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TURKEY'S TURMOIL REFLECTS WANING EU INFLUENCE
by Florence Biedermann
Agence France Presse -- English
May 4, 2007 Friday 1:59 PM GMT
Turkey's current political crisis, marked by a threat to intervene
by the military, reflects dwindling EU influence in a country where
a deep sense of rejection is putting the brakes on democracy moves,
analysts say.
After keeping a low profile in recent years as Turkey carried out
reforms as part of talks with the EU over possible membership, the
army entered the crisis over the country's next president with a
blunt threat to intervene.
Just hours after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul narrowly missed being
elected president in parliament last Friday, the military posted a
statement on its website threatening to restore the secular order if
need be.
Gul, a former Islamist, is an unwelcome potential head of state to
many in Turkey, but in particular the military which views itself as
the guardian's of the secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Its views are not easily ignored. It has been responsible for toppling
four previous administrations.
Parliament has now decided that fresh parliamentary elections are to
be held before it tackles the question of who shall be the country's
next president.
The wrangle comes as public support for European Union membership has
fallen sharply -- to about 30 percent according to some surveys --
from 75 percent two years ago when the mainly Muslim nation began
membership talks.
"The ultimatum of the military is proof that the EU is of no
significance for Turkey now," said Cengiz Aktar, the head of an EU
research center at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University.
Pro-EU reforms had already slowed as the Islamist-rooted government
grappled with rising opposition in Europe its membership. This
was exacerbated by efforts by some EU politicians to link Ankara's
accession to a recognition that Turks committed genocide against
Armenians during World War I.
"The EU no longer has any influence over the reform process or what
is left of it," Aktar said.
Pointing to anti-West banners at recent anti-government rallies,
political analyst Dogu Ergil said: "There is a considerable resentment
against the US and the EU. This could be indicative of the frustration
of the Turkish middle class, who feel left out of the global process
they wish to be part of."
Aktar said Ankara's reluctance to press ahead with reforms was
evident from its failure to amend some penal code provisions which are
"absolutely murderous for freedoms" despite repeated EU warnings.
The most infamous article, which penalises "insulting Turkishness",
was used to convict ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who
described the 1915-1918 Armenian killings as genocide, a label that
Turkey vehemently rejects.
Dink was murdered in January amid a rising wave of Turkish nationalism.
In one telling example, the ultra-nationalist Yenicag daily depicts
the stars on the blue EU flag into small Nazi swastikas in a logo it
uses on EU-related articles.
On the EU side, support for Turkey's accession has also weakened.
If the EU "doesn't want us, it should say so clearly now. If we are
not wanted, the two sides need not continue wasting their time in
talks", Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in April ahead of
talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is opposed to Turkey's
full membership.
And she is not alone. Nicolas Sarkzozy, widely tipped to become
France's new president in a Sunday vote, is also a vocal opponent.
"He will be probably the one to hammer the last nail into the coffin
of Turkish-EU relations," Aktar said.
"To sum up, speaking about Turkey in Europe in a positive light has
become impossible," added the analyst, one of the most enthusiastic
pro-EU intellectuals in Turkey.
As for the Turkish army, it oficially supports Turkey's EU bid in the
name of its Westernisation ideals embodied in the memory of Ataturk.
But it has never openly said whether it is prepared to bow out from
the political stage for good.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
by Florence Biedermann
Agence France Presse -- English
May 4, 2007 Friday 1:59 PM GMT
Turkey's current political crisis, marked by a threat to intervene
by the military, reflects dwindling EU influence in a country where
a deep sense of rejection is putting the brakes on democracy moves,
analysts say.
After keeping a low profile in recent years as Turkey carried out
reforms as part of talks with the EU over possible membership, the
army entered the crisis over the country's next president with a
blunt threat to intervene.
Just hours after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul narrowly missed being
elected president in parliament last Friday, the military posted a
statement on its website threatening to restore the secular order if
need be.
Gul, a former Islamist, is an unwelcome potential head of state to
many in Turkey, but in particular the military which views itself as
the guardian's of the secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Its views are not easily ignored. It has been responsible for toppling
four previous administrations.
Parliament has now decided that fresh parliamentary elections are to
be held before it tackles the question of who shall be the country's
next president.
The wrangle comes as public support for European Union membership has
fallen sharply -- to about 30 percent according to some surveys --
from 75 percent two years ago when the mainly Muslim nation began
membership talks.
"The ultimatum of the military is proof that the EU is of no
significance for Turkey now," said Cengiz Aktar, the head of an EU
research center at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University.
Pro-EU reforms had already slowed as the Islamist-rooted government
grappled with rising opposition in Europe its membership. This
was exacerbated by efforts by some EU politicians to link Ankara's
accession to a recognition that Turks committed genocide against
Armenians during World War I.
"The EU no longer has any influence over the reform process or what
is left of it," Aktar said.
Pointing to anti-West banners at recent anti-government rallies,
political analyst Dogu Ergil said: "There is a considerable resentment
against the US and the EU. This could be indicative of the frustration
of the Turkish middle class, who feel left out of the global process
they wish to be part of."
Aktar said Ankara's reluctance to press ahead with reforms was
evident from its failure to amend some penal code provisions which are
"absolutely murderous for freedoms" despite repeated EU warnings.
The most infamous article, which penalises "insulting Turkishness",
was used to convict ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who
described the 1915-1918 Armenian killings as genocide, a label that
Turkey vehemently rejects.
Dink was murdered in January amid a rising wave of Turkish nationalism.
In one telling example, the ultra-nationalist Yenicag daily depicts
the stars on the blue EU flag into small Nazi swastikas in a logo it
uses on EU-related articles.
On the EU side, support for Turkey's accession has also weakened.
If the EU "doesn't want us, it should say so clearly now. If we are
not wanted, the two sides need not continue wasting their time in
talks", Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in April ahead of
talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is opposed to Turkey's
full membership.
And she is not alone. Nicolas Sarkzozy, widely tipped to become
France's new president in a Sunday vote, is also a vocal opponent.
"He will be probably the one to hammer the last nail into the coffin
of Turkish-EU relations," Aktar said.
"To sum up, speaking about Turkey in Europe in a positive light has
become impossible," added the analyst, one of the most enthusiastic
pro-EU intellectuals in Turkey.
As for the Turkish army, it oficially supports Turkey's EU bid in the
name of its Westernisation ideals embodied in the memory of Ataturk.
But it has never openly said whether it is prepared to bow out from
the political stage for good.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress