Will Turkey's "silent revolution" ever be enough for Europe? - Europe
ISTANBUL, Turkey: From the beginning, Turkey's path to the European Union was a diplomatic minefield, with any number of issues threatening to blow up at any time. The country is large, 99 percent Muslim, prone to military coups and economic crises, and developed to European levels only in small pockets. It has problems with torture, violence, freedom of expression, corruption and minority rights. The vast majority of its land mass is in Asia Minor, where battles against Kurdish separatists have killed some 37,000 people. Most pressingly, it has 40,000 soldiers occupying part of another EU member country, Cyprus, which it invaded more than three decades ago.
At a summit this week, European leaders look likely to partially suspend membership talks with Turkey because of its refusal to trade with or recognize Cyprus. But with so many other issues to deal with, Turks are buckling down to a long, hard slog. Note EU-DIGEST: Go to our EU-DIGEST poll on the subject and let your voice be heard.
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