Turkish Press
April 11 2005

Erdogan: We Regret To See Negative Attitudes Against Turkish And
Muslim People In Some European Countries Recently

OSLO – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday,
”we regret to see negative attitudes against Turkish and Muslim
people in some European countries recently. It is impossible to
understand such attitudes against Turks and Muslims in a period when
the world focuses on dialogue among different civilizations and
cultures.”

Prime Minister Erdogan, who is currently paying a state visit to
Norway, met Turkish citizens at the Oslo Military Museum Meeting
Hall.

Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ”we saw
similar attitudes before December 17th. However, we overcame them.
The EU is not a Christian club. It is the outcome of compromise among
civilizations. The EU is a whole of political values.”

Upon a question about the allegations of so-called Armenian genocide,
Prime Minister Erdogan said, ”our parliament will hold a special
session on April 13th to debate the Armenian issue. A statement will
be signed by 550 MPs at the end of the session. It will be sent to
parliaments of several countries including Britain.”

”We have been advocating since the very beginning that a peaceful
world cannot be established on hatred and enmity. We have opened our
air corridor with Armenia. Unfortunately, our western allies take
some decisions about Turkey on ground of baseless comments of
marginal groups. It is seriously unfair. For instance, students held
demonstrations in France and in the other European countries. Police
used force to disperse demonstrators and beat some of them. None of
these events in Europe are mentioned and criticized. However, they
criticize any similar event in Turkey. In fact, we never allow any
attempt in support of terrorist organizations. Also, we never admit
such support as human rights since we have suffered much from
terrorism. Our first priority is the safety of our people.”

Replying to a question about the Cyprus question, Prime Minister
Erdogan said, ”the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has
been exposed to international isolation for years. Any country,
except for Turkey, does not recognize the TRNC. Our government has
been expending great efforts to find a fair and lasting solution to
the Cyprus issue. 65 percent of Turkish Cypriot people supported the
plan of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in the referendum
on April 24th, 2004. They displayed their will for a solution.”