Quote:

Some of the major points of tension between Turkey and the European Union

The Associated Press

Published: November 3, 2006

CYPRUS

_ EU: Turkey must open its ports and airspace to Greek Cypriot ships and recognize Cyprus' customs union with the EU.

_ Turkey: Before it recognizes the government of Greek Cyprus, the EU must keep its promise to help lift the international isolation of the Turkish side of the divided island.

FREE SPEECH:

_ EU: Turkey must amend or abolish an article in the Turkish penal code that makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness" and which is frequently used to try academics and authors, notably Orhan Pamuk, this year's Nobel literature laureate.

_ Turkey: No one has gone to jail for expressing opinions so far, and the problem is not with the article itself but with its implementation. More time is needed.

HUMAN RIGHTS:

_ EU: Turkey is regressing after years of steady improvement.

_ Turkey: Rights have been strengthened and laws overhauled even as Turkey deals with resurgent violence by Kurdish separatists, considered terrorists by the United States and the EU.


WOMEN, MINORITIES:

_ EU: Expand their rights.

_ Turkey: It takes time to modernize a largely conservative Islamic society, and granting greater rights to minorities — particularly Kurds — could threaten the unity of the state.


ARMENIANS:

_ The EU: Turkey must recognize that the killing of as many as 1.5 million of its Armenian minority around the time of World War I was genocide.

_ Turkey: Calling it genocide is "an international lie"; they died in interethnic fighting as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Quote:

November 06, 2006
Some of the major points of tension between Turkey and the European Union // Towards Nov 8 (5)

CYPRUS
_ EU: Turkey must open its ports and airspace to Greek Cypriot ships and recognize Cyprus' customs union with the EU.
_ Turkey: Before it recognizes the government of Greek Cyprus, the EU must keep its promise to help lift the international isolation of the Turkish side of the divided island. More here on FREE SPEECH, HUMAN RIGHTS, WOMEN, MINORITIES, ARMENIANS

Merkel puts ball in Turkey's court over Cyprus while Kemal Dervis advises the EU to alter approach to Turkey or jeopardise links

A Draft of Nov 8 is already extensively in the field and here is an AP report: Draft EU report: Turkey reforms slowing

Andrew Borowiec describes the situation as European Union shows strain at the seams


In the mean time, The U.S. State Department has defined the island of Cyprus as ‘divided’ for the first time in a document prepared for American visitors to the island.

Is Turkey’s Government in Danger from the Military?
Turkey's PM faces competing pressures from the EU and from the new military chief of staff, General Yasar Büyükanit. Meanwhile, neocons in the US government are concerned about Turkey's distancing itself from Israel after the summer attacks on Lebanon, says Patrick Seale.