Turkish Daily News
Oct 7 2006
Week of building bridges with Europe
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Three European capitals — Brussels, Paris and Berlin — talked about
Turkey this week. With the anniversary of the start of talks with the
European Union, Turkey was on the agenda for an entire week with its
politics, arts, and hopes for the future.
Gila Benmayor
Three European capitals — Brussels, Paris and Berlin — talked
about Turkey this week. With the anniversary of the start of talks
with the European Union, Turkey was on the agenda for an entire week
with its politics, arts, and hopes for the future. I could only
participate in the Brussels leg of the "Turkey@Europe" program
organized by the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association
(TUSÝAD).
The week of "conquering Europe," led by TUSÝAD’s honorary president
Bulent Eczacýbaþý, its executive board director Omer Sabancý and
introduction committee president Umit Boyner seems to have reached
its goal, if one looks at the picture in Brussels.
The interest shown in the meeting, which took place in the European
Policy Center Hall, was so high that some of the audience could not
be seated.
And who attended that meeting?
Former British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, European Parliament
member and former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard, the European
Commission’s Enlargement Director Michael Leigh, European Parliament
member Joost Lagendijk and Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullatif Þener, among others.
Foreign speakers were particularly sensitive about two issues:
Article 301 and Cyprus.
Lagendijk, who’s set to marry a Turkish girl in the near future,
underlined double standards concerning this article in two European
countries.
One of these double standards is the proposal the French Parliament
will vote on Oct. 12, which would criminalize denying claims of an
Armenian genocide. The other one is the pressure applied on Dutch
parliamentary candidates of Turkish origin to force them to accept
Armenian genocide allegations.
According to Lagendijk, both France and the Netherlands’ attitude
is a violation of freedom of expression.
Another surprise which came in that meeting was State Minister
Þener’s speech delivered in "French."
The minister, who read out the text in front of him quite well,
surprised those in the meeting hall.
However, it soon became apparent that the minister — who learned
French in his student years and even wrote a doctoral thesis in
French — can read that language very well but cannot speak it
spontaneously.
Þener, who stumbled when addressed by Enlargement Director Leigh in
French, clearly demonstrated the weakness of our educational system
in teaching foreign languages.
Indeed, foreign languages are the most important tool for building
a bridge to Europe.
The other instrument is undoubtedly music. I am writing so under
the influence of that spectacular night I witnessed in Brussels.
The final activity of the Turkey@Europe program was a concert given
by the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra with director Gurer
Aykal at Bozar Palace, which hosted the Female Sultans exhibition
from Turkey a couple of years ago.
The orchestra of the Borusan Group — the main sponsor of the
International Istanbul Music Festival for 10 years — played pieces
from Schubert, Mozart and Ferit Tuzun.
Some 1,200 guests were present at Bozar Palace that night. Judging
by the applause, the audience had an unforgettable night.
The final piece chosen by director Aykal was extremely significant:
"Habudiyara," composed by Ferit Tuzun.
Like I say, if language is one way to build bridges, music is the
other.
The state of German and Austrian support:
The European Stability Initiative (ESI) announced the results of a
survey on Turkish membership shortly before German Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s visit to Turkey.
According to the results, 81 percent of Austrians and 69 percent of
Germans oppose Turkish membership.
Germans who earlier opposed Turkish membership on the basis of
cultural differences are now citing Islam and honor killings as the
bases of their objection.
However, according to ESI’s findings, some among the social
democrats of Austria are positive about Turkish membership, such as
Vienna’s mayor and the governor of Salzburg.
However, nobody from Turkey has contacted these people
Romania and Bulgaria, which are to join the club in 2007, are
organizing campaigns emphasizing the cultural wealth of their
countries, but Turkey has done nothing.
We are simply sitting and making no effort.
We can’t win the minds and hearts of Europeans with only TUSÝAD’s
conscientious initiatives.
–Boundary_(ID_4WF/JUqorohxOC3vq0il8 A)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
