The Ergenekon gang, a neo-nationalist group accused of involvement in plans to stage a violent uprising against the government, was discovered at the end of an investigation that came upon the heels of a police raid in June of last year that uncovered an arms depot in a house in İstanbul's Ümraniye district. The prosecutor in the Ergenekon case has said the gang worked to create disorder and chaos through divisive and violent acts so that the public would be willing to accept a military intervention to restore order.

The group is suspected of involvement in the murder of three Christian missionaries in Malatya in 2007, the 2006 murder of a priest in the northern city of Trabzon, the murder of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, a 2006 attack on the Council of State and a grenade attack on the Cumhuriyet daily in 2006. The 20th session in the trial of 86 suspects on charges of involvement in Ergenekon was held yesterday before the 13th High Criminal Court in İstanbul, with the suspects continuing to provide their defense testimonies.

The European Parliament "welcomes the beginning of the trial against those accused of being members of the Ergenekon criminal organization; encourages the authorities to continue investigations and to fully uncover the organization's networks which reach into the state structures; is concerned about reports regarding the treatment of defendants in this case; urges the Turkish authorities to provide them with a fair trial and to adhere strictly to the principles of the rule of law," said a draft report penned by Dutch Christian Democrat European Parliamentarian Ria Oomen-Ruijten.

The first debate on the draft report, which is expected to be amended several times before approval by the European Parliament, will be held on Tuesday, Oomen-Ruijten, who had talks with Turkish leaders in Ankara earlier this week, told reporters.

The draft includes serious warnings for the Turkish government, which is harshly criticized for not putting forward "a consistent and comprehensive program of political reforms, despite its strong mandate."

Voicing concern to "see in Turkey, for the third consecutive year, a continuous slowdown of the reform process," the draft "called on the Turkish government to prove its political will to continue the reform process to which it committed itself in 2005."

Another concern highlighted in the draft was the ongoing polarization within Turkish society and between the main political parties, which Oomen-Ruijten said that has deepened in the course of 2008 and has negatively affected the functioning of political institutions and the process of reforms.

Stressing that political reforms are at the heart of the reform process, the European Parliament noted that no comprehensive program of political reforms has been adopted by the government.

Even though it has been almost four years since the EU agreed that Turkey had sufficiently fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria related to democracy and the rule of law and was able to open negotiations for full membership, talks have stalled due to a perceived slowdown in the pace of the Turkish government's political reforms.

Under the heading "Fulfilling the Copenhagen Criteria; Democracy and the rule of law," the European Parliament voiced "regrets that the initial effort to reform comprehensively the constitution resulted in dispute over the headscarf issue and generated further polarization of society; calls on the Turkish government to resume its work on a new, civilian constitution which would place the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms at its core, and urges the government to ensure that political parties and civil society, as well as ethnic and religious minorities, are closely involved in this constitutive process."

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), which is facing a closure case before the Constitutional Court on charges of becoming a focal point for separatist activities, has also been warned by the European Parliament, which has asked the party to make clear their position vis-à-vis the terrorist activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The European Parliament urges the DTP and all its elected members to distance themselves clearly from the PKK and its terrorist activities, and appeals to all parties to contribute to a solution that enhances the stability, prosperity and integrity of the Turkish state," the draft says, while also calling on the Turkish government "to launch as a matter of priority a political initiative favoring a lasting settlement of the Kurdish issue, which initiative needs to address the economic and social opportunities of citizens of Kurdish origin, and to tangibly improve their cultural rights, including real possibilities to learn Kurdish within the public and private schooling system and to use it in broadcasting, in daily life and in access to public services."

Calling the PKK a terrorist group and clearly condemning its violent attacks, the European Parliament reiterated its solidarity with Turkey in the fight against terrorism and once again called on the PKK to declare and respect an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

Ankara's rapprochement with Iraqi Kurds, meanwhile, was appreciated in the draft report.

"The European Parliament welcomes the communication and cooperation developed over the last year between Turkish and Iraqi authorities, including the contacts between Turkey and the Kurdish regional government; encourages those authorities to further intensify their cooperation, so as to ensure that terrorist attacks from Iraqi territory are prevented under Iraqi responsibility, to guarantee stability and to contribute to the economic development of the whole Turkish-Iraqi neighborhood area; recalls its earlier appeals to the Turkish government to respect, when conducting anti-terrorist operations, Iraq's territorial integrity, human rights and the rule of law, and to make sure that civilian casualties are avoided," the draft says.

Todays Zaman