ANKARA - ''Turkey has taken magnificent steps in the last 2-3 years. The Turkish government has pursued a very successful reform program,'' said Hansjorg Kretschmer, the head of European Union (EU) Commission Office in Turkey.
Kretschmer told a news conference in Ankara on Wednesday that they saw negotiation process central for guiding reforms in Turkey, stressing that negotiations were open-ended but aimed at accession to the EU.
Kretschmer said, ''Progress Report is a positive report for Turkey and there is a positive atmosphere regarding the report in news stories of international agencies and statements of Turkish officials.''
Upon a question regarding torture, Kretschmer said, ''as it was mentioned in the report, torture in Turkey is not on systematic level any more and it is applied sporadically. Ankara should end torture completely.''
Regarding religious freedoms, Kretschmer said that there are some problems like non-Muslims cannot purchase properties and Turkey did not allow religious education. He added, ''we expect Turkey to launch legal initiatives to resolve those problems.''
When asked whether Turkey can start entry talks if it does not recognize Cyprus Republic, Kretschmer said that EU member countries would make a decision on this matter and it was not the duty of Commission.
Upon another question, Kretschmer said that Turkey made significant progress about cultural rights of Kurds but it had to do more in terms of international standards. Start of the broadcast and education in mother tongue was a very positive step and formed the 'beginning', Kretschmer said and noted that reforms in this area should continue.
Kretschmer also praised recent positive developments in Turkish economy and decrease in inflation rate.
(GC-MS) 06.10.2004