appears blocked for now, but for the first time in at least three decades, Cypriots on both sides of the island's dividing line are working together to resolve one issue nagging at their collective consciousness: the island's 2,000 missing people.

Since September, local scientists from both sides working under the direction of an Argentina-based forensics group – Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense (EAAF) – have been exhuming remains from unmarked graves across the island.

"There is a new climate in and around Cyprus," said Christophe Girod, a Swiss diplomat on the United Nations-backed Committee of Missing Persons (CMP), which was tasked this year with overseeing exhumations of suspected mass graves.

"It's made it possible for the issue of missing to be tackled and kept outside of political recriminations."

The missing persons issue is a highly charged one which has added to decades of mistrust between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Some 1,500 Greek Cypriots and some 500 Turkish Cypriots went missing during the 1974 invasion or during clashes between both communities in the 1960s.

To find the bodies, the CMP and the anthropologists and archaeologists are using data collected by investigators working with both communities.

Remains are painstakingly reassembled in a laboratory for DNA testing. The first concrete identifications may be possible in the first half of 2007.

But not everyone will get the answers they dearly want.

"It is important for us not to raise false expectations among families. Science is not like 'CSI Miami'," said EAAF's Luis Fondebrider, a forensic anthropologist, referring to a US television series about forensic pathology.

"In some cases its going to be very difficult, impossible to find remains, or to identify some of them."

Since September, some 70 human remains have been discovered. Sixty are close to being identified, but concluding the whole process could take years, said Girod, who has had experience with missing persons in the Balkans and in the Middle East.

As work progresses, it is awakening long-buried memories, with more people coming forward with information.

"You will often see that when people start believing in a process, they will come forward with additional information," said Jennifer Wright, another member of the forensic team.

Fondebrider said it was important that people on both sides had faith in the scientists.

"It is important that the families know that it is a bicommunal team, it is not foreigners coming to do this on their own. They need to believe in us, and we have tried to build up a relationship of trust," he said.

The lab records where the body was found, the clothing and any old injuries which could give clues about the person's identification – gathering as much information as possible before DNA testing.

The man with the grey trousers, for instance, had an old injury to a rib bone. Some exhumed remains were recovered with rings and watches. Even buttons can yield clues.

"It's like a puzzle, and we are trying to get as clear a picture as possible," said Oran Finnegan, an Irish scientist on the project. (R)

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29628&archive=1

Greek Press
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

ALITHIA: “Road has been opened for the Turkish Cypriots”. Disaster struck in Brussels with the most recent decision of the EU Foreign Ministers to suspend accession talks with Turkey on eight chapters. According to Alithia, the removal of the Cyprus issue from the report by the Presidency, has opened up the path politically (if not legally) for the removal of the embargo of the north.

MACHI: “Favouring the conquerors”. The EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels ended on Monday night with the agreement to freeze eight of the 35 chapters of Turkey’s accession talks. This decision was agreed upon even though the Turkey still has not opened up its ports and airports to Cypriot ships and planes, despite promising to do so in 2004. Elsewhere, the paper claims that turkeys from the north have made their appearance in the Greek Cypriot side in the build up to Christmas, and are in fact being sold for around one pound a kilo.

POLITIS: “We bought hope… and gave trade”. According to the paper, the decision by the Council of Foreign Ministers on Monday night can be considered as favourable for both sides if examined closely. Monday’s meeting focused nearly exclusively on the issue of trade and Turkey’s obligations in carrying out the Ankara Protocol.

SIMERINI: “Turkey imposes herself”. Turkey has once again managed to impose its positions inside the EU and has achieved the imposition of mild sanctions, even though they continue not to recognise the Republic and refuses to open ports and airports to Cyprus. The 25 Foreign Ministers of the EU member states accepted Turkish intolerance and painlessly moved on to freezing eight chapters of Turkish accession talks directly related to enforcing the Ankara Protocol.

PHILELEFTHEROS: “Pythian decision by the 25”. The paper claims that the compromise reached in Brussels on Monday night can be analysed in many different ways. The 25 Foreign Ministers after a long, and sometimes very intense, debate reached a decision. The decision does in fact mean that there is now a new timeframe for accession talks on Turkey, with possibilities that when the time comes to examine the topic again, the situation in Europe will be very different. Elsewhere the paper claims that in a bid to attract Greek Cypriots, casinos in the north have erased the debts which customers had until last October.

XARAVGHI: “Tough poker”. The Foreign Ministers of the 25 member states had an extremely difficult task to reach an agreement as they all entered the Council in Brussels with different ideas on the extend of sanctions that should have been imposed on Turkey due its refusal to comply with her obligations according to the Ankara Protocol. The paper also mentions that Foreign Minister George Lillikas said he was satisfied with the results of the European Council on the issue of Turkish accession talks.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29630&archive=1

Five lessons
By Kofi A. Annan
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

NEARLY 50 years ago, when I arrived in Minnesota as a student fresh from Africa, I had much to learn – starting with the fact that there is nothing weird about wearing earmuffs when the temperature is 15 below. All my life since has been a learning experience. Now I want to pass on five lessons I have learnt during ten years as UN Secretary-General – lessons which I believe the community of nations needs to learn, as it confronts the challenges of the 21st century.

First, in today’s world we are all responsible for each other’s security. Against such threats as nuclear proliferation, climate change, global pandemics, or terrorists operating from safe havens in failed states, no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others. Only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves.

This responsibility includes our shared responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. That was accepted by all nations at last year’s UN summit. But when we look at the murder, rape and starvation still being inflicted on the people of Darfur, we realise that such doctrines remain pure rhetoric unless those with the power to intervene effectively – by exerting political, economic or, in the last resort, military muscle – are prepared to take the lead.

It also includes a responsibility to future generations – to preserve resources that belong to them as well as to us. Every day that we do nothing, or too little, to prevent climate change imposes higher costs on our children.

Second, we are also responsible for each other’s welfare.

Without a measure of solidarity, no society can be truly stable. It is not realistic to think that some people can go on deriving great benefits from globalisation while billions of others are left in, or thrown into, abject poverty. We have to give all our fellow human beings at least a chance to share in our prosperity.

Third, both security and prosperity depend on respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Throughout history, human life has been enriched by diversity, and different communities have learnt from each other. But if our communities are to live in peace we must stress also what unites us: our common humanity, and the need for our human dignity and rights to be protected by law.

That is vital for development, too. Both foreigners and a country’s own citizens are more likely to invest when their basic rights are protected and they know they will be fairly treated under the law. And policies that genuinely favour development are more likely to be adopted if the people most in need of development can make their voice heard.
States need to play by the rules towards each other, as well. No community anywhere suffers from too much rule of law; many suffer from too little – and the international community is among them. This we must change.

My fourth lesson, therefore, is that governments must be accountable for their actions, in the international as well as the domestic arena. Every state owes some account to other states on which its actions have a decisive impact.

As things stand, poor and weak states are easily held to account, because they need foreign aid. But large and powerful states, whose actions have the greatest impact on others, can be constrained only by their own people.

That gives the people and institutions of powerful states a special responsibility to take account of global views and interests. And today they need to take into account also what we call “non-state actors”. States can no longer – if they ever could – confront global challenges alone. Increasingly, they need help from the myriad types of association in which people come together voluntarily, for profit or to think about, and change, the world.

How can states hold each other to account? Only through multilateral institutions. So my final lesson is that those institutions must be organised in a fair and democratic way, giving the poor and the weak some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong.
Developing countries should have a stronger voice in international financial institutions, whose decisions can mean life or death for their people. And new permanent or long-term members should be added to the UN Security Council, whose current membership reflects the reality of 1945, not of today’s world.

No less important, all the Security Council’s members must accept the responsibility that comes with their privilege. The Council is not a stage for acting out national interests. It is the management committee of our fledgling global security system.

More than ever today humanity needs a functioning global system. And experience has shown, time and again, that the system works poorly when its Member States are divided and lack leadership, but much better when there is unity and far-sighted leadership and engagement of all major actors. The world’s leaders, of today and tomorrow, have a great responsibility. The people of the world must see that they live up to it.

n Kofi Annan is Secretary-General of the United Nations. This article is based on an address he gave yesterday at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Missouri.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29629&archive=1

Mindless point scoring continues
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

THE GOVERNMENT gave the obligatory positive spin to Monday’s EU foreign ministers’ decision regarding Turkey’s failure to open its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic. Both the foreign minister and the government spokesman said they were satisfied with the outcome as Cyprus had achieved its main targets. Anyone following events and statements over the last couple of months would have great difficulty believing this claim but that is not the group at which the government spin is targeted.

The majority of people, who had no interest in what was going in Brussels over the last two months, will happily swallow the official version of events – the Cyprus government valiantly pursued the country’s interests, but found strong opposition from a group of its EU partners, led by Britain, which had openly sided with Turkey, at the behest of the US. Once again, we had to face the devious machinations of the Anglo-American axis which was defending Turkey’s interests at our expense. This absurd theory, based on the idiotic premise that the EU is run by the US and Britain, is regularly fed to the public in order to explain the failure of the government.

The decision of the EU foreign ministers was a very long way off the targets set by government. Foreign minister Giorgos Lillikas had been defiantly declaring, for months, that Nicosia would block accession talks if Turkey failed to implement the protocol.

When it became obvious that Ankara would not open its ports and airports to Cyprus, and the European Commission proposed certain measures, the government again protested – sanctions should have been tougher, it argued, and insisted that a deadline should have been set for implementation of the protocol. Again Lillikas threatened to use the veto if he did not get his way.

The sanctions imposed were those proposed by the Commission and no deadline for the opening of the ports was set, the Commission undertaking to report on the issue in its annual reports until 2009 “as appropriate”. The government did achieve one target – preventing the linking of EU-Turkish relations with the Cyprus peace efforts, which, inadvertently, illustrated to its partners its lack of interest in a settlement, thus reinforcing suspicions that its concern was to use EU membership to score points against Ankara.
It is difficult to see where we will go from here, given the government’s obsession with the protocol. Immediately after Monday’s talks, Lillikas raised the veto option again, saying Nicosia could still block the four chapters on which accession talks were set to begin. It seems that the Papadopoulos government will not give up its efforts to score a meaningless victory over Turkey on the protocol, no matter how many times it has failed in the past and regardless of how many of our EU partners it has alienated in the process.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29613&archive=1

Turkey's EU membership
(archive article - Wednesday, December 13, 2006)

Sir,

As I write, news is breaking that eight chapters out of 35 will be suspended following Turkey's failure to meet its obligations.
The BBC is reporting that many Turks already believe that the EU is stringing them along! What a joke.

As a Cypriot, I believe that my government is just about to sell me out, together with the rest of the population, by slowly and steadily surrendering all the aces. Turkey has become the mouthpiece of the Turkish Cypriots, who are already in the EU, but isolated by their own choice, as if part of Cyprus is some sort of a Turkish province. The fact of the matter is that we are on the defensive. And no defences, however good, ever won a political battle.

So, I am asking those in charge:

What happened to the occupying army of 40,000? Why is it not on the agenda? Ghost towns and villages, waiting for their owners to return – should that not be on the agenda?

The Greek world was humiliated in 1974, in Geneva. It seems to me like yesterday. The memories of impotence of George Mavros, the then Greek Foreign Minister, are coming in front of me as I write.

The time has come for Turkey to put right some of the atrocities it has committed on a small island of 600,000 people at the time.

In the foreign press, we are been presented as the obstacle to Turkey's accession. Is that so? It seems that selective memory has taken over once more. Let’s use that veto wholesale. There is no other chance, (to get something, but not all, back), coming our way for many millennia to come.

Dr Vasos Sophocleous, London SW3
 

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29662&archive=1

Gunners ban flags after ‘TRNC’ furore
By Leo Leonidou
(archive article - Thursday, December 14, 2006)

ARSENAL Football Club have asked fans not to fly any national flags at their ground.

The decision follows protests over a lone ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ flag seen at Emirates Stadium this season, with Greek Cypriot fans writing to the club to complain and a circulating a petition.

Stadium Manager John Beattie yesterday issued a statement, which said: “Some of our fans have been upset with the flying of certain flags denoting particular regions of the world.

Arsenal as a club prides itself on being inclusive with respect to all nationalities and cultural and ethnic groups. We have therefore decided that in order that all of our fans can enjoy their experiences at Emirates Stadium, we are asking all fans to only fly flags in support of Arsenal Football Club with no national emblems.

“We will be implementing this policy with immediate effect.”

He said he hoped that in this way “everyone can continue to support the club without any unrest”.

The Gunners initially sought advice from the Home Office, who said there was nothing illegal in someone waving the flag. They also claimed that they didn’t want to offend any one party by telling them to remove their flag.

Speaking on behalf of the Arsenal Supporters Club of Cyprus, Soteris Charalambous said: “Naturally, we welcome the news and common sense has prevailed. Clearly, the flying of the flag of the ‘TRNC’ had caused many Greek Cypriot Arsenal fans offence and the actions of the Club have demonstrated their sensitivity to the situation.”

Friday, Dec 15 2006 2:24 am GMT+2

Down but not out, generals warily eye polls
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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ANALYSIS / GARETH JONES

ANKARA - Reuters


A spat over Cyprus policy between Turkey's government and the military has exposed the waning influence of the men in uniform, but analysts say it is too early to write off the army as a key political player.

General Yaşar Büyükanıt, hawkish head of Turkey's General Staff, complained last week he had only learned of a surprise diplomatic initiative on Cyprus from TV and caustically recalled that Turkey keeps 40,000 troops in northern Cyprus.

He said the plan to open one Turkish port to Greek Cypriots diverged from "state policy" -- a reminder that in Turkey state and government are not quite the same thing and that the army has traditionally functioned as a kind of shadow executive.

But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he did not have to inform the army about every twist in policy. The Foreign Ministry, in an unusual statement, indirectly chided Büyükanıt for harming national unity during delicate negotiations.

"[The incident] is a sign of the military's reduced influence and the fact that Turkey is becoming a more democratic, European country," said Suat Kınıklıoğlu, head of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Ankara.

"Erdoğan made clear he is running the show," he said.

Hugh Pope, author of books on Turkey, echoed this view.

"It is the first time I have seen a Turkish prime minister clearly stick to a position despite criticism from the army and not have any worries about it. In the old days you had no doubt who would win such an argument," said Pope.

"The army is in when politicians are weak," he said.

The army, which views itself as the ultimate guarantor of the secular Turkish state, has ousted four elected governments over the past half century, the last as recently as 1997 over its perceived tilt towards Islamist policies.

But it has seen its influence steadily pared back in the past few years as Erdoğan, who also has Islamist roots, pursues EU-mandated reforms.

This week, Erdoğan vowed to press on with the reforms despite a decision by EU foreign ministers to partially suspend Turkey's entry talks due to the row over ports with Cyprus.



Elections:

Gareth Jenkins, an Istanbul-based analyst of the Turkish military, said Büyükanıt was expected by his own men to speak out on issues they feel strongly about -- including Cyprus -- but noted he had been careful to hedge his latest remarks.

"Büyükanıt said 'we are not running the country.' That is unusual, coming from the General Staff. ... He has to choose his battles carefully in order to win the war," he said.

The "war" in question is the campaign to stop Erdoğan from contesting the presidency in an election due next spring.

The army and other secularists, including outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, fear Erdoğan will try to undermine Turkey's strict division of state and religion if he takes the top job.

They also think Erdoğan, a devout Muslim whose wife wears the Islamic headscarf, is too divisive a figure to be president.

"But by opposing everything the AKP government says or does, as with Cyprus, Büyükanıt risks damaging an institution [the army] that enjoys strong respect," said Kınıklıoğlu.

The army, rated Turkey's most trusted institution, needs public support in its run-ins with the government, analysts say -- and that is not automatic when the economy is growing strongly and EU entry talks are, more or less, on track.

"The military's political leverage hinges on public support. Public speeches are one of the few instruments left to them as they have less regular contact with the government than before," said Jenkins.

Büyükanıt has already served notice he will not hesitate to speak out in coming months if he feels Turkey's vital interests -- secularism and a strong nation state -- are under threat.

If Erdoğan does decide to run for president and if Cyprus continues to hamper EU talks, Turkey could face a stormy 2007.

"The army has taken a step backwards [under the pressure of EU reforms], but it has not been removed from the arena. And it can always move forwards again," said Jenkins.

 

Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

Opinion by Ali KÜLEBİ
Editor’s note: On Dec. 21, 1963 Greek Cypriots started a campaign of annihilation of Turkish Cypriots all around Cyprus, part of what was revealed by Greek Cypriot Patris newspaper in 1966 as 'The Akritas Plan.' This article by Ali Külebi focuses of that episode of the Cyprus problem on the 43rd anniversary of the 1963 bloodbath, which is often referred as 'Bloody Christmas'

Ali KÜLEBİ
Since its foundation in 1829, Greece has lost all its wars against Turkey, even though it was allied with the most powerful states of the age. Unfortunately however, despite the victories we won by shedding our blood, Greece, which has failed to win any war on the battlefield since 1829, has continuously extended its territories. It realized this expansion process under European auspices -- sometimes through deceiving and insincere diplomatic maneuvers, sometimes through applying de facto policies and sometimes through massacring the Turks in the territories that it coveted.

One of the most saddening examples of such an expansion took place in Crete. Today, no Muslim Turk remains in Crete, where 200,000 of them once lived at the beginning of the 1800s. This island, which we conquered with the blood of thousands of Turkish sons, was lost in the political arena due to the various deceptions and plots coming from the Greek side. On Aug. 16 1866, the Cretan Greeks, who acquired the support of Russia, England, and France, wiped out the Muslims of the island -- 30,000 Turks overnight -- together with the auxiliary forces of Greece.

Such action was in essence no different than the Akritas Plan of 1963, which foresaw the total destruction of the Turkish Cypriots. In the face of this massacre, the Western states didn't move a finger -- as they would later do again in Bosnia. Thus with a bolstered courage, the Greeks first formed a provisional government and then overtly declared “enosis” (union) on Sept. 2, 1866, through a newly-summoned assembly. In the end, Crete was annexed to Greece. Today, those very same games are still being played over Cyprus and the Aegean Sea. If they could, the Greeks would not hesitate to put the bloody Akritas Plan into force once again. The things that prevent them from doing so are our military force in Cyprus and the sensitivity over the island which permeates the entire Turkish nation.



What is the Akritas Plan?:

The Akritas Organization established by Archbishop Makarios and the plan named after it are proof of the treachery which aimed for the complete annexing of the island by Greece, through a hateful combination of political, economic and military maneuvers. If seen to attempt to take over the government of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots were to be compromised without hesitation. The Akritas Plan legitimized their extermination.

When the anti-colonial movement against England accelerated in the aftermath of World War II, the Greek Cypriots launched their own independence movement under the leadership of Archbishop Makarios. The ultimate goal was to annex the island to Greece and make enosis reality. To that end, the underground National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) was created in 1955. EOKA, which initially targeted the British security forces, began to include Turks on its hit-list over the course of time. Then not long after, the Turks became its sole target.

Extremely worried by the intensifying hostility towards the Turks in the island, Turkey proposed a limited annexation through division which would honor the historical, geographical and ethnical characteristics of Cyprus. From 1957 on, this proposition remained central to Turkish arguments. However, the Greeks rejected the Turks' proposal altogether and instead pursued the complete annexation of the island to Greece. Thus, a terrorist war led by Makarios and Grivas was begun. Having predominantly targeted the British and Turks, the terrorist attacks also killed 200 Greek leftists who refused to support enosis. In return, the Turkish nationalists formed the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) under the leadership of Rauf Denktaş. The conflict between the two communities of the island peaked in 1958 subsequent to the de facto division of Lefkoşa (Nicosia) into two.

The further intensification of the clash between the islanders resulted in a considerable number of casualties. On this account, the representatives of the Turkish, British and Greek governments agreed on the foundation of a two-community-based Cyprus Republic and signed the treaties of London and Zurich in 1959. Under the surveillance of the three guarantor states, the first president of the new republic was pro-EOKA Makarios, while Dr. Fazıl Küçük from the Turkish community became the vice-president.

The new political system worked smoothly for the islanders until 1963. Then Makarios' attempts at revoking the rights of the Turkish Cypriots under the pretext that the new republic was not founded by them irreversibly damaged the vulnerable political infrastructure. It did not take much till Makarios, allied with Parliament Speaker Glafkos Klerides and Minister of Internal Affairs Polikarpos Yorgacis launched the conspiracy and plan that came to be known as Akritas.



The articles of the plan:

As published in the Greek newspaper Patris in 1966, the plan consisted of 13 articles and came into force in 1963. It suggested that the Turkish presence would be destroyed with a sudden attack and the island would subsequently annex to Greece. On April 21, 1966, Patris listed the Greek leaders who were engaged in the plan. The list is as follows:

President: Minister of Internal Affairs Polikarpos Yorgacis

Vice-president: Minister of Labor Thassos Papadopoulos

Chief of General Staff: Member of Parliament Nikos Kosis

Director of staff: Parliament Speaker Glafkos Klerides

Below are the main features of the plan in brief:

1 -- To appeal to the world public that the Zurich and London Agreements had failed to solve the Cyprus problem.

2 -- To convince all parties that the constitution needed to be amended.

3 -- To urge proposals for constitutional amendments that would revoke the rights of the Turks, if success was been gained after the implementation of the first two articles.

4 -- To dissolve the Treaty of Guarantee, which established Turkey's rights as a guarantor power.

5 -- In case of Turkish refusal of the proposals, to dismiss the treaties with an armed fait accompli.

6 -- To achieve all before the scheduled general elections of 1965.

The report added:

-- The statements of Makarios demonstrate the future direction of the Greek nationalist claim. The ultimate goal, which is enosis, hasn't changed. In order to realize that goal internal and external provocations will be put on stage.

-- At the final stage of the EOKA intervention, the Cyprus issue was to be presented to the world public opinion and diplomatic milieu as “the realization of the right of self-determination of the Cyprus nation.” What came next was to transmit to the international community the message that the Cyprus issue remained unsolved even after 1963 and now required an extensive revision. Therefore, to this end, it should be particularly stressed that the existing situation on the island is neither satisfactory nor fair, but that the two communities can live together through other means.

-- The Cyprus government did not put the Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance to referendum. This should be leverage in hand.

-- It is advantageous to emphasize that Cyprus has been governed predominantly by the Greeks so far and the Turks were always in the way.

-- Secrecy will be respected…

The rest of the plan recounted how the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots would be finalized by the hands of EOKA, which had already gone underground.

Accordingly, the quantity of the armed forces to be deployed, the identity of the regional representatives and the attack plans were provided in detailed graphics. As a matter of fact, we now know that the actual attacks were carried out in exactly the way stipulated in the plan. However, the resistance of the Turkish nation prevented the disastrous outcomes that were also stipulated in the plan. The essence of the Greek strategy lay in the amendment of the inconvenient articles of the constitution and the eventual de facto revocation of the Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance.

· Ali Külebi is the acting president of the National Security Strategies Research Center (TUSAM). He can be reached at akulebi@tusam.net

 

From the columns
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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PRESS SCANNER
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ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

Our vision in the mirror:

Oktay Ekşi, Hürriyet:

According to news reports, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “The EU is being unfair to Turkey,” commenting on the bloc's decision to freeze negotiations on eight chapters. Again, news reports say that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said, “This shows that the EU does not have vision, but we will continue on our path.” It should quickly be noted that we do agree with both of the two leaders' views. We wish there was a way to eliminate the injustice and the lack of vision. We wish we could state that we expect a more positive result from the EU summit beginning on the 14th of this month. Unfortunately, the outlook of some EU leaders excluding and even demeaning Turkey, particularly those of France and Germany, keeps us from being optimistic. For the European Union has failed a test with its high and mighty attitude towards Turkey, whose full membership one day it has accepted, at least in principle.

The EU decision raises significant doubts about the union's claims to be an organization “protecting fundamental human values on the basis of equality.” Had the opposite been true, then the EU would first stick to its promise to end the economic and diplomatic isolation of northern Cyprus and then tell Turkey that it expects the customs union to be fully applied. The EU, however, did not even consider mentioning the promise it made. We, too, made some mistakes. First, we used arguments and made statements that would anger people raised in a “Western” culture. For example, our foreign minister unnecessarily said, “The European Union cannot sacrifice the Greek administration of 600,000 people to Turkey with its 70 million.” In other words, they started defending the thesis “The big and the powerful should win.” But EU countries, although they sometimes act two-facedly, want to be seen on the side of righteousness, equality, honesty and justice. What's more, the European Union has members with populations of a couple hundred thousand people -- Malta, for example, or Luxembourg, which is one of the founding members. If you say, “It has such a tiny population, how can you support them?” not only will you fail to explain yourself to the bigger countries, you will also alienate the smaller ones. This final proposal deal was also a fiasco with the controversy over how the president and the military were not informed of the government's proposal before it was made to the EU. If you are not serious and consistent, then how can you expect others to be that way towards you?

The EU and Turkey's path:

Oral Çalışlar, Cumhuriyet

What does the European Union foreign ministers' decision mean? When we go through columns or listen to television commentators, we find myriad analyses all very different from one another.

For example, the Yeniçağ daily, which can be considered to be the voice of the radical wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), used the headline “Offside Decision” and continued, “The European Union did not count the ‘golden goal' and suspended eight negotiation chapters.”

Circles against the European Union, as always, evinced negative views. For them, the European Union was continuing to “rip off” Turkey.

Yeni Şafak, which is more positive and also known for its closeness to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), underlined that the European Union's decision to bring to its agenda the possibility of ending the diplomatic and economic embargo imposed on northern Cyprus was a “success.”

The European Union is one of the most divisive issues for Turkey as many feel that the Turkey of the future is inextricably linked with its future in the European Union.

The EU has a significant place in Turkey's growing foreign trade, amounting to almost 60 percent of its entire foreign trade volume. Turkey has succeeded in a very difficult task and has produced many companies that are capable of competing in the European market since 1996 when it entered into the customs union. The economic dimension in Turkish-EU relations is very important, and this is why any political tension influences the economy negatively.

Relations with the EU have become a matter of domestic politics. Perhaps the tension created by the approaching presidential elections is reflected through the European Union. Although the recent conflict between the chief of general staff and the president front and the government might be related to a discussion over the Cyprus issue, it has been used extensively as material for domestic politics.

Turkey, despite all the ups and downs, is continuing on its path. We should view this as a long journey. Turkey will have more advantages after this point.

The Nobel and Orhan Pamuk

Özgür Gündem, Hüsnü Öndül:

Everyone was very nervous that Orhan Pamuk might deliver a political speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony. It was a relief to hear that the speech wasn't political. However, is that really so? What do we mean when we say “political”? Firstly, an author will write anything that he or she wants to write about. We have to accept that. Secondly, if a writer is one who writes in a way to please the state, then that person is not a writer. That person will never be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Prizes are for authors, not for public servants. Thirdly, Pamuk actually spoke about some fundamental political issues in his Nobel speech. What is the West and what is the East? In what kind of a country does he live? What are his thoughts on the world's problems? Musings on these questions were all in the speech. True, his speech was centered on creative endeavor and respect for his father and for all humans and humanity. I found the speech to be very moving. I applaud Pamuk; for the first time Turkey gets a Nobel and that Nobel goes to Pamuk, who is my age and who has grown up in this country. Thank you Orhan Pamuk!
 

Ankara regrets EU quailed under Greek Cypriot pressure
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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‘We don’t agree with opinions that the General Affairs Council decision is 'the lesser evil,'' says Foreign Ministry spokesman Tan

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


The European Union once again hesitated to take a distinct step on the Cyprus issue by bowing to Greek Cypriot pressure at the latest meeting of the EU foreign ministers when they decided to “unfairly” punish Ankara for its refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namık Tan said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Tan made it clear that the Foreign Ministry has shared Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's view who on Tuesday denounced a decision by Brussels to slow down Ankara's accession talks as “unfair.”

“We don't agree with opinions that the General Affairs Council decision is ‘the lesser evil,'” Tan said. “We don't accept the EU's bowing to pressure, especially pressure from Greek Cypriots. We do not find that right and we hope the EU will see the strategic picture and act accordingly.”

In line with an earlier recommendation by the executive European Commission, EU foreign ministers, at a general affairs and external relations council meeting, agreed in Brussels late on Monday not to open Turkey's accession talks in eight of the 35 policy areas candidates must complete prior to accession. This move was a form of punishment for Ankara's refusal to open its ports and airports to EU member Greek Cyprus, despite a customs union accord previously signed by Ankara.

Both Prime Minister Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül accused the 25-member bloc of “lacking vision” concerning Turkey's strategic importance and what its future membership could contribute to the bloc.

“It was never on our agenda to make a unilateral move,” Tan also said. “We have said on several occasions that we will not ... open our ports to Greek Cypriot vessels unless the EU delivers on its promises to break the isolation” of the Turkish Cypriots, he said.

At Monday's meeting, the EU ministers also reached a political understanding for the implementation of a direct trade regulation proposed by the European Commission in April 2004 following the rejection of a U.N. led-reunification plan's rejection by the Greek Cypriot side, in show of awarding the Turkish Cypriots for their overwhelming support for reunification. The outcome of a simultaneous referendum on the reunification plan ensured the Greek Cypriot side alone joined the EU in May 2004.

Nevertheless, this political understanding was not formally endorsed in Monday's meeting due to Greek Cypriot objections. The Greek Cypriots avoided giving the impression that the issue of ports and the issue of the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots were linked.

“The postponement of the decision -- which could help ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots -- to the next meeting is an outcome of the fear created by Greek Cypriot pressure,” Tan said, while noting that Ankara would closely follow the process regarding easing the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.

Ankara attributes great importance that the expected January decision be in line with the spirit of the original 2004 proposal of the European Commission.

The spokesman also reiterated Ankara's stance regarding the United Nations as the sole place for a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue. “Our stance on this has not changed, and won't change.”
 

Papadopulos lost yet again
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

He might not be willing to admit it, but Greek Cypriot leader Papadopoulos should be locking himself inside a room banging the walls in anger. He failed to get the result he had been longing for. The EU that he depended on, at the last minute, preferred Turkey once again.

Mehmet Ali Birand
These days, no leader would want to be in the place of Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos. He has locked himself inside his house, angrily punching the walls and cursing at the European Union. He is probably accusing the French and the Germans of “selling out” and the EU of applying double standards.

To be honest, he is not wrong at all.

Papadopoulos attended the Dec. 17, 2004 summit with a special agenda. He asserted that Ankara must officially recognize the Greek Cypriots in return for starting membership talks with the European Union. The suggestion got a pat on the back and much support from certain countries, particularly Austria. However, it was left at the last minute, for the European Union preferred Turkey. It gave up on expecting official recognition and decided that the Ankara Agreement would suffice. It did push for indirect recognition, however, that did not work either. When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pushed, EU leaders agreed that signing the Ankara Agreement did not amount to recognition of Cyprus.

Later, Papadopoulos had a second chance.

He emphasized the section of the Ankara Agreement on opening ports.

First, he was lucky. France, Germany, Holland and Austria wanted to use the Greek Cypriots to squeeze Turkey, purely due to domestic reasons. That was what excited Papadopoulos. He had once more gained a chance missed earlier. If the ports were opened, the natural conclusion would be that Turkey indirectly recognized that the southern Cypriot government represented the entire island. He hoped to use this as a theme in his a campaign to win the presidential elections in 2008.

First he demanded that Turkey's negotiations be altogether suspended.

Then, he demanded that negotiations on 15 chapters be suspended.

After that, he pursued the idea of setting an 18-month deadline for Turkey to make a move, and apply new punitive measures if Ankara did not budge in this period.

He insisted that no one offer a settlement on Cyprus under the U.N. umbrella.

The result is there for all to see.

Papadopoulos could realize only a small portion of his expectations. Now, he is again infuriated, for the EU, has once again chosen Turkey. More correctly, it chose not to bring Turkey to a point where it would give up. The Greek leader's expectations were frustrated once more.

With his attitude, Papadopoulos is not only dragging Turkey into a legal division, but at the same time he is forcing others to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC).

The Greek leader is dealing great damage to his country.



The EU can't bear these isolations much longer:

The policy conducted by the Greeks is greatly erroneous. If they continue along these lines and keep the subject of Turkey and Cyprus on the agenda all the time, they might end up with results they don't want to see at all.

Europe started rediscovering the Cyprus problem after a long break. They had forgotten about it, now it is being forced onto their agenda. Most certainly, under such circumstances, Europe will also remember the diplomatic and economic isolations imposed on the KKTC. They will also realize the problem of thousands living under an embargo.

There is a point that we shouldn't ignore. European nations and institutions cannot let the isolations imposed on the KKTC linger for a long time. Europe cannot knowingly let Turkish Cypriots live under an embargo. Add the Annan referendum to that and their being punished is unacceptable.

If we pay attention to recent statements from Germany's Foreign Minister Walter Steinmier, the difficulty for Greek Cypriots' to do what they want without restraints becomes all the more conspicuous.

Papadopoulos might not have noticed yet, but it is now apparent in Europe that a settlement on Cyprus is an absolute requirement.

If the Greeks continue this way and Papadopoulos applies even more pressure to deepen the impasse, the possibility of the KKTC's recognition by European states might arise. When one or two states officially recognize the north, the rest will follow.
 

EU is making a strategic mistake
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

The EU’s recommendation has not been welcomed by Turkey's government or its public. The decision that emerged from the EU foreign ministers' meeting is in the same vein. As a result, these decisions have once again shaken the Turkish public's faith in the EU. Polls show that this trust has dropped from 65 percent to 35 percent and that the public is fed up with the changeable attitude of the EU.

Orhan Kilercioğlu
The EU's recommendation has not been welcomed by Turkey's government or its public. The decision that emerged from the EU foreign ministers' meeting is in the same vein. As a result, these decisions have once again shaken the Turkish public's faith in the EU. Polls show that this trust has dropped from 65 percent to 35 percent and that the public is fed up with the changeable attitude of the EU.

The decision made in the foreign ministers' meeting will become final on Dec. 14-15 at the leaders' summit. Consequently, the final decision, if there are no surprises, will be more or less the same as the foreign ministers' conclusion. In other words, we can almost see the final result.

The outcome of a similar decision at the summit of leaders will bring some questions. What will Turkey's reaction be to this decision? What will the reaction of the Turkish public be? Will the disagreement emerging within the EU deepen or not? The objectives of anti-Turkey policies of our historic friends France and Germany have not been understood, either. Why did they start to implement a policy against Turkey's EU membership? Is it because Turkey didn't fulfill its requirements? Or are there other reasons behind the scenes?

It is known that Turkey has fully fulfilled the requirements of the EU. So what has changed?

As for the Cyprus issue and the additional protocol, the situation is different. Yes, there is a delay in ratification of the additional protocol. But the reason for this delay is well known.

No matter how you look at it, there is a basic unfairness here. The decisions are meant to open the door for the stopping of the Turkey-EU train. They are also hastily made decisions that do not pay attention to the EU's future interests.

It is understood that Cyprus is the main excuse brought up today. The EU is wrong and unfair on this issue. It made a big mistake in removing the Cyprus problem from the U.N. framework and accepting the membership of Greek Cyprus without a final solution in Cyprus. The EU also caused the current situation. Turkish governments made mistakes in this process, too. Also, the EU forgot the procedure applied for full accession of some countries.

Of course, Turkey might have some defects. It might not have met some requirements of the EU on time and this is why some hesitation on the part of the EU have surfaced. But isn't it true that Turkey has been pushed into a corner in a political issue that may cause the recognition of Greek Cyprus? In addition, why doesn't the EU, which did not carry out its promises regarding northern Cyprus, engage in some self-criticism and question its promises?

For whatever reasons, there is a critical problem ahead of us, and it is the mission of the EU rather than Turkey to solve it. The EU had better produce soft and solution-oriented policies instead of hard ones. Turkey says that it can't open its ports and airports unless isolation of the Turkish Cypriots is removed. A public losing its faith in the EU each day and general elections stand before the government. Also, why did the EU propose the Cyprus problem as a criterion for Turkey's membership? It is almost making a historic mistake with this approach. If the EU proposes formulas that will shut the doors to Turkey, then it will make a nonrecoverable historic mistake.

In the end, Turkey's abandonment of its membership aspirations is one of its alternatives. This alternative doesn't have an advantage for any of the sides. While Turkey is putting exerting great efforts to become a full member of the EU, the EU should not make a mistake. Turkey has learned many lessons from its EU adventure. Reforms that have been started are necessary for Turkey's future prosperity. Finally, Turkey will have a higher position in its region.

It is apparent that Greece and Greek Cyprus have hijacked the EU. Or is the EU using these countries to reach its goal? It cannot be blind enough to not see the facts.

The EU should not make Turkey pay the price for the mistakes that it made deliberately. It is expected to see its faults and make proper decisions.
 

Blair to visit to give boost to EU bid
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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DIPLOMACY
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» Blair to visit to revive EU bid
» China eager to deepen relations with Turkey
» Ankara regrets EU quailed under Greek Cypriot pressure
» Ankara’s preliminary evaluation of Iraq study report ‘positive’
» US launches fresh anti-PKK initiative in Europe
» Blair to visit to give boost to EU bid
» US takes new step against PKK
» UNHCR raises nearly $400 mln in pledges for 2007
» Diplomacy Newsline
» Diplomacy Newsline
» MORE

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch advocate of Turkey's bid to join the European Union, will pay a brief visit to Turkey on Friday immediately after EU leaders wrap up a key summit, news reports said yesterday.

Blair will arrive in Ankara on Friday afternoon for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and leave on Saturday morning. He will fly in from Brussels, where EU leaders will meet on Thursday and Friday, said the reports.

The British prime minister is expected to renew his country's support for Turkey's EU membership and discuss steps to ease the economic sanctions imposed on the Turkish Cypriots during talks with Turkish officials.

The landmark visit will come after the summit of EU leaders, who are expected to endorse a controversial decision made earlier this week by the bloc's foreign ministers.

The ministers agreed to “punish” Turkey by suspending negotiations on eight out of 35 chapters. The remaining chapters can not be closed until the commission verifies that Turkey has fulfilled its commitments related to the additional protocol on its Customs Union deal with the EU, according to the agreement reached on Monday.

Ahead of Monday's talks, Britain, one of Turkey's strongest supporters within the 25-nation European bloc, was a leading force in efforts to prevent a harsher decision emerging from the EU foreign ministers' meeting. EU heavyweights Germany and France had joined forces to push the European Commission to give Ankara up to a two-year deadline to open its ports to Greek Cyprus before the meeting. Blair warned that it would be a serious mistake for the EU to turn its back on Turkey, voicing hope for progress at the key summit of EU leaders.

The Turkish government slammed the EU foreign ministers' decision to slow down Ankara's accession talks as “unfair.” Both Prime Minister Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül accused the 25-member bloc of “lacking vision” concerning Turkey's strategic importance and how its future membership could contribute to the bloc. But Blair is expected to highlight the positive aspects of the EU decision as part of his talks with Turkish officials and give the message that it does not mean a suspension in Ankara's negotiating process but instead means Turkish-EU ties will remain on track.

EU foreign ministers also agreed on Monday to work on the trade regulation proposed by the executive commission in 2004 to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots blocked by the Greek Cypriots. However, the EU decision was not formally endorsed in Monday's meeting due to Greek Cypriot objections and will be not be so until January. The Greek Cypriot side argued at the meeting that that endorsement of such a decision could suggest a linkage between the issue of ports and trade with the Turkish Cypriots. The EU rejects any such connection.

Turkey refuses to open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus unless the EU makes good on the 2004 pledge to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. The EU foreign ministers' agreement, expected to win the approval of the bloc's leaders at the key summit later this week, came as a surprise since it was not originally in the European Commission's recommendation for the member steps.

Any EU steps to ease economic sanctions on the Turkish Cypriots will strengthen the Turkish government's hand to take more courageous steps in opening up its ports to Greek Cyprus.

 

Crime, punishment and defense
Thursday, December 14, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

The EU foreign ministers’ latest move may be a sign indicating that the EU cannot possibly abandon Turkey. However, there is no reason to be optimistic at this stage. The EU may simply be trying to ease the potential Turkish reaction to the decision it is taking.

Gündüz Aktan
The European Union foreign ministers on Dec. 12 adopted the proposal to be presented to the EU Council regarding accession talks with Turkey. As they had originally suggested, they suspended eight chapters. There will be no negotiations on these chapters and talks on other chapters will not be closed unless we open up our ports and airports to the Greek Cypriots.

Unlike the original proposal, this text does not contain a paragraph that says that the Cyprus talks must resume in 2007 in a U.N. framework. Instead, the term president of the EU will include it in his conclusions.

What is probably more important is that another text is being drafted on lifting the embargoes on the Turkish Cypriots. And Germany has stated that the trade regulations concerning the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) would be taken up by the presidency in January 2007.

Thus the EU foreign ministers have admitted that the EU has failed to fulfill its pledges to the Turkish Cypriots and that there is a linkage between that and Turkey's so-called commitments. This can be seen as a sign of serious progress. If the EU adopts measures for direct trade with the KKTC and takes steps to lift other embargoes as well, there will be no problem.

The EU foreign ministers' latest move may be a sign indicating that the EU cannot possibly abandon Turkey. However, there is no reason to be optimistic at this stage. The EU may simply be trying to ease the potential Turkish reaction to the decision it is taking.

Indeed, suspending talks on eight chapters is a serious punishment meted out to Turkey. The EU press thinks it is too. Starting with Britain, the countries that support us are saying we do not deserve that punishment.

Our “crime” is our “failure” to fulfill towards “Cyprus” our “commitments” in the Additional Protocol. The EU has given us until the end of 2009 to alter our stance.

Since everybody knows that the Greek Cypriots are not interested in the resumption of negotiations under U.N. auspices, the EU's aim seems to be, by using its so-called “soft power,” to make us normalize our relations with “Cyprus” and recognize the Greek Cypriot Administration as the “Republic of Cyprus.”

Under the circumstances, the EU proposal means that the Turkey-EU accession talks will continue -- at a much slower pace -- and that we will be faced with a much more serious, even grave, crisis at the end of 2009, a crisis that would cause the talks to collapse altogether. We will continue to “crawl” in a climate of uncertainty until then.

In this context our biggest problem is that we have still not developed a suitable foreign policy rhetoric. Mr. Erdoğan has used strong language when commenting on the communication problem that has arisen on a domestic scale on this issue. Yet, when commenting on the EU proposal he has merely said that Turkey has been treated “unfairly.” Is that all?

We would simply be bolstering EU prejudices against Turkey if we failed to defend ourselves in the face of unfair EU moves of this kind, excessive EU demands and EU ruses to stall the accession process. Groveling and making veiled remarks about the EU stance would not get us anywhere. And then, in Turkey, the anti-EU reactions of the people, politicians and institutions would continue to grow and the surging nationalistic wave would finish off the deal. Where does that EU fallacy about Turkey's “commitments” come from? When Turkey signed the Additional Protocol on July 29, 2005 Turkey attached to it a declaration. The EU rejected that declaration in one of its own, issued on Sept. 21, 2005, but that does not invalidate ours. That only shows that there is a dispute between the two sides.

No Turkish government can possibly step outside the framework of that declaration. In other words, no Turkish government can recognize the Greek Cypriot Administration as the “Republic of Cyprus” until a solution is found to the Cyprus problem. From our standpoint the EU's Sept. 21 declaration is not valid.

Furthermore, when Turkey signed the Additional Protocol, Turkey held a bona fide belief that the EU was pledging to make certain arrangements to improve the lot of the Turkish Cypriots with the EU Council decision of April 26, 2004 and, particularly, with the 10th Protocol, which is EU primary law.

The EU should not have made the Greek Cypriots a member before the Cyprus problem was resolved, especially at a time when the Annan plan for Cyprus was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots and rejected by the Greek Cypriots. Now only the EU itself can solve this problem.

We must declare categorically that the July 29 remains valid, that the accession talks can continue only on that basis. If the EU side wants to break up the negotiating process because of its own mistakes, that is up to them. And for that there is no need to wait until the end of 2009.

If we participate in the accession talks within the framework of the latest EU proposal we will be allowing ourselves to be punished for a crime we have not committed. And we would get similar treatment in 2009.

This government cannot cope with that responsibility.

 

EU decision 'unfair,' 'lacking in vision,' and we accept, says gov't
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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DIPLOMACY
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» Blair to visit to revive EU bid
» China eager to deepen relations with Turkey
» Ankara regrets EU quailed under Greek Cypriot pressure
» Ankara’s preliminary evaluation of Iraq study report ‘positive’
» US launches fresh anti-PKK initiative in Europe
» Blair to visit to give boost to EU bid
» US takes new step against PKK
» UNHCR raises nearly $400 mln in pledges for 2007
» Diplomacy Newsline
» Diplomacy Newsline
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Government leaders Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abdullah Gül accept a set of EU sanctions with the resolve to meet reform demands but react with harsh language against an 'unfair' decision that reflects a 'lack of vision.' ‘In the period before us, we know very well what we have to do: We have to carry out our reforms with the same decisiveness,’ says Prime Minister Erdoğan

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


A decision by European Union foreign ministers to back a “mild” punishment package for Turkey's recalcitrance in a port-opening dispute was greeted by the government leader as “unfair treatment of Turkey.”

While the foreign ministers gathering in Brussels sought to temper their words and backed away from the harshest alternatives before them, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used forceful language and accused the EU of “lacking vision.”

In line with an earlier recommendation by the executive European Commission, EU foreign ministers agreed in Brussels late on Monday not to open Turkey's accession talks in eight of the 35 policy areas candidates must complete prior to accession. This move was a form of punishment for Ankara's refusal to open its ports and airports to EU member Greek Cyprus, despite a customs union accord previously signed by Ankara.

The recommendation could have been worse, said many diplomats. But Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül did not see it that way.

“Despite all our good will, this decision is unfortunately unfair treatment of Turkey,” Erdoğan told a parliamentary group meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday. “This decision fails to reflect the level that Turkish-EU relations have reached. In addition, it also contradicts the objective [of full membership] that we have determined together with the EU.”

That said, both Erdoğan and Gül emphasized that they will redouble efforts to meet EU reform demands, saying these are important for Turkey in any event.

“Whatever the EU says, the reform process in Turkey will continue,” Gül told reporters.
 

Rehabilitating Pamuk
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

Suat Kınıklıoğlu
It first started with interviews conducted by Hadi Uluengin and then Yasemin Çongar in the U.S. Then, most of our media followed suit. These days not a day passes by without a news piece about Pamuk. Pamuk arriving in Turkey; Pamuk waiting for his luggage at the airport or Pamuk leaving Turkey for Sweden. Even Pamuk paying his airport exit tax (just like every Turkish citizen has to) became worthy of the news. It appeared as if someone pushed on a button and asked our media to facilitate the rehabilitation of Orhan Pamuk in Turkish public opinion. With the exception of Hürriyet's Oktay Ekşi I could not see any comment that exhibited some honesty about what was going on.

Regardless of how hard Turkey's dominant media outlets try; in the eyes of most Turks Pamuk remains suspect. That is rightly so. Because, as Pamuk himself knows as well, his infamous comments to the Swiss Tagesanzeiger damaged Turkey's reputation considerably. I think Pamuk is a very creative writer. I have read some of his books and found them extremely good. The New Life was truly breathtaking for me. I remained under its influence for weeks. There is no doubt that his more recent books have helped attract more international interest in Istanbul and Turkey. He is also very successful in conveying the tensions felt by many Turkish intellectuals – the vagaries of a dual life between East and West. For all of these I have great respect for the man.

Yet, since his infamous remarks there is a shadow upon him, his work and his intellectual honesty. A shadow I most felt when he was on CNN Turk where he in a most apologetic manner repeatedly noted that he was “misunderstood”. I could not understand what he was trying to explain. After all, he claimed to be one of the few people in Turkey who “dared” to say that we killed one million Armenians and thirty thousand Kurds. I was truly perplexed. Admittedly, I would have had more respect for him if he had dared to tell us Turks as well what he had said to the Tagesanzeiger. Although I do not agree with him, at least he would have had exhibited some intellectual honesty and consistency.

I criticized Article 301 when it put the kinds of Elif Şafak and Orhan Pamuk in front of a court for what they said or wrote. To this day, such cases remain incompatible with our democracy and constitute embarrassing road blocks for our EU ambitions. Furthermore, we do not need court cases or articles in the penal code to win the argument on the Armenian issue. We will win this debate intellectually, not through court cases. We will continue to argue that the unfortunate events of 1915 can only be understood by putting them into a proper context. We will provide the intellectual evidence for the case that the losses were common during those existential days in the eastern front of World War I. Our own intellectual honesty will undoubtedly appreciate the tragic losses suffered by the Ottoman Armenians. We acknowledge that Anatolia's social fabric has yet to recover from the relocation of them to the southern provinces of the Empire. However, we also commemorate the losses of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Muslims while defending their homeland against invading Russians and nationalist Armenians who genuinely believed they could set up an independent Armenia just like the Serbs and Bulgarians managed to do.

What is most distasteful about Pamuk is that to this day he does not seem to understand that his irresponsible comments did not help Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. On the contrary, they embellished the Armenian narrative and are being effectively used by those Armenians who believe that the only way to further their nationalist agendas is to force Turkey to recognize what they define as “genocide”. This is what is so offensive to us Turks. To those hundreds of thousands who have lost their loved ones in the eastern front. To those hundreds of thousands who were pushed out from every corner of the Ottoman Empire. To those who had to leave their lives, memories and properties in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East. To those who were ruthlessly cleansed in Greece, Crete, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia, the Caucasus and could only find refuge in impoverished Anatolia. True, we were not able to narrate our tragic experiences effectively. We also failed to articulate the context and events of 1915 in a proper manner. Yet, that does not mean we have not experienced them.

What troubles me most is that Pamuk had no illusions about what his words meant and how controversial they could be. Watching his performance at the Nobel Academy he seems to have finally understood he has no place and credibility to talk about the Armenian issue. His repeated comments that he “belongs to Turkey” or “does not want to talk about politics” surely reflect newly acquired wisdom. It has dawned on him that when the dust settles he will dwell among millions of deeply offended Turks. No wonder he wants to bring his human side to the fore and is distancing himself from his infamous comments. However, the damage has been done and it will be extremely difficult for him to recover from this. Pamuk may have conquered the world of literature but in the eyes of the Turkish nation he will remain tainted with the shadow of his comments. In his Nobel lecture Pamuk referred to “patiently discovering our secret wounds”. While leaving him alone with his conscience it might be best for him to recognize the true extent of “our common wounds”.

 

Turkey-EU train remains on track
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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DIPLOMACY
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» Blair to visit to revive EU bid
» China eager to deepen relations with Turkey
» Ankara regrets EU quailed under Greek Cypriot pressure
» Ankara’s preliminary evaluation of Iraq study report ‘positive’
» US launches fresh anti-PKK initiative in Europe
» Blair to visit to give boost to EU bid
» US takes new step against PKK
» UNHCR raises nearly $400 mln in pledges for 2007
» Diplomacy Newsline
» Diplomacy Newsline
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Analysts say the conclusions of the EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday are pretty mild, given that some countries demanded much tougher conditions

BARÇIN YİNANÇ

BRUSSELS – Turkish Daily News


European Union foreign ministers reached an agreement late on Monday night to avert a train crash with Turkey over its refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus.

“We avoided a train crash,” said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos at the end of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said the agreement was finely balanced. "It sends a signal to Turkey that failure to meet the legal obligations cannot remain without consequences. But it enables progress in talks," he said.

Ministers have agreed to "punish" Turkey by suspending the negotiations on eight chapters out of 35. The negotiations, which will start on the remaining chapters, will not provisionally close until the commission verifies that Turkey has fulfilled its commitments related to the Additional Protocol on its customs union deal with the EU, according to the agreement reached on Monday.

"European ministers have mainly stuck to the EU Commission's recommendations," Amanda Akçakoca, senior expert at the European Policy Research Center in Brussels, told the Turkish Daily News.

According to Akçakoca the result is fairly mild, given that some member countries had requested for a much tougher resolution on Turkey.

One of the most contentious issues of the Monday meeting was the so-called "review clause." The German-French front backed away from its demand on giving a specific deadline for Turkey to fulfill its commitments. The Greeks and the Greek Cypriots insisted, nevertheless, on a deadline, which made it difficult to reach an agreement earlier on Monday.

Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration had to back down when all the remaining countries agreed on the proposal of the Finnish presidency. According to the consensus reached, "The council will follow up and review progress made" on the ports issue. It also invites the commission "to report on this in its forthcoming annual reports, in particular in 2007, 2008 and 2009."

"It is a mild decision," said Akçakoca. "Some countries wanted a stronger wording."

According to Akçakoca the commission is normally expected to report on the issue of Turkey's obligations vis-à-vis Greek Cyprus anyway in its yearly report.

"There is no deadline, no ultimatum given to Turkey," said Akçakoca.

The commission's recommendation calling on the sides in Cyprus to resume talks under U.N. auspices was not included in the decision due to the Greek Cypriots' objection to any reference to the United Nations.

They were backed by Greece, which also maintained that Turkey's accession process and the solution to the Cyprus problem are separate issues.

The call to resume talks under the auspices of the United Nations for a permanent settlement was made in a separate presidency statement.

There was also an agreement on working for progress in the implementation of a direct trade regulation proposed by the EU Commission in 2004 to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. The EU foreign ministers agreed to work on the trade regulation, blocked by the Greek Cypriot administration. However, this decision was not formally endorsed in Monday's meeting due to Greek Cypriot objections, and it will be formally endorsed in January. The Greek Cypriot side argued at the meeting that that endorsement of such a decision could suggest a linkage between the issue of ports and trade with the Turkish Cypriots. The EU rejects any linkage between the two issues.

The decision expressing EU readiness for a rapid implementation of the direct trade regulation came as a surprise since it was not originally in the EU Commission's recommendation for the member states. The unexpected move was made possible by strong intervention on the part of the Swedish and Belgian foreign ministers, who insisted at Monday's meeting that the EU had not kept its promise to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.

Bahadır Kaleağası, a member of Turkey's leading business group, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD), said in Brussels that Monday's decisions showed that most of the countries in the EU viewed Turkey's position on Cyprus as justified and that “nobody wants EU's relations with Turkey to be damaged because of that problem.”

One of the most important aspects of Monday's meeting, say observers, was that it reiterated that negotiations on the remaining chapters will continue. The meeting's conclusions said, “The screening process will continue and chapters for which technical preparations have been completed will be opened in accordance with established procedures, in line with the Negotiating Framework.”

Rehn said there were four chapters on which there is no opening benchmark, meaning that there is no obstacle to starting negotiations on these chapters immediately. In fact, said Rehn, negotiations on these four chapters, namely taxation, industrial policy, financial control and economic and monetary union, can even start within the remaining 15 days of the Finnish presidency. However, technically, each member country maintains a veto power, and prospects for the Greek Cypriots vetoing the talks remain in place. Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said after the meeting that he could not guarantee that his government would not use its veto to block Turkey's accession talks in the future. When asked whether Greece and the Greek Cypriots could veto the start of talks on the four non-problematic chapters, Rehn said they had to come up with relevant justifications for this.

According to Kaleağası, the EU foreign ministers isolated the Cyprus issue and the eight suspended chapters at their meeting. “The issue has been taken under quarantine,” he said. “We now have to see whether the EU and Turkey will make progress in the negotiation process.”

According to Akçakoca, however, it would be “naive” to expect the process to continue “smoothly.” What is important, she said, is whether the EU will open negotiations on chapters that are not put on hold. “Another thing we should follow is whether the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots will be eased as promised,” she added.

Analysts say an EU step towards easing the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots would help resolve the Turkish-EU dispute over the ports.

Kaleağası said continuation of the negotiation process depended on Turkey as much as it depended on the EU, calling for a continuation of the reforms as well as an effective communication strategy.



German presidency:

Germany, which is due to take over the EU's rotating term presidency in January, is bracing for a difficult term, analysts say, since it will have to deal with both the continuation of the accession talks with Turkey and the pledged steps towards easing the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.

Given the rift within the German coalition over Turkey, Germany is expected to encounter difficult days during its term as EU president.

 

Brok's report to be voted in European Parliament

ANK - Turkish Daily News

The Strasbourg-based European Parliament will discuss a report today on enlargement strategy, which has softened in favor of Turkey after debates at the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee last month.

The European Parliament's committee adopted the controversial report urging Ankara to open its ports and airports to traffic from European Union member Greek Cyprus by the end of this year. Penned by German Rapporteur Elmar Brok, who chairs the committee and who is known to be cool to Turkey's bid to join the EU, the report on the enlargement strategy and main challenges was approved by a vote of 44 to five in the committee.
 

Pinochet and the Kirkpatrick doctrine
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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FOREIGN
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» Arab Holocaust teacher: Iran denial does harm
» Modern day 'Jack The Ripper' sparks fear in Britain
» Congressman stumbles at Mideast quiz
» New Iraq strategy to be announced in 2007
» Grim warning from Saudi Arabia
» Judge shot dead at Gaza courthouse
» In France, new skin for the old ceremony
» Iraq violence undermines peace talks
» newsline
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CALEB LAUER

ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News


The deaths this past week of former US Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet have provoked thought about the foreign policy doctrine that bears Ms. Kirkpatrick's name; a doctrine that tacitly rationalized hundreds of thousands of deaths and imprisonments during the Cold War, including the thousands of Chileans killed by Pinochet.

American foreign policy phrasemakers love to name ‘doctrines' after the Presidents or officials who popularize them. The Truman doctrine, for example, articulated by US President Harry Truman in 1947, described how the US would supply Turkey and Greece with economic and military assistance in order prevent them from ‘going' communist, and thereby contain the Soviet Union. This doctrine, keeping communism out of Turkey, was the opening move of the Cold War.

At the end of the Cold War, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff (and later US Secretary of State) Colin Powell described how to wage war in the ‘New World Order' proclaimed by President George H. Bush. The Powell doctrine held that in a war against a medium power, such as Iraq, one must use overwhelming force, work within a coalition, and manage the media. This worked well for the Americans during the 1991 Gulf War, but didn't when it was applied as a caricature of itself in 2003.Preferential dictators:

During the Cold War, the ‘Kirkpatrick doctrine' stressed that in the war on communism, free market dictators were preferable to communist dictators, because these dictators were at least on the same side as the US, that is, anti-communist, and that the free market would inevitably lead to democracy. During her time with the Reagan administration in the 1980s she urged the US to give material and rhetorical support to dictators like Pinochet in Chile because he allowed the free market to operate in Chile. As long as there was a free market, murder, torture, and ‘disappearances' were accepted as part of the war on communism.

By the time Ms. Kirkpatrick fully articulated her doctrine, Pinochet had already been ruling Chile for seven years. And when Chile did return to democracy in 1990, many, such as Nobel Laureate, and former Pinochet advisor, Milton Friedman saw that the support given to Pinochet was justified by the end result.

“In the end the Chilean military junta was replaced by a democratic society,” Friedman said in an interview with PBS. “Free markets did work their way in bringing about a free society.”

Mark Neufeld, professor of political science at Trent University, Canada, told the Turkish Daily News that like Friedman, Kirkpatrick would have thought of Pinochet and Chile as ‘evidence of some success' in their war on communism. Yes, they had supported a dictatorship, but eventually democracy emerged.

Kirkpatrick believed that in the late 1970s US President Jimmy Carter had lost sight of the communist threat. Carter aligned the US too closely with political movements for ‘change', Kirkpatrick argued, and she warned that ‘change' meant communism. Human rights were secondary, Kirkpatrick argued, if it meant preventing communism from getting more power. Carter's focus on human rights and his liberal sympathies were making him forget who were the United States' friends, and despite it being uncomfortable, the US should support and prop up dictators who were at least friendly to the US and not communist.

The choice, in Kirkpatrick's mind, was between Augusto Pinochet's Chile and Fidel Castro's Cuba.

This was, as Professor Neufeld said, despite the fact that ‘any objective indicators show that Cuba's human rights record is “far better than other Latin American countries such as Chile under Pinochet.”

The US should not, Kirkpatrick wrote, aim to ‘topple non-Communist autocracies while remaining passive in the face of Communist expansion.' Whoever would protect a non-communist status quo should be supported. Pinochet, in other words, was a friend of America. Kirkpatrick, Milton Friedman (who also recently passed away), and former British Prime Minister, felt vindicated when Chile became democratic in 1990, despite having to support Pinochet as he killed many people; the means were justified by the end. Others point out that Eastern Europe became democratic a few months before Chile.
 

Can we go on in our EU bid despite Europe?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

TDN editorial by Yusuf KANLI
Turkey's EU bid has become more elusive than ever, unless the Cyprus problem is somehow resolved. Will that be enough? Well, from that moment on we may have the Armenian issue, perhaps the Kurdish matter and who knows what else to keep on complicating our EU process.

Yusuf KANLI
Subscriptions to news agency packages or news channels have become a fact of life for news people as well as those who want to be informed of domestic and international developments as they evolve.

On Monday evening we were at a dinner hosted by the Turkish Daily News in the honor of departing Russian Ambassador Piotr Stegniy and his wife, Margarita Stegniy, attended by the senior newspeople of Ankara along with Foreign Ministry spokesman Namık Tan and his spouse. Naturally, everyone's attention was on what news would come from Brussels, where the EU General Affairs Council (the meeting of its foreign ministers) was meeting to decide what sanctions should be imposed on Turkey to punish Ankara's failure to conform with the pledges it made to open its ports and airports to Greek Cyprus.

Though it is normally customary to turn off mobiles at such occasions, most of the guests of the evening were newsmen, and such a request would not have been followed anyhow. As our mobiles started to beep to notify us of incoming news, Tan vanished from the dinner table. Though he has started preparations to travel to Tel Aviv to become Turkey's new ambassador there, the appointment decree was not yet out and he was still the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry. For the rest of the night, Tan continued partly with us and partly trying to answer calls from other reporters trying to figure out Ankara's first reaction to the EU's partial suspension decision, which for the first time established a resolution on Cyprus as a criterion for the Turkish accession process.

Was it a consolation to see the EU ministers admitting that the bloc had failed to live up to its pledges towards the Turkish Cypriot people and that at the January General Affairs Council meeting a proposal to allow trade to and from northern Cyprus would probably be discussed?

Unfortunately not. Since the first beep of our mobiles informing us of the failure of Turkey's last-minute offer -- to open a port and an airport for Greek Cypriots unconditionally, but with the expectation that the EU would support Cyprus peacemaking under U.N. auspices, prod a settlement on the island within 2007 and allow opening of Ercan airport in northern Cyprus to international flights -- we unfortunately found Greek Cypriots even less enthusiastic to engage in any sort of meaningful talks. Turkey's EU process and the entire EU has been held hostage by the Greek Cypriot administration. If talks on eight of the 35 chapters Turkey is required to complete before it can qualify for accession -- which is not guaranteed -- are suspended and if the remaining chapters can only be closed if Turkey opens its ports and airports to Greek Cypriots -- which will be tantamount to its recognition -- why would President Tassos Papadopoulos or his future successors agree to sharing sovereignty and the Cyprus state with the Turkish Cypriot people? Is there any logic in such an expectation?

It could be argued that the ministers' decision is not final until the EU leaders approve it at their Dec. 14-15 meeting. It might be defended that Turkey may unveil what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been talking about as a “Plan C” and may get a better decision from the leaders' summit meeting. Of course Turkey must do everything possible to avoid Cyprus becoming an official criterion for the continuation of the accession process. But, in view of the fact that the EU did not refrain from snubbing Prime Minister Erdoğan by stating that he would not be invited to the summit meeting, it must be clear to everyone that there is not much hope for any further efforts by Ankara to avoid the unpleasant and worrisome situation we are currently facing in our EU bid.

The end result is a big fiasco for the Erdoğan government. Despite the last-minute offer that contradicted all the fundamental principles of Turkey's established Cyprus policy and which has already opened a huge rift between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the entire conservative establishment, the government has failed to score that “golden goal” into the EU's net. Rather, it seems they have put the ball in the back of their own goal.

It was consoling to see the prime minister upset yesterday with the EU decision but determined to continue the reform process in the country. He was perfectly right in describing the EU move as “unfair.” Furthermore, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül was correct in blasting the EU as “lacking vision.”

Yes, this decision fails to reflect the level that Turkish-EU relations have reached, contradicts the objective of full membership that this country determined with the EU, and fails to recognize Turkey's importance from a global perspective. Thus, because of the absence of such a vision, problems like Cyprus have been allowed to damage Turkey-EU ties…

And, so what?

Let's be frank. The Turkish government has been playing this game on the wrong platform since Dec. 17, 2004, when it agreed to getting a date for the start of talks in exchange for opening its ports and airports to Greek Cyprus. Now we have come to the end of the line. Of course we will and must continue the reform process, but at the same time we have to understand that our EU bid has become more elusive than ever, unless the Cyprus problem is somehow resolved. Will that be enough? Well, from that moment on we may have the Armenian issue, perhaps the Kurdish matter and who knows what else to keep on complicating our EU process.

Was not this “a long and winding road” anyhow? Can we continue it despite Europe?

 

Baykal faults gov’t policy on deadlock with EU
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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ANKARA – TDN Parliament Bureau


Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday blamed the government's policies for the current deadlock in relations between Turkey and the European Union.

“Turkey's accession negotiations are in a de facto deadlock. We're asked to make concession on Cyprus in order to proceed with the entry talks. The closure of the remaining negotiating chapters is out of the question even if there is a full agreement [on the ports dispute]. This process has come to a deadlock although the government is ready to make concessions and show flexibility on Turkish-EU ties,” Baykal told his party's parliamentary group meeting.

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed not to open membership talks with Turkey in a number of areas ranging from fisheries to external relations in response to Ankara's failure to open its ports and airports to traffic under the customs union protocol it signed with the bloc.

Baykal sharply criticized the government's last-minute proposal to open one port and one airport to traffic from Greek Cyprus in a bid to avert a serious crisis in its entry talks, ahead of the key summit of EU leaders.

“The government came up with a new proposal before the summit and first informed the EU via the Finnish presidency. Nobody has information on what the proposal is about. Two people, the prime minister and the foreign minister did so after putting heads together,” he said.

“The president, security forces, Parliament, the Cabinet and the main opposition has no information. There is a too free-and-easy understanding in foreign policy. We heard such a proposal from the EU representatives. There's no difference between the opening of one port and opening of all the ports. This is a breaking point. This means the recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration,” he added.

The CHP leader complained the government was complying with the “political conditions” and argued that it would be forced to make further concessions after those on Cyprus.

Baykal said there was no success in reunifying the island made up of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities whose language, religion and nationality are different from one another and added no chance was seen to bring them together.

“Turkey exerted efforts [to reunify the island] but we did not see the same effort from our partners. There is a need to devise a new Cyprus policy,” he said.

 

EU could not give up on Turkey
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE

There is nothing to be happy about with the latest decision. It is an unfair approach that includes double-standards. But no matter what happens the EU has showed with this decision that it does not want to cut loose with Turkey and it cannot dare a complete breakdown in the negotiating process

Mehmet Ali Birand
You can make an assessment on the latest decision made by the European Union from a number of angles. It depends on from where you look. But there is a particular angle of view that you reach the same conclusion no matter from where you look.

The EU did not want to entirely suspend negotiations with Turkey and ended up by slowing down and driving the negotiating process to an upward slope. This result is considerably important because if those in Europe who want to stop Turkey had enough power, they would have no better opportunity than this. They had a chance to justify themselves on the Cyprus issue. Also, their public opinions were all prepared. They were to welcome an entire suspension in the Turkish-EU negotiations with applause. They could have completely suspended negotiations or laid down such conditions that could have pushed Ankara to lose its patience and hit at the door. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) could also have shown the same reaction upon pressure form the Turkish public.

It would be the most suitable time to do so. The EU received a nice pass to score but could not. To put it more correctly, they did not want to do so because they did not have an intention to exclude Turkey.

France and Germany appeared to assume a very tough stance from the very beginning but they also did not want to exceed certain limits. If they had really pressed, we could have faced a disastrous result. German Foreign Minister Walter-Frank Steinmeier and French President Jacques Chirac did not want a disastrous scenario. More importantly, the EU Commission -- in particular enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn -- showed once more their mission of an umbrella protecting Turkey.

I don't say that we should be happy or applaud the result that came from Brussels. To the contrary, there is nothing to be happy about or to applaud. It is a decision which is seriously unfair and which contains double standards. They're also aware of this truth. As they know it, they've brought onto the agenda the issue of easing the isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriots but we should not forget that in international relations and especially in negotiations with the EU all candidate countries faced similar deformities. What is important is not to disregard the main target.

The negotiations with Turkey have not broke down. The process has been made difficult and the road to full membership has been lengthened. That's it.

This will not be enough. There'll be more crises as well as traffic accidents ahead but still what's important is that the negotiating process has not been entirely suspended. In international relations, calculations are made only over domestic politics and national interests. If you achieve your objective in the end, you do not care about traffic accidents.

Turkey should make known its discontent with the latest decision but it should smile slightly after putting its head on its pillow at night. It should be pleased.



Positive and negative repercussions of EU decision

The decision that came out of the EU foreign ministers' meeting has both positive and negative sides for Turkey. However, we should not forget that the negative ones will create problems not from a technical aspect but from a psychological aspect.



Positive developments

1-- The number of negotiations chapters that will not be opened has not risen to 13 from eight. It has stood at eight as recommended by the EU Commission. Also, the suspension of those chapters will technically not seriously damage the negotiations.

2-- The remaining 26 chapters will not be vetoed due to the ports row and the negotiations will continue. Greek Cyprus may block the talks for different reasons but missed the opportunity to use the ports dispute as an excuse.

3-- The necessity to ease the isolation imposed on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) has reappeared on the agenda and the EU has accepted it had made a promise on this issue. The talks will start as of January 2007.

4-- The proposal to “review the situation 18 months later” which Germany, France, Greece and Greek Cyprus insisted on has been rejected. The EU Commission will be responsible for this in its annual progress reports. Turkey has turned to be advantageous as the commission can be more objective on such studies.



Negative developments:

1-- Although the closure of eight chapters won't technically harm Turkey, the suspension of those chapters is psychologically harmful. Even a “partial suspension” in relations with Turkey could cause a considerable amount of uneasiness in financial markets.

2-- Although non-closure of the negotiating chapters does not technically create a problem, it is psychologically harmful. The bureaucracy's interest will weaken and the political authority's reform enthusiasm will drop.

CONCLUSION: It is easy to get over the negativities above and it totally depends on the steps Ankara will take. If Ankara revives reform efforts and mends the pace for a solution to the Cyprus problem, it'll relax. Turkey can survive with those results.
 

From the columns
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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ANKARA Turkish Daily news




They don't understand!:

Rauf Denktaş, Yeni Çağ

The European Union does not understand us. The Greeks have taken the EU hostage. The EU's decision to partially freeze talks is wrong, unfair and one-sided!

The EU's approach to Turkey in the first place is reprehensible, unfair, unjust and one-sided. The European Union is victimizing the innocent and defending the guilty. This applies to us, for we see the subject in view of rights, legality, equality, and realities created by agreements and expect to see justice done. However, after 43 years of experience in international relations, I think if we haven't understood that there is no right or justice in international politics and that they will drag us into any swamp they want if we don't cling on to our rights determinedly, we don't have the right to complain that others do not understand that. What matters is whether we understand what “they” are trying to do or not. What they want to do is to protect the bloody-handed 43-year-old government of mass gravediggers by forcing us to accept it as a legitimate government. But what do we do in the face of this painful truth? Instead of clinging to our state and sovereignty, we keep running from one meeting with the Greek side to another. We want a confederation, a partnership of two states. We say that the Greek Cypriot administration is not and cannot be the “legitimate Cyprus government.” Shame on those who still think a healthy solution can be reached by saying, “We'll consider all proposals.” We should tell the world what we want and stand up for that with determination.

If you are still ready to negotiate, this means that you deserve whatever you get in the end. However, do not forget, this case belongs to the Turkish nation, which does not deserve such humiliation, and it will not accept it.



Tension between military and civilians:

Ali Bayramoğlu, Yeni Şafak

The military openly tells the government, “You can't make political decisions unless we approve.”

In a speech regarding a government proposal to open one port to southern Cyprus, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Büyükanit said: “Wouldn't you consult an organization that has 40,000 soldiers on Cyprus? In our interpretation, this initiative is tantamount to diverging from the official state view. You say you will open the ports. Which ports are you opening?” The logic behind his words were hidden in the words of another commander, who talked to Bilal Çetin. “The state is one thing, the government another. If the government tries to change the fundamental strategic political objectives of the state, Turkey could find itself facing great dangers.”

One thing is obvious: These statements are not in any way acceptable in a democracy. It is also obvious that such views separating the “state's sphere” from the “political sphere” amount to a “regime of military guardians.” Nobody should come up with expressions such as “circumstances unique to Turkey” or “cooperation between forces and institutions” to validate this type of regime. This structure disrupts the authority-responsibility mechanism and turns governments into the executive officers of the state power, and it is in no way defendable or worthy of validation.

The place of the military is defined in the hierarchy among institutions. The military has a consultative function as a security institution under the political decision mechanism. If this scheme is set up some other way, that means there is a problem. For this scheme is not only the instrument for reaching a fully established democracy but also for achieving peace and wealth.



Who is telling the truth?

Radikal, Türker Alkan

Did the government consult President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Büyükanit on its new proposal to the European Union?

This is a pretty simple question. It involves no value judgments; there is nothing philosophical about it. It is only a question inquiring whether something transpired or not. In a normal environment, if people are not biased and if all institutions serve their function, society wouldn't even pay attention to such a question. However, this is not how it works with us. Following the government's proposal to the European Union to open a port to the Greeks, Sezer and Büyükanit's staff said, “They didn't even ask us!” although the government said the two had been informed. Unfortunately, in this case, one of the sides is lying. This is a sad possibility, for neither of the sides are ordinary institutions. A statement made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later had a quality proving the other side right. He said: “For now, negotiations are not yet over. This is why it is too early to consult the relevant institutions and individuals,” adding, “In addition, we don't have the responsibility of conferring with them.” The same Erdoğan who confirmed that the chief of General Staff and the president had been informed listed reasons for not informing the presidency and the office of the chief of general staff. This is not a contrast one can ignore. I really wonder how a person with such a mentality running the state will become president. And what exactly is the distinction between “verbal and written negotiations”? If the chief of General Staff or the president is to make a contribution, they should be consulted from the start.

Recently, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) front has opened fire on the military. As election day approaches, those people pursuing an image of “heroic and courageous politicians” will make themselves heard more loudly.

Büyükanit was right when he said, “Whose opinion will you seek if you are not going to seek the opinion of the Office of the Chief of General Staff, which has thousands of troops deployed in Cyprus?”

Imagine how effective a foreign policy with institutions that do not talk to each other even on the most crucial issue could be
 

Gov’t slams ‘unfair’ EU treatment, vows more reforms
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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» Ankara regrets EU quailed under Greek Cypriot pressure
» Ankara’s preliminary evaluation of Iraq study report ‘positive’
» US launches fresh anti-PKK initiative in Europe
» Blair to visit to give boost to EU bid
» US takes new step against PKK
» UNHCR raises nearly $400 mln in pledges for 2007
» Diplomacy Newsline
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‘In the period before us, we know very well what we have to do: We have to carry out our reforms with the same decisiveness,’ says Prime Minister Erdoğan

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


Denouncing a decision by Brussels to slow down Ankara's accession talks as “unfair,” the Turkish government has pledged in unison its determination to stay on the road to reform and EU standards for the sake of its own people.

In line with an earlier recommendation by the executive European Commission, EU foreign ministers agreed in Brussels late on Monday not to open Turkey's accession talks in eight of the 35 policy areas candidates must complete prior to accession. This move was a form of punishment for Ankara's refusal to open its ports and airports to EU member Greek Cyprus, despite a customs union accord previously signed by Ankara.

Both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül accused the 25-member bloc of “lacking vision” concerning Turkey's strategic importance and what its future membership could contribute to the bloc.

“Despite all our good will, this decision is unfortunately unfair treatment of Turkey,” Erdoğan told a parliamentary group meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday: his first public comments following the Monday decision from Brussels.

“This decision fails to reflect the level that Turkish-EU relations have reached. In addition, it also contradicts the objective [of full membership] that we have determined together with the EU,” Erdoğan added.

Slamming EU foreign policy and criticizing Brussels for failing to recognize Turkey's importance in a “global perspective,” Erdoğan said: “In the absence of such vision, problems like Cyprus are damaging our relations.” However, the prime minister urged Brussels to throw its weight behind efforts to resolve the Cyprus conflict, which lies at the core of the current turmoil.

A sense of determination dominated Erdoğan's remarks as he vowed that Turkey would continue with the reforms it must carry out if it is to eventually join the EU. “In the period before us we know very well what we have to do: We have to carry out our reforms with the same decisiveness,” he said.

On the same day, Gül also pledged to pursue reforms to align Turkey with EU political and economic norms, while he too noted that the EU ministers' decision showed a “lack of vision.”

“Whatever the EU says, the reform process in Turkey will continue,” Gül told reporters at Parliament, ahead of the AKP group meeting. “Turkey needs to fulfill both economic and democratic reforms with a significant courage and determination.”

Monday's decision was taken to penalize Ankara for refusing to honor a 2005 pact to open its ports and airports to 10 new EU members -- including Greek Cyprus, whose government Ankara does not recognize. EU leaders are expected to endorse the foreign ministers' decision at a two-day summit beginning Thursday.

The EU decided that Turkey can open accession talks in policy areas other than the eight chapters but cannot formally complete them as long as the dispute over Cyprus remains unsolved.

Ankara insists that its ports will remain off-limits to Greek Cypriot vessels until the EU keeps its promises to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (KKTC).

The EU made the pledges in April 2004, after Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of a U.N. plan to end the island's 32-year division, a move thwarted by a strong “no” from the Greek Cypriot side in simultaneous referenda. The outcome ensured the Greek Cypriot side alone joined the EU in May 2004.

Ankara accuses the Greek Cypriots, backed by Greece and other EU countries cool to Turkey's membership, of using their membership as leverage to extract concessions on Cyprus. “It has become obvious that the Greek Cypriots are capitalizing on the absence of a settlement [in Cyprus],” Erdoğan said.

“We expect the EU to see this reality and push the Greek Cypriots towards a settlement in the shortest possible time.”

In one small consolation for Ankara, EU officials admitted on Monday they had failed to keep their promises to the Turkish Cypriots and agreed to discuss the issue during ministerial talks in January.
 

Collective schizophrenia on a ghost train
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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OPINIONS
All News »

» Where is Turkey's interest?
(Yusuf KANLI)
» Making a mockery of Havel's 'moral minimum'
(Semih İdiz)
» Papadopulos lost yet again
( Mehmet Ali Birand)
» Crime, punishment and defense
(Gündüz Aktan)
» Akritas: A plan for the extermination of the Turkish Cypriots (I)
(Ali KÜLEBİ)
» EU is making a strategic mistake
(Orhan Kilercioğlu)
» Nobel Peace Prize goes to Yunus
(AYŞE ÖZGÜN)
» MORE








Recently, Ankara pretended that it would open some of its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic. In response, Brussels pretended that the Turkish gesture was worthy of praise. Everyone in the game knew that the other was pretending.

Burak Bekdil
Recently, Ankara pretended that it would open some of its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic. In response, Brussels pretended that the Turkish gesture was worthy of praise. Everyone in the game knew that the other was pretending.

Most Europeans pretend that they do not discriminate against Turkey. Most Turks pretend that they want membership in the EU because they believe in European values. Greek Cypriots pretend that they want a fair settlement. Turkish Cypriots pretend that they really have their own state, a state in the sense of a state. Greek Cypriots pretend that Turkey invaded the island's north just for fun. Turks pretend that they never invaded the island's north.

In Istanbul, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI pretended that God has changed his mind about a place for Turkey in Europe. (See Cardinal Ratzinger's metamorphosis to Pope Benedict for the Turkey-doesn't-have/does-have-a-place-in-Europe change.) To match that, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pretended that he wholeheartedly embraced the leader of the world's Catholics.

Most recently, the EU bigwigs unanimously agreed to pretend that Turkey's accession process is still on track, after Turkish bigwigs pretended that it would be the end of the Old Continent if Turkey gave up. The EU bigwigs pretend that they will remove trade (of services, not goods, i.e., Ercan Airport) restrictions on Turkish Cypriots. Turkish bigwigs, for their part, pretend that they will trade with the Greek Cypriots like they do with other nations.

In this game of fantasy role playing, it is normal that Turkey's accession process which was not going ahead will not go ahead because Turkey refused to trade with the Greek Cypriots like it does with other EU member states. The chapters that did not open will not open; those that did not close will not close. The whole process that was not moving will not move.

The train crash did not occur because the trains were not real trains, but ghosts of trains; ghosts cannot crash, they pass through each other. The train that could not derail did not derail; ghost trains cannot derail, like they cannot crash.

Back in Turkey, the “national schizophrenia” is increasingly visible. The coexistence between the secularists and the Islamists that did not exist does not exist. Erdogan pretends that he is the guardian of the secular regime. For their part, the generals pretend that they are fond of the EU process.

For example, the generals say they are heartily devoted to the idea of Turkish membership in the EU, but they privately say they hope the Turkish Cypriot state “will live forever.” Is there any possibility that both wishes of the top brass can come true in real life? Are they pretending that they favor Turkey's EU membership? Or that they hope the Turkish Cypriot state will live forever?

But anyway, Erdogan and his men who metamorphosed from anti-European (and Islamist) near-militancy to pro-EU reformism in the span of a few years pretend that they want a place for Turkey in Europe because they believe in European values in the true sense of European values, and not because of their pragmatism/survival instincts. And their European friends pretend that they are not aware the former "crusaders of Islam" are just pretending.

It's fun to watch the real-life fantasy role playing on the Ankara-Brussels axis. There will be many more episodes: ghost trains crashing, ghost trains advancing to their destinations, ghost trains derailing, ghost trains driving on track, ghost wreckages, ghost horizons and all that…

There is probably only one non-ghost interpretation of the latest episode in Brussels: Let's pretend all that pretension never happens.
 

Turkish Press Yesterday
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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ANKARA - Turkish Daily News




Brakes on the European train:

Radikal's headline story yesterday highlighted an EU decision taking punitive measures against Ankara, which refuses to open its ports to Greek Cyprus under an additional protocol to the customs union.

Radikal noted that the decision was a sensitive one, aimed at not angering Turkey. European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to a partial freeze of Turkey's membership negotiations in response to Ankara's failure to open ports to Greek Cyprus.

“The accession process is also an opportunity to demonstrate that Islam, which is the second biggest religion on our continent, can be compatible with Europe and its values, that is: democracy, human rights and morality,” commented Radikal.

The ministers also agreed in principle to end the economic isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). Those arrangements will be worked out under the German EU presidency, which takes over from Finland in January. Meanwhile, other sectors of the negotiations will go ahead.

Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and Austria's Ursula Plassnik told reporters that talks with Ankara would be suspended on eight out of 35 negotiating chapters, as proposed by the European Commission.

Plassnik said the agreement, still to be confirmed by current EU president Finland, meant the controversy over EU-Turkey relations would not be put on the agenda of an EU summit to be held in Brussels on Dec. 14. “We have found a consensus on how to assess the situation,” said Plassnik, saying eight negotiating areas would now go into “deep freeze.”

She said ministers had also agreed on a “review clause,” under which governments would regularly monitor implementation of Turkey's commitments on normalizing ties with Cyprus.



New party with ‘revolutionary Muslim' ideology:

A political movement launched by former Republican People's Party (CHP) Secretary-General Ertuğrul Günay and former Rize deputy from the Saadet (Happiness or Contentment) Party (SP) Mehmet Bekaroğlu was covered in yesterday's Milliyet.

The daily identified the movement -- the New Politics Initiative -- as being “Muslim-leftist.”

The duo has been having talks for the past six months with leading representatives of the right and the left, Kurdish and Alevi communities and civil society organizations including the Human Rights Association (İHD) and pro-religious human rights group Mazlum-Der.

Günay and Bekaroğlu have completed a declaration laying out the targets of the movement. Günay said the details of the movement would be made public before the new year, adding, “We hope that this movement will eventually turn into a political party.”

Economic development, cultural pluralism, secularism and the restructuring of the state were the priority issues for the movement, said Günay, adding that the party was working to combine society's fundamental values with the demands of modern times.

The movement criticizes both the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the CHP. “The government party seems to be on top according to polls. However, it has become seriously exhausted. The reason why it ranks as the first party to today is that there are no political alternatives to it,” said Günay.

He noted that the movement could be also be described as having “Muslim-revolutionary” ideals.



‘Religious fundamentalism' in US Army:

A crisis stirred up by the discovery that some U.S. Army officers are also active members of an evangelist movement called the “Christian Embassy” received coverage in yesterday's Sabah.

The issue of army members and their secularism, a frequently discussed topic, is now sitting at the top of the U.S. agenda, noted Sabah. Nearly a dozen high-ranking military officers and Pentagon officials came under fire on Monday for participating in a promotional video for the evangelical Christian organization, renewing an outcry over religious proselytizing within the ranks of the military.

The video was posted on the Web site of the Christian Embassy and shows seven uniformed officers, including four generals, endorsing the group's evangelical activities in the Pentagon and other government circles. Three civilian Pentagon officials also feature in the video, including U.S. Army Undersecretary Pete Geren, a former Texas congressman.

Others included in the video are Army Brigadier Gen. Vince Brooks, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pete Sutton, Army Brig. Gen. Bob Caslen and Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Catton. It also shows two colonels, a lieutenant colonel and several named and unnamed civilian officials.

Sabah noted that Gen. Sutton, chief of the American Defense Cooperation Office, Turkey, is very well known here, as the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in the country.



Current account deficit to set world record:

On the front page of yesterday's Cumhuriyet was the central bank's Monday announcement of Turkey's recent economic indicators.

The bank said Turkey's current account deficit -- $896 million in October last year -- had hit $1.58 billion this year, a 76.3 percent increase.

Head of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu said the current account deficit had reached a record-level, warning that if no measures were taken, it could hit $100 billion in three years.



The ghost letter:

Yeni Şafak reported that Retired Army Officers Association head Rıza Küçükoğlu was angered by recent rumors that his association had sent a letter to the chief of General Staff, calling for taking action to influence presidential elections.

Retired Maj. Gen. Küçükoğlu said that “such a thing could never be,” stressing that his association had never raised such a proposal in any form, written or verbal.

He said there were individuals who had interest in causing provocation exploiting the upcoming presidential elections. “Some people are constantly scratching this issue. The same people want to drag us into this game. They are trying to axe the peaceful atmosphere of the country,” he warned.

Küçükoğlu said news stories regarding the letter that has never been sent aimed to put the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in a difficult position: “They want the country's agenda to focus on civilian-army conflict for their own interest.”

 

ABDULHAMIT BILICI
12.15.2006 Friday - ISTANBUL 22:11


Even Turkish Cyprus has Lost Hope

The meeting where we discussed Cyprus in the EU process has just ended. I was going down the elevator with former Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary Ozdem Sanberk.

I asked the experienced diplomat, whose hair had turned white from struggling with Turkish foreign policy problems if several more generations were going to live with this problem. Smiling, he said he was not optimistic that a solution could be found in the near future.

Due to the policies of the Greeks, who have the support of the European Union, it is normal for Turkish diplomats to be hopeless. However, Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat fills public meeting squares in the name of a Cyprus “solution” and is a national hero, thrown out of the ring, whose name has become synonymous with Cyprus. Has he, too, lost hope of a solution?

In Zaman’s latest think tank meeting, which has become a tradition, I saw that after discussing Cyprus for more than two hours, he had become very pessimistic. Don’t misunderstand me; I do not mean to say that because President Talat says a solution is hard that he is tending to veer off into no-solution politics. On the contrary, he still believes that there is no alternative except pressure. However, he sees it as highly improbable that the Greeks, with their strong position in the European Union, will accept a solution that will satisfy Turkey. He says, “If there is not going to be a solution, the world should be shown that the Greeks are responsible for this.”

In fact, Sanberk supports the assessment that, with the influence of Hellenic and Orthodox traditions, the Greeks will never accept sharing sovereignty and that this process is going toward a two-state structure. He thinks that Greek politics under the leadership of Papadopoulos consolidates the division of the island.

When one of the participants said that 70 percent of Greek youths do not want to live among the Turks, Talat explained how Turkish youths see living together: “After stating this view of the Greeks, I ask Turkish young people what they think. They said that if they don’t want to live with us, we don’t want to live with them.”

In order to explain how the two peoples living on the island are estranged from one another, he relates the experience of his neighborhood butcher friend: “I cut off all my relations with the Greeks. Only one family remains that I speak with. They don’t like us and don’t want us.” Listen carefully; this is not Denktas talking. This man, who is looked upon skeptically in Turkey because he advocates ending the division on the island and because he contacted Greek political parties, is saying these things.

Meanwhile, Professor Eser Karakas presents another painful point that puts forth the difficulty of a solution. It cannot be expected that the Greeks, who have raised their per capita income to over $20,000, will feel their former need for land in the North. Views indicating the difficulty of a solution like the world wants or at least like what the United Nations recommended are not limited to these. For example, giving the China case, Professor Ali Karaosmanoglu says that the delay in official recognition of Turkish Cyprus is not very abnormal.

Since the EU process is not going to progress without resolving the Cyprus issue, this is bad news for Turkey, isn’t it? Yes, it is bad news in respect to the EU process. However, is this situation good news for the Greeks who consider resisting a solution to be to their gain? No, because if even Talat has given up hope it means that the United Cyprus ideal is rapidly becoming a fantasy. Under these conditions, both Turkey and the world have to re-think what we understand by a solution to Cyprus.

Positive effects in the EU process from the weakening of the probability of finding a solution of uniting with the Greeks are not completely absent. The most important of these is the gradual disappearance of the polarization that peaked on the island before the Annan Plan. It is important for those who thought that Denktas and Turkey’s official policy were the only obstacles to peace to see the inadequacy of this attitude. In addition, it is apparent that during this process the Turkish side has developed its own self-confidence. Authorities say that the per capita income in Turkish Cyprus has risen from $4,000 to $11,000 in the last three years. While previously paychecks comprised only 42 percent of those on the Greek side, now this figure has risen to 78 percent. As the economy develops, self-confidence will definitely increase as well.

12.15.2006


e-mail:a.bilici@zaman.com.tr
 

Cyprus move from England


British Prime Minister Tony Blair demands an additional declaration in the Conclusion Communiqué of the summit in order to force South Cyprus to find a solution in the island.

British Prime Minister Blair who is expected to visit Turkey tomorrow is preparing for a last minute score against South Cyprus.
According to a news website called ABHaber.com, England demands an additional declaration document in the Conclusion Communiquof the EU Summit to force South Cyprus government to find a solution.

This additional declaration (annex) will basically be the text announced by Finland Term Presidency on Monday however, the statement will reference the Cyprus issue and in a sense, it will interrogate the situation of South Cyprus and demand an acceleration for the solution struggle.

Greek Cypriots oppose

It was learned that England's attempt is opposed by the Greek side. Greeks have declared that they will never accept an additional declaration.
 

01:43 - 15th December 2006
EU leaders endorse partial freeze of Turkey's EU membership talks at summit
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European Union leaders on Thursday formally endorsed the decision to partially freeze Turkey's membership talks at a summit that focused on how quickly - and how far - the bloc should expand. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said all 25 leaders "support the decision unanimously" to slow down talks with Turkey over its refusal to honor a pact to open its ports and airports to EU member Cyprus. The leaders reiterated that Turkey and other EU hopefuls must comply with EU membership criteria - signaling that two years after taking in 10 new, mostly eastern European members, the path to the European Union will become considerably tougher. The decision on Turkey "was a credible, fair, very calibrated decision of the European Union, and it also reinforces the seriousness of the process of enlargement," Barroso said. Leaders also discussed the bloc's faltering constitution, a charter that was meant to serve as a blueprint for how to govern an expanded EU but was rejected last year by Dutch and French voters. Given the clear unease with enlargement, some say no more countries should be admitted to the EU after Romania and Bulgaria join next month until the bloc has a new treaty in place. 142343 dec 06GMT

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=43434

 European Council meeting in Brussels: EU enlargement will be the main topic
by David Kelleher

The future enlargement of the European Union, particularly Turkey and Croatia’s bid for membership, will be the main topic discussed during the European Council meeting being held today and tomorrow in Brussels.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, accompanied by Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, leave this morning for Brussels to attend the last meeting under Finland’s EU Presidency.

Tomorrow morning, the Prime Minister will also have a one-on-one meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Over the next two days, the heads of State or government are expected to base their discussions on the enlargement strategy that was approved by the Commission last month and the special report that examines the EU’s capacity to integrate new members.

The objective will be to consolidate the consensus among the member states on how to proceed with the enlargement process.

This meeting is of particular significance because heads of government of the 25 EU member states will welcome the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU. Both countries will be joining the EU on 1 January 2007 and this will conclude the EU’s fifth round of enlargement.

Turkey’s membership of the EU will undoubtedly be discussed and the Council will be taking stock of the accession negotiations on the basis of the outcome of the General Affairs and External Relations Council held this week.

On Monday, the EU froze eight of 35 negotiating “chapters” in Turkey’s entry negotiations – relating to transport and trade with Cyprus – thereby putting Ankara’s membership talks, already due to last at least a decade, on a low simmer.

The foreign ministers’ partial freeze decision – a surprise after weeks of division over the issue – filled EU capitals with a sense of relief after weeks of worry the year-end summit would become overshadowed by the dispute with Ankara over trading with Cyprus, whose Greek Cypriot government Turkey does not recognise.

Turkey yesterday criticised the European Union for bowing to Greek Cypriot pressure and being hesitant to take bolder steps on the Cyprus standoff.

Ankara does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government in the south of the divided island, and Turkey is the only country to recognise the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north.

The Mediterranean island has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded to stop a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, after Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification plan that Turkish Cypriots supported.

During the year-end summit, the Council will also focus on justice and home affairs as the second main theme. Heads of government are expected to discuss ways of improving EU decision-making and action in the area of freedom, security and justice. The goal will be to enhance the member states’ commitment to more effective decision-making on justice and home affairs.

Of particular interest to Malta is the EU’s immigration policy and the aim is to strengthen the overall approach to immigration and agree on concrete measures to be taken in 2007.

Other items on the agenda will be talks concerning the future of the Constitutional Treaty, policies on innovation and energy, climate change and key external relations issues.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/eu/story/0,,1972007,00.html

EU set to raise bar for new members


Mark Tran and agencies
Thursday December 14, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, pictured in September this year. Photograph: Fritz Reiss/AP.

EU leaders were poised to adopt a tougher approach to aspiring new members today as "enlargement fatigue" takes hold in several key countries.

A two-day summit is Brussels is expected to declare the bloc's eastward expansion an unqualified success, but also to put the brakes on future growth amid concerns that the grouping is becoming too unwieldy.

The EU has seen membership more than double over the past decade from 12 members in 1994 to 25 in 2004, when Malta, Cyprus and eight eastern European countries joined.

Article continues
Bulgaria and Romania join in January 2007. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said that countries such as Albania, Bosnia, Serbia and Macedonia have a "prospect of membership ... but we know that the perspective is a medium-term one".

She added that "a great many preparations" would be needed before it became reality.

Ms Merkel said that the EU was conducting "successful negotiations" with Croatia but added that it was too early to name a date when it might join the bloc.

"We all know that the perspective of joining is no guarantee for later membership, but that the criteria must be fulfilled," she said.

"I don't say this as a threat, but rather as an encouragement to the countries that want to join."

A draft declaration to be adopted by EU leaders toughens the bloc's language on conditions for membership.

The draft scraps the previous practice of setting far-off target dates by which candidates should be able to join, envisages tougher scrutiny of reforms, more regular assessment studies on candidate countries and greater effort to make enlargement documents public in order to sway mass opinion.

Member states where public opinion is against further enlargement - such as France and the Netherlands - are set to emphasise the hurdles that both the candidates and the bloc itself need to overcome before new members can join.

In the other camp, the Finnish EU presidency, supported by countries such as Italy and the UK, does not want to set the bar too high for new entrants.

EU leaders are expected to endorse a decision made by their foreign ministers earlier this week partially freezing Turkey's membership talks over Ankara's refusal to open its ports to Cyprus.

Tony Blair, a strong supporter of Turkish membership, will make his full commitment to see Turkey enter the EU.

His official spokesman said that the prime minister "believes it's important we align ourselves to moderate Muslim countries" as part of efforts to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

On institutional reform, the Finnish prime minister, Matti Vanhanen, will brief leaders on where individual member states stand on the EU constitution, which was rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands last year.

Ms Merkel is expected to outline her plans to revive the charter during her country's EU presidency next year.

Mr Vanhanen will also raise the issue of EU decision-making in justice and criminal matters in a last attempt to promote the commission's idea of removing the national veto in the area - an idea opposed by Germany and the UK.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/14/opinion/edkinzer.php

EU slams the door
Stephen Kinzer The Boston Globe
Published: 2006-12-14 10:53:55
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The decision to invade Iraq may go down in history as the most self-defeating ever made by an American president. Yet the United States is not alone in making choices that are devastating to its own interests. The European Union is about to prove that it can be equally blind.

At a summit meeting this week in Brussels, the EU will probably make explicit what has become clear in recent months: It does not want Turkey as a member. Officially it is likely to "suspend" negotiations with Turkey in several key areas, and offer it a "privileged partnership" or some other form of second-class status.

This would be almost as great a gift to Muslim radicals and enemies of democracy as the U.S. invasion of Iraq. By slamming the door in Turkey's face, the EU will proclaim that there is a fundamental chasm separating East and West, and that true cooperation between Europe and the Islamic world is, at least for now, impossible.

For the last few years, Turkey has been engaged in a process of near-revolutionary change. It is today a far more open and democratic country than it has ever been. The main reason Turkey has moved in this direction is the prospect of EU membership. If that prospect disappears, the reform process may slow down or stop.

Some senior commanders in the Turkish Army, which would lose most of its political power if Turkey joined the EU, will cheer this breakup. So will religious fundamentalists, who have always rejected the view that Turkey is essentially European.
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These two groups have worked uneasily together under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who comes from a religious background and symbolizes Turkey's effort to blend Islam with modernity. Now they will return to their traditional hostility, perhaps in ways that could threaten the country's hard-won political stability.

The EU's rejection of Turkey will lead many Muslims to conclude that if Europe has no place for the world's most democratic and secular Muslim country, it cannot be serious about bridging the gap between Islam and Christianity. That will strengthen the hand of those who preach "identity politics," which holds that religious and cultural differences among groups of nations are immutable.

With Turkey as a member, the EU could truly claim to be a global power. It would have the raw material to build a security force that could project the power of democratic ideals to trouble spots from Iraq to Darfur. Instead it is leaving world leadership to the overwhelmed United States, China and emerging blocs of radicals who will cackle with glee over this breakup.

The EU's official explanation is that it is Turkey's fault, because Turkey has refused to open its ports to ships from Greek Cyprus. The Cyprus issue is, however, a smokescreen to hide what every sensate European knows. Political leaders, notably President Jacques Chirac of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, have concluded that Turkey is too big, too poor and above all too Islamic to join their club. By blocking Turkey's application, they stoke the fires of insular nationalism that are burning in many parts of Europe.

To be sure, Turkey is less than an ideal EU candidate. It limits free speech, denies aspects of its history, allows generals to intimidate politicians and restricts the freedom of Kurds, Christians and other groups. It has been steadily pulling away from these bad habits, but after being rejected by the EU, it may see no incentive to continue.

For the last half-century, the EU has been arguably the greatest stabilizing force in the world. It has calmed age-old enmities and set many countries on the road to freedom and prosperity. Now, for the first time, it is becoming a destabilizing force. By rejecting Turkey, it will pour more fuel onto the fires of anger that are burning throughout the Islamic world. That will be as dangerous for Europeans as it is for secularists and lovers of freedom everywhere.

Stephen Kinzer is a former chief of the New York Times bureau in Istanbul and author of "Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds."

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/13/worldupdates/
2006-12-13T013249Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-280045-
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Turkish PM slams EU decision, vows more reforms
By Hidir Goktas

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned a decision by the European Union to partially suspend his country's accession talks but vowed to press on with reforms aimed at preparing Ankara for membership.

EU foreign ministers decided on Monday evening to suspend Turkey's accession talks in eight of the 35 chapters, or policy areas, into which the process is divided following Ankara's continued refusal to open its ports to traffic from Cyprus.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses his ruling Justice and Development Party MPs during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, December 12, 2006. Erdogan on Tuesday condemned a decision by the European Union to partially suspend his country's accession talks. (REUTERS/Stringer)
"This decision is unfair to Turkey ... Despite our efforts, Turkey-EU relations are passing through a serious test," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party.

"Our reform process will continue with the same decisiveness," said Erdogan, whose government has pushed through a heavy programme of political, social and economic reform in a bid to meet EU demands.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the EU ministers' decision betrayed "a lack of vision".

EU debate over 'punishing' Turkey mirrors deeper-running differences within the bloc over the desirability of admitting a large, relatively poor and predominantly Muslim country. France and Austria, among others, view Turkey's candidacy sceptically, while Britain backs membership as an important strategic move.

In encouraging news for Ankara, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Tuesday the bloc was ready to open new negotiating chapters with Turkey soon.

"Turkey is ready to proceed as soon as possible ... with the opening of chapters for which technical preparations have been completed," Rehn told a news conference in Strasbourg, France.

Separately, EU sources said current EU president Finland hoped to restart talks before the end of the year, possibly on the economic and monetary affairs chapter.

CYPRUS

On the vexed Cyprus issue, Erdogan sounded a defiant note, saying Turkey would take no unilateral moves to resolve the row.

Last week, Turkey had mooted the possibility of opening one port to Cypriot shipping for one year, on unilateral basis. His latest remarks suggested that proposal no longer stood.

Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, and instead backs breakaway Turkish Cypriots in the north of the divided Mediterranean island.

Ankara says it will not open its ports to the Greek Cypriots until the EU lifts trade restrictions against the Turkish Cypriots, a move so far blocked by Cyprus.

Turkish financial markets ended narrowly mixed as investors digested the full impact of the EU decision amid a general sense of relief that the EU had not punished Ankara more.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the decision should be seen as a message of encouragement to reformers and democrats in Turkey, because the EU was pressing for progress on freedom of expression and human rights.

Deniz Baykal, head of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), accused the government of mishandling EU ties.

"Despite this government being ready to make every kind of concession in EU relations, we have reached this stage of deadlock... Lots of talking has brought us to a quick divorce," Baykal told his centre-left but nationalist-minded CHP.

Turkey began EU entry talks barely 15 months ago but is not expected to join the wealthy bloc for many years, if ever. Polls show support for EU membership falling here.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6178337.stm

EU backs strict expansion rules
Tony Blair and Jan Peter Balkenende
Keeping membership rules tight will reassure the public, say EU leaders
European Union leaders have agreed that aspiring members must meet its tight entry criteria but said there should be no new obstacles to future expansion.

During the Brussels summit, 25 heads of government also endorsed a decision to partially suspend talks with Turkey.

The EU leaders underlined that the country must comply fully with all the membership criteria before it can join.

The two-day meeting is also expected to discuss reforming EU institutions ahead of further expansion.

New members Bulgaria and Romania will join on 1 January 2007.

EU leaders agreed that they are not willing to bend the rules on membership, a move that correspondents say is intended to reassure sceptical voters.

"The criteria must be strictly adhered to [...] the Union is not setting any new obstacles, we are not closing any doors, " said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

Earlier, the German chancellor said it would be a "historic failure" if the EU did not agree a constitution by 2009.

Angela Merkel said her government would work intensively towards this goal during Germany's six-month presidency of the EU, which begins in January.

Capacity to act

Arriving for the summit, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the leaders needed to agree on the reasons for enlargement.


This meeting is likely to make it tougher for new countries to join without breaking any existing promises
Mark Mardell
BBC Europe editor

Leaders tackle EU future
He said they should aim for consensus on "why enlargement is important for Europe and how we should do it in a way that reinforces the European capacity to act."

The EU took on 10 new members in 2004, and another two - Bulgaria and Romania - are due to join on 1 January.

"The important issue is the problem if... we want to have our house in order before accepting new inhabitants," said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the EU had to put greater emphasis on "the capacity of the EU to take in new member states".

Ms Merkel said the EU had to have tough controls to ensure any new members met the entry criteria.

"I am not saying this as a threat but as an incentive for countries that want to join," she said.

'Turkey problem'


Now we can have this general debate about enlargement without this Turkey problem
Matti Vanhanen
Finnish PM

Q&A: EU enlargement

The summit comes after EU foreign ministers decided on Monday to partially suspend accession talks with Turkey, because of Turkey's failure to open its sea and air ports to EU-member Cyprus.

Mr Vanhanen, who is chairing the summit, welcomed the fact that it would now be possible to have a general debate about enlargement "without this Turkey problem".

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is expected to propose a softer line towards Serbia, after talks on closer ties were halted earlier this year over Belgrade's failure to arrest war crimes suspect General Ratko Mladic.

Correspondents say other countries in the region, including Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary, would also back a resumption of the Serbian talks.

However, the summit's draft conclusions say only that Serbia "remains welcome" to join the EU.

Home affairs veto

The draft conclusions also keep open the idea of member states dropping their veto in justice and home affairs at some point in the future, in order to strengthen the fight against crime and terrorism.

Correspondents say Finland may ask the leaders to agree in principle that dropping the veto is the best way forward.

But the UK, Germany and the Netherlands are expected to oppose the proposal.

UK Home Secretary John Reid said last week that most member states wanted to keep the veto, and that the idea should be scrapped.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=
G5CJAERELNP1BQFIQMGCFF4AVCBQUIV0?
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 Cyprus – Turkey's obstacle to the EU

By Alex Spillius
Last Updated: 9:28am GMT 14/12/2006

Legacy of bitterness on the divided island is at the heart of dispute stretching from Brussels to Ankara

In Taskent memories are as long as the shadows cast by the cypress trees scattered across the hillside.

An abandoned aircraft rusts on the runway at the former Nicosia airport
An abandoned aircraft rusts on the runway at the former Nicosia airport

And Suat Kadafar has probably the longest and most painful of all.

In August 1974, when he was 19, Greek Cypriot gunmen rounded him up along with 83 other males from their village in southern Cyprus and marched them to a school.

The next day they boarded two buses, believing they were heading for a prison camp at Limassol, then a focal point of the fighting that wracked the Mediterranean island, now a tourist destination.

The buses were diverted off the road down a dirt track. The men were ordered towards an open pit and scattered with machinegun fire. All of them died – apart from Suat, trapped beneath bodies with the brains of a victim spread across his head. "I don't know why they chose our village; Greeks and Turks were living together okay," he said yesterday. "I am so tired of my history, I become very upset when I talk about it."
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That history is at the heart of a dispute which now stretches from Brussels in the west to Ankara, the Turkish capital, in the east.

Cyprus has become the major stumbling block to Turkey, a Muslim nation of 71million, joining the European Union in what would be a momentous extension of its borders and identity.

At a meeting beginning today, EU leaders are expected to endorse a decision made by their foreign ministers earlier this week partially freezing Turkey's membership talks because of its refusal to implement a 2005 deal to open its ports to the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, which accounts for nearly three quarters of the island.

Ankara in turn insists that the EU broke a promise to end the economic isolation of northern Cyprus, whose ports and airport can only trade directly with Turkey, the only country that recognises the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

In 1974, Suat's village was shared by Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The Greeks called it Dohni, the Turks Taskent. Despite his own and his country's troubled past, Suat favours re-unification. "We want freedom, one Cyprus. But not living together." The chances of that happening are as remote as ever.

Emine Erk, a member of the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation, said: "It is a very ugly stalemate and we are out in the cold. The Greek Cypriots are not friendly. It suits them to portray us as a puppet of Turkey. Turkey is supportive but ultimately their quest is EU membership. And then some EU countries use Cyprus as an excuse to oppose Turkish membership at our expense."

The failure in 2004 of a referendum on a federal, Swiss-style re-unification plan still hurts in the north, which voted strongly in favour. The Greek Cypriots rejected it overwhelmingly, knowing they were about to join the EU anyway and fearing Turkish troops would not withdraw.

A senior Cypriot diplomat said: "People forget that Turkey has been in breach of international law for 30 years. They said they invaded to protect their community but never left."

Despite the enduring hostility and legacy of bitterness, co-operation has improved on matters such as crime and drug-trafficking. In 2003 the border opened and every day labourers from the north, where the GDP is roughly a third of the south, cross to find badly needed work.

A team of scientists recently began a project aimed at bringing the sides together. Skeletons and bones from graves dating from the 1960s are being examined in the hope of identifying some of 2,000 people never accounted for. Exhumation of the Dohni massacre begins next year.

Back in the village, Ersoy and Jale Talug recall the fathers, brothers and cousins they lost. "I don't forget that time for a day," said Ersoy, who survived because he was working outside the village when the gunmen came. "We want the bodies back to bury. We have the land ready."

http://english.people.com.cn/200612/13/eng20061213_332178.html

Cyprus issue remains major block on Turkey's path to EU membership
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One year after the European Union (EU) began membership talks with Turkey in October 2005, the Cyprus issue still remains a major block on Turkey's path to EU membership.

The country's integration with Europe, which began back in 1963, may suffer lasting damage as Ankara refused to open its airports and harbors to traffic from Cyprus and insisted that it would do so unless the EU takes steps to end the Turkish Cypriot community's economic isolation.

In order to avoid a "head on collision" in Ankara's entry talks later this year over the Cyprus problem, Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, offered a set of proposals that reportedly envision the opening of the Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta for joint use of the two sides of the long divided island under an interim United Nations (UN) or EU administration, in exchange for handing over control of Varosha (Maras) to the UN for Greek Cypriot settlement. Then it is expected that Turkey will open its ports to Greek Cypriots.

However, the Turkish Cypriot community said the Finnish package, which "is giving everything to the Greek Cypriots", must include the opening of the Ercan airport of northern Cyprus to international traffic. It also says the status of Varosha is an element of the overall solution to the Cyprus deadlock and it should not be a part of the Finnish proposal.

Turkey argues that the EU can no longer be fair or objective in finding a balanced solution to the Cyprus problem, saying that the bloc has become a party to the problem after the Greek Cypriots joined in May 2004.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of Cyprus following a coup by a group of Greek officers. The internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 in the name of the whole island because Greek Cypriot voters rejected a UN-backed unification plan.

Turkish-dominated northern Cyprus insisted that the Cyprus problem must be resolved under the roof of the UN, and accused the EU of importing the problem by allowing the Greek Cypriots to join the bloc in May 2004.

Early this week, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen announced that the EU is posing a Dec. 6 deadline for Turkey to open its ports to Greek Cypriots as part of the country's additional protocol, which extends its customs union to the ten new EU member states including the Republic of Cyprus, which is not recognized by Turkey.

The Finnish rotating presidency of the EU gave Turkey the deadline so the EU foreign ministers will weigh their response accordingly on the ports row when they meet on Dec. 11 in light of the EU Commission's recommendations.

Reacting to the Dec. 6 deadline set by the bloc on the ports dispute, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul recently dismissed the deadline on Cyprus or what he called "blackmail".

Citing how the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of an international peace and reunification plan on the island back in 2004, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would not take any step if they do not agree with the offered proposals.

The prime minister has once said that he would rather see the suspension of the EU membership talks than bow to what he called "unreasonable" demands over Cyprus.

The EU Commission in its report on Turkey and enlargement strategy paper released on Nov. 8 said the leaders would make a proposal during the summit in mid-December on whether to continue talks with Turkey if the country fails to open its ports.

Analysts argued that the EU's decision aims at keeping the door open to a possible success of negotiations on the Finnish proposals up until the key meeting.

The analysts said that if Turkey fails to implement its obligation to opening ports to the Greek Cypriots, it seems that the commission will suspend some important chapters of the accession talks to avert an all-out suspension.

According to optimistic expectations, detailed talks on three to eight, or a maximum of 11, of the 35 chapters might be suspended, while pessimists say the number of suspended chapter could be as high as 15 to 20.

Joost Lagendijk, co-president of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission, noted that if a solution is not found within a few weeks, it is a high possibility to freeze the Cyprus issue, and Turkey's EU negotiation process can not be pursued as it was planned.

Despite the Turkish-EU relations are heading into trouble at the moment over the Cyprus problem, the Turkish leaders still hope diplomacy can resolve the dispute, saying that they were determined to continue talks until the last minute in a bid to find a solution.

"The Finnish are making great efforts to resolve the issue and we are supporting them," said Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who will go to Helsinki on Sunday, for talks on Finland's plan to address both sides concerns, adding, "if a solution could be found, we would gladly say yes."

However, for Turkey, it has become apparent that as long as the isolation of northern Cyprus is not lifted, opening ports to Cyprus will be out of the question. In other words, even if the government would like to do so, it would have to face opposing public opinion.

As Turkey enters the election year of 2007 and nationalism is on the rise, it is clear that a unilateral concession over the Cyprus issue would be harmful for any Turkish government because many Turks consider the Finnish package is based on an expectation of the Turkish side to compromise for the sake of keeping Turkey's EU process on track, even without getting anything from the EU or the Greek Cypriots in return.

Besides the Cyprus problem, the EU has also been asking Turkey, a secular Islamic country seeking to join the bloc for more than 40 years, to carry out more reforms, enhance freedom of expression and curb the role of the military.

Currently, more and more Turks have started reconsidering whether it might be in the best interests of Turkey to join the EU.

In a recent opinion poll, only one in three Turks said they definitely want their country to join the EU. The figure of the similar poll was 50 percent two years ago, Turkish media reported.

Some EU officials said that it would take 10 years for Turkey to join the 25-nation bloc if Ankara meets all EU's criteria. However, what is clear is that as long as the Cyprus problem remains unsolved, Turkey will not have the chance to get into the bloc even after a decade.

Source: Xinhua

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=17041

EU halts Turkey's membership bid

After a day of intense debate, EU foreign ministers have agreed a raft of measures they hope will slow down accession talks with Turkey, while at the same time ensuring they are not derailed.

By Ahto Lobjakas for RFE/RL (13/12/06)

A series of what one official described as "carefully calibrated" documents freezes talks in eight hand-picked fields in retaliation for Turkey's refusal to receive air and sea traffic originating from the Greek part of Cyprus, but also promises moves to help Turkish Cypriots.

EU officials expressed relief on 11 December that the bloc's foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, had managed to avert a potentially hugely divisive summit debate on Turkey.
A creative outcome

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, speaking for the outgoing EU presidency, said "creativity" had been needed to arrive at the outcome ahead of the impending summit on 14-15 December.

"So, all in all, this means that there will not be a 'Turkish summit' on [14 and 15 December]," Tuomioja said. "Probably there will references to, I wouldn't be surprised, there will be references to the decisions taken today, but we have unanimity among the member states on how to proceed, and there will be no need to return to these issues in the [summit] council."

Playing on metaphors popular in EU circles, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos quipped after the meeting that the bloc had opted for a "slowdown" in talks with Turkey to avoid a "train crash."

The decision, if it does not unravel during the week, is a symbolic triumph for Finland, under whose last presidency in late 1999 Turkey was made a candidate for EU membership.
The Cyprus problem

Brussels has had Turkey in its sights over the past year for purportedly stalling on political reforms. More seriously however, Turkey has steadfastly refused to meet what all EU member states say is an essential condition for the accession talks. After the bloc's enlargement in 2004, Turkey agreed to extend to all new EU member states an earlier commitment to open its ports and airports to their traffic. The commitment is known as the Ankara Protocol.

However, Turkey now refuses to implement it in the case of Cyprus, which remains divided into Greek and Turkish communities. The former enjoys international recognition and represents the island in the EU, the latter has no political or trade links with the bloc.

The package of measures agreed by EU ministers on 11 December contains three elements. First, there is a decision not to open talks on eight of the 35 negotiating "chapters" of EU law before Turkey complies with the Ankara Protocol. Second, the EU expresses support to UN-sponsored efforts to reunite Cyprus - rebuffed by the island's Greek community in a referendum in 2004. And third, a promise of a raft of measures to materialize in January designed to ease the trade isolation of Turkish northern Cyprus.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the package is crafted to offer every interested party something, but "not 100 percent."

"This decision strikes the right balance, and it is a very carefully calibrated decision," Rehn said. "On the one hand, it sends a signal to Turkey that failure to meet legal obligations cannot remain without consequences. On the other hand, at the same time, it clarifies the way forward and enables progress in the accession negotiations."

The EU's basic dilemma was how to register its displeasure without provoking Turkey to walk away from the negotiating table. Facing elections in 2007, the Turkish leadership's options appear restricted. It reportedly made a compromise offer to open one major port to Cypriot ships, but the gesture appeared not to have played a part in EU deliberations.

Tuomioja described the impending decisions to ease sanctions against northern Cyprus as "unfinished business" for the EU, agreed already in 2004. However, the business remains unfinished largely because resistance from Greek-community Cypriots. The EU move seems clearly intended to mollify Ankara, whose foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, warned the EU in the "International Herald Tribune" on 11 December to avoid setting "unilateral conditions."
The union divided

The package of EU measures is also designed to reconcile those - like France, Austria, and the Netherlands - who wanted a harsher EU response, with other members, such as Britain, Italy and Poland arguing for a more lenient course of action.

Rehn directed his main appeal to the skeptics, whose domestic publics are struggling to come to terms with large mostly Muslim immigrant communities. "Europe needs a stable and democratic Turkey, and Turkey needs Europe both politically and economically," he said. "This is why we started accession negotiations a year ago, and this remains valid more than ever. Turkey is an anchor of stability in a most unstable region, and it is a benchmark of democracy for the wider Middle East, for the Muslim world."

Rehn also noted that accepting Turkey would also send a signal that the EU is confident that its own "second-biggest religion," Islam, is compatible with its values.

http://breaking.tcm.ie/world/?jp=CWIDSNCWKFAU

Turkish EU membership talks stall on Greek Cypriot issue
13/12/2006 - 13:11:36

Turkey today accused the European Union of bowing to Greek Cypriot pressure and being hesitant to take bolder steps on the Cyprus stand-off.

The country also claimed that a solution to the long-running dispute could only be found at the United Nations.

"The EU has once again refrained" from taking steps, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a weekly news conference.

"We don't accept the EU's bowing to pressure, especially pressure from Greek Cypriots."

Tan argued that the EU could not provide "the right formula for a comprehensive solution."

"The place for a comprehensive solution is the United Nations," Tan said.

The comments came after EU ministers agreed to partially suspend membership talks with Turkey because it refuses to open up to trade with EU-member Cyprus.

Ankara does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government in the south of the divided island, and Turkey is the only country to recognise the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north.

"It is out of the question for Turkey to take unilateral steps" to open its ports and airports to Cyprus, "unless the isolation of Turkish Cypriots is lifted," Tan said.

Turkey says the Cyprus dispute must be resolved at the United Nations because the EU cannot be impartial with Cyprus as a member.

"Our stance on this has not changed, and won't change," he said. "We will closely monitor the decision to lift the isolation" of Turkish Cypriots.

Tan also urged the EU to take a broader look at its relations with Turkey and reconsider the country's strategic importance.

The Mediterranean island has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded to stop a coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, after Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification plan that Turkish Cypriots supported.

http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=121438

Turkey deala plus for luckless EU presidency

Reuters

Helsinki, Dec 13: Finland managed to avert a train wreck with the European Union candidate Turkey in the twilight of its presidency of the EU but it has little else to show from a lacklustre term leading the bloc.Many initiatives in its six months in the chair ended in disappointment, with the 25-nation union in a state of gloom.

Monday’s Finnish-brokered deal among foreign ministers for a partial freeze on Ankara’s accession talks prevented a total breakdown with the Turks and avoided this week’s regular meeting of the EU leaders turning into a crisis summit on Turkey.

It was some consolation after the Foreign Minister, Mr Erkki Tuomioja failed to broker a deal on Cyprus trade meant to induce Turkey to open its ports and airports to traffic from Nicosia.

The Brussels summit, tomorrow and Friday, will mainly focus on the bloc’s enlargement strategy, and European leaders are set to endorse the slowdown in Turkey’s bid.

But they will also discuss ways to improve decision-making in justice and home affairs, where the Finnish presidency suffered a setback in its aim of closer cooperation.

That had been one of its main goals, along with improving EU relations with Russia, which also ran into difficulties.

“To some extent they have been held hostage to two external relations issues with the EU, Turkey and Russia,” said Mr Antonio Missiroli of the European Policy Centre think-tank.

“They did well on Turkey. They did what they could on an issue that will haunt the EU for a while,” he told Reuters.

On relations with Russia it had less success.

The Prime Minister, Mr Matti Vanhanen presented a united EU front to the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin at a summit in October, but a month later the EU was unable to agree on launching talks with Moscow on a new strategic partnership.

Poland vetoed the move, refusing to back down in a fight with Moscow over food trade, despite a last-minute Friday night dash to Warsaw by Mr Vanhanen in a bid to cool brows.

“No matter how irresponsible one thinks Poland was, maybe the presidency should have been acting a little bit earlier on this,” Mr Missiroli said.

Analysts and diplomats gave Finland credit for its handling of the EU crisis management during the war in Lebanon.

But the EU’s political doldrums ahead of French elections next year made it a tough time to be in the hot seat.

Finland’s ambition to build on a leadership role in justice and home affairs it established in Tampere in 1999 by proposing another great leap forward in police and judicial cooperation fell flat on its face in September.

The EU ministers rebuffed a Finnish proposal to move to majority voting on policies involving counter-terrorism and cross-border crime-fighting. Critics said the Finns might have aimed lower, given the sullen mood following the defeat of the EU’s draft constitution in French and Dutch votes last year.

“That was one of the weak points,” said Ms Teija Tiilikainen, head of European Studies at Helsinki University. “Finland wasn’t good in compromise-building.”

She said the Finns could also have done better in trying to forge a consensus on working-hours legislation.

Ministers rejected a presidency proposal for Britain to keep its opt-out from limits on working hours, and their decision also blocked other less contentious but more urgent changes.

Helsinki did manage to steer to a successful conclusion deals on cross-border trade in services and on regulating chemicals in everyday products that were already in the works.

But it made little headway in its declared aim of boosting EU-United States relations. Hopes of top-level talks were quietly dropped and even a meeting of foreign ministers was scrapped.

http://comment.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/article2070147.ece

 Leading article: An impasse, but not an impossiblity
Published: 13 December 2006

The decision of the European Union's foreign ministers to freeze part of Turkey's accession negotiations this week is probably the least draconian action that could be expected under the circumstances. The "circumstances" being Turkey's refusal to open up its trade to southern Cyprus and a report criticising Turkey on its slowness to improve some of its illiberal practices.

These are real questions, of course. But the handling of the negotiations has given rise to the very real suspicion that what is at stake is not the terms of accession but the growing opposition to the whole idea of bringing in a Muslim country to an essentially Christian grouping. Turkey is well within its rights to feel strongly aggrieved by this. Its application to join was made in good faith and has been accepted by Europe's leadership in a succession of summits. By any standards, it has made huge strides in meeting the terms laid down.

No one is saying that these terms do not still pose considerable obstacles. Having made the grievous error of allowing Cyprus in without first making sure it agreed to a UN reunification package (unsurprisingly, once Greek Cyprus was in, it turned the deal down), the EU is now saddled with a member determined to pursue one particular agenda and with the power to veto negotiations to get its way.

Cyprus demands that Turkey open up all its ports to trade with the island. Turkey argues that it will only do so when - and it was promised this - steps are taken to end the isolation of northern Cyprus. To give up its negotiating card with nothing in return would be a betrayal of the Turkish Cypriots in the interests of a deal it fears the EU is not pursuing in good faith anyway.

It's an impasse but not an impossible one. The first thing the leaders of the EU should do when they meet in Helsinki at the end of this week is to re-iterate their wish for Turkey's eventual membership and their willingness to help it get there. Nothing can progress so long as there are doubts about the EU's sincerity.

The second task it should undertake is a real and concerted effort to push a solution to the Cyprus question. The major countries of the EU must make it clear to Athens as well as Nicosia that they will not accept the whole union being held hostage to this sectoral interest. Even in terms of their own self interest, it can't be right that an agreement with northern Cyprus and their hopes for restitution of property be endlessly delayed. By putting only some of the negotiations on hold and refraining from deadlines, the EU has left the door open for further talks. The real fear is that, if you do not make progress now, the prospect of Turkish entry will fall and with it an historic opportunity for Europe as a whole.

The decision of the European Union's foreign ministers to freeze part of Turkey's accession negotiations this week is probably the least draconian action that could be expected under the circumstances. The "circumstances" being Turkey's refusal to open up its trade to southern Cyprus and a report criticising Turkey on its slowness to improve some of its illiberal practices.

These are real questions, of course. But the handling of the negotiations has given rise to the very real suspicion that what is at stake is not the terms of accession but the growing opposition to the whole idea of bringing in a Muslim country to an essentially Christian grouping. Turkey is well within its rights to feel strongly aggrieved by this. Its application to join was made in good faith and has been accepted by Europe's leadership in a succession of summits. By any standards, it has made huge strides in meeting the terms laid down.

No one is saying that these terms do not still pose considerable obstacles. Having made the grievous error of allowing Cyprus in without first making sure it agreed to a UN reunification package (unsurprisingly, once Greek Cyprus was in, it turned the deal down), the EU is now saddled with a member determined to pursue one particular agenda and with the power to veto negotiations to get its way.

Cyprus demands that Turkey open up all its ports to trade with the island. Turkey argues that it will only do so when - and it was promised this - steps are taken to end the isolation of northern Cyprus. To give up its negotiating card with nothing in return would be a betrayal of the Turkish Cypriots in the interests of a deal it fears the EU is not pursuing in good faith anyway.

It's an impasse but not an impossible one. The first thing the leaders of the EU should do when they meet in Helsinki at the end of this week is to re-iterate their wish for Turkey's eventual membership and their willingness to help it get there. Nothing can progress so long as there are doubts about the EU's sincerity.

The second task it should undertake is a real and concerted effort to push a solution to the Cyprus question. The major countries of the EU must make it clear to Athens as well as Nicosia that they will not accept the whole union being held hostage to this sectoral interest. Even in terms of their own self interest, it can't be right that an agreement with northern Cyprus and their hopes for restitution of property be endlessly delayed. By putting only some of the negotiations on hold and refraining from deadlines, the EU has left the door open for further talks. The real fear is that, if you do not make progress now, the prospect of Turkish entry will fall and with it an historic opportunity for Europe as a whole.
 

http://www.european-left.org/Members/mherberg/pressrelease.
2006-12-13.3676913171

EU- Turkish relations in the mirror of EU enlargement: to keep the negotiations open


The Party of the European Left Executive Board states on the results of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers meeting December 11, 2006 and on the eve of the EU summit in Tampere, December 14 –15, 2006


The European General Affairs Council decided on the eve of the EU summit in Tampere 2007 the slowing down of negotiations with Turkey and refraining from opening talks on eight chapters within 35 in view of the refusal of the Turkish government to comply with the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement on Customs Union and open its ports and airports to all ten new Member States, referring to the Republic of Cyprus.


These eight chapters are dealing with the internal market which is not subject of current negotia-tions. From 2007 on there should be annual reports about progress made on these subjects.


The European Left (EL) reiterates its support to the EU accession of Turkey, provided that Turkey fulfills its democratic obligations and accession commitments and abides by international law.

The EL stresses that Turkey must fully promote and respect the human and minority rights according to International Law, especially by solving democratically the Kurdish issue, must strengthen freedom of expression, freedom of religion, trade un-ion rights and the civilian control of the military. And in this regard Turkey is requested to move towards the solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the relevant UN resolu-tions as well.


So far both Turkey and the EU are not ready for enlargement: neither Turkey is ready for entering the EU nor the EU is politically, institutionally and economically able to admit Turkey. In particular the EL regrets that the Turkish government has not made satisfac-tory progress towards fulfilling its contractual obligations, as assessed in the European Commission’s Progress Report on Turkey’s accession course and in the relevant Euro-pean Parliament resolution.


The EL considers that the forthcoming European Council should stress the necessity to take more speed for realizing the corresponding measures and initiatives so that progresses can be made on Turkey’s entry talks.


The EL rejects the notion of a united Europe being an exclusively “Christian Club”. We are opposing any attempt by nationalist and populist circles of Europe to block the ac-cession of Turkey on the grounds of islamophobia. Turkey has an association agreement with the EEC since 1963. And this country agreed to implement the Copenhagen criteria as the required basis for preparing the accession negotiations – being the measure for all other countries acting into this direction as partners within or outside the EU as well.


A democratic Turkey carrying out a peaceful and social - economic policy aimed at over-coming the gap between the rich and the poor, the developed and till today hopeless– backwarded areas and obviously can become an important actor in the new, peace-strengthening role we want Europe to play towards the Middle East, which is one of the most crucial crossroads for world peace.


We do not underestimate the difficulties and we are fully conscious of the need to sup-port as strongly as possible the struggle of the democratic, peace and left forces inside Turkey. In addition, the EL supports initiatives of cooperation and solidarity between the left forces of Turkey-Greece-Cyprus, as well as the joint campaign of SYNASPISMOS and ODP for the mutual reduction of arms and military budgets of Greece and Turkey.


This needs active steps also from the political Left in Europe. In this direction, the EL Executive board decides to organize, within the first half of 2007, a Conference on the enlargement aspects related to Turkey in Ankara – inviting left wing and democratic par-ties as well as political and social organizations in Turkey to further debates.

Brussels, 12 December 2006

EU: Blair not looking for row over TurkeyDocument Actions 14/12/2006

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is eager to argue Turkey's case for EU membership but will not go looking to pick a fight on the issue, his spokesman said in Brussels Thursday.
Blair has been the chief cheerleader within the European Union for Turkey joining the club, championing the country as a beacon for moderate Muslim democracy, as he takes the battle to Islamist extremists in Britain and abroad.
EU leaders began a two-day summit in Brussels on Thursday that will see them slow down the process of enlarging the 25-member bloc until they can reform the its creaking institutions.
And Turkey's accession in particular was pushed off the agenda Monday when EU foreign ministers agreed to freeze its entry negotiations on certain criteria for failing to fulfill its trade obligations to Cyprus.
But Blair will make his outlook plain to counterparts if the chance arises, as he prepares a visit to the Middle East to drum up support for moderate Muslims.
"In terms of Turkey, our position is still that we very much believe in and support their candidacy," Blair's official spokesman insisted.
"Of course, they have to meet all necessary criteria, but we still remain very strong supporters.
"If people want to talk about Turkey, the prime minister is quite happy to. What he's not going to do is specially make a statement.
"If there is a discussion, he is quite happy to, and indeed eager to, argue the case for Turkish accession."
The spokesman stressed that Blair was heading to the Middle East shortly in his bid to forge an "arc of moderation" across the region -- with Turkish acceptance into the EU forming a cornerstone of his vision.
Britain has troops battling Islamic extremists in Afghanistan and Iraq and has been the victim of home-grown Islamist suicide bombers, who killed 52 people in attacks on the London transport system last year.
And since the deadly blasts, Blair's drive to back voices of moderate Islam in Britain and abroad has only intensified.
However, his vision for Turkey becoming one of the two biggest states in the EU seems set to be put on a backburner by the European Council -- the 25 EU heads of state or government.
Making progress on reforming the EU's institutions before allowing new members in was to be the key theme of their summit.
Finland, hosting the get-together as the current EU president, made clear Thursday that "the line is quite clear" from Monday's freeze on entry negotiations on eight of the 35 chapters all candidates must complete.
"The important thing about what the foreign minsters agreed on Monday is that 27 of the 35 criteria are still open," Blair's spokesman said.
He added: "We do believe that candidates for enlargement should meet the criteria that are set down. What we do not believe is that there should be any new criteria imposed on them.
"We, as always, remain keen to keep moving forward."
 

EU leaders gather to put the brakes on enlargementDocument Actions Angela Merkel (L) with Tony Blair - Photo Council of the European Union14/12/2006

European Union leaders began a two-day summit Thursday that will see them slow down the process of EU enlargement until they can reform the bloc's creaking institutions.
"The most important issue is the problem of whether we want to go on with further enlargement without having arranged the institutional settings or we want to have our house in order with full acceptance by EU inhabitants," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said as he arrived.
"I think we are very clearly stating that enlargement can only take place under certain conditions, but that is something else that we can limit," echoed Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, who will take part in a parallel foreign ministers meeting.
The leaders will also confirm the partial suspension of membership talks with Turkey, whose rocky path toward Europe's rich club has embodied the concerns and fears about the bloc's ability to take on new members.
On Monday EU foreign ministers agreed to freeze eight of the 35 membership chapters which Ankara must successfully complete prior to joining the EU.
Over their evening meal, the 25 heads of state and government were laying out their visions for enlargement after Bulgaria and Romania come on board as the 26th and 27th members on January 1.
"The aim is to confirm a common understanding on the future of the enlargement process," Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, hosting the summit as EU president, said in an invitation to his fellow leaders.
A constitution was meant to help the EU run more smoothly as it grows but it was rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums last year.
Those votes, due in part to fears of "enlargement fatigue" and the idea of a large, relatively poor and mainly Muslim country like Turkey joining, sent the Union spiralling into its worst-ever crisis.
The leaders are expected to concede that the impasse over the constitution must end before new members are considered.
The German EU presidency, starting on January 1, is expected to revive talks on the constitution, though probably not using that term, and plot a roadmap for its acceptance. However no substantive decisions are expected before France takes over the helm in the second half of 2008.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be a "historic failure" if agreement on a constitutional treaty was not struck before European elections in 2009.
Whatever the outcome here, the leaders' stance will have major repercussions for Turkey, which began often-torturous membership talks last year, but also for EU candidates like Croatia and Macedonia and other hopefuls in the Balkans.
Other issues on the summit agenda include the increasingly high-profile issue of sustainable energy supply, but the real initiatives on that subject are also expected to be taken up by Germany.
An issue threatening to muscle its way onto the agenda was EU attempts to forge a fresh partnership with Russia.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he would present "a compromise" deal here to allow the launch of EU-Russia talks on a cooperation accord.
Last week Poland indicated that it was ready to drop its veto on EU negotiations with Russia if Moscow ends an embargo on Polish meat within 50 days of the start of talks, imposed over concerns about food safety.
With Turkey resolved for now and nobody keen to wade too far into the issue of institutional reform, one other issue, Serbia, is looming as a possible bone of contention, in what is likely to be a quiet and short summit.
The Union froze in May talks on closer ties with Serbia over its failure to hand over former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic to the UN war crimes court.
The bloc is expected to reaffirm its desire to see Belgrade join the bloc one day, but reflect divisions among the member states on how to best support democratic forces in the country.
"We welcome Serbia," Solana said after talks with visiting Serbian President Boris Tadic. "It is a country that we want to see in the European Union."
European Council, 14 - 15 December 2006
 

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.php?p=119310#119310

HI,

i would like to know if Kenan Akin and Erdan Emanet arrest warrant applies only in Cyprus or in the whole EU,. does anyone know?



PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:33 pm Reply with quote
EUropean666
advanced member
advanced member

Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 239





those are accused for the murder of solomou and there is warrant against them, i just need want to know if there is an pan-EU warrant for their arrest or not