EU praises Turkey over civilian-military balance but blasts it over Cyprus row

12 October 2011, Wednesday / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA

The EU’s 2011 progress report praised Turkey’s democratic reforms toward civilian control of politics but criticized its negative attitude to Greek Cyprus

The annual report repeated the appraisal from the EU on implementing civilian oversight of the Turkish military and referred to the August Supreme Military Council (YAŞ meeting as an example of crisis management by the civilian government. Just days before YAŞ meeting a number of Turkish top commanders resigned from their positions, agitating the fragile balance between the government and the military; however, President Abdullah Gül and PM Tayyip Erdoğan contained the fallout by swiftly replacing the top brass while also making concessions to restore some of the rights of officers currently on trial on charges of coup attempts, the report noted. The emergence of the possibility of civilian judicial review of YAŞ decisions was also recognized by the report, which additionally noted that Turkey still had some distance to cover in the normalization of civilian-military relations.

Showing support for Turkey´s plans for a fresh constitution to replace the current one, which is remnant of the 1982 military coup and has been criticized for its restrictions of freedoms and rights, the EU report called on Turkey to ensure the broadest possible consultations during the drafting process, including all political parties and representatives from civil society.

The Kurdish issue was emphatically touched upon as a long-standing issue that needs to be addressed in the new constitution, which is expected by the EU to secure democracy, the superiority of the law, human rights and minority rights, as well as freedom of expression and media.

The EU Commission report put forth the tension between Turkey and Greek Cyprus as a major point of concern for the 27-nation bloc, as it asked Turkey to refrain from making threats to Greek Cyprus to avoid damaging relations with the country. Speaking after the release of the final version of the report on Wednesday, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Füle stated that Turkey and the EU should ratchet up negotiation talks, but spoke in disappointment of a lack of progress in the last year. “Regrettably, accession negotiations have not moved forward for more than one year. There are frustrations about this on both sides,” Füle was quoted as telling the European Parliament by Reuters on Wednesday.

Turkey has been engaged in a row with Greek Cyprus over explorative drilling activities by Greek Cypriots in search of natural gas and oil in zones they unilaterally consider their exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Turkey does not recognize the legitimacy of the drilling activities and says Greek Cypriots are abusing the rights of Turkish Cypriots to the same resources. Although Turkey called on Greek Cyprus to pause drilling until the ongoing reunification talks between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities of Cyprus reach a conclusion, Greek Cypriots brushed off the demands, saying it was its sovereign right to pursue financial activities in its EEZ.

Late in September, Turkey responded to the Greek Cypriot drilling by setting up its own drilling on the northern shores of the island, but refrained from efforts to disrupt Greek Cypriot activities as the Greek Cypriots warned they would hold it against Turkey’s accession to the EU in an exercise of its privileged condition as a EU member state. Cyprus has remained a main obstacle the progress report dwelled on as blocking Turkey’s path to the union, as Turkey’s refusal to recognize the sovereignty of Greek Cyprus came up in negotiation chapters related to customs union and free movement of goods. The report noted that Turkey would not be in a position to implement fully the acquis relating to the free movement of goods unless it to opens its ports and harbors to “vessels and aircraft registered in Cyprus, or whose last port of call was Cyprus.”

The report’s criticism against Turkey for its row with Greek Cyprus was immediately slammed with a hard response from European Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış, who spoke to the press on Wednesday shortly after the announcement of the report. “It is sad to see that the EU backs the Greek Cypriot agenda,” Bağış told reporters. He noted that Turkey was seeking a solution to the ethnically divided island but would not settle for one that does not consider the rights of Turkish Cypriots. “It is a historic mistake on the part of the EU to relate the solution of the Cyprus issue to Turkish accession to the EU,” Bağış said in a bitter criticism that showed Turkey’s frustration with the EU for holding the Cyprus problem a core obstacle on Turkey’s route to accession.

Meanwhile, the report made a positive evaluation of the coup trials as an opportunity to bring to light crimes committed against democracy and boost confidence in the efficiency of democratic institutions that uphold laws and legislations. However, it was noted that the way the cases were handled came under question from defendants, damaging the credibility of the trials, in the absence of a mechanism that would provide the public with information on the cases.

The progress report praised Gül for his continued efforts for reconciliation in the visibly polarized political atmosphere in Turkey and his ability to solve some key issues with a constructive attitude. It also noted that it was still unclear whether Gül’s tenure would end next year or in 2014. Bağış was also hailed in the EU report for his efforts to boost inter-ministerial relations and to include civil society to the EU accession process. The report further acknowledged it as a sign of determination on the part of Turkey that the country has devoted a separate ministry to actualize its aspirations to join the European bloc.

While the report acknowledged that public debate was carried out in the media “openly and freely,” even on issues considered sensitive in Turkey, it cited a large number of abuses and restrictions against freedom of expression and media. Noting that jailed journalists and the seizure of an unpublished book by officials as issues that increased public criticism and caused worry with the EU, the report suggested that Turkey should take steps to bring its legislation and laws regarding freedoms to match those of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Expressing his opinion of the journalist trials, Bağış noted that Turkey had not imprisoned journalists in relation to their profession but rather for reasons that were outside journalism and that constituted crimes.

The EU also asked Turkey to amend its penal code in a way that would not allow punishment for the expression of ideas, which may largely be described as crimes under the current legislation.

The progress report was prepared by the EU as a final assessment of 12 monthly progress reports evaluating a candidate country’s progress on its path to EU accession and reporting the findings to Brussels. Monthly progress reports are also prepared by EU delegations in Tel Aviv, Damascus, Amman, Cairo, Beirut and East Jerusalem