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ANKARA: France Searches New Ways to Keep Turkey Outside?

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  • ANKARA: France Searches New Ways to Keep Turkey Outside?

    France Searches New Ways to Keep Turkey Outside?

    Journal of Turkish Weekly
    Aug 2 2005

    PARIS - France appeared to raise a new bar on Tuesday for Turkey to
    start European Union (EU) membership talks in October by saying Ankara
    must recognize (Greek) Cyprus first. There are two governments on the
    island, Turkish and Greek States. However the EU does not recognize
    the 25 years-old Turkish TRNC State while Turkey does not accept the
    Greek Government as the only representative of the island.

    French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's "It doesn't seem
    conceivable to me that a negotiation process of whatever kind can
    start with a country that does not recognize every member state of the
    European Union, in other words all 25 of them," Villepin told Europe 1
    radio. However it is argued that the EU members knew during the Summit
    of 17 December that Turkey would not recognize the (Greek) Cyprus until
    the problem is solved. Dr. Sedat Laciner from USAK (ISRO) for example
    says "Cyprus has never been a condition for the EU talks. France looks
    for an excuse to keep Turkey out". According to Laciner the EU should
    be impartial and should not abuse the problems in Cyprus.

    The executive European Commission and EU president Britain confirming
    Turkish perspective said the 25 EU leaders had never made recognition
    a prerequisite for beginning negotiations, and the Cyprus question
    should be dealt with separately in a U.N. framework. The Greek side
    had strongly rejected the UN Peace Plan in 2004 though the Turkish
    Cypriots accepted the Plan.

    According to the Turkish media and experts France is not sincere on
    the Cyprus problem. Nilgun Gulcan for instance argues that "France
    searches new ways to keep Turkey outside of the EU". "France first
    abused the Armenian problem and now the Cyprus problem. They seek a
    Turkish and Muslim-free EU. It is unfortunate that some politicians
    playing a dangerous game. They try to establish the EU on religious
    and civilasational differences. And I see no difference between El
    Kaide's suicide bombings and anti-Turkish groups' attempts to block
    Turkey's EU membership. Both are undermining the coexistence of the
    Europeans" added Gulcan. Turkey signed the EU protocol last Friday
    but it issued a declaration stipulating that the act did not mean
    recognition of the Greek Cypriot government.

    A British presidency official said EU leaders had never made
    recognition of Cyprus a condition for opening talks, noting that
    French President Jacques Chirac had said last December that signing
    the protocol did not mean Turkey would recognize (Greek) Cyprus.
    Villepin was foreign minister at that time.

    But public opinion in France is strongly opposed to Turkish accession
    and leading conservative presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy,
    the interior minister and leader of the ruling UMP party, has said
    Turkey should not be offered full membership. The main reason for
    the anti-Turkish stance is the anti-Turkish groups in France. The
    religious and nationalist groups argue that Turks are not European
    because they are not Christian. The Greeks and Armenians in France also
    try to prevent Turkey's membership and organize anti-Turkish campaigns.

    The Cyprus Republic was established as a Turkish-Greek joint state.
    However the armed Greek ultra-nationalist attacked the Turkish
    community in order to annex the island to Greece. Many Turkish Cypriots
    were massacred by the EOKA terrorists. When the Greek nationalist
    made a military coup the island was divided and the Turkish Cypriots
    established their own state TRNC.
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