Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kikapu]

A very interesting article to read.

Forgetting about the EU and beyond

BERİL DEDEOĞLU
[email protected]

The entire world and the international system change but there are three topics in Turkey that never change, and foreign powers are still able to use these in their bargains with Turkey. This is astonishing.

One of these topics is the “Armenian issue.”...................(read on)!

The second issue is Cyprus. One can't say that nothing has changed in Turkey's Cyprus rhetoric, because it is true that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has for once adopted a courageous policy on this matter. However, what is the situation today? Everyone knows Turkey will not become an EU member unless the Cyprus issue is resolved. This means Cyprus is still preventing Turkey's rapprochement with Europe as it did for the last half century.

The third “historical” problem Turkey faces is the Kurdish issue.................(read on)!

Let's summarize: For almost one century, the very same issues, which means the Kurdish, Armenian and Cyprus problems, continue to determine Turkey's fate. Is this a rational situation?

These problems remain unresolved because Turkey keeps looking at these as strategic matters. Many countries have done the same for their own problems in the past. Yet they have managed to take the right decisions when the parameters changed. Turkey, however, has always had a timing problem.

Let's imagine you are in a decision-making position and you see that an intransigent stance on these three matters is still popular in the country, but impossible to defend in today's international system. What would you do? You probably would have two options: adopting nationalistic and conservative rhetoric, which would results in an introverted country in the end, or to do the exact opposite -- adopt a policy in line with international values. Maybe the right question is: Which one of these positions will bring more votes?

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-29 ... eyond.html

[wyoming cowboy]

adopting nationalistic and conservative rhetoric, which would results in an introverted country in the end, or to do the exact opposite -- adopt a policy in line with international values. Maybe the right question is: Which one of these positions will bring more votes?

Nice article Kikapu, wouldnt the present form of nationalistic and conservative rhetoric force the kurdish issue into a more extreme position and force the kurds to ramp up their insurgency. Another issue is " fundemental islamism" tht may increase under the former option, which places Turkey in direct opposite wings of the West.