HURRIYET- Columnist Tufan Turenc writes on recent comments on Turkey’s relations with the European Union. A summary of his column is as follows:
It is certain that our next generation will remember Bahceli and Ciller with regret. Both leaders will be mentioned as politicians who sought to bar Turkey’s entrance into the EU. Those who support them will be remembered only as their followers. Membership in the European Union has the power to change Turkey’s fate. In June, Turkey will either receive a certificate which says that it belongs to Europe or the accession negotiations will be postponed indefinitely. That is why those who believe that Turkey’s future lies in Europe are getting increasingly concerned. In the next three months, Turkey’s fate will be shaped irreversibly. I do not know if Devlet Bahceli, Tansu Ciller and their followers are aware that they are harming the country with their groundless fears. The European Union summit which will be held on June 21-22 in Seville will be a turning point for Turkey. At this summit either a date for the start of accession negotiations will be set for Turkey, or they will be postponed to an unspecified time. If a date is set, there is no turning back. Turkey will sit at the table for full membership and at the end of the process will become a full-fledged part of Europe. From that time on, neither the EU nor Turkey can give up on Turkey’s EU membership. Therefore, fulfilling our short-term commitments to the EU before the end of March carries vital importance for us. If we cannot complete this, it will be impossible to get a date for negotiations in Seville. Are Bahceli, Ciller and their supporters who are obstructing this development either deliberately or unknowingly aware of this? Is picking up a few votes by saying we should execute Ocalan really worth forsaking our children’s future? Don’t they know that if Turkey enters the EU its unitary structure will be strengthened and it will take great strides only in 5-10 years? They must be fully aware of these facts. Then why are they opposing this membership and trying hard to miss this opportunity for Turkey, thus relegating it to stay as a Middle Eastern country? Insistence on retaining the death penalty means an end to the initiative. Therefore saying that we should abolish the death penalty after executing Ocalan is deceiving ourselves. In fact in 1984 Turkey, in a moratorium it gave to the European Council, guaranteed that death sentences would not be carried out. From that time on, no one has been executed. As Professor Bakir Caglar has pointed out, even if the European Court Of Human Rights decides in Turkey’s favor, execution cannot take place within the framework of this moratorium. If that happens, everything will be over, a fact which I believe both Bahceli and Ciller are aware of. Unfortunately, uncontrolled ambitions sometimes put personal interests agendas before national interests.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION