Even if a contrary atmosphere was awakened, neither pro-Turkish circles in Europe nor the government were very upset by the Commission’s recommendation. The real fear was for the recommendation to get worse and for the emergence of a situation that would require a new decision on Turkish membership at the end of a given period.
With the government’s latest move, the hands of those EU members that oppose a heavy penalty on Turkey were strengthened. Actually, this recommendation was nothing but a new expression of the Finnish plan with addition of sections that were found to be inadequate. Ercan was not in the plan; the government added it. There was no mention of Maras, which is seen as a part of the final plan. Only one sea port and one airport will be opened and this is for a limited period. As soon as the plan that excited Europe was announced, unfortunately the method was discussed in Turkey much more than the essence. First Chief of Staff General Buyukanit directly expressed his discomfort to a newspaper. Then a similar statement came from President Sezer. Opposition leader Baykal went so far as to say it was a “regime problem.” The Foreign Affairs Ministry stating that relevant parties were previously informed was not enough to end the debate. In fact, information to the effect that the issue was discussed at the National Security Council was not helpful either.
It can be said that the government should be more careful about coordination with the state on a critical issue like Cyprus. However, everyone with good intentions has to accept how fastidiously the government has behaved on the Cyprus process. As a matter of fact, we all know that the military was consulted at every stage of the Annan Plan, that a military representative was invited to attend every meeting including the one at Burgenstock, and that they worked together with Ertugrl Apakan, a person known as the least compromising on the Cyprus issue in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, the latest debate was important in 2 respects: First, in this matter, which is a communication accident in the final analysis, the method used by upper-level state officials has belittled our country in the outside world. Just as it does not become our state tradition, this attitude put our government, which is struggling with 25 European capitols, and our Foreign Affairs Ministry, which is making negotiations, in a difficult position.
The second point is the veiled imputation made by this debate. The nationalism and patriotism of civilians can not be trusted on national issues like Cyprus! If it is not given treatment, this is a wound that can permanently prevent Turkish democracy from regaining its health: If civilians make a decision on a national issue, they can either be making a mistake or acting treacherously.
However, those who are spreading this opinion should not forget that the biggest foreign policy diplomatic mistake or scandal in recent periods was made by the military, not civilians. I am talking about the famous Rogers Plan that enabled Greece to return to NATO due to the September 12th military rule. Not even the Foreign Ministry was aware of this decision that in 1980 robbed Turkey of its most important trump card against Greece. Kamuran Gurun, General Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the time, writes the following in his memoirs: “NATO Chief Commander General Rogers came to Turkey again. Agreement on the formula he brought resulted in reintegration of Greece to the NATO military flank on October 20th. This matter was handled completely by the military. They did not even leave the writing of the final copy of the formula to us.” According to the book entitled “Flank Operation,” Evren’s message, “Don’t veto Greece’s full membership in NATO,” was communicated to the Turkish delegation in Brussels via Rogers. The Turkish Ambassador was stunned, but in order not to give the impression that there was a lack of coordination in Turkey, he behaved as if he was aware of the Kenan Evren-Rogers decision. After the meeting the Ambassador called Foreign Affairs Minister Ilter Turkmen, but he learned that Turkmen had not been informed that the Turk veto had been lifted either.
