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 ÖZETÎ<br />
TDN SPECIAL ...TDN SPECIAL ...TDN SPECIAL ...<br />
Demirel wams Europe,<br />
play with Kurdish card<br />
If Turkey cannot enter the Customs Union, this will create a re<br />
will help strengthen the PKK, allow it to boast that it can hurt<br />
into the hands ofthose who are against Turkey's entering the<br />
In an exclusive"interview with the TDN on the targ<strong>et</strong>s and problems of<br />
Turkey'sforeign policy, Presi<strong>de</strong>nt Süleyman Demirel issued messages to the<br />
country's traditional allies and new fellow-players in the regional power<br />
game, warning them not to cause lasting resentment among the Turkish<br />
public by playing the Kurdish card. He called for an energ<strong>et</strong>ic foreign p~licy<br />
reaching out in all directions but placed particular emphasis on a strategy<br />
that would ensure the opening of a vital route to Central Asia. Demirel's full<br />
statement on foreign policy to the TDN follows:<br />
By tlnur Çevik Ra~it Gürdilek, Semih D. tdiz , Nazlan Ertan,<br />
Burak Bekdil & Hayri Birler<br />
o'<br />
n its foreign relations, Turkey today is a well-<br />
Irespected country. It is a major 'power which is<br />
listed among the IO big emergmg mark<strong>et</strong>s. Its.<br />
econoIl}y, is proceeding !owards becoming a<br />
comp<strong>et</strong>itive economy. It IS a currency earnmg<br />
country. It receives foreign exchange from<br />
exports, from tourism, from its workers and contractors<br />
abroad and from air and maritime transport, it is<br />
earning hard currency. It is a country which Ispaying<br />
its <strong>de</strong>bts and interest to the last penny, not <strong>de</strong>faulting<br />
on them. So, it is natural that Turkey is a respected<br />
country.<br />
Regional cooperation and the EU.<br />
Now,I want to say this about the forei~ policy<br />
issues before TUrkey: One is Turkey s partiCIpation<br />
in regional cooJ>eration o..rganizations.<br />
One of them. is the European Union (EU) If Turkey<br />
can enter the European customs union, it will be the<br />
first country to do so without entering the EU frrst.<br />
Can Turkey enter the EU? As it looks today, it is not<br />
som<strong>et</strong>hin~ that can happen soon. And. what will<br />
Turkey gam from the customs union membership?<br />
Will it have some problems? Yes, it will. But it will<br />
also have some advantages.<br />
I Turkey has suffered<br />
heavily from the stance<br />
the Western powers<br />
have adopted against<br />
Iraq, and it continues to<br />
suffer. And it will suffer<br />
again if the Western<br />
powers enter a<br />
confrontation with Iran.<br />
If Turkey cannot enter the customs union, this will<br />
ct'é.ate a resentment in Turkey against the West.<br />
FUrthérmore it will help strengthen the PKK (the outl~<br />
Kurdistan Workers' Party) and allow it to boast<br />
thàt.lt can hurt Turkey's ties with other countries. It<br />
will also play into the hands of those who are against<br />
Turlœy's entering the EU.<br />
It. will not be easy to erase this resentment. This<br />
will be the opportunity those who want to sever<br />
Turkey from Europe have always been seeking. Our<br />
European friends would give us up and opt for<br />
whom? .<br />
_ It is no longer possible to<br />
15
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