Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
In Turkey, an Argument Rages About
EU Membership
--- -
By Stephen Kinzer
does not qualify to join their club geograph-
New York Times Service
----........:==~:.:.:...:~~-------
ically, culturally, economically or politically.
'But in December, the union fmally reversed
ISTANBUL - Three months after Turkey itself and made Turkey an official candidate
was offered a chance to join the European for membership. That decision set off a wave
Union, the country is caught up in a fervent of ecstasy here. One Istanbul newspaper prodebate
over whether it should make the pro- nounced it "the most important event since
found political changes necessary for mem- the founding of our state."
bership.
Turkish leaders enthusiastically took up the
The government, press and military com- task of proving themselves ready to join
mand all seem consumed by this debate. Its Europe. Officials pledged to repair ties with
vigor suggests that the battle for Turk~y' s soul Greece, curb human rights abuses' and launch
that has been under way at least smce the ambitious privatization and inflation-fighting
republic was founded in 1923 may be reach- " programs.
ing a new level of intensity. . Suddenly, however, it has become clear
Some influential Turks, backed by Euro- that powerful forces in Turkish society conpean
leaders, say their country must radically sider the compromises they must make to join
improve its human rights recor~, repeallaws the European Union too high a price even for
that limit free expression and give more cul- so great a prize.
tural rights to Kurds who live in the im- "We Don't Want Your EU!" screamed a
poverishedsoutheast. But others say they fear recent banner headline on the front page of
that making these changes would expose the one rightist Turkish newspaper. No prominent
~ country to separatist terror, religious funda- Turks have yet voiced such a sentiment, Ibut
CS mentalism and other dangers.
' some security officers, prosecutors and others
C'I Hardly a week passes without some sign of apparently share it. Rather than openly exgf
this conflict. Every decision that touches on press their opposition to Turkey's European
= issues Of concern to Europe is considered a dream, they have begun taking steps to un-
{,.} test of the government's will. dermine it. .
~The next such test may come Thursday, "They seem to be everywhere," said a
~ ~::~ :~:~~~~m~~d~o~~~~::: I ;;~i;;~Pl~~~P~~t~~~T~k~~o ~J
~ be imprisoned. Mr. Birdal has been convicted ~urope clos~r ~?get~er. "Wit~in every lea~-
~ of making subversive speeches, but he has, mg personality m thiS country IS~ nationahst
rIl many friends in Europe who would ~ impulse that seems to be becommg stronger
~ angered .by his imprisonment. His lawyers and more suspicious."
~ ~:r~n~~~:~~~: ~~~~~:et~o~e~:~f:~, go~:~~:nt~ec~~~t~;i~;~f:~~e~~ l~~
~ of a 1988 assassination attempt. ,',' month, when the mayors of three mostly
Z Turks have been trying to pry their way into Kurdish cities were arrested on charges of
~ ' the European Union for years, convinc,e4!!t,at ~upporting terror .. The arrests we~e widely
~ membership would guarantee them gener- mterpre!ed as a ViCtOryf?r. hard-l~ers, and
~ ations of prosperity and democracy. Their they senously hurt Turkey swage m Europe.
efforts have been repeatedly blockedby con~ Yet.a week later, after pro-European forces
~ seryative Europeans who believe,thatT~rkey carned out a bureaucratic counterattack, the
mayors were not only released but allowed to '
resume their posts.
Soon afterward, former Prime Minister
,Necmettin Erbakan was sentenced to a oneyear
jail term on charges growing out of a
, speech he made in 1994. Euro~ean leaders
who believe the sentence vIOlates Mr.
Erbakan's right to free speech are closely
watching the course ofhis appeal, as well as a
separate case aimed at banning his Islamicoriented
political party.
In another confrontation that reflects Turkey's
sharpening political divide, several
members of Parliament recently made a surprise
inspection of an Istanbul police station
and found what they said were torture implements.
The appointed ~overnor of I,stanbul
dismissed them as meddlmg busybodies.
"So what if someone found a stick in the
police station," said the governor, Erol Cakir.
"People shouldn't exaggerate things."
Last week Mr. Cakir turned down requests
by a Kurdish political party for perinission to
celebrate a traditional spring festival in Istanbul.
He said he did so because the party called
the holiday by its Kurdish name, Newroz,
instead of using the Turkish word Nevruz.
Government officials are considering a
variety of steps that would please the European
Union, from abolishing the death penaJty
to reopening the long-closed land bord~r With
Armenia. But such proposals meet resistance
from conservatives' who fear they will endanger
Turkey's security and stability.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit says he
strongly supports his country's drive for
membership in the European Union, but he
has also complained about what he says are
unreasonable demands from its leaders.
"The EU countries have a plan to put us
under harsher pressure than before," Mr.
Ecevit said. "We won't be part of this
game."
~ ' talks with Tehran. "Presently, the O.S'.
= 1Re of Iranian luxury goods and seek a legal offer of official talks is unrealistic," Mr.
r'an eJeels settlement that could free Iranian assets afte
~ " frozensincethe 1979 Islamicrevolution. Nejad-Hoseinian said in a speech r
Z She also promised to reduce barriers, to Mrs. Albright's at the same ~onference.'
Q U'.S. Bled £or cultural 'exchanges, and she essentially "Dialogue will be constructive and mu-
;: .il d Ir tually beneficial when it is carried out
< apolo~ized for past ~olicy to~ar an, under a normalized situation, devoid of
including a CIA-bac ed coup m 1953. ' pressure, allegations and grandstand-
~ T lk Te "I call upon Iran to join us in,writin,~ ing."
~ 'a s on les Il new chapter in our shared history, [On Saturday, Iran's hl!Id-lin~ Rev-
~ Mrs. Albright said in the speech, aimed olutionary Guards a~used Was~gton
----:----::-::----::-----:----- at encouraging reformist allies of Pres- of meddling in domestic affairs by lifting
By John Lancaster l'dent Mohamnled Khatami who won
1 th an import ban on luxury goods, The
and Helen Dewar parliamentary election~ ast mo~ , . Associated Press reported from Tehran.
Washington Post Service Appearing on Iraman teleVISion, a ' liftin f th .".
spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, [The partial. go e ~anction m-
WASHINGTON - Iranian officials tensified efforts of the White House to
h 1 oed . US' 'tiative to Hamid Reza Asefi, said of the speech, create a "";Sl'Sm'Iran," said a statement
ave we com a major .. 1D1 "Iran thinks it is positive and welcomes ".. hr ad'
warmuprelations,outlinedinaspeechby it." He added that Iran would recip- by the group quoted by Te an rio., '
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, rocate by opening its borders to U.S. [ln another blast from conservative
but said Iran was not ready to accept food and medicines. forces in Iran, the secretary of Iran's top
Washington's call for official talks. But Iran's ambassador to the United security body, the Supreme National Se-
On Friday, Mrs. Albright told the Nations, Mohammed Hadi Nejad-Ho- curity Council, called the U.S. moves
American-Iranian Council, a private '''new interference in Iran's domestic
group' promoting closer ties, that the seinian, rejected the Clinton adminis- affairs," the radio reported.]
United States would lift a ban on imports tration' s long-standing offer to open
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