 |
Top European Parliament officials say Ergenekon probe must run its course
Ria Oomen-Ruijten, the European Parliament's rapporteur on Turkey, said the Ergenekon “network” has to be untied. She added that solving the Ergenekon investigation will help increase the credibility of Turkey as all sides of the political spectrum will trust the system more.
“The Turkish judiciary is independent, but it is not impartial. Society’s trust in the justice system should not be shaken,” she said in a meeting with Turkish journalists in Strasbourg.
When asked about the tax fine on Turkey’s giant media group Doğan Yayın Holding, she said media organizations should use their power to inform the public not to protect their interests.
Oomen-Ruijten also said the role of the military in the Turkish system is an obstacle for further democratization.
One other question that journalists asked Parliament officials was about the alleged Naval Forces Command plan, called the Cage Operation Action Plan, aimed at discrediting the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
She said it is the Turkish press that will reveal the details of such actions. The European Union has recently announced that it has “very closely” been following developments related to the Cage Operation Action Plan. In a written statement the commission made clear that it has been following all Ergenekon-related developments, including the latest Cage plan. The Cage action plan was signed by Lt. Col. Ercan Kireçtepe and was planned to be completed by a team of 41 members of the Naval Forces Command. It envisaged the assassination of prominent non-Muslim figures and the spreading of propaganda to increase internal and external pressure on the AK Party, leading to its demise in politics, according to the plan.
Meanwhile, Hélène Flautre, co-chairperson of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, blamed the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) of trying to block the democratic initiative of the government. Speaking at the same meeting with Oomen-Ruijten, Flautre said the government is brave but that there are barriers. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the country’s powerful military have opportunities to disrupt the democratization process if they wish, according to Flautre.
Meanwhile, Richard Howitt, member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, said France, which does not desire to see Turkey as a member state, “will not prevent” Turkey’s membership in the EU.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ARZU KAYA URANLI |  |
||
| On Memorial Day a few words to make your day memorable | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| CUMALİ ÖNAL |  |
||
| Critical months for Egypt | |||
| DOĞU ERGİL |  |
||
| Qualities of power | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| JOOST LAGENDIJK |  |
||
| Europe can’t have it all. Or can it? | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| MELİH ARAT |  |
||
| Handmade | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
