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EU Envoy leaves Turkey with crisis
warning, Erdogan no change in Article 301
1.11.2006 |
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Ankara, November
1, -- Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said late on
Sunday that his government had no plans to change a
controversial article of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
despite a European Union warning that failure to do
so could harm Ankara's entry bid.
Article 301 makes it a crime to insult Turkish
identity and has been used by nationalist lawyers to
prosecute a number of writers, journalists and
scholars. The EU says it unfairly restricts freedom
of expression and must be changed.
"On this matter [Article 301], there is no work in
hand," Erdogan said at a reception held at Cankaya
Palace by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer for the 83rd
anniversary of the founding of the republic. "Many
countries in Europe have articles similar to 301.
... We are not a country that is closed to the
world. Let them [the EU] come up with an idea [for
changing Article 301] and we will consider it," he
said. Erdogan, speaking to reporters at the state
reception on Sunday evening, added that it was for
the courts to interpret Turkish legislation. |
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan |
The European Commission is expected to criticize
Turkey's reform record in an annual progress report
due to be published on Nov. 8, especially its
failure to change Article 301.Erdoğan, who attended
the reception alone because Sezer did not invite his
wife, who wears a headscarf, said they had no plans
to amend 301 and that, furthermore, there were no
local or international proposals about how to change
the article. �It is not enough to say remove 301.
What we need is to have negotiations on it.
EU Envoy Leaves Turkey With
Crisis Warning: AKI
The European Commission's representative to Turkey,
Hansjorg Kretschmer, whose four year mandate expired
this week, has warned in an interview of an upcoming
crisis between Ankara and the EU and blamed the
military for resisting the reforms neccessary for EU
entry. Hansjoerg Kretschmer told CNN-Turk that
although the Turkish government wants to keep up the
reform process, the military is resisting this.
Speaking ahead of the European Union progress report
on Turkey to be released next week Kretschmer
touched on crucial issues, such as the deadlock on
Cyprus, the reform process and military-civilian
relations.
Stressing that all of his requests to establish a
dialogue with the Turkish military - which has often
criticized his remarks - were rebuffed, Kretschmer
said, "Although the government wants to take some
constructive steps, as we all know there is a
resistance in some state circles, bureaucracy and in
the military."
"On the one side there are the politicians and the
government officials who are on duty for a limited
time period and on the other side there is the
military and its state associations which have an
obvious ideological stance" he added.
Describing his relations with the Turkish military
as "absent," Kretschmer stated that he has never met
with senior Turkish military officers during his
four years in Ankara excepting one low-ranking
meeting. "Despite my continued requests for
meetings, I didn't get any answer," he added.
“If Turkey do not open its ports to Greek Cyprus
ships, European Council can not go on like that.
Opening ports is a prerequisite for the
negotiations”, Kretschmer said. The EU wants Turkey
to open its ports to Greek Cyprus cargo vessels but
Ankara rejects this since it doesn’t offically
recognise Greek administration in Cyprus.
Kretschmer also praised the EU-motivated social,
political and judiciary reforms of the Turkish
government but criticised militay’s role in
politics.
The EU diplomat has made farewell visits to many top
officials in Turkey, including Turkish President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
adnki com | Turkish Daily news
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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