BY SEDAT ERGIN
HURRIYET- Columnist Sedat Ergin writes on Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s views on the Cyprus issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due to meet in Rome today with his Italian and Irish counterparts as well as EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen. He is expected to signal to these prominent figures that Turkey has new initiatives on the Cyprus issue almost ready to go.
This meeting is significant since it will be the first political dialogue between our country and the EU in the wake of last week’s release of the Union’s Progress Report on Turkey. The gathering is expected to draw up a road map for the first half of 2004, a period when Ireland will hold the rotating EU Presidency. We already know that the Greek Cypriot administration is due to join the ranks of the EU next May, which will present it with the opportunity to be actively involved with EU decisions on our membership bid. My conversation with Gul and a number of my colleagues yesterday during our flight to Rome showed that Ankara is getting ready to exert every possible effort to reach a permanent solution on the island.
Gul said that the Foreign Ministry is still working on the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Plan. ‘We’re preparing for a permanent, sustainable and pragmatic solution,’ he added. ‘One of the most important features of the European culture is reconciliation. However, reconciliation is never unilateral. Both sides must do their utmost. I believe that Turkey is currently doing this, but we also need to see the same effort on the Greek side.’ Gul is very likely to convey a message at today’s meeting that the EU should put pressure on the Greek Cypriots to reach a settlement, as Turkey is ready to do so on the Turkish Cypriots for the sake of a resolution. One of the most interesting remarks to come out of Gul’s mouth yesterday was that he was hopeful a permanent settlement might be reached before May. Gul believes that 2004 will present Turkey with historic opportunities to accelerate its EU membership bid. ‘If we fail to join the EU, who knows what will happen in our country,’ Gul commented. ‘The whole picture may change completely. Circles which today support the EU may give up their hopes. Though we want to catch up to the level of European countries, we might be forced to suddenly abandon our objectives.’ In other words, Gul believes that the currents might carry Turkey to unfamiliar waters, which is why Ankara should be very careful in 2004.
Gul also criticized the EU Commission for failing to include the headscarf issue in its progress report. Gul is dissatisfied with the report for not dealing with the ban on wearing headscarves in certain public places into its evaluations of Turkey’s problems in democracy and human rights. ‘The EU has presented a picture, but this picture is not complete,’ added Gul.