MILLIYET- Columnist Hasan Cemal writes on Turkish-EU relations. A summary his column is as follows:
Can Turkey be divided? This cannot be. However, Turkey can be led to a turbulence and instability. PKK terrorist organization has served this purpose and in a bloody way at that. Can this be repeated? This may be so, and therefore Turkey has to be prepared for such a possibility. In order to achieve this a game plan covering religious and ethnic groups must be prepared. Developing within political stability, and spreading prosperity through democracy and the rule of law will form the framework of this game plan. However, Turkey excluded from Europe will be more prone to losing strength or falling into instability. In fact EU membership is adopted as a national policy in Turkey. The public support for this is around 75%. 2002 is an important year for EU membership. The EU has to set a date for Turkey’s accession negotiations until the end of 2002. If the date is set, the road to membership will be opened before us. However, Turkey has to complete its homework set for the short term. The Coalition government has fulfilled some of them but others still maintain their important positions such as the abolition of death penalty, radio-tv broadcasts in Kurdish. Turkey must take steps to be admitted to the EU.
If the EU may not agree to our membership finally, it is not the end of the world and we will continue on our path.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION