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
out of prison. Almost the next day,
people were being arrested under
another article. In short the Turkish
Government has a singular lack of
credibility on these issues.
TDN- Are you optimistic that Turkey
will be able to eventually achieve this goal
of membership of the EU?
GREEN: Yes.
TDN- There is a fear in Ankara that
bevond the European Parliament's immedi.
atë demands th~re will not be successive
layers of further demands conring some
underlying reason or prejudice against
Turkish membership of the European
Union - rather like removiriglayers of an
onion. Can you do or say an)1bÏng Which
would calm these fears?
GREEN: For us, there are no other
criteria other than those which apply
to all applicant states. The European
Parliament does have great concerns
about four areas in particular, that is
democratization, the respect of
human rights, the Kurdish problem
and the Cypriot question.
TDN. There is frustration in Ankara at
the lack of collaboration from the European
Parliament. Parliament bas prevented the
proper completion of the customs union
agreement, and is blockinl funds under the
6nancial protocol and the)fEDA program.
What more does Turkey need to do to
restore a proper balance to relations with
the Parliament, and what do you believeare
its chances of doing so?
GREEN: What Turkey needs to do
is to carry though its promises especially
in the area of human rights. We
offered to help Turkey in this process
by agreeing to the customs umon, but
we teel as if we have been conned.
What we get is promises, but the fulfilment
of those promises is lacking.
TDN- Your constituency bas a large
number of Greek and Turkish Cypriot residents
who, as communities, live in harmony
and peace. I am sure you are foUowingwith
keen interest the attempts of Sir David
Hannay and others to find a similar harmony
on the island of Cyprus. What do you
think are the chances of success?
"GREEN:I am always an optimist
on that question. In recent years we
have seen what has happened in
South Africa as a result of $.oodwill.
Wehave seen pro~ess untll recently
in that apparently Implacable conflict
between the Palestimans and Jews.
What I have been doing is toask
Turkey to be proactive on the question
of Cyprus. There is a matter of
some 35,000 troops in northern
Cyprus. They should not underestimate
the kudos and goodwill they
would gain by actively
solve the Cyprus problem. Turkey
should be visionary over Cyprus.
trying to help
TDN- In recent weeks Turkey bas been
making co~derable progress in that area,
and Onur Öymen bas made great strides in
improving the relatioDSwith Greece.
Theodoros Pangalos has recently said he
backs Turkish membership of the EU. How
is this rapprochement going down inyour
constituency London North?
GREEN: Very well indeed. This
rapprochement is being greatly welcomed
and we would love to have a
situation where Greece actually proposed
Turkish membership to the
Union. This would be a very clear
indicationthat the problems have
beë,nresolvéd. .
TDN- In the Turkish press you are pretty
high in the popular demonology. How do
you(eelaboutthis?
GREEN: It is very sad to be frank.
It seems to me that the Turkish media
can't understand where I am coming
from. My clear political position
demands that I defend to the end
Turkey' s right to be a member of the
European Union on the same basis as
every other applicant state. But I
must also make clear the
Parliament's current objections, as I
would for any other applicant for EU
membership.
You would not believe the hate
mail I receive from Turks and
Turkish Cypriots, and so much of it
is particularly offensive to me as a
woman. I know some Turkish people
don't like my criticisms over Cyprus,
but my role as leader of the largest
political group in the European
Parliament demands that I say these
things even if some people are
offended. The European Parliament,
the directly elected democratic institution
representing some 375 million
Europeans, has an obligation to
ensure that all member states and all
applicant countries if their application
is to succeed, have certain standards.
The people of Cyprus and of
Turkey should understand that it is
very much in their interests that I
raise these issues in order to improve
their chances of getting into the
European Union.
( It)Anthony PeBl'Ctis JUJ 0CCJlSi0lUl
contributor to the Turkisb Daily News
Turkey Puts Directives on
Hold
By ZEYNEP ALEMDAR
Associated Press Writer
Monday, March 31, 199712:50 pm EST
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's
military-dominated security council on Monday gave
Premier Necmettin Erbakan another month to revoke
moves the secular establishment sees as an attempt to
Islamicize the country.
The National Security Councillast month had asked
Erbakan to reduce religious school curriculums from
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