A meeting with ambassadors of European Union member countries accredited to Ankara on Thursday offered Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan an opportunity to express his belief that the EU's tendency to become an isolated body is discouraging for both the European and the Turkish public.
Erdoğan hosted a luncheon for the EU ambassadors only a day after members of the European Parliament endorsed an annual report evaluating EU candidate Turkey's progress in 2009. The report made several calls on Turkey to contribute to ongoing reunification talks on the divided island of Cyprus, calls that were interpreted by Ankara as placing all the responsibility for the lack of a resolution to the decades-old Cyprus issue on the shoulders of Turkey. “Are the eyes of the European Parliament blind to the Cyprus issue within the framework of the ongoing negotiations in Cyprus? They should open their eyes.
The report they have released has created disappointment in Turkey,” Erdoğan said in a speech ahead of the luncheon.
“The European Parliament is acting like a spokesperson for the Greek Cypriot side,” Erdoğan said, echoing the harsh reaction outlined in a written statement released by the Foreign Ministry earlier on Thursday.
The report, penned by Dutch Christian Democrat Ria Oomen-Ruijten, calls on Turkey to hand over a Turkish Cypriot town to Greek Cypriots and to immediately begin the withdrawal of Turkish troops. The European Parliament “calls on the Turkish Government actively to support the ongoing negotiations, and to contribute in concrete terms to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue, based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the principles on which the EU is founded; calls on Turkey to facilitate a suitable climate for negotiations by immediately starting to withdraw its forces from Cyprus, by addressing the issue of the settlement of Turkish citizens on the island and also by enabling the return of the sealed-off section of Famagusta [Gazimağusa in Turkish] to its lawful inhabitants in compliance with Resolution 550(1984) of the United Nations Security Council.”
The Foreign Ministry described the report as “unilateral and not in compliance with facts,” while warning that its wording may have negative impacts on Turkey’s EU accession process.
“The fact that promises given to Turkey by the EU are not mentioned in the report, while expectations from Turkey are listed, is additionally thought provoking. In the report, ongoing comprehensive negotiations and the Turkish Cypriot side’s constructive efforts toward resolution are virtually disregarded, while facts concerning those who have responsibility in emergence of the Cyprus issue have been ignored,” the Foreign Ministry said.
“This approach, which is away from all kinds of feelings of justice, has, with the slightest expression, led to great disappointment. The European Parliament’s function should not be to act as a spokesperson for the Greek Cypriot side and meet all their groundless claims and demands. We feel sad over seeing that the European Parliament, in its first test concerning Turkey during the new legislation period, has fallen hostage to domestic policy motivations,” the ministry added, while, nonetheless, highlighting that Turkey will continue claiming its vested rights and proceed toward its goal of becoming an EU member despite certain circles’ negative manner and efforts to prevent Turkey from reaching its goal.
Turkey sent its troops to Cyprus in 1974 following attacks on Turkish Cypriots by Greek Cypriot groups favoring unification with Greece and eventually a Greek-inspired coup on the island.
Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island when Greek Cypriots in the south rejected a UN reunification plan while the Turkish Cypriots in the north overwhelmingly supported it in twin referendums in 2004. Turkey has called on the EU to fulfill its commitment to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as a condition for opening its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus. The EU unveiled a plan to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots by establishing direct trade with Turkish Cyprus after they voted for the UN plan to reunite the island, but it was never implemented.
Erdoğan, meanwhile, stated that continuing to debate Turkey’s “Europeanness” of Turkey is nothing but a waste of time, adding that it is high time for the EU to remember its pledges to Turkey.
“The European Union is demoralizing us by opening the pledges it made to us and signatures we signed to debate. The steps Turkey takes are the biggest guarantee for the EU. Our determination for EU accession should no longer be questioned. We will continue to do our part as we have done so far,” Erdoğan added. He also complained about the opposition’s stance regarding the government’s steps to pass reforms for eventual EU membership, adding that his government is continuing its way toward accession despite all obstacles posed by the opposition.
12.02.2010
News
TODAY’S ZAMAN
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-201317-erdogan-lashes-out-at-eu-open-your-eyes-on-cyprus.html
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