EURLINGS REPORT 2006 ON TURKEY PREPARED BY CAMIEL EURLINGS MEP
By Kubilay M. Ali
As a British Citizen of Turkish origin we are having difficulties in comprehending the values and principles related to the formation of the EU due to the unfair way Turkey is being treated. It pains me a lot when we start to hear the true views of some MEP’s in relation to Turkey joining the EU. What is quite sad though is the method adopted. Instead of just openly stating that they don't want Turkey to join, as some politicians openly do, they continually come up with new requirements and preconditions which they know very well would be impossible for Turkey to accept. For me it is preferable to hear those who openly air their views who are at least honest about their bias and aims. What is worrying us, is the fact that there are some MEP’s who on one hand state that Turkey is welcome and claim to support Turkey 's membership of the EU, but at the same time appear to be doing everything in their power to block it. The recent report to the European Parliament by MEP Eurlings of the Christian Party in Holland is such an example of negative thinking about Turkey . Mr. Eurlings has gone further than anyone else in presenting conditions which he must be aware Turkey cannot possibly meet, knowing that his proposals are unacceptable and have never been part of the requirements for membership. To propose that Turkey should have to meet unfair demands without question is incomprehensible. Bearing in mind that all EU members are far from perfect, these pre-requisites have not been demanded from any other current or applicant states. Some members have passed laws restricting freedom of speech and drastic new legislation in their fight against terrorism whilst demanding from Turkey to abolish some of its laws aimed at curbing terrorism. I would like to point out the following, in order to highlight some of the unacceptable critical demands made by Mr Eurlings’ Report: First of all, he is demanding that Turkey opens her borders to Southern Cyprus unconditionally and set a timetable for the removal of her troops from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . This can only be considered as another example of double standards by the EU. Turkey has unequivocally stated that she will make no further unilateral compromise on Cyprus . Turkey has taken every step and made every effort to bring a solution to the Cyprus issue. She complied fully with the Annan plan. A referendum was held in Cyprus and the Turkish population voted with a vast majority for and accepted the terms of the plan. It was the Greek population on the island who voted against it. The Greeks have since taken no steps to progress any form of agreement. It was the EU who promised the Turkish Cypriots that they would be rewarded by the lifting of sanctions if they voted yes, but yet again these promises have not been honoured by the EU. The EU appears to have turned its back on the Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots who according to the original formation in 1960 of the Government of Cyprus are supposed to have one third of the Representatives of the Island, has no representation in Europe and are being ignored and treated like criminals. Why then should Turkey open her borders to the Greek Cypriots? Why should she remove her forces who have kept peace on the island since 1974? Let's not forget why they went to the island in the first place. Turkish troops are there because Turkey is one of the legitimate 'guarantor countries' for the island and besides they are not the only troops that are there. If everything that the Greek Cypriots ask for is granted to them, then there will never be a fair and humane solution to the Cyprus issue. It should be worthwhile to note that the Cyprus Problem has been on UN Agenda since early 1964 when the UN forces were sent to the island to protect the Turks against Greek attacks and their brazen attempts to ethnically cleanse the island of all Turks. Turkey came to the island 10 years after UN forces were stationed on the island to put a stop to the ongoing ethnic cleansing. Secondly, he refers to 'human rights' issues in Turkey . It is widely accepted and recognized that great steps have been taken in Turkey to improve human rights and more is being done. If we look at recent events in Europe and the rest of the world we see a war being waged against terrorism, countries are being invaded in its name whether justly or unjustly. Some EU countries, as already stated, are introducing drastic laws which are impacting on the human rights of their citizens. Turkey has been fighting terrorism for decades in very difficult circumstances. We have seen how France , the United Kingdom and other countries deal with terrorism leading at times to the death of innocents. Continually raging battle with an unseen enemy is a very difficult situation to control. Turkey is trying to deal with her problems and has granted many more rights to her ethnic minorities. At the same time she cannot bow to those who would divide the country by means of terrorism. Whilst EU is demanding cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey , insisting that they should be taught in Kurdish only, we are at a loss to understand why in Germany some schools with Turkish students are officially banning them from talking in Turkish, not just inside the classrooms but along corridors and school grounds as well. Another of Mr. Eurlings demand was that Turkey should open its border with Armenia and resume normal relations. The report implies that it has something to do with the so called 'Armenian Genocide', which it has not. The actual reason is that Armenia launched an attack on Azerbaijan over a decade ago and illegally occupied the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which it still holds today. This has compromised the safety of the Azerbaijan border and brought instability to a region adjacent to Turkey . It is therefore within Turkey 's rights to impose sanctions against Armenia , as should other countries in order that Armenia returns the province to its rightful occupants. Turkey has taken its action against Armenia by peaceful means. Many of the current member states, in a similar position, may well have reverted to more physical means. Furthermore, we are at a loss to undersdtand what is the relevance of Armenian- Turkey borders issue in terms of Turkey – EU relationship? If it is the case of stability of any member state borders then it should have asked Southern Cyprus to resolve its problems before being accepted into the EU. Finally Mr. Eurlings has asked Turkey to recognise the alleged 'Armenian Genocide' of 1915-1916 and went even further referring to the alleged 'Assyrian Genocide' in the Ottoman Empire . We can only agree with the sentiments of the Turkish Government in that Mr Eurlings "Must be dreaming!" On 'Assyrian Genocide' claims we cannot help wondering what other claims he will come up with next! On 'Armenian Genocide' claims; many eminent worldwide historians such as Prof. Bernard Lewis, Prof. Justin McCarthy, Guenter Levy, Dr. Stanford Shaw and Prof.Turkkaya Ataov; to name but a few, have proved through their intensive study of archives all over the world that the tragic events of that period during World War I cannot be construed as genocide. In fact, a vast majority of the people killed during that period were Muslims – far more than Armenians – but they are never mentioned. The Armenian government has been invited by Turkey to take part in a joint scholarly commission to study the evidence. This has been refused by the Armenian Government with an excuse that normal relations between the two governments must be restored before they will take part. If the Armenians are so confident about their claims, why do they oppose to Turkey 's proposal for the creation of a joint scholarly commission and allow judicial channels to find a resolution to the problem? Their refusal can only be considered as a feeble excuse and a ploy to reinstate the borders which were closed for reasons we explained above. But most important, this subject is not a pre-requisite for membership and Mr Eurlings should be severely condemned for mentioning it in his report. Perhaps he needs to consider what 'genocide' means before he makes such serious legal allegations. Genocide is a legal term defined by the '1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide' and claimants of this terrible crime should be able to prove their case on a legal platform. No legal platform has ever suggested any so called “Armenian Genocide” having taken place. To make such accusations without being able to prove them is a criminal offence in itself. Therefore, we reiterate that nobody should entertain any illusion that they will make Turks accept responsibility for something that they did not do. Any such attempts will only result in severely damaging relationships and in wasting energy on both sides whilst costing the EU's taxpayers money. Turkey has always claimed that the events of 1915 were a war tragedy and all subjects of the late Ottoman Empire suffered immensely during World War I, as well as the Armenians. It is well known that the Armenians, aided and abetted by Foreign powers like France and Russia were responsible for the massacre of many of their Ottoman neighbours including Muslims and Jews. Historical studies prove that during the demise of the Empire one-fourth of the worlds Muslim population had perished. In 1918 some 144 Ottoman officers were arrested in Istanbul by the British Occupation Forces following allegations of massacres made by a Paris based Armenian organisation, who were all taken to Malta where they were detained and released after two years’ detention due to lack of any evidence. As part of the occupying forces, British Government at the time had full access to all archives and records in Istanbul and still failed to prove any such guilt , despite their long and exhaustive investigations. It is up to judicial channels to find a resolution to this problem and not to political establishments making resolutions without historical back-up and proof. As a British citizen I strongly condemn Mr. Eurlings report 2006 on Turkey which is far from the truth and not in compatible with European Parliament's credibility. Please, stop spending our tax money on projects that will cause more problems, and instead embark on projects that will find solutions to problems that will bring peace and stability to the world. Turkey wishes to join the EU, but above all she looks forward to honesty and equality amongst all members. I also sincerely believe that Turkish Membership of the EU will bring a lot of benefits to the whole community and should be encouraged to continue on its path without any hindrance. Such reports unfortunately lead us to believe that EU would rather prefer to keep Turkey out and such attitudes is fueling nationalist sentiments of the great majority of Turkish Citizens. I am forwarding this e-mail to other MEP’s as noted in transmittal form for their attention hoping that it will reaceive some attention and a better understanding of the realities related to Turkish Membership of EU.
Kind regards,
Kubilay M. Ali
2-8 Rutland
By Kubilay M. Ali
As a British Citizen of Turkish origin we are having difficulties in comprehending the values and principles related to the formation of the EU due to the unfair way Turkey is being treated. It pains me a lot when we start to hear the true views of some MEP’s in relation to Turkey joining the EU. What is quite sad though is the method adopted. Instead of just openly stating that they don't want Turkey to join, as some politicians openly do, they continually come up with new requirements and preconditions which they know very well would be impossible for Turkey to accept. For me it is preferable to hear those who openly air their views who are at least honest about their bias and aims. What is worrying us, is the fact that there are some MEP’s who on one hand state that Turkey is welcome and claim to support Turkey 's membership of the EU, but at the same time appear to be doing everything in their power to block it. The recent report to the European Parliament by MEP Eurlings of the Christian Party in Holland is such an example of negative thinking about Turkey . Mr. Eurlings has gone further than anyone else in presenting conditions which he must be aware Turkey cannot possibly meet, knowing that his proposals are unacceptable and have never been part of the requirements for membership. To propose that Turkey should have to meet unfair demands without question is incomprehensible. Bearing in mind that all EU members are far from perfect, these pre-requisites have not been demanded from any other current or applicant states. Some members have passed laws restricting freedom of speech and drastic new legislation in their fight against terrorism whilst demanding from Turkey to abolish some of its laws aimed at curbing terrorism. I would like to point out the following, in order to highlight some of the unacceptable critical demands made by Mr Eurlings’ Report: First of all, he is demanding that Turkey opens her borders to Southern Cyprus unconditionally and set a timetable for the removal of her troops from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . This can only be considered as another example of double standards by the EU. Turkey has unequivocally stated that she will make no further unilateral compromise on Cyprus . Turkey has taken every step and made every effort to bring a solution to the Cyprus issue. She complied fully with the Annan plan. A referendum was held in Cyprus and the Turkish population voted with a vast majority for and accepted the terms of the plan. It was the Greek population on the island who voted against it. The Greeks have since taken no steps to progress any form of agreement. It was the EU who promised the Turkish Cypriots that they would be rewarded by the lifting of sanctions if they voted yes, but yet again these promises have not been honoured by the EU. The EU appears to have turned its back on the Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots who according to the original formation in 1960 of the Government of Cyprus are supposed to have one third of the Representatives of the Island, has no representation in Europe and are being ignored and treated like criminals. Why then should Turkey open her borders to the Greek Cypriots? Why should she remove her forces who have kept peace on the island since 1974? Let's not forget why they went to the island in the first place. Turkish troops are there because Turkey is one of the legitimate 'guarantor countries' for the island and besides they are not the only troops that are there. If everything that the Greek Cypriots ask for is granted to them, then there will never be a fair and humane solution to the Cyprus issue. It should be worthwhile to note that the Cyprus Problem has been on UN Agenda since early 1964 when the UN forces were sent to the island to protect the Turks against Greek attacks and their brazen attempts to ethnically cleanse the island of all Turks. Turkey came to the island 10 years after UN forces were stationed on the island to put a stop to the ongoing ethnic cleansing. Secondly, he refers to 'human rights' issues in Turkey . It is widely accepted and recognized that great steps have been taken in Turkey to improve human rights and more is being done. If we look at recent events in Europe and the rest of the world we see a war being waged against terrorism, countries are being invaded in its name whether justly or unjustly. Some EU countries, as already stated, are introducing drastic laws which are impacting on the human rights of their citizens. Turkey has been fighting terrorism for decades in very difficult circumstances. We have seen how France , the United Kingdom and other countries deal with terrorism leading at times to the death of innocents. Continually raging battle with an unseen enemy is a very difficult situation to control. Turkey is trying to deal with her problems and has granted many more rights to her ethnic minorities. At the same time she cannot bow to those who would divide the country by means of terrorism. Whilst EU is demanding cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey , insisting that they should be taught in Kurdish only, we are at a loss to understand why in Germany some schools with Turkish students are officially banning them from talking in Turkish, not just inside the classrooms but along corridors and school grounds as well. Another of Mr. Eurlings demand was that Turkey should open its border with Armenia and resume normal relations. The report implies that it has something to do with the so called 'Armenian Genocide', which it has not. The actual reason is that Armenia launched an attack on Azerbaijan over a decade ago and illegally occupied the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which it still holds today. This has compromised the safety of the Azerbaijan border and brought instability to a region adjacent to Turkey . It is therefore within Turkey 's rights to impose sanctions against Armenia , as should other countries in order that Armenia returns the province to its rightful occupants. Turkey has taken its action against Armenia by peaceful means. Many of the current member states, in a similar position, may well have reverted to more physical means. Furthermore, we are at a loss to undersdtand what is the relevance of Armenian- Turkey borders issue in terms of Turkey – EU relationship? If it is the case of stability of any member state borders then it should have asked Southern Cyprus to resolve its problems before being accepted into the EU. Finally Mr. Eurlings has asked Turkey to recognise the alleged 'Armenian Genocide' of 1915-1916 and went even further referring to the alleged 'Assyrian Genocide' in the Ottoman Empire . We can only agree with the sentiments of the Turkish Government in that Mr Eurlings "Must be dreaming!" On 'Assyrian Genocide' claims we cannot help wondering what other claims he will come up with next! On 'Armenian Genocide' claims; many eminent worldwide historians such as Prof. Bernard Lewis, Prof. Justin McCarthy, Guenter Levy, Dr. Stanford Shaw and Prof.Turkkaya Ataov; to name but a few, have proved through their intensive study of archives all over the world that the tragic events of that period during World War I cannot be construed as genocide. In fact, a vast majority of the people killed during that period were Muslims – far more than Armenians – but they are never mentioned. The Armenian government has been invited by Turkey to take part in a joint scholarly commission to study the evidence. This has been refused by the Armenian Government with an excuse that normal relations between the two governments must be restored before they will take part. If the Armenians are so confident about their claims, why do they oppose to Turkey 's proposal for the creation of a joint scholarly commission and allow judicial channels to find a resolution to the problem? Their refusal can only be considered as a feeble excuse and a ploy to reinstate the borders which were closed for reasons we explained above. But most important, this subject is not a pre-requisite for membership and Mr Eurlings should be severely condemned for mentioning it in his report. Perhaps he needs to consider what 'genocide' means before he makes such serious legal allegations. Genocide is a legal term defined by the '1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide' and claimants of this terrible crime should be able to prove their case on a legal platform. No legal platform has ever suggested any so called “Armenian Genocide” having taken place. To make such accusations without being able to prove them is a criminal offence in itself. Therefore, we reiterate that nobody should entertain any illusion that they will make Turks accept responsibility for something that they did not do. Any such attempts will only result in severely damaging relationships and in wasting energy on both sides whilst costing the EU's taxpayers money. Turkey has always claimed that the events of 1915 were a war tragedy and all subjects of the late Ottoman Empire suffered immensely during World War I, as well as the Armenians. It is well known that the Armenians, aided and abetted by Foreign powers like France and Russia were responsible for the massacre of many of their Ottoman neighbours including Muslims and Jews. Historical studies prove that during the demise of the Empire one-fourth of the worlds Muslim population had perished. In 1918 some 144 Ottoman officers were arrested in Istanbul by the British Occupation Forces following allegations of massacres made by a Paris based Armenian organisation, who were all taken to Malta where they were detained and released after two years’ detention due to lack of any evidence. As part of the occupying forces, British Government at the time had full access to all archives and records in Istanbul and still failed to prove any such guilt , despite their long and exhaustive investigations. It is up to judicial channels to find a resolution to this problem and not to political establishments making resolutions without historical back-up and proof. As a British citizen I strongly condemn Mr. Eurlings report 2006 on Turkey which is far from the truth and not in compatible with European Parliament's credibility. Please, stop spending our tax money on projects that will cause more problems, and instead embark on projects that will find solutions to problems that will bring peace and stability to the world. Turkey wishes to join the EU, but above all she looks forward to honesty and equality amongst all members. I also sincerely believe that Turkish Membership of the EU will bring a lot of benefits to the whole community and should be encouraged to continue on its path without any hindrance. Such reports unfortunately lead us to believe that EU would rather prefer to keep Turkey out and such attitudes is fueling nationalist sentiments of the great majority of Turkish Citizens. I am forwarding this e-mail to other MEP’s as noted in transmittal form for their attention hoping that it will reaceive some attention and a better understanding of the realities related to Turkish Membership of EU.
Kind regards,
Kubilay M. Ali
2-8 Rutland
posted by Turkish Armenian Issues | 10:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home