Letter Of European Politicians On Turkey

ANKARA - Some renowned politicians and authors in Europe called on European governments to reaffirm the promises and commitments that the EU has made in the past.
According to a letter published in the International Herald Tribune newspaper`s column "letters to the editor" on Wednesday, Turkey`s citizens have been carefully watching the reactions of politicians across Europe and the United States to the "memorandum" by the Turkish military issued on April 27th.
The letter, which was published with the title, "To Turkey From Europe With Hope," indicated that, "In these fraught circumstances, it is vital to send an unambiguous message to Turkish society. We strongly regret this intervention that could harm Turkey`s progress as well as its relations with the European Union," the letter said.
The letter said the EU decided to open negotiations with Turkey as a result of a striking sequence of reforms that led the European Commission in 2004 to declare that Turkey substantially met the Copenhagen criteria, and noted that, "one of these criteria is respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Another is a functioning democracy, including as a basic principle, full civilian control over the armed forces. The intervention by the military on April 27th throws Turkey`s compliance into doubt."
Claiming that the Turkish military justified this by the need to defend "Turkish secularism", the letter said, "however, the threat to secularism has been overstated. In fact, Turkey has undertaken a number of important reforms, in sectors ranging from women`s rights to education, which provide legal protection for secular values. Much remains to be done-including removing the penal code`s restrictions on freedom of speech and working to close the gender gap-and we call on the Turkish authorities to vigorously pursue the reform path."
"But Turkish legislation has never been closer to European standards than today, and many of these changes have been brought about under the current government," the letter said.
In the letter the politicians and authors said, "we believe that it is up to the Turkish political process, and to Turkish civil society, to express the preferences of the Turkish public. Large demonstrations, challenges of political decisions in courts and political campaigns are all acceptable tactics in democratic politics. We understand those who are concerned about the concentration of power, but this should not be taken as an excuse for the military to limit democratic government."
"Finally, we call on European governments to reaffirm the promises and commitments that the EU has made in the past. Turkey still has much to do before it meets European standards, but by showing solidarity with Turkish democrats, the EU can now help to keep the process on the track," the letter stated.
Among those who signed the letter, there are former foreign minister of the Netherlands Hans van den Broek, former foreign minister of Germany Joschka Fischer, former foreign minister of Portugal Teresa Patricio Gouveila, former foreign minister of Spain Ana Palacio as well as members of European Parliament Daniel John-Bendit, Andrew Duff, Dan Jorgensen, Joost Lagendijk, and Cem Ozdemir.