EU membership could materialize only with the military

These bills have been enacted sometimes due to the demand directly expressed by the military and sometimes due to the demand expressed by the police force at the instigation of the military and, in some other cases, by the civilian governments who thought in the same vein.

Therefore, every new arrangement to be made will greatly sensitize those circles that act in a hair-splitting manner on separatism and Shariah threat — especially in the military circles.

Civilian control over the military
Also to be added to this list is the "bringing the military under the control of the civilians" concept. I call this a concept because it is not clear yet how exactly this will be achieved in principle — other than taking the symbolic step of making the General Staff answerable to the Defense Ministry,

To sum up, at least part of the military think that if Turkey became a full member of the EU those in uniforms would lose their powers, that their influence on the state mechanism would diminish, and that, as a result, the country would be faced with the danger of not only splitting up but also of Shariah.

Some of those who sincerely have that conviction express their worries openly such as National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Kilinc Pasha has done while others voice these views only at military headquarters or when discussing these issues among themselves or with their commanders.

Howeverm despite all these doubts and worries, a significant part of the armed forces see Turkey’s future — especially in the wake of the Iraq War — in "developing the cooperation with the USA and yet ensuring full membership in the EU." No one should doubt that.

So, part of them are resisting while another part are determined but they expect support. Yet another part want to be persuaded.

In other words, minds are quite confused.

The military has to be persuaded
The military’s worries are extremely real — that is, as genuine as the worries other segments of the society harbor on some other issues. On the other hand, we are not in a position to give up the EU by saying, "The military does not want it."

So what will we do?

If we really do not want to miss the EU target, if we want to pass the sixth, seventh and eighth harmonization packages by the deadline:

1. THE GOVERNMENT MUST BE DETERMINED:

Before everything else, the government must be determined. A government that has failed to take a political decision regarding the EU cannot carry the burden on its back at such an important stage.

If the indecision witnessed on the Cyprus and Iraq issues gets displayed on the EU issue as well, Turkey will miss the December 2004 rendezvous and this will deliver a new, mortal blow to the AK Party government.

The government must take a decision and it must make this clear with its stance and rhetoric.

2. IT MUST PERSUADE THE MILITARY:

Turkey can attain the EU target only if it makes a concerted effort with its military, its media, its intellectuals, the entire society. Certain circles are making a mistake when they say the country should head for the EU by "overcoming the military’s resistance".

Let us not forget that these are our own soldiers. One could get results with such methods as friction — confrontation — breaking the resistance but then we would be doing ourselves a lot of damage. The military would not obstruct the EU membership. It has no such wish. The military want to be convinced, to hear that the hazards it is preoccupied with would not materialize.

This is what the government should do. It must attach special importance to having dialogue with the military and the opposition once it makes up its own mind resolutely. Then no one would want to obstruct its initiative. It must definitely ensure Turkish membership in the EU.

There is no way out.