Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 27, 2009 15:18
ANKARA - While declaring strong commitment to the vision of Turkey becoming an equal member of the European Union, a stance reinforced during last year’s visit of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s foreign secretary said Wednesday that 2009 was the year for a settlement to the Cyprus dispute, one of the stumbling blocks before Ankara’s EU membership.
“We want the Cyprus settlement as soon as possible,” David Miliband told reporters at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, in Ankara. “The people of Cyprus have a lot to gain from a solution and a lot to lose from the status quo.”
Turkey launched EU membership negotiations in 2005, but progress has since largely ground to a halt because of strong opposition in some member countries, namely France, Germany and Austria, and disagreements over the divided island of Cyprus.
“We will support negotiations by Cyprus for Cyprus. The status quo is not sustainable,” said Miliband. “This year is the year the issue can be resolved.”
For his part, Davutoglu said the 2009 was a window of opportunity for a settlement to the Cyprus dispute and warned the Greek Cypriots not to use their membership in the EU to achieve their own interests.
RACIST CAMPAIGN
Britain’s far-right National Party centered its campaign on opposition to Turkey’s EU membership ahead of the European Parliament’s elections set for next month. Ankara took the diplomatic initiative and urged the police to take action in the face of the racist campaign being carried through election brochures distributed by the party.
In response to a question, Miliband said the British National Party was an extremist party with terrible echoes of the past and was rejected by a vast majority of the British people. He said Britain has citizens of all races working together and obviously has laws on freedom of speech, as well as laws against inciting hatred and racism.
“It is important to separate racist views from general views. Our position [on Turkish membership in the EU] is clear,” said Miliband.
Asked to evaluate Turkey’s performance in implementing reforms, the foreign secretary said the Turkish government had an ambitious reform agenda “but it is not for me to give grades.”
“The UK remains strongly committed to this vision of Turkey to become an equal member of the EU. We sent aloud message that it is important time for imagination and confidence, not for hesitation and blame,” said Miliband. “We know there is a long road to accession. Britain can talk about our own rocky road… but it is important to drive forward in the face of challenges.”
One of the chieftains of the terrorist organization, PKK, came up with a so-called “Scottish model” and said Britain did what the Scottish people want by giving them a Parliament. In response, Davutoglu said Turkey was home to an established democracy and parliamentary system, refusing to elaborate further.
