Address
by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Bulent Ecevit
President
Trajkovski,
Distinguished Heads
of State and Government,
We appreciate
His Excellency Boris Trajkovski for convening today's meeting.
As we gather
around this table, history is in the making within the Southeastern
European Cooperation Process. After an interval of two years, the representatitives
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (F.R.Y.) rejoin the Balkan family
which this indigenous cooperation process embodies.
Since the
Antalya Summit of 1998 F.R.Y.'s chair remained empty, only to be filled
again by the representatives of a democratic F.R.Y. Today is a new start.
In the last
ten years we witnessed many turbulences in our region. All this has
hopefully been left behind, but not forgotten and should not be forgotten.
We wish President Kostunica to evaluate, without prejudice, the fair
concerns of F.R.Y.'s neighbours and their people.
We also
wish him to uphold the supremacy of law and honour F.R.Y.'s international
obligations by showing that no crime or criminal is immune to punishment.
Only then we can look with hope to the new prospects lying before us.
We have
to try to settle our differences through dialogue, cooperation, mutual
understanding and good-neighbourliness as enshrined in the Charter of
this Cooperation Process adopted at the Bucharest Summit Meeting of
February 2000. It is now the F.R.Y.'s turn to subscribe to the Charter
in its entirety.
Distinguished
Heads of State and Government,
The F.R.Y.
is on the verge of a new era, which offers hope for a better future
for its people and for the region. The administration under President
Kostunica has tough tasks to fulfill and may need time to do it.
The most
challenging one is, no doubt, to create a democratic government and
a free society on the ruins of a collapsed regime, which has left a
terrible legacy of economic and social disaster and inter-ethnic enmity.
Establishing
a genuine democracy is a noble aim. It is a fundamentally necessary
condition for any country, but not a sufficient condition particularly
in the Balkan geography. Democracy would be impaired if it is not complemented
by the eradication of ethno-centric tendencies and crude nationalism.
Distinguished
Heads of State and Government,
Time is critical
to consolidate the fragile democratic change in the F.R.Y. This is one
of the reasons why the F.R.Y. should be integrated into the regional
cooperation initiatives as well as the Euro-Atlantic structures in a
timely manner.
F.R.Y.'s
full and equal participation in the Stability Pact for Southeastern
Europe is necessary. Yet, F.R.Y.'s inclusion in the Pact following the
fulfillment of certain conditions should not cause a "re-distribution"
of the sources to be made available in the region. In other words, any
effort undertaken for the economic development of the F.R.Y. should
not be at the expense of the other countries of the region.
Benefiting
from the presence of Special Coordinator Mr. Bodo Hombach as our guest
here today, I would like to express our thanks for his tireless efforts
to make the Pact a success. I would also like to mention his active
contribution to the third meeting of the Second Working Table which
Turkey co-chaired in Istanbul last week.
Distinguished
Heads of State and Government,
President
Kostunica has promised that his first priority would be to improve relations
with Montenegro. We hope that a genuine dialogue be established between
Serbia and Montenegro. We also expect President Kostunica's contribution
for the peaceful solution of the Kosovo problem in time.
As regards
the relations between F.R.Y. and Bosnia- Herzegovina, it is heartening
to hear President Kostunica's commitment to the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The new regime
will need to address the issue of the fair division of former Yugoslavia's
assets and properties. We welcome Mr. Kostunica's remarks that the F.R.Y.
is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The normalization
of F.R.Y.'s bilateral relations with its neighbours is of crucial importance
for regional stability.
President
Trajkovski,
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
We, the
countries of the region, are ready and willing, as is the international
community, to extend our help to the new regime in Belgrade provided
that the new leaders of the F.R.Y. are ready and willing to act with
wisdom and a sense of responsibility.
