ERDOGAN CHIDES EU ON ACCESSION, COOPERATION AGAINST TERRORISM
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday again criticized European Union states for failing to cooperate with Ankara against terrorism and for raising unfair hurdles to Turkey's accession to the bloc. "We are pursuing our membership talks with determination," Erdogan told a joint news conference in Sofia alongside his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov. "But, unfortunately, no EU member country has been subject to the treatment that Turkey is now facing. It's been 50 years since we first applied to the EU, and ever since we've seen a series of delaying tactics." He added, "Sometimes we see one or two of our negotiating chapters opened during an EU term presidency, sometimes none. So we continue losing time. If the EU is in favor of enlargement and seeks reconciliation between civilizations, it should support Turkey's membership." Nationalist parties in EU member Bulgaria are against Turkey's accession, and one party has collected 330,000 signatures to demand a referendum on its membership. At the news conference, Erdogan also reiterated criticism of the EU member states' cooperation to fight terrorism. "Unfortunately some countries shelter terrorists or provide financial assistance. This is unfortunate and should never happen," he said. Erdogan has urged member states to step up efforts against the PKK. "If the EU declares the PKK a terrorist organization, then the fight [against it] should be carried out in cooperation. Unfortunately, this is not what some EU countries appear to be doing," he said. /Today's Zaman/
PM REITERATES NO NEW CONSTITUTION BEFORE NEXT YEAR'S GENERAL ELECTIONS
No new constitution is planned before next year's general elections, reiterated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. Commenting on remarks by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu that a new constitution could be drawn up before the elections, Erdogan said, "The countdown to elections will start in March. What does this mean? It means we have two months (April and May) in 2011 (before possible elections in June). Let's take steps on a new constitution after the elections." He added, "Our goal for the time being is to issue harmonization laws. We can take steps towards a new constitution after the elections." /Turkiye/
DAVUTOGLU: "POSSIBLE NEW SYRIAN-ISRAELI TALKS DEPEND ON ISRAEL'S ATTITUDE"
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday that the possible resumption of indirect talks between Syria and Israel depends on Tel Aviv. "We have many times repeated our position on this issue, as has Syria," Davutoglu told a joint press conference alongside his visiting Gambian counterpart Mamadou Tangara. "The course of future developments depends on Israel's attitude." The issue was briefly discussed over the weekend during Davutoglu's meeting with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem on the sidelines of the Turkish-Syrian High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, said Davutoglu. Al-Moallem recently said Syria wants Turkey to mediate any new indirect peace talks with Israel and that any other efforts would be subordinate to Ankara's role. "For us, contributing to regional peace is a debt, a duty, but to do this we need parties who want peace," said Davutoglu. "Whenever an appropriate climate emerges, this issue will come up and be discussed again." Asked if Switzerland was conducting telephone diplomacy over long-stalled Turkish-Armenian reconciliation efforts, Davutoglu replied: "The process has not yet ended, so there's no reason for it to resume." He added, "This is an ongoing process for us, and never ended - and it will not end before peace is achieved in the Caucasus." /Star/
TRNC'S EROGLU: "ANY CYPRUS DEAL MUST BE LASTING"
Any agreement to end the Cyprus problem should be a comprehensive and lasting one, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President (TRNC) Dervis Eroglu said yesterday. "We are very much in favor of a solution, but this requires both parties' contributions," Eroglu said in a speech at Ankara University marking the beginning of the academic year. Eroglu and his Greek counterpart Dimitris Christofias have been negotiating a solution to the issue of Cyprus' division but with little evident progress so far. The two leaders, under United Nations auspices, have discussed a number of important issues towards a lasting agreement, but a solution before year's-end is unlikely. Rebuffing critics who predicted before he took office that negotiations would stop because he doesn't favor peace, Eroglu said he witnessed armed conflict on Cyprus and so knows what a true peace deal would mean, adding that he wants peace more than his critics. "But not peace reached by any means," Erdoglu said, stressing that Turkish Cypriots want an agreement in which they live in pride, and one which doesn't harm Turkey's interests. Pointing to two problems which held back peace, he decried how Turkish Cypriots were sidelined when Cyprus was left to the Greeks and a promised peacekeeping force never arrived, and also how the European Union accepted Greeek Cyprus as a member in 2004. "The Greek Cypriots joined the EU just after they rejected the Annan plan," which the Turkish Cypriots accepted, he said. /Hurriyet Daily News/
GERMAN PRESIDENT: "TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP PROCESS MUST BE FAIR"
A fair and open-ended approach must be presented to Turkey in its European Union accession process, German President Christian Wulff said yesterday. Speaking to German TV channel ARD, Wulff stressed positive changes like the acceptance of constitutional changes in a referendum last month, calling Turkey's improvements "remarkable." Wulff, who said Sunday that Islam has a place in Germany and is expected to soon visit Turkey, added, "Some processes have started in Turkey, but these must be accelerated." /Sabah/
ISAM HEAD: "OPEN HAGIA SOPHIA TO MUSLIMS ON WEEKDAYS AND CHRISTIANS ON SUNDAYS"
The historic Hagia Sophia museum, which previously served as a Byzantine church and then an Ottoman mosque, could be opened to Muslim worshippers on weekdays and to Christians on Sunday, suggested Mehmet Akif Aydin, the head of the Istanbul-based Islamic Research Center (ISAM), yesterday. Aydin said that as a Muslim, he is disturbed to see Hagia Sofia still closed to worship. "I believe the continuation of the culture of coexistence at Hagia Sophia, which I hope will improve in Turkey, is more important and acceptable than it remaining a museum," he said in an interview. "As a Muslim, I'd like it to (again) become a mosque. But if Hagia Sophia is supposed to be opened to Muslim worshippers on weekdays, then it should be opened to Christians on Sunday. Hagia Sophia was built as a place of worship. It served people in this way for more than a thousand years, both as a church and mosque. Now it is neither a church nor a mosque. It disturbs me to see that Hagia Sophia has become a museum and tourist destination." Aydin added that if his suggestion is accepted, Hagia Sophia would stand as the first example of religions coexisting in one space." I think it would be better for Hagia Sophia to be a place of worship for the two religions rather than remain a secular museum," he said. "If we can re-open a church in Van, why not open Hagia Sophia to worship? This would contribute to the willingness of Muslims and Christians to coexist." /Today's Zaman/
FESTIVAL-GOERS IN WASHINGTON EXPLORE TURKEY'S WONDERS
The eighth Turkish Festival in Washington, with the theme "Explore the Wonders of Turkey is the Heart of DC," drew enthusiastic crowds to Freedom Plaza on Sunday. The festival featured Turkish handicrafts as well as samples of traditional Turkish cuisine. Visitors showed great interest in the Kolbasti, a regional folk dance known for its energetic steps, as well as other Turkish dances. Examples of traditional Turkish art on display, including hat (calligraphy), ebru (paper marbling), cini (glazed ceramics), miniatures, and carpet knotting, also attracted many visitors. /Turkiye/