Turkish PM Says Nobody Has Right To Intervene In Turkey's Internal Affairs

ANKARA - Nobody had the right to intervene in Turkey`s internal affairs, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters, Erdogan evaluated the statement of Jean-Christophe Filori, the spokesman of European Union (EU) Commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen, that withdrawal of draft Turkish Penal Code (TCK) from the parliament ``concerned`` themselves, saying, ``EU spokesman can`t make such a demand regarding Turkey`s internal affairs, and parliament.``
Erdogan went on saying, ``this is an issue concerning our parliament and internal affairs. EU`s demands regarding these matters are clear. These are listed by Copenhagen political criteria. And, economic requirements we are asked to fulfil were listed by Maastrich criteria. Turkey had done what it should do during the adjustment process. And, Verheugen said so when he came here (to Turkey). And, he announced that there weren`t any remaining work Turkey should do regarding adjustment. But, implementation can take some time.``
``And, we continue our efforts to change. As how we don`t intervene in internal affairs of another country, nobody can have the right to intervene in our internal affairs, work and schedule of our parliament,`` Erdogan noted.

-TCK DRAFT-
Asked if the TCK draft would include an article on adultery, Erdogan said that all articles of the TCK draft except the validity and execution were adopted, and noted that amendments to Code of Criminal Procedure (CMUK) and Punishment Execution Law would be submitted to the parliament after it re-opened in October.
Erdogan said, ``you will see it when it is re-submitted to parliament. AK Party (ruling Justice and Development Party) continues its work, taking into consideration its own policy and sensitivities of our country.``
-WE HAVE MET ALL COPENHAGEN POLITICAL CRITERIA-
Erdogan noted that the parliament would re-open on October 1st, and it would continue to debate matters on its agenda.
``We have met all the Copenhagen political criteria. Nobody should try to make politics over Turkey`s EU bid. And, nobody should overshadow our efforts. We still continue our contacts with EU member countries. EU is not a sine qua non condition for us. We were asked to fulfil some criteria, and we worked within that framework. Everybody knows how much (Turkish) government and the opposition have worked,`` Erdogan added.
(BRC) 17.09.2004