Changes for the better in Turkey

Turkey knows it has to change if its plans for EU entry are to materialize. They are in a corner. And it is Turkey that has to tell the EU that yes, folks, we have democratized enough to meet your conditions. But, EU will make its own assessments too. They have to be convinced before formal talks open for Ankara’s entry to the bloc.

I am glad to note that Turkey is taking measures, in this context, to abolish the security courts. The role of these special tribunals has come in for strong criticism from human rights activists as well as EU, especially after it convicted four former Kurdish MPs in a retrial and ordered their imprisonment for 15 years. It is also deleting all reference to capital punishment in the constitution on the lines of a decision it had already taken to abolish death penalty. Another amendment relates to granting gender equality.

See, dear readers, when I wrote in this column a couple of weeks go about Turkey’s EU plans, I had said the bloc had to be convinced about Ankara’s reform and democratic credentials. Now, the new initiative on the part of Ankara to introduce constitutional amendments will help the country go further in fulfilling its EU aspirations. And Turkey will prove to the world that it is another fully democratic country in the Muslim world.

Turkey will have to realize that it has to introduce changes not only in theory but also in practice. The new measures have to be executed on the ground, and in right earnest. It is the EU that has to be convinced, not the Turks.

Turkey had formally requested for EU entry in 1987, and an agreement was reached ten years later to facilitate its entry, provided the conditions were met. Formal talks in this respect are set to start in a few months’ time.

Look at the advantages the country will have of a EU entry. The mood in the 10 nations that have entered EU yesterday is reflective of the benefits that would come to nations that enter the bloc. Turkey, as a EU member, will be a prosperous country. The nearly 70 million people will enjoy the benefits that come with the membership.

That, I hope, will be a new era for Turkey. A rule by force and humiliation of citizens, as had once been the case, will be history now. Such actions will not help a nation prosper. Look at East Europe. People were living in deprivation for long. People from there came to the Middle East, looking for jobs that would fetch them 300 to 400 dollars a month, whereas their brothers next door were having a good life. Contrast this with the scenario in England, where a normal life meant an earnings of 3000 pounds a month.

Turkey, I am sure, is moving on the right lines. I hope the new developments, such as the entry of the Greek side of the Cyprus, in the EU will not come in the way of Ankara’s plans for its rightful place in the bloc.