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  • ANKARA: Europe Discusses Cyprus More Than Us: No Consensus Reached Y

    EUROPE DISCUSSES CYPRUS MORE THAN US: NO CONSENSUS REACHED YET
    By Bahtiyar Kucuk, Brussels, Strasbourg

    Zaman, Turkey
    Oct 31 2006

    Brussels and Strasbourg are two small cities where the heart of the
    450 million-strong European Union beats.

    There are currently exciting and heated debates going on in these
    cities where the European Commission (EC), European Parliament (EP),
    European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and European Council are located.

    The main item on the agenda prior to the release of Turkey's Progress
    Report on Nov. 8 is the Cyprus issue. Representatives in the EU's
    administration units exchanged views with Turkish journalists in a
    seminar, "Making More Sense of the EU," organized by the European
    Journalism Center.

    An EU official says that they are spending all their energy on the
    Finnish plan in Europe, where different voices clamor for the future
    of the island.

    An expert from the Cyprus desk stressed that the Turkish Republic of
    Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is geographically within the borders of EU and
    claimed that the TRNC would go on to live as a minority within Cyprus.

    Another EU official said that it was a big mistake for the EU to accept
    a divided country into the union while another one said that several
    countries hide behind South Cyprus for their own political purposes.

    The most interesting statement about the Cyprus issue came from
    Jacques Toubon, French member of the European Parliament. The
    Christian Democrat Toubon defended that Turkey would never be
    a part of Europe. When asked, "What percentage of Cyprus is in
    Europe?" he responded, "Cyprus is geographically in Asia; however,
    it is historically linked to Greece."

    EU officials, who say that there will be hot debates in the EU Council
    in December, think that it is a risky thing to consider another plan
    for Cyprus.

    The best thing to do is to change article 301

    Diplomatic sources who talked about Turkey's diplomatic performance
    with admiration before the start of negotiations expect similar steps
    from Turkey.

    The best thing for Turkey to do is abolish article 301 of the Turkish
    Penal Code. Authorities point out that Turkey's "wait and see" policy
    is wrong on this issue and think that hundreds of lawsuits because
    of article 301 will be a headache for Ankara in the upcoming years.

    Hannes Swobodo, deputy chairman of the EP Socialist Group explained
    that the Armenian Bill passed in the French parliament was a blow to
    freedom of expression, and added that countries should first look to
    their own histories.

    Although France is a founding member of the EU, it comes to the issue
    with a history of torture perpetrated in Algeria, Swobodo reiterated.

    One of the main concerns about Turkey's membership to the union is
    the idea that the EU is a Christian club. This apparently a concern
    in Austria and some parts of Germany and France as well.

    EU sources indicated that they had refrained from starting negotiations
    with Turkey for years due to Turkey's failure in maintaining democracy,
    human rights and liberties, but they say that they believe in the
    sincerity of the present administration.

    Stressing that Turkey is a free and strong country, the EU sources say,
    "We are not a teacher and you are not students".

    The EU officials also warned: "The reform process should continue.

    Otherwise, negotiations may be suspended".
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