Turkey passes another EU reform package, but questions remain about the government's sincerity. Gareth Jenkins reports from Ankara The Turkish parliament passed another package of reforms to ease restrictions on freedom of speech and safeguard human rights, edging the country a little closer to its 40-year-old dream of membership of the EU. But many observers remained sceptical, noting that previous reforms packages had remained mainly on paper and had made little difference in practice. Since being officially named as a candidate for EU accession at Helsinki in December 1999, Turkey has been under pressure from Brussels to improve its poor human rights record and permit greater freedom of expression, particularly through allowing the country's sizeable Kurdish minority the right to express their own identity. The package of reforms passed by parliament last Thursday was the sixth of its kind. The legislative amendments including: annulling Article 8 of Turkey's Anti-Terrorism Law, which was so broad in scope that it enabled almost any expression of dissent to be classed as terrorism; further easing restrictions on broadcasting in languages other than Turkish; allowing parents to give their children Kurdish names; and reducing political censorship of songs and movies. However, it is questionable what difference the reforms will make in practice. During the 1990s the European Court of Human Rights overturned a series of convictions of Turks who had been prosecuted under Article 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. As a result, the Turkish authorities have since preferred to use the -- arguably even more draconian -- Article 312 of the Penal Code. Similarly, restrictions on broadcasting and the right of parents to choose names for their children depend more on implementation, particularly the attitudes of individual judges, than the letter of the law. Significantly, 10 months after the bans on education and broadcasting in Kurdish were first lifted, nothing has changed in practice. In August 2002 the law was changed to allow the state- owned TRT TV channel to broadcast in Kurdish. But not only are there still no Kurdish language programmes, it emerged earlier this month that as soon as TRT was given the sole right to broadcast in Kurdish, TRT's director-general immediately secretly applied to the courts to have the law revoked. Anyone wishing to organise Kurdish language courses still has to apply to the authorities for a permit. Those who have applied report that they have faced innumerable bureaucratic obstacles. As a result, there is still no education in Kurdish. The timing of the latest reform package has also raised questions about the government's sincerity. The amendments were legislated on the same day that EU leaders began a three day summit in the Greek city of Thessaloniki at which, amongst other things, they were to discuss the progress made by Turkey towards fulfilling the criteria for membership. Speaking after the Thessaloniki summit, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul declared that EU leaders had not only welcomed the reforms but even suggested that Turkey could begin membership negotiations early next year. "Such an atmosphere has never existed before. Remarks, statements, they were all very positive," he said. But many inside Turkey remain very sceptical. "The Turkish parliament produces more laws than any other parliament in the world," commented veteran former parliamentarian Kamuran Inan. "About 1.4 laws are enacted every day on average. If everything could be solved through enacting laws, then Turkey would have no problems. But cars still do not stop at red lights and even the state violates its own laws. Can you imagine that 14 per cent of the police have faced legal action? When you consider how difficult it is to prosecute the police, this is a huge figure." But the government appears unconcerned. Earlier this year, Turkey's prospects of ever joining the EU suffered a severe blow as a result of the collapse of UN-sponsored talks to reunite the divided island of Cyprus; and have been exacerbated by Ankara's refusal to listen to the EU's pleas to pressure Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to return to the negotiating table. While, by first promising to support the US in its war against Iraq and then failing to keep that promise, Turkey alienated both the Arab world and Washington. Nevertheless, on Sunday, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of party supporters in Istanbul that, "The entire world is watching us and is stunned by our success. Never in the country's history has there been such an exciting, successful era in Turkish foreign policy." But the signs are that reality will soon kick in. Speaking after the passing of the reform package last week, EU diplomats in Ankara repeatedly stressed that paper changes alone were not sufficient to ensure Turkish accession. Yet in the months ahead, the real challenge to the Turkish government is likely to come from within the country. Last week, as the reform package was being debated in parliament, the government announced that it would attempt to introduce another series of legal amendments next month, including measures to curb the political influence of Turkey's powerful military. The Turkish military remains convinced that Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (JDP) harbour a secret pro-Islamist agenda and is likely to resist anything which would weaken what they see as their sacred duty to protect secularism. There are also signs of increasing restlessness amongst trade unions and the Turkish business community. Erdogan's government has repeatedly cited the strength of the Turkish lira, which has appreciated by around 25 per cent in real terms since the beginning of 2003, as evidence of the success of the government's economic programme. The government, however, appears unaware of the crippling impact that an overvalued currency could have on Turkey's exports and balance of payments. Last week Erdogan announced that, although annual inflation remains at nearly 30 per cent, the government would not grant public sector workers a pay rise. On Sunday he warned the trade unions against protesting too vigorously. "Don't try our patience," he said. "Some people ought to be grateful they even have jobs." But the unions remain defiant and have announced plans to initiate a sustained campaign of protest. They could yet find that they receive support from some unlikely sources; not only secularists and members of the business community, but also -- albeit discreetly -- from the Turkish military.
