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Brussels Insistent on Freedom of Speech, Opening Ports to Cyprus

By Selcuk Gultasli
Thursday, November 09, 2006


On Wednesday, the European Union released the progress report and strategy paper, two extremely critical documents for the future of the negotiation process between Turkey and the European Union.

The EU Commission, which underlined freedom of expression and the Cyprus issue, did not make any recommendation on the resolution of the Cyprus issue at this stage, despite the insistence of some commissioners. The Commission, which, in an attempt to support the Finnish Plan on Cyprus, postponed the issuance of the report for a month, increased the importance of the Finnish Plan and the Dec. 14-15 EU Summit for Turkey.

Replacing the controversial “absorption” capacity with “adaptation” capacity, the Commission also clarified its strategy for future enlargement. At the press conference held after the release of the report, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn did not respond to questions over whether membership talks with Turkey would be suspended if it did not implement the additional protocol. Rehn noted that both the Commission and the EU strongly supported the Finnish Plan, and wanted to see what it would achieve. The report, while noting that Turkey had sufficiently fulfilled the Copenhagen Criteria, stressed that the pace of the reform process slowed down. It also urged Turkey to maintain EU standards with regard to the issues, such as non-Muslim communities, recognizing the rights of working women on labor conditions and civil-military relations.

Despite the persistence of the correspondents present at the press conference, Olli Rehn did not answer the questions on the probable suspension of membership talks with Turkey in case of its non-compliance with the additional protocol. Asked whether the EU gave an ultimatum to Turkey by the report, Rehn said they wanted to give time to the Finnish Plan, and decided that it would not be wise to make any recommendation at this stage.

Rehn, implicitly criticizing German, French and Austrian politicians, who favored Turkey’s privileged partnership rather than its full membership in the European Union, said, “Instead of such rhetoric that create a vicious circle, we should try to create a virtuous circle that would make Turkey more European.” When asked about the controversial Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code, Rehn accused Kemal Kerincsiz without mentioning his name. Welcoming the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with civil society organizations to discuss possible amendments to this article, Rehn recalled that the article should be ameliorated not for Europe, but for the Turkish people. Rehn also noted that it would wrong to assert that Turkey had stepped back from the reform process, but its pace had slowed down.

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Major issues covered by the Progress Report and Strategy Paper:
Freedom of Speech: Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is extensively abused. The conviction of Hrant Dink in relation to this article created a case law that restricts freedom of speech. Hence, the article is a matter of concern, which might cause auto-censorship.

Cyprus: If Turkey does not fulfill its obligations under the Ankara Protocol, the entire negotiations process would be negatively affected. If Turkey does not proceed with implementing the aforementioned protocol, the Commission will adopt recommendations accordingly before the December summit of the Council of European Union. In addition, Turkey should take concrete steps toward normalizing its relations with all EU member countries.

Civil-military relations: Senior army officers persist in making public statements on issues out of their area of competence. Turkish armed forces still have unusual political influence. Senior military officers publicly express their views on both domestic and foreign political issues, such as Cyprus, secularism, the Kurdish question and the Semdinli indictment.

Religious freedoms: Ratification of the draft laws on religious minorities has been postponed several times. There is no alleviation of non-Muslims’ problems. This is also the case with the Alevi community. To ensure full operation of all religious communities without any restrictions, framework legislation should be devised in accordance with the European Court of Human Rights case law. Even though it refers to religious communities, the report does not make any mention of Sunni majority’s problems.

The Southeast: Turkey is target of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorism in an increasing scale. The PKK is on the EU’s list of terrorist groups. The European Union has condemned terrorist activities. Turkey should resolve the serious economic and social problems of the Southeast.

Judiciary: The reforms introduced so far presents a blurry picture. There is strong need for steps that would ensure independence of the judiciary. Honor killings should be investigated with scrutiny, and the perpetrators should be sentenced to imprisonment. Corruption is still commonplace in the public sector and the judiciary. Legislation on fighting corruption remains weak and unsatisfactory; the institutions which carry out the fight against corruption should be empowered. There is a steady decrease in the number of incidents involving torture and ill treatment. However, the amended articles of Anti-Terror Law might endanger the fight against torture and ill treatment.

“Mr. Ocalan Removed

The expression “Mr. Ocalan,” which caused outrage in Turkey, was replaced with “Abdullah Ocalan.”

The report also makes reference to the predominantly Roma vicinities in Ankara and Istanbul. It asserts that nearly two million Turkish Romas are subjected to discrimination in access to housing, health, and employment. Unlike the previous report, this year’s progress report does make any reference to the Armenian allegations over the 1915 incidents.