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  • ANKARA: Rage Of Ankara

    RAGE OF ANKARA
    By Nazlan Ertan

    The New Anatolian, Turkey
    Sept 30 2006

    The Turkish temper has targeted two foreigners in the last seven
    days: first Hansjoerg Kretschmer, the head of the European Commission
    Delegation to Turkey, and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president.

    Camiel Eurlings, the author of a much-modified Turkey report in
    the European Parliament, was clearly overshadowed by those two,
    particularly after an offending reference to the Armenian "genocide"
    being a precondition for Turkish accession in the European Union was
    removed from the text.

    Accountability

    The remarks by Kretschmer, made at the launch of Almanak Turkey, on
    the security sector and democratic oversight, weren't particularly
    different to previous ones in European Commission progress reports.

    However, his remarks that the military has been exempt of
    "accountability," which must be observed by all state institutions,
    created an angry reaction from the top commanders. Gen. Ilker Basbug,
    the Land Forces commander and possibly the next chief of General
    Staff, reacted tersely to the remarks, saying that it could not be
    considered undemocratic to defend the principles of the republic. The
    reply that was most-awaited was that of Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the
    new chief of staff, who is considered more of a hardliner than his
    predecessor. The critical date of the response is Monday, when Prime
    Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Washington.

    Eurlings contained

    The offensive report of Dutch Member of the European Parliament Camille
    Eurlings was accepted by the EP general assembly this week, but Turkish
    diplomacy, combined with distributed fact-sheets, letters and visiting
    parliamentary delegations, managed to wipe out the most offensive
    parts of the report. The wording that established recognition of the
    Armenian "genocide" as a precondition to Turkish membership in the
    European Union was withdrawn by Belgian Socialist Deputy Dominique de
    Keyzer, after being reminded by her own party that the move may lead
    to a loss of Turkish votes in the next local elections in Belgium,
    scheduled for Oct. 8. For the first time, resident foreigners,
    including Turkish guest-workers, will vote in the elections.

    A reference to the Pontic Greek and Syriac "genocides" was also removed
    from the text, replaced by an article which said that Turkey should
    reconcile with its past.

    In the words of Ali Babacan, Turkey's two-hatted chief negotiator
    who's started a second tour of Europe by visiting Italy and Finland,
    pointed out that the report, even at its present stage, is far
    from satisfactory. True enough, the report carried heavy criticism,
    part of which will be reflected in the Commission's regular report
    on Turkey. These centered around the role of the military, cultural
    and religious freedoms, and the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish
    Penal Code (TCK).

    A new 'Dawn'?

    Yes, the notorious case against Elif Safak, whose last name means
    "dawn," is over, but the debate on Article 301 of the TCK continues.

    Attempts to change this article on insulting not only Turkish
    institutions but Turkishness itself, continue. Criticized in a recent
    Amnesty International report, the infamous article has been defended
    by Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who said that many European Union
    countries have similar articles. Cicek, in a televised interview,
    read a Polish text which makes insulting the national dignity of
    Polish people and Polishness a criminal act. What he didn't add,
    however, is that this article was used for the last time in 1995.

    Rumors indicate that the Foreign Ministry is eager to modify the
    article before November, but that the Justice Ministry supports slower
    moves in that direction.

    Talabani speaks up

    Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has achieved what no Turkish politician
    could: He managed to get pro-state, anti-EU daily Cumhuriyet, and
    liberal, pro-EU Radikal, newspapers with widely different outlooks,
    to run the same headline: "Talabani threatens Turkey." The Iraqi
    president said, while in the U.S., that he spoke to the PKK and said
    the terrorist group will declare a ceasefire in a few days. A few days
    later, he announced that Iraq's neighbors are interfering in Iraq's
    affairs too much and if they don't stop, Iraq will reciprocate by
    supporting opposition groups in those countries.

    Turkey, angry at being compared to regional countries such as Iran
    and Syria, responded with a reasonably moderate statement. Foreign
    Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that Turkey's policy toward Iraq
    is both transparent and in line with good neighborly ties. Prime
    Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for once controlling his temper, said
    that the remarks were unfortunate, and hoped it was a mistake which
    would not be repeated. The harshest reaction came from Cemil Cicek,
    the justice minister, who said, "This man is a boot kisser."

    The remarks of Mr Talabani on interference by neighbors came at a
    time when a Turkish Parliament delegation was in northern Iraq to
    "see the situation of Turkmens and Kirkuk."

    Mr. Erdogan goes to Washington

    Erdogan left for London via Washington! In less than five days, the
    premier will meet with both U.S. President George W.Bush and British
    Premier Tony Blair. The joke in Ankara's political circles is that
    Erdogan intends to use this trip to clear the way to the presidency;
    but he may be wiser to take his cues from Blair -- and learn instead
    to clear the way, period.
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