TURKIYE- Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes about Turkey’s newly adopted reforms and the importance of implementing these reforms regardless of membership in the EU. A summary of his column is as follows:
Now that the Parliament has passed the European Union harmonization laws, what Turkey has to do is calmly wait for the EU Copenhagen summit on Dec. 12. General elections will be held in Germany in September. In addition, congressional elections will be held in the United States in November. Both of these elections will have repercussions in Turkey. November is also going to be the month when parties will be trying to form a government in Turkey in the post-election period. It is in October that election propaganda will be at its peak in Turkey. Let’s hope that political parties don’t waste millions of dollars on party posters and flags. The parties should know that people don’t vote for bits of paper. There exist circles in Turkey who are opposed to the EU. In fact these circles will retain their opposition to the EU even after Turkey becomes a full member. Such circles also exist even in the EU member countries; they complain about being in the Union and wish to leave. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, this is what democracy is all about. Therefore, the two sides (those in favor of and those opposed to the EU) should not accuse each other of not loving their country. In EU candidate countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, 60 percent of the population was initially against abolishing the death penalty but it was abolished anyway. Now, capital punishment no longer exists in Europe. Furthermore, we should accept that people may want to go to language courses to learn Kurdish instead of French or English for instance. The duty of the state is to teach Turkish to all of its citizens. Apart from this obligation to learn Turkish, every citizen has the right to learn whichever language they may desire. We must genuinely implement these latest reforms without exception, regardless of whether or not we become a member of the EU.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION