July 31, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1424

ANKARA, July 30: Turkey passed a landmark legal reform on Wednesday to curb the political influence of its powerful military, a step Ankara says should win it membership talks with the European Union next year.

The European Union welcomed the reform as “very positive”, but stressed implementation would be the key test.

Brussels says it will not hold accession talks with Turkey — the only EU candidate with a mainly Muslim population — without it first implementing a whole series of often sensitive reforms its parliament has passed in recent months.

The latest reform could raise tension between Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the army, which has led campaigns to overthrow four governments in as many decades.

The army already views the AKP with suspicion because of its Islamist roots.

“This law is a step for democracy and freedom. Our aim is to reach the standards of countries already enjoying first class rights and freedoms,” Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told parliament after the vote.

The package strips the military-dominated National Security Council (MGK) of its executive powers and turns it into an advisory body. It also abolishes some anti-terror laws curtailing freedom of thought and expression.

The series of reforms, which Turkey says it will fully implement in 2004, are designed to harmonize the country’s human rights standards with those of the European Union.

The reform package must now be approved by Turkey’s president, who chairs the MGK, before it becomes law.

Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, said: “Our reaction is very positive. Of course we will want to look at the small print and the implementation, but this goes exactly in the direction of fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership.”

These criteria set standards for democracy, human rights and the rule of law which every EU candidate must meet.

DEMOCRACY TAKES FRONT SEAT: Many EU reforms are controversial in Turkey as they challenge a state apparatus that often places nationalist unity and staunch secular principles ahead of democracy.

But AKP has pressed ahead with EU-inspired laws designed to bolster rights and freedoms, particularly for the country’s 12 million Kurds. Turkey’s military has fought a decades-long war against Kurdish separatists at the cost of over 30,000 lives.

Some western diplomats say parts of the armed forces have expressed reservations about the latest reform, but army chief Hilmi Ozkok has yet to officially object.

The EU says the role of the MGK is incompatible with European norms as it demonstrates that the Turkish military wields undue influence over civilian government.

The armed forces led a public campaign against AKP’s predecessor which led to a government collapse. Turkey’s courts later banned the party for being a focus of Islamist militancy.

“If it were a centre-left or centre-right government passing these reforms then I think the army would feel more comfortable,” said Ali Tekin, an Ankara professor.

“This government does not have close connections with the military establishment per se, so I guess they are enjoying it.”

AKP says it fully supports democratic reform in Turkey and is committed to keeping religion out of politics.

While applauding the AKP’s acceleration of political reforms, some EU diplomats privately say Turkey, on the fringes of the Middle East, should not become a member of the EU because its cultural identity and history are not European enough.

But if Brussels delays accession talks with Ankara, analysts fear it may encourage the region’s only secular and democratic Muslim country to follow a more isolationist and eastward-looking path.

“If the EU says no it might lead to a very strong wind of inward political currents in Turkey,” Tekin said. —Reuters