Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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REvuE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RIVISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi<br />
Turkish Probe June 2,1995<br />
5<br />
Buro-Parliament's Amazons<br />
Take On Ankara<br />
Nazlan Ertan<br />
"<br />
'They are here to see <strong>de</strong>velopments in<br />
<strong>de</strong>mocratization,' a senior Turkish diplomat<br />
said. MButwhat will we show them?'<br />
The diplomat's reference was to the visit of a<br />
three-women <strong>de</strong>legation from the European<br />
Parliament, which has more muscle since the<br />
Maastricht Treaty, before it votes on. a landmark<br />
customs union accord with Turkey. The Mladiesof<br />
the parliament' - or the Euro-Amazons, as they<br />
were dubbed by the media - control a total of 250<br />
plus votes b<strong>et</strong>ween them in their positions as chairwomen<br />
of the three key left-wing groups in the<br />
Euro-Parliament.<br />
Two of the <strong>de</strong>puties, Catherine Lalumiere of<br />
European Radical Alliance, and Claudia Roth of<br />
GrElens, were no strangers to Turkey. Lalumiere<br />
started her job as Council of Europe secr<strong>et</strong>ary-general<br />
with a critical attitu<strong>de</strong> towards Turkey, but<br />
en<strong>de</strong>d, after a lot of cooperation from Hikm<strong>et</strong> Ç<strong>et</strong>in<br />
- the foreign minister at that time - with a favorable<br />
attitu<strong>de</strong>. rn fact, while she was in a contest with<br />
Daniel Tarchys for a second term, Ç<strong>et</strong>in said his<br />
support went to Lalumiere, although this view was<br />
not shared by the Turkish <strong>de</strong>puties in the Council of<br />
Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, which elects the<br />
secr<strong>et</strong>ary-general. "This is a fascinating counlry, full<br />
of conflicts,' Lalumiere said at the end of talks.<br />
"There is a young, dynamic population, but on the<br />
other hand... there is terrorism, the concem for the<br />
integrity of the country which takes, time to time,<br />
priority over the Kurdish problem."<br />
Claudia Roth, a German <strong>de</strong>puty, has also taken a<br />
close interest in Turkey for a long time. Roth,<br />
according to those who have followed her contacts<br />
in Turkey, has also mellowed consi<strong>de</strong>rably in her<br />
outlook towards Turkey. She has also become<br />
increasingly familiar with Turkey, from its legal system<br />
to the country's soccer obsession. MIknow the<br />
Turkish Penal Co<strong>de</strong> so well that I can now start a<br />
law school in Turkey,.<br />
Roth quipped .• We want<br />
Turkey to integrate with the European institutions,.<br />
Roth said in the press conference after her talks.<br />
.~ut certain conditions should be right.. Roth is a<br />
'vocal supporter of wtlat she calls the necessary<br />
Turkish recognition of the "Kurdish reality.•<br />
. .A;> far ~ Turks were concerned, the "tough cook-<br />
Ie In the flfl'UP was the head of the <strong>de</strong>legation -<br />
Pauline Gre&n, a British <strong>de</strong>puty who hea<strong>de</strong>d the<br />
majority Socialist Group in the European<br />
Parliament. Coming from a Greek Cypriot-<strong>de</strong>nse<br />
constituency, Pauline Green's rh<strong>et</strong>oric on the<br />
Cyprus questionten<strong>de</strong>d to raise eyebrows even in<br />
her own Euro-parliament group. The fact that one of<br />
her top advisers is a Greek has led one Turkish<br />
politician, who talked to her during the visit, to<br />
remark: "All in all, she is an explosive combination."<br />
But at the press conference marking the end of<br />
CA~HERI~E LALUMIEJ:lE: The h.ead of the European<br />
Radical Alhance, Cathenne Laiurniere, says she is surprised<br />
by the conflicting aspects of Turkey. "We hope to<br />
have good news in the coming weeks," she said.<br />
their Ankara outing, the MAmazons" refrained from<br />
sounding pessimistic, although they did not hi<strong>de</strong> the<br />
fact that the fate of the imprisoned <strong>de</strong>puties of the<br />
pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) would be <strong>de</strong>cisive.<br />
~Wedo not want to see <strong>de</strong>mocratically elected<br />
<strong>de</strong>puties in jail," Roth said.<br />
"The European <strong>de</strong>puties see the imprisonment of<br />
the <strong>de</strong>puties not only as an extension of the Kurdish<br />
problem but a matter of solidarity with fellow<br />
<strong>de</strong>puties,' Uluç Özülker, the Turkish ambassador to<br />
the European Union, said. "The Democracy Party<br />
<strong>de</strong>puties, on the other hand, have told the Euro-<br />
MPs that Turkish integration with the European<br />
Union will be b<strong>et</strong>ter for them, because it would<br />
enable the Union to exert more pressure to the<br />
Turkish si<strong>de</strong>." .<br />
Ozülker appears to be correct regarding this message<br />
given by the DEP <strong>de</strong>puties. When the jailed<br />
<strong>de</strong>puties and the European Parliament <strong>de</strong>legation<br />
came tog<strong>et</strong>her for a long me<strong>et</strong>ing, the DEP<br />
<strong>de</strong>puties said that they want closer ties b<strong>et</strong>ween<br />
Turkey and the European Union, provi<strong>de</strong>d that<br />
Turkey took a first step toward <strong>de</strong>mocratization.<br />
Pauline Green indicated that they wanted to know<br />
'what would happen to the <strong>de</strong>puties before the<br />
European Parliament voted on the customs union.<br />
MWe have no intention of postponing the vote<br />
unless there is a concr<strong>et</strong>e reason,' Green said. But<br />
she ad<strong>de</strong>d that she had heard that the appeal of the<br />
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