Turkish Press Review, 06-09-28

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From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>

28.09.2006

CONTENTS

[01] ERDOGAN: “THE EU SHOULD BE FAIR”

[01] ERDOGAN: “THE EU SHOULD BE FAIR”

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that Turkey would continue its fight against the terrorist group PKK to the very end, even if no one supports this effort. Gul, currently paying a visit to the US, held a press conference in New York. Stressing that Turkey expected the US to carry out an effective, sincere and resolute move against the group, Gul said Turkey had enough power and determination to carry out its fight against the PKK, even if the US and the Iraq don’t back it. Asked about Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s remarks threatening Iraq's neighbors, including Turkey, the foreign minister said Talabani had been making astonishing statements, adding that as a statesman he should act more carefully and responsibly. /Sabah/[03] EP ADOPTS TURKEY REPORT WITHOUT MAKING RECOGNITION OF SO-CALLED GENOCIDE A PRECONDITION FOR EU ACCESSION

The European Parliament yesterday approved a report on Turkey, after dropping a section making recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide a precondition for membership, but stressed that “it is indispensable for a country on the road to membership to come to terms with and recognize its past.” The report drawn up by Dutch Conservative MEP Camiel Eurlings passed easily by a vote of 429-71 among the 625 deputies present. There were 125 abstentions. Speaking after the vote, Eurlings said that the report was “just,” adding that he was pleased that recognizing the so-called genocide wasn’t accepted as a precondition. “It wouldn’t be appropriate to put forth new criteria for Turkey,” said Eurlings. The MEPs also rejected an amendment proposing a special partnership for Turkey, in lieu of full membership, but underlined that the accession talks are an open-ended process whose outcome cannot be guaranteed beforehand. In related news, Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan vowed to keep up the reform process aimed at joining the European Union, but warned it would be unacceptable for the bloc to introduce new membership criteria. “We’re not seeking anything special from the EU in the process ahead and in return we naturally cannot accept new criteria being introduced,” Erdogan told a conference in Istanbul, stressing that Ankara is doing its best to meet the requirements of the 25-nation bloc. /Aksam/[04] US’ RALTSON: “I’M NO COORDINATOR, BUT A SPECIAL ENVOY”

Retired Gen. Joseph Ralston, the special envoy of the US for the fight against the terrorist group PKK, said yesterday that he was not a coordinator, but a special envoy and that he would not meet with the PKK. Speaking to reporters in New York, Ralston said that the Turkish public should know that he would not hold talks with terrorists. He stated that US President George W. Bush placed great importance on the fight against the PKK and had made him a special envoy. Ralston added that tripartite efforts were needed for the fight against the terrorist group to be successful. /Turkiye/[05] GREEK FM: “TURKEY SHOULD JOIN THE EU WHEN IT FULFILLS THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS”

Speaking at the Center for Strategic Studies in Washington yesterday, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said that Greece would continue to support Ankara’s European Union membership bid. She stated that Turkey should join the European Union when it fulfills the necessary conditions, but accused Ankara of a slowdown in EU reforms. “Turkey needs to fulfill the necessary criteria like all EU candidates,” said Bakoyanni. She further stated that some EU members were concerned about Turkey’s EU bid due to cultural, economic, or structural reasons, adding that Turkey needed to do something to address these concerns. /Milliyet/[06] TALABANI: “I DON’T THINK TURKISH FORCES WILL GO INTO NORTHERN IRAQ”

Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC yesterday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that he didn’t think that Turkey would send its forces into northern Iraq, adding that the presence of US soldiers in the country would prevent this. Asked about his statements alleging that Turkey as well as Iran and Syria were interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs and threatening to make trouble for them if this doesn’t stop, Talabani said that he didn’t tolerate interference in Iraq’s internal affairs. “Our tolerance has a limit,” said Talabani. He further stated that the Iraqi government could persuade the terrorist PKK to halt its attacks against Turkey. /Aksam/ [07] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS...[00] CAN WE CONDEMN THIS?BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)

Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on Dutch political parties removing from their candidates list members of Turkish origin who don’t accept the so- called Armenian genocide. A summary of his column is as follows:

“Europe, European countries and Europeans always think that they are right. You could see a typical example in yesterday’s newspapers. Ahead of general elections to be held in the Netherlands on Nov. 22, two separate Dutch parties removed three Turkish-origin politicians from their lists of candidates to run for a seat in Parliament. Christian Democrat Appeal (CDA) officials decided to expel Ayhan Tonca and Osman Elmaci from the party because they denied the existence of the so-called Armenian genocide. The Labor Party of the Netherlands also expelled Erdinc Sacan for the same reason. Elmaci and Tonca were first flexible in the face of this pressure. But as they were expected to state it in written form, they resisted. And they were expelled after this resistance.

If such a thing happened in Turkey, then we would be labeled fascists. EU inspectors (!) would come and go, and members of the European Parliament would come and its most elegant members would publicly make the following threat: ‘Turkey has to make up its mind if it wants to become an EU member and stop excluding people for their views. Otherwise you can’t be a member.’ Now what about the Netherlands, which touts its democracy and thinks itself a country of tolerance? Are we going to congratulate them and say: ‘Well done… It’s good when you do it. You've done an appropriate job for democracy, freedom of speech and a model society of tolerance.’ Don’t they insist on the Copenhagen criteria? Is there a statement in the Copenhagen criteria that makes it legal to put pressure on the thoughts of others?

Article 301 is cited in discussions of freedom of expression in Turkey, but nothing is said about the law on denying the so-called Armenian genocide. What we have done will be labeled assimilation and a crime, but what they do is called integration and is applauded. People are free to condemn Turkey.” [08] THE WORLD’S ISSUEBY GUNDUZ AKTAN (RADIKAL)

Columnist Gunduz Aktan comments on the fight against terrorism. A summary of his column is as follows:

“Today the most important problem in the world is terrorism. Terrorism can be defined as groups killing civilians and destroying civilian targets. Terrorists are getting better organized every day and use more effective weapons. As they live among civilians, a fight against terrorists can’t be waged without harming civilians. If this asymmetric or irregular style of war reaches weapons of mass destruction, it will be difficult for the state system to survive. When communism collapsed, we saw a reduction in terrorism for ideological purposes. However, ethnic terrorism is still going on. This was followed by ‘Islamic’ terrorism, as the Westerners call it. Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and many groups in other Muslim countries fall in this group. The US and the EU draw a distinction between ethnic and ‘Islamic’ terror. They think that ethnic terrorism’s reasons are within countries and that its solutions should be sought there too. However, there are also ethnic factors in the roots of Islamic terror, which is seen differently from ethnic terror due to its religious characteristics. Chechnya, Malay (Thailand), Mindeno Muslims and Hamas and even Hezbollah are struggling for land and independence due to ethnic reasons. Al-Qaeda has the characteristics of an Arab ethnic terror group. Due to religious expressions of this terror, its ethnic characteristics are ignored and it’s claimed that it aims at a clash of civilizations. Al-Qaeda is also active over a wide area consisting of Arab nationalism. It’s taking action against both the West (the US) and Arab regimes on the grounds that Arab states can’t protect themselves against the West’s attempts to dominate energy resources in the region. In other words, the characteristic of international terror are attributed to al-Qaeda, because of the large size of the geography of conflict and the fact that the problem of energy concerns the world.

If ending ethnic terrorism depends on removing its causes, we must address the reasons for al-Qaeda terrorism. In this respect, bringing democracy to Arab countries will remove only one reason for terrorism. Dividing Arab countries along ethnic and religious lines won’t reduce terrorism. If the problem of the US presence in the region is solved, this kind of terrorism will be solved. However, such a solution doesn’t seem to be realistic in today’s world. In other words, the need for international cooperation will continue for combating al-Qaeda-type terror. In this case, it’s advised that countries suffering from ethnic terrorism should solve their own problems, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it will be more difficult to ensure their fight against ‘Islamic’ terrorism.

Is it possible to combat all kinds of terrorism worldwide? Answering this question positively means accepting today’s countries with their current borders, and such a change of strategy means the end of history. It’s also unrealistic to remove a kind of terrorism on the one hand, and on the other to protect peace and stability in a world which accepts the continuation of other kinds of terrorism. Concerning this dilemma, it’s vitally important to determine the international goal in the fight against terrorism. Such a goal can envisage using international principles and rules in the fight against all kinds of terrorism. If this is followed, cooperation on the international stage against local terrorism can be envisaged. Turkey can put its fight against separatist terrorism in this context.”

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