BRITAIN

BRITAIN
Financial Times, London, May 22: Last week's murder of a prominent Turkish judge, ostensibly by an Islamist aggrieved at his court's ruling on the headscarf controversy, throws a worrying spotlight on the growing rift between the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with its roots in political Islam, and the secular establishment, militant defenders of the legacy of Kemal AtatJurk. This division is being magnified by the stand-offishness -- real or perceived -- of the European Union towards Turkey's accession ambitions. That is a potentially poisonous combination.
Turkey's powerful military and Kemalist bureaucracy has always been profoundly suspicious of Mr. Erdogan and his Justice and Development party (AKP), built from the rubble of more overtly Islamist parties and broadened into a Muslim democrat movement analogous to Christian Democracy. While both sides engage with each other in a wary pas de deux, each occasionally puts its foot in it.
Blunders
The government's attempt to criminalise adultery, and the state's attempt to prosecute Orhan Pamuk, the world-renowned novelist, for denouncing the mass murder of Armenians in the late Ottoman empire, are memorable examples of such blunders. But they were recognised as such and withdrawn.
The Erdogan administration tried recently to impose an Islamic banker -- who eschews interest as usury -- as head of the central bank, which sets interest rates. But it reconsidered.
Meanwhile, Turkish perceptions of EU bad faith are encouraging popular disillusion with Europe and proving a godsend to the nationalist right and hardline Islamists. Ankara formally started membership talks last autumn, a process always expected to last a good decade. Its requirements, in minority, human and democratic rights as well as adopting the acquis of EU rules, were always going to guarantee a bumpy ride. But in the backwash of last year's French and Dutch rejection of the EU constitution, hostility to Turkish membership has hardened. To Turks, alert to every slight, the EU often seems to be conducting a moral inventory rather than a negotiation.
Europe is not only the engine of reform but the glue of political cohesion in Turkey. EU membership is a national project shared by the people, business and the army, and embraced by the AKP as a shield against the generals. The European perspective, in other words, is a good part of the explanation of why this Muslim democracy and secular republic works, despite its unresolved contradictions.
JAPAN
Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, May 23: Iraq inaugurated its new government Saturday. It has been a long, hard road since the U.S.- and British-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq has somehow managed to stick to the reconstruction schedule drawn up by the United Nations and has reached this "final goal."
Unfortunately, though, this "final goal" is merely a point on the U.N. schedule. Iraq has not found its way out of chaos.
Prime Minister al-Maliki and his party are calling for a unified Iraq. His most important task is to restore security to the land, and to do that he must quickly fill the posts of ministers of interior and defense and create a unified national security system.
Power outages
At the same time, Iraq needs to restore order on the streets, where civilians are plagued by constant power outages, unreliable water service and gasoline shortages. The prime minister must also bring transparency to his policy-making process, ensuring the fair distribution of oil revenues and other points.
With the new Iraqi government in place, Japan can now expedite its plans to withdraw Ground Self-Defense Force troops. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said he intends to continue supporting Iraq's reconstruction in some form or other.
We believe he should first bring home our troops before he begins talking to the new Iraqi government about broader support from Japan.