Report: Pro-coup circles lead to vicious circle in Turkey-EU ties

The Independent Commission on Turkey is made up of former heads of state and government, foreign ministers and European commissioners and other Europeans who have previously held high positions in public office. The commission aims to examine the challenges and opportunities presented by Turkey's possible membership in the EU. Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland, is the chairman of the commission, and Albert Rohan, Austria's former secretary-general of foreign affairs, is rapporteur. The group is scheduled to release a report titled “Turkey in Europe: Breaking the Vicious Circle” in Brussels today. In the report, obtained by Today's Zaman, the commission calls on European governments to stand behind promises made to Turkey by acting fairly vis-à-vis Turkey's membership process, while urging the Turkish government to revive the reform process, including the prospect of drafting a new constitution that would expand freedoms and rights.

“Plans for toppling the government, the court case opened for closing down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the military's open threat to intervene in politics,” are listed in the report as internal reasons leading to a slowdown in the reform process related to the EU membership drive.

The AK Party received widespread support from the electorate in the July 2007 parliamentary elections, which were held after the AK Party government faced the military's “e-memorandum” on April 27, 2007 opposing the presidential candidacy of then-Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, arguing that he was an Islamist.

Last year, a coalition of hyper-secularist and pro-establishment forces made their way to a high court trying to have the party outlawed for allegedly subverting Turkey's secular Constitution.

The AK Party narrowly escaped being closed down by the Constitutional Court on charges of being a focal point of anti-secular activities. The 2008 case rattled financial markets and polarized Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged to reform the Constitution drafted by the military in 1982 and change the way the Constitutional Court works -- steps that would remove some obstacles that stand before Turkey's EU membership, but could revive tension with hyper-secularists, who accuse him of pursuing an Islamist agenda. Erdoğan vehemently denies this.

The current Constitution is a legacy of the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d'état, a military intervention that has had long-lasting effects on Turkey. Moves to change provisions protecting generals behind the coup ended in misery for those involved; attempts to pass a new and more democratic constitution have been blocked, and endeavors to loosen the military's grip on politics -- the strongest legacy of the Sept. 12 coup -- have all failed so far. Turkey began EU accession negotiations in 2005 but has made slow progress. Analysts say political distractions at home and a lack of appetite for further enlargement among EU states have pushed the EU agenda to the backburner.

The Independent Commission on Turkey refutes claims that Turkey faces a threat against its secular system, noting that no political elements argue for the establishment of a state based on Islamic principles. A strong connection with the EU would be the best protection for the secular system in Turkey, it adds.

Recalling the principle of pacta sunt servanda

As much as it highlights domestic obstacles that have put pressure on the Turkish government, preventing it from moving ahead with EU reforms at a constant pace, the report also criticizes EU leaders for remarks they have made against Turkey's EU bid, which have been alienating for both the Turkish government and the Turkish public.

Such remarks, which are in violation of the principle of pacta sunt servanda [a principle of international law which means in Latin that agreements must be kept], have weakened the government's determination to transform the country, the report suggests. Consequently, this weakening has strengthened the hands of those opponents within the EU who claim that Turkey doesn't deserve to become a full EU member. These developments together have led to a vicious circle in relations between Turkey and the EU, the commission asserts.

This vicious circle has to be broken at once, and this will be in both Turkey and the EU's favor, it says.