November 14, 2002	Thursday	Ramazan 8, 1423

ANKARA, Nov 13: The man likely to be Turkey’s next prime minister said on Wednesday his party, whose pro-religion roots caused concern among allies, would show the EU and the US that Islam and democracy can coexist.

“Our mission is to prove that a country with a Muslim identity can be democratic, transparent and compatible with the modern world. We will prove this,” said Abdullah Gul, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), in an interview.

The AKP, which is poised to form Turkey’s first one-party government for more than a decade, is viewed with suspicion by many in this strictly secular country because of its background in a banned religious movement.

But party leaders have rejected their heritage and shifted to a center-right agenda, which promotes religious freedom as part of democratic norms that Turkey aims to meet to win European Union membership.

Gul pledged that the new Turkish government would press forward with democracy reforms.

He struck a disapproving note of possible US moves to use military means “to establish democracy in Iraq”.

“There is a less risky way,” Gul insisted. “Let’s prove that a Muslim country can be democratic and show this as an example. We can do this.”

Gul spoke as AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in Rome, his first foreign stop on a tour of EU capitals aimed at boosting Turkey’s chance of obtaining a date for the start of EU accession talks.

EU leaders meet in Copenhagen next month to decide on how the 15-member bloc will be expanded.

“I expect we will get a date (for accession talks) because we will make sure after forming the government that concrete steps are taken in a very short time” to implement reforms needed for EU membership, he said.

“We are speeding up the process,” he added.

Gul warned that “if Turkey is left in a waiting room (by European leaders) then the Turkish people will be disappointed”.

He also criticized the outgoing government in Ankara for dragging its feet in implementing reforms already adopted by parliament.

“There are many concrete steps the government should have taken. You cannot say (to the EU) give us a special status. The rule of the club is very clear,” he said.

Gul denounced restrictions on freedom of expression, pointing to the case of Erdogan, who is legally barred from becoming prime minister because of a past conviction for publicly reciting a poem deemed seditious.

Gul also criticized a ban on wearing the headscarf in universities, where it is regarded as a political statement in favour of Islam.

“Basic rights should be guaranteed if we are claiming to be a candidate for EU membership. It is not only about religion, of course. It is about expression of opinion, social and cultural rights and many others.

“When we upgrade our standards to the level of the EU, many problems will be resolved in a perfectly democratic climate. Not only the headscarf issue but many other discriminations — be it religion or the Kurdish problem,” he said.

EU MEMBERSHIP: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Justice Party, voiced satisfaction on Wednesday after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on prospects for his country’s bid to join the European Union.

“Silvio Berlusconi assured us he would do everything he could to ensure that Turkey is not disappointed in Copenhagen”, he said, referring to next month’s EU summit in the Danish capital. Erdogan, who addressed reporters in Turkish, also said Berlusconi had told him that “the EU enlargement process should not have a religious dimension” — a reference to the fact that the population of Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim.

“All of this gives us grounds for satisfaction,” he said.

The Copenhagen summit is due to invite 10 countries to join the EU and although the list does not include Turkey, the Ankara government is hoping that the summit will set a date for the start of entry negotiations.

“If a date is not given in Copenhagen, the trust of the Turkish people in Europe will be ruined,” Erdogan warned in an interview published by Italy’s La Repubblica before his arrival in Rome.

He said he had chosen Italy as the first stop on his tour because of the support for Ankara’s EU bid expressed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whom Erdogan is due to meet during his one-day visit.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also expressed support for Turkey’s EU bid, saying the country’s future lay with the European Union, and calling on Erdogan’s party to continue the reform process.—AFP