G�nd�z Aktan: Realities and politics (3)
TDN
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
OPINIONS
The Justice and Development Party government has done all that had to be
done regarding our European Union membership. It is not responsible for
the current impasse. Although ambassadors of EU countries in Ankara have
directed their criticism at the government, this does not change the
fact that the problems in our EU membership process stem entirely from
the EU side.
G�nd�z AKTAN The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has
done all that had to be done regarding our European Union membership. It
is not responsible for the current impasse. Although ambassadors of EU
countries in Ankara have directed their criticism at the government,
this does not change the fact that the problems in our EU membership
process stem entirely from the EU side.
The �anti-Turkish� attitudes in EU countries stem from a variety of
reasons: Turkey is very big, very populous, not fully developed,
situated in an unstable region, etc. We all know about these. The point
is that these factors were in existence in 1999 when the EU decided to
make us a candidate country.
Turkey took highly advanced steps towards EU membership during the
term of the 57th government, though it was no secret that the latter was
hardly passionate about EU membership. After a �package of measures� was
adopted in August 2002, the ambassador of the country that served as the
EU term president at the time said (speaking at a meeting at the Middle
East Technical University [ODTU] chaired by Mr. Sukru Elekdag) that if,
in the wake of that package, progress were to be made on the Cyprus
issue as well, the EU side would start accession talks with Turkey.
The fact that a date for the start of negotiations has been given only
belatedly has nothing to do with the Cyprus issue. The EU countries'
tendency to see Turkish membership as a pipe dream was brought to an end
when the accession process actually began. By making the reforms sought
by the EU quickly and more than adequately, the government has refuted
the argument that Turkey would never be able to adjust itself to the EU.
Also, it has taken, regarding Cyprus, the kind of risky steps no
previous Turkish government had dared and removed the Cyprus issue as an
obstacle to Turkish membership in the EU.
Thus the EU ran out of excuses. There was the argument, �The reforms
are very well but it is the implementation that counts,� but that could
hardly constitute an obstacle to the start of the negotiations. It was
at this point the true nature of the objections to Turkish membership
came to be revealed: The Copenhagen political criteria were not so
important. The important thing was that Turks did not belong to the
European culture, that is, to the European religion.
When Turkey applied for full membership in 1987, it was seen that
prejudices against Turkey constituted the biggest obstacle to Turkish
membership. Former President Turgut Ozal's book, �Turkey in Europe,�
addressed these prejudices.
At that time we still believed that Europe was thinking in that vein
because we had failed to adequately acquaint Europe with Turkish
realities. So we began implementing a series of programs; however, there
was no way these could break pathological anti-Turkey prejudices.
It is true the Muslim diaspora in EU countries have failed to become
integrated with the peoples of their host countries and that they have
become more �radical� since the Sept. 11 terrorist incident, delivering
a blow to Turkey's chances for membership.
However, the EU countries, too, have played a role in that. Even in
those EU countries with a very small remaining Jewish Diaspora, a
revival of anti-Semitism has been witnessed since the 1970s. The rise of
racism against Muslims, the questioning of the awful nature of the
Holocaust and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries all came at the same
time. Less than 50 years after the Holocaust, Europe's problems with
members of other monotheistic religions have surfaced again.
Under the circumstances, efforts to integrate Muslims with peoples of
their host countries came to be directed at an impossible target --
assimilation. In the face of all kinds of debasement, discrimination and
even violence, Muslims have refused to abandon their own identity and
become assimilated. Although these Muslims were not well versed in
history, it was as if they felt what would happen to those who seek
integration at the cost of losing their identity.
Neither the objections made to Turkish membership in the EU nor the
Armenian genocide claims are isolated issues that happen outside that
climate in the EU. If the EU fails to make Turkey a member, the EU may
lose its chance to become a global strategic actor, a role that
d'Estaing considers to be the EU's way out of the present crisis.
Turkey is the only democratic and secular country seeking EU
membership, leaving such a country out only because it is a Muslim
country would create strategic problems in this climate of �crisis with
Islam.� However, the EU itself would not be solving these problems
anyway. Much more importantly, that would be the end of the civilization
project that envisages European integration by establishing a
multicultural supra-national liberal democracy to prevent a recurrence
of the tragic events of the past. In other words, rejection of the
Turkish bid for EU membership would indicate that Europe is regressing
to the pre-EU era.
It seemed pathetic that while facing such an existentialist identity
problem EU members delved into details of budgetary issues at the recent
EU summit as if they were discussing �the sex of the angels.�
Let us, by suspending the accession process, give the EU time to
reflect. But let us also explain the potential consequences of an EU
failure to overcome the affliction in EU identity that is causing the EU
to give Turkey the cold shoulder.
-----------
Copyright 2005, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
-----------
TDN
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
OPINIONS
The Justice and Development Party government has done all that had to be
done regarding our European Union membership. It is not responsible for
the current impasse. Although ambassadors of EU countries in Ankara have
directed their criticism at the government, this does not change the
fact that the problems in our EU membership process stem entirely from
the EU side.
G�nd�z AKTAN The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has
done all that had to be done regarding our European Union membership. It
is not responsible for the current impasse. Although ambassadors of EU
countries in Ankara have directed their criticism at the government,
this does not change the fact that the problems in our EU membership
process stem entirely from the EU side.
The �anti-Turkish� attitudes in EU countries stem from a variety of
reasons: Turkey is very big, very populous, not fully developed,
situated in an unstable region, etc. We all know about these. The point
is that these factors were in existence in 1999 when the EU decided to
make us a candidate country.
Turkey took highly advanced steps towards EU membership during the
term of the 57th government, though it was no secret that the latter was
hardly passionate about EU membership. After a �package of measures� was
adopted in August 2002, the ambassador of the country that served as the
EU term president at the time said (speaking at a meeting at the Middle
East Technical University [ODTU] chaired by Mr. Sukru Elekdag) that if,
in the wake of that package, progress were to be made on the Cyprus
issue as well, the EU side would start accession talks with Turkey.
The fact that a date for the start of negotiations has been given only
belatedly has nothing to do with the Cyprus issue. The EU countries'
tendency to see Turkish membership as a pipe dream was brought to an end
when the accession process actually began. By making the reforms sought
by the EU quickly and more than adequately, the government has refuted
the argument that Turkey would never be able to adjust itself to the EU.
Also, it has taken, regarding Cyprus, the kind of risky steps no
previous Turkish government had dared and removed the Cyprus issue as an
obstacle to Turkish membership in the EU.
Thus the EU ran out of excuses. There was the argument, �The reforms
are very well but it is the implementation that counts,� but that could
hardly constitute an obstacle to the start of the negotiations. It was
at this point the true nature of the objections to Turkish membership
came to be revealed: The Copenhagen political criteria were not so
important. The important thing was that Turks did not belong to the
European culture, that is, to the European religion.
When Turkey applied for full membership in 1987, it was seen that
prejudices against Turkey constituted the biggest obstacle to Turkish
membership. Former President Turgut Ozal's book, �Turkey in Europe,�
addressed these prejudices.
At that time we still believed that Europe was thinking in that vein
because we had failed to adequately acquaint Europe with Turkish
realities. So we began implementing a series of programs; however, there
was no way these could break pathological anti-Turkey prejudices.
It is true the Muslim diaspora in EU countries have failed to become
integrated with the peoples of their host countries and that they have
become more �radical� since the Sept. 11 terrorist incident, delivering
a blow to Turkey's chances for membership.
However, the EU countries, too, have played a role in that. Even in
those EU countries with a very small remaining Jewish Diaspora, a
revival of anti-Semitism has been witnessed since the 1970s. The rise of
racism against Muslims, the questioning of the awful nature of the
Holocaust and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries all came at the same
time. Less than 50 years after the Holocaust, Europe's problems with
members of other monotheistic religions have surfaced again.
Under the circumstances, efforts to integrate Muslims with peoples of
their host countries came to be directed at an impossible target --
assimilation. In the face of all kinds of debasement, discrimination and
even violence, Muslims have refused to abandon their own identity and
become assimilated. Although these Muslims were not well versed in
history, it was as if they felt what would happen to those who seek
integration at the cost of losing their identity.
Neither the objections made to Turkish membership in the EU nor the
Armenian genocide claims are isolated issues that happen outside that
climate in the EU. If the EU fails to make Turkey a member, the EU may
lose its chance to become a global strategic actor, a role that
d'Estaing considers to be the EU's way out of the present crisis.
Turkey is the only democratic and secular country seeking EU
membership, leaving such a country out only because it is a Muslim
country would create strategic problems in this climate of �crisis with
Islam.� However, the EU itself would not be solving these problems
anyway. Much more importantly, that would be the end of the civilization
project that envisages European integration by establishing a
multicultural supra-national liberal democracy to prevent a recurrence
of the tragic events of the past. In other words, rejection of the
Turkish bid for EU membership would indicate that Europe is regressing
to the pre-EU era.
It seemed pathetic that while facing such an existentialist identity
problem EU members delved into details of budgetary issues at the recent
EU summit as if they were discussing �the sex of the angels.�
Let us, by suspending the accession process, give the EU time to
reflect. But let us also explain the potential consequences of an EU
failure to overcome the affliction in EU identity that is causing the EU
to give Turkey the cold shoulder.
-----------
Copyright 2005, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
-----------
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