HURRIYET- Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on the different stances of the US and the EU on the fight against terrorism. A summary of her column is as follows:
A tension has been seen recently between both sides of the Atlantic due to the EU's failure to include the terrorist organizations in Turkey in their list of terrorist organizations. The US is launching intiatives in European capitals on the issues. Differences of opinion on the definition of terrorism have led to serious discussions. An official attending the program organized by the Turkish Atlantic Council stated that if there were no agreement on the definition of terrorism, there could be no struggle against international terrorism. There are interesting explanations as to why the PKK or the DHKP-C were not cited in the EU terrorist organizations list. European officials are saying that they are being threatened by these organizations. If these organizations were included on the list, they claim fear that incidents might occur which could create instability in Europe. Leaving this unconvincing excuse aside, let's take a look at the countries which are opposed to including these organizations in the list, namely, Italy and Greece. The Greek government is already in hot water due to allegations that it has relations with the Nov. 17 terrorist organization and therefore, it is rather hard for it to define another organization caught in its own hands as terrorist. The Italian stance is also interesting. Back when the PKK head Ocalan was hiding in Rome, current Prime Minister Berlusconi, the opposition leader at the time, brought forward motions to expel Ocalan from the country, and asked that Turkey's requests be taken into consideration. However, today Berlusconi's policy has turned 180 degrees. Turkey, has taken on the role of a "lithmus paper" in fight against terrorism. It has shown that there is no real agreement on the definition of terrorism within the alliance. For a united fight against terrorism, there has to be agreement on the definition of terrorism.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION