Ecevit: Turkey Can Face Extremely Serious Problems About Its Regime

ANKARA (A.A) - 21.07.2002 - Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit said on Sunday, ''the Cyprus question does not interest Europe in regard to Copenhagen criteria. A satisfactory solution could not be reached on the island because of interest of the European Union (EU) in Cyprus.''
''If the Cyprus question is wanted to be solved in a satisfactory way, facts about the island should be recognized. There are two separate states, two separate nations, two separate languages and two separate religions. The EU does not have the right to bring them together by force,'' he said.
Speaking at a program on the state-run TRT-1 TV Channel, Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''problems have been solved considerably for the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey. However, the Greek Cypriots and Greeks think that problems have still been continuing. There were continuous clashes on the island before the Peace Operation. Turkish Cypriots had faced with the threat of genocide. Even Macorios who assumed a cruel attitude against the Turkish Cypriots, reacted some incidents in northern part of the island.''
''The Cyprus question does not interest Europe in regard to Copenhagen criteria. The issue does not concern any country except for Turkey, Greece and Britain, the guarantor states. A satisfactory solution could not be reached on the island because of interest of the EU in Cyprus. Turkey did not divide the island into two. The island was split into two geographical regions upon desire of the Greek Cypriots and approval of Britain. However, the Greek Cypriots try to be dominant over the whole island again. There were not peace and democracy on the island before the Peace Operation. After the operation, democracy and peace have been settled in both sides, and economic growth has been accelerated,'' he said.
Prime Minister Ecevit stressed that the region was of great importance in regard to Turkey's security.
When asked, ''let's imagine that the EU accepted the Greek Cypriot side's membership, and excluded the TRNC. What will we do then?'' Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''in that case, the EU would have recognized de facto existence of two separate states on the island. Turkish Cypriots do not want to join the EU together with the Greek Cypriots. If the EU makes such a mistake, it will drag the island into a serious clash process.''
Noting that it was not healthy for two different communities to live forever on a small island separately, Ecevit said that reasonable and acceptable solutions could be found if pressures on Turkish Cypriots were lifted or Greece gave up its desire to have dominance over whole Cyprus.
Responding a question which said, ''acts of the November 17 terrorist organization in Greece have started to be solved. At what level do you think Greece fights against terrorism or uses terrorism?'' Ecevit said peace could not be settled in Greece although it was an EU member, adding that the main reason for this was Greece's attitude.
When asked whether or not Turkey would be a part of the issue of finding assailants of Turkish diplomats, Ecevit said, ''it may be, of course, these may come onto the agenda again.''
Responding a question about a possible military operation against Iraq by the United States and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Denfense Paul Wolfowitz's visit to Turkey, Ecevit said that U.S. President George W. Bush's main target since he elected U.S. President was to topple down the current regime in Iraq.
Noting that the messages that Wolfowitz had brought to Turkey were not a new development, Ecevit said that during his meeting with Bush in the United States, Bush had told him that he was clearly thinking of a military operation against Iraq.
''However, its time and kind were not clear,'' Ecevit said and added that the information brought by Wolfowitz had showed that the U.S. administration was determined to launch an effective military operation against Iraq.
Stressing that such an operation geopolitically concerned Turkey very much, Ecevit said that this would spread also to Turkey whether or not it wanted since it was a neighboring country of Iraq in a very sensitive region.
When asked whether or not they were planning to send a message or envoy to Iraqi Head of State Saddam Hussein, Ecevit said that they had sent messages and he had sent a long letter to Saddam a few moths ago.
Ecevit said that also the ministers who had visited Iraq conveyed Turkey's concerns to Saddam, but they could not observe a signal about a ''promising and hopeful attitude'' from Iraqi side.
When asked at what level the serious economic losses that Turkey would suffer due to operation had been taken up during the meetings with Bush and Wolfowitz, Ecevit said that they had often brought them onto the agenda but even the commitments and promises made to Turkey during the Gulf War had not been fulfilled and kept.
Noting that he had explained to the U.S. administration that ''there were other measures that could be taken to prevent Iraq from being a possible factor of threat in the region'', Ecevit said that a military operation was not the only way and it might not give positive results in short term.
Ecevit said Iraq was actually a developed country which could not be compared to Afghanistan or Vietnam in terms of technology and economy, adding that the United States might not ''beat'' Iraq so easily.
Responding another question, Ecevit said that U.S. President Bush was a real friend of Turkey, adding, ''we don't want to offend and upset him. However, we consider it a duty to openly tell our concerns to Mr. Bush and his deputies as a principle of our firendship.''
Noting that ''a de facto Kurdish state had been founded in Northern Iraq'', Ecevit said that Turkey's allowing this state to reach further points was out of question, adding, ''however, I am consoled that also the U.S. administration states that it has not yet prepared a concrete plan.''
When asked whether or not issues like ''use of Incirlik base and what kind of Turkey's contributions to operation would be'' had been discussed during the meeting with Wolfowitz, Ecevit said that the United States was a strategic ally of Turkey, adding that they had been expressing that the United States should make some contributions to Turkey in order to provide security in the region and that they had discussed under this framework.
ECEVIT SAYS THERE ARE SOME CLAIMS SAYING THAT AK PARTY WILL GET AN OVERWHELMING VICTORY IN ELECTIONS AND HADEP CAN EXCEED THRESHOLD
Ecevit said, ''there are some claims saying that Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will get an overwhelming victory in the elections and the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) can exceed the threshold. If all these claims come true, Turkey can face extremely serious problems about its regime.''
Ecevit said, ''there are some news stories in today's newspaper claiming that I have changed my mind about the elections. These news stories are totally baseless.''
''A few months ago, we, as leaders of the three political parties forming the coalition government, decided not to hold elections before April of 2004. However, State Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli made a statement and proposed to hold early elections. State Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz agreed with him. When we came together after all these developments, I asked them the reason of their attitude. They could not give me a satisfactory response,'' he said.
''I do not want to cause any problem. However, I am telling on every occasion that we are opposed to early elections. Only three leaders cannot take a decision about such an important issue. We should learn views of other political parties. The DSP Assembly held a meeting yesterday, and discussed the issue in detail. At the end of the meeting, we came to a conclusion that early elections were, in fact, unnecessary. The DSP relies on it to carry out successful works in the early elections. We do not have any concerns about it,'' he stressed.
Prime Minister Ecevit noted, ''the 57th government has achieve success in making reforms. It has adopted numerous laws, and made neglected constitutional changes. Our exports have begun to increase. Also, number of tourists coming to Turkey and production have increased. All these developments revealed that situation has been improving in Turkey. No one takes the streets to protest. It is a fact that salaries are low. We should revive the economy more in order to put an end to it. And we need time to to this.''
When asked, ''Bahceli said that he proposed to hold early elections on November 3 in order to put an end to scenarios of government without the MHP and Ecevit. Are there any scenarios?'' Ecevit said, ''it is clear that some internal and external circles were making tricks in order to destroy the DSP. Mr. Bahceli stressed this fact with a good-intention. However, this cannot be a reason to hold early elections.''
''The policy has not put on the track in Turkey yet. There are some formations that should be examined carefully. For instance, the AK Party and the HADEP are two of these formations. There are some claims saying that AK Party will get an overwhelming victory in the elections and the HADEP can exceed the threshold. If all these claims come true, Turkey can face extremely serious problems about its regime,'' he said.
When asked whether or not a situation similar to the February 28 process would occur if the AK Party came to the power, Ecevit said, ''no. I don't mean February 28. I believe that it is necessary and possible to prevent risks and dangers within natural process of the democracy regarding this regime. However, it is seen that none of the leading parties focus on this AK Party and HADEP. Even some of these parties seek ways of cooperation with HADEP. What is HADEP? HADEP is actually is the representative of separatist movement. It is a fact that HADEP has close relations with head terrorist Abdullah Ocalan who is staying in prison. Despite this, some of them are seeking ways of alliance with HADEP although other parties should adope a joint position against HADEP. There is a serious sitution regarding both HADEP and AK Party.''
When asked what his point of view about AK Party was, Ecevit recalled that AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that he was changed.
''It should be tried whether this claim about change in his ideas real or not. He says 'I changed' but where is the proof? But this has not been proved yet. I don't want a ban on Mr. Erdogan from politics or closure of his party. I don't want this for any party. On the contrary, these should be free. Their real faces should be seen under this freedom. However, such an opportunity is not offered. He easily says he had changed and many columnists appreciate this. How can this be proved? If the coming period had continued until its normal time frame, we would have given the start for a more effective work on this issue,'' he said.
When recalled of his statement that said Bahceli wanted early elections to spoil scenarios ousting Ecevit and MHP from the government, Ecevit said, ''some other ways can be found for this. I will focus particularly on these two issues even early election is held on November 3. I know that any other party except DSP cannot dare to criticise these two parties. There are not any news and comments about them in newspapers. Because of this, Mr. Erdogan criticizes mostly DSP.''
When asked whether or not secularism had been settled in Turkey, Ecevit said, ''secularim has gained a great power since DSP became the leading party in the coalition government. Fundamentalism no more constitutes a problem. Dormitories and Koran courses were taken under the state's control. Every kind of measure was taken. We did not receive serious reaction from society. We achieved them by not hurting people's religious.''
''Besides, we took every kind of measure without hurting people especially in southeastern and eastern Anatolia in order to prevent separatist movement,'' Prime Minister Ecevit added.
ECEVIT SAYS IF A DECISION HAD NOT BEEN TAKEN TO HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS, HE WOULD HAVE BEGUN MAKING PREPARATIONS TO HAND OVER HIS LEADERSHIP
Ecevit, ''if a decision had not been taken to hold early elections before April of 2004, I would have begun making preparations to hand over my DSP leadership.''
Ecevit said, ''we can take the necessary steps to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria in the election process with the help of State Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli. Mr. Bahceli is not willing to adopt the adjustment law with the European Union (EU). However, he told us that they would not prevent our efforts to adopt these laws.''
Responding a question, Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''if a decision had not been taken to hold early elections before April of 2004, I would have begun making preparations to hand over my DSP leadership. DSP is a rooted and interesting political party. It increased its rate of votes after each elections under extremely difficult conditions. The DSP has peculiar methods. I will withdraw from the DSP leadership after a certain stage.''
Prime Minister Ecevit refrained from responding a question about resignations of Husamettin Ozkan, Ismail Cem, Istemihan Talay and Metin Bostancioglu.
When asked, ''Cem said that DSP has concluded its mission and the government's function ended. Do you agree with him?'' Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''no. Actually, this early election constituted a serious obstacle in front of the government to fulfill its historical function. I will do my best to overcome this obstacle.''
Prime Minister Ecevit noted, ''I will start paying visits to some provinces in coming days under elections campaign.''
Responding a question about State Minister Kemal Dervis for Economy, Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''Mr. Dervis has achieved important success during his term in office. He helped us to overcome economic crisis. No one knows anything about his plans about his political career.''
When asked what he thought about the recent news about him, Ecevit said, ''I was very upset with these news. Private life should not be distorted so much and reflected to people through news. Besides, those news should not be fake, they should reflect the truth.''
Noting that ''some people had initiated a campaign in Turkey especially in recent months'', Ecevit said, ''I don't know those forces are internal or exernal but a unique campaign targeting me and my wife was initiated. It was like a difficult thing to stand against. I can't endure this ethically. However, I don't give it a lot of attention.''
When asked how he felt as he was not going to doctor for fifteen days, Ecevit said actually he should go to doctor, adding, ''however, I know that several fake and wrong news would have spread and written if I had gone. Because of this, I don't go to doctor at the moment.''