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 <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro<br />
EU Again Tells Turkey It Must<br />
Be More Democratic<br />
By Stephen Kinzer<br />
New York Times Service<br />
ISTANBUL - As European officials renewed<br />
their calls on Turkey to become more <strong>de</strong>mocratic,<br />
a court sentenced former Prime Minister Necmenin<br />
Erbakan on Friday to one year in prison for<br />
a speech he gave in 1994.<br />
The sentence seemed likely to bring a new<br />
round of criticism from European lea<strong>de</strong>rs. Several<br />
have visited in recent weeks to warn that Turkey<br />
has no hope of entering the European Union unless<br />
it repeals laws like the one un<strong>de</strong>r which Mr.<br />
Erbakan was convicted.<br />
Mr. Erbakan, 74, has hea<strong>de</strong>d three religiousbased<br />
political parties, all of which have been<br />
banned. He served as prime minister for one year,<br />
but resigned in 1997 un<strong>de</strong>r intense pressure from<br />
military comman<strong>de</strong>rs and others who accused him<br />
of plotting to overthrow the secular or<strong>de</strong>r.<br />
In the speech for which he was convicted Friday,<br />
Mr. Erbakan asserted that Turkey had diifted<br />
away from its Islamic roots, and that secular<br />
politicians had driven a wedge b<strong>et</strong>ween <strong>et</strong>hnic<br />
Kurds and other citizens.<br />
He was found guilty of "provoking hatred."<br />
His lawyers said he would appeal.<br />
Mr. Erbakan's conviction was announced a day<br />
after a senior European Union oIfidâl <strong>de</strong>scribed<br />
Turkey as the only country among the 13 official<br />
candidates for EU membership that was not y<strong>et</strong><br />
<strong>de</strong>mocratic enough to join.<br />
Guenter Verheugen, the EU cOmmissioner for<br />
enlargement, called Turkey "historically, economically<br />
and culturally part of Europe, " but said<br />
it nee<strong>de</strong>d "fundamental political change" before<br />
it could qualify for EU membership.<br />
"Is Turkey a country that doesn't me<strong>et</strong> the<br />
criteria?" Mr. Verheugen asked during a speech at<br />
Bosporus University in Istanbul. "The answer is a<br />
simple 'yes.' Turkey does not y<strong>et</strong> me<strong>et</strong> the political<br />
criteria, and we can start political nepotiations<br />
<strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Baszn Öz<strong>et</strong>i<br />
only on the basis that Turkey does ...<br />
Asked to estimate ho"" long it would take for<br />
Turkey to become an EU member, Mr. Verheugen<br />
told his Turkish hosts: "It <strong>de</strong>pends compl<strong>et</strong>ely on<br />
you."<br />
,'There will not be very much pressure from my<br />
si<strong>de</strong>, but I think it is in Turkey's interest not to be<br />
sluggish," he said. "If you start the process now<br />
and <strong>de</strong>termine to continue in a major way, it' s only<br />
a couple of years and then we're in a compl<strong>et</strong>ely<br />
different situation." .<br />
Mr. Verheugen said that before Turkey could be<br />
admitted to the union, it must address "sensitive<br />
issues like freedom of expression" and become<br />
"a stablè <strong>de</strong>mocracy' that respects the rule of law<br />
and human rights. "<br />
"IfTurkey wants it," he said, "ifTurkey wants<br />
it really, the EU is prepared to accept Turkey as a<br />
full member in the family of <strong>de</strong>mocratic European<br />
nations. "<br />
By phrasing his challenge that way, Mr. Verheugen<br />
seemed to be recognizing that Turkish<br />
lea<strong>de</strong>rs have lately appeared un<strong>de</strong>ci<strong>de</strong>d about<br />
wh<strong>et</strong>her they were prepared to make the profound<br />
political changes necessary for EU membership.<br />
In public, all senior political and military lea<strong>de</strong>rs<br />
in Turkey agree that joining the union should<br />
be a transcen<strong>de</strong>nt national goal. Over the last few<br />
weeks, however, there have been signs that powerful<br />
forces in Turkish soci<strong>et</strong>y disagree.<br />
European diplomats interpr<strong>et</strong>ed the arrest of<br />
three <strong>et</strong>hnic Kurdish mayors last month as one<br />
such sign. Some will probably view the verdict<br />
Friday against Mr. Erbakan as anottier.<br />
Senior prosecutors, security officers and others<br />
have begun suggesting that the Turkish state<br />
would be in danger if laws that restrict free speech<br />
are repealed, if limits on religious political parties<br />
are lifted, or if <strong>et</strong>hnie Kurds are granted new<br />
cultural rights. Y<strong>et</strong> Turkey will probably not .be<br />
able to join the European Union unless it takes<br />
such steps.<br />
Khatami Ally<br />
IsShotand<br />
Woun<strong>de</strong>din<br />
Tehran Attack<br />
By Geneive Abdo<br />
Spedal to the ITllernational Herald Tribune<br />
TEHRAN - The political<br />
strategist behind the reformers' victories<br />
in parliamentary voting in<br />
Iran last month was shot at close<br />
range and seriously woun<strong>de</strong>d in<br />
Tehran on Sunday.<br />
Saeed Hajjarian, an adviser to<br />
Presi<strong>de</strong>nt Mohammed Khatami and<br />
the editor of an outspoken progressive<br />
daily newspaper, was hit in the<br />
left cheek from less than three m<strong>et</strong>ers<br />
(lD fe<strong>et</strong>) away as he approached<br />
the Tehran city council<br />
building early in the morning.<br />
A gunman with an accomplice<br />
on a high-powered motorcycle<br />
frred the shots, witnesses said.<br />
"The gunman aimed his gun at<br />
Hajjarian's temple but because his<br />
hand was shaking, the frrst bull<strong>et</strong><br />
struck him in the face," Mahmoud<br />
Aliza<strong>de</strong>h- Tabatabaei, a city council<br />
member, told the official news<br />
agency IRNA. A second bull<strong>et</strong> appeared<br />
to have missed.<br />
Both assailants then fled on the<br />
lOOO-cc m6torcycle, which only<br />
police and security personnel are<br />
permitted to own.<br />
The motorcycle has led investigators<br />
to speculate that the attackers<br />
were from the Intelligence<br />
and Security Ministry or the Is-<br />
lamie Revolutionary Guards. Both<br />
institutions are dominated by conservatives<br />
who are waging a national<br />
struggle with the reformist<br />
movement.<br />
Another indication that the<br />
shooting may have been part of a<br />
wi<strong>de</strong>r plot was that police guarding<br />
the city council building, who are<br />
armed with submachine guns,<br />
showed no reaction, witnesses and<br />
members of the city council said.<br />
IRNA said witnesses had given<br />
the police <strong>de</strong>scriptions of the attackers<br />
and the motorcycle.<br />
Mr. Hajjarian, 46, was in critical condition<br />
Sunday night, suffering from<br />
swelling in his brain and respiratory<br />
problems, doctors said.<br />
"One bull<strong>et</strong> entered through his left<br />
cheek and remains lodged at the back of<br />
his neck," said Dr. Mohammed Reza<br />
Zafarqandi, head of the Sina Hospital<br />
emergency team that treated Mr. Haj-<br />
39