04 October 2004	Monday	18 Shaban 1425

ANKARA: When Turkey was officially accepted as a candidate for membership of the European Union it was handed a very long list of tasks it would have to fulfil if actual negotiations were ever to start.

Few would have thought that almost five years later European Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen would say in a press conference "there are no more obstacles on the table."

The list of reforms in Turkey is indeed remarkable. To mention just a few: the death penalty has been abolished, the military's official role in politics and the judiciary has been all but wiped out, members of the Kurdish minority can now study their own language, freedom of speech and association has been widely enhanced, and the state now has a "zero tolerance" policy on torture.

Even though the push for EU membership was behind many of the reforms, they also show a change in Turkeys traditional approach to individual rights versus the rights of the state.

"The reforms have been particularly pleasing because some of these subjects were taboo in the past," according to Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. Even more surprising than the reform process has been the change in attitude by the Turkish government on the Cyprus issue.

After decades of following an extremely nationalist line, the government under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan changed tack completely and moved to isolate the hawks of the Foreign Ministry and the military.

It was this change in policy that allowed a referendum on reunification to be put to the communities on both sides of the island, with Turkish Cypriots voting overwhelming in favour.

While reunification failed thanks to Greek Cypriot rejection in the referendum, Turkey won praise for its role and is no longer seen as the main reason for failure to find a solution.

It is an irony that so many of these reforms have been carried out under the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), a party with Islamist roots and whose members in the past have called for a complete rejection of the EU, and the west in general.

Under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the government has moved Turkey closer to the west than any other administration in recent years. However, there are still fears both in Turkey and Europe that the party may revert to its Islamist background and attempt to erode the secular system introduced by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.

Those fears were particularly acute over the last few weeks when Erdogan publicly backed making adultery a crime. In the end the government backed down but the embarrassing episode has given those in Europe against Turkish membership one more weapon in an increasingly bitter fight.

While the adultery issue raised fears that the reforms could be reversed, few experts believe it is possible for Turkey to return to the days when the Kurdish language was banned and torture systematic.

"I believe the EU drive is too strong for anyone to come and reverse this trend. Their might be some modifications and changes on specific issues but the trend is in the right direction," said Suat Kiniklioglu, director of the Ankara Centre for Turkish Policy Studies.

"That said, if the largely exaggerated expectations from negotiations with the EU does not transform into tangible economic well-being (which is likely to be the case) there could be a backlash against the AKP but that would not necessarily mean reversing of the reforms," Kiniklioglu said.

The EU Commission will give its recommendation on whether Turkey should be given the green light for membership talks on October 6. Most expect it to give the thumbs up.

A final decision is to be made by EU leaders at the December summit. Turkey appears to have done its homework and it is now up to the European Union to decide whether it really wants Turkey to become a member. -dpa