The Times, UK
Nov 26 2006
Pope flies into a Turkish cauldron
Matthew Campbell, Istanbul
WITH his thick black moustache he looks a bit like Borat, the Kazakh
journalist in the hit Hollywood film, but Kemal Kerincsiz, a lawyer,
is far from comical when he inveighs against enemies of the Turkish
state.
The latest target of his displeasure is Pope Benedict XVI. Kerincsiz
has led an energetic campaign to halt the visit of the 79-year-old
pontiff, arriving on Tuesday, on the grounds that it is part of a
`foreign plot’ against Turkey. Not only had the Pope insulted Islam
in a speech he made in September, Kerincsiz said, but he was planning
a `provocative’ meeting in Istanbul with the head of Orthodox
Christianity. `We do not want him here. He should not come.’
Behind him on his office wall was a poster of the Pope as a fanged
serpent which Kerincsiz has been handing out to supporters. He has
also been bombarding government offices with `Stop the Pope’ e-mails
and faxes. Today he will attend a big demonstration against the Pope
in Istanbul.
The Pope could hardly have picked a trickier moment for his visit,
just as debate is reaching a bitter climax over whether to let Turkey
and its 70m, predominantly Muslim, citizens into the European Union.
America and Britain are strongly in favour of keeping Turkey firmly
in the western fold but Kerincsiz and his Lawyers’ Union are part of
a nationalist movement trying to pull it in the other direction.
Recent events, from the Pope’s comments about Islam to French efforts
to outlaw denial of the Turkish massacre of Armenians at the end of
the first world war, have worked in their favour.
The ultimate goal is to revive the Ottoman empire but, for the time
being, they must content themselves with a campaign to defend Turkey
against enemies.
It was Kerincsiz who brought a lawsuit against Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel
prize-winning author, earlier this year for accusing Turkey of
genocide against Armenians. `The Armenians were deported, not
killed,’ he insisted.
All of this risks jeopardising the country’s drive to modernity and
it is little surprise that talks with the EU on Turkish membership
have recently turned sour.
An increasingly impatient Brussels has repeatedly called on Turkey to
repeal article 301, the law being used by Kerincsiz to attack freedom
of speech. On Thursday, in a development unlikely to cheer the Pope,
two Christians went on trial under article 301 for insulting
`Turkishness’ and inciting religious hatred while trying to convert
Turks to Christianity.
Brussels has given Turkey until December 6 to let Cypriot ships into
its ports or risk seeing its application for EU membership rejected.
This has put Turks in an angry sulk over the `crusader mentality’ of
the Europeans, hardly an encouraging context for a papal visit.
The Pope once warned that letting Turkey into the EU would be `a
grave error against the tide of history’ and he has become, for many,
a symbol of western hostility towards Turkey.
For Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the moderate prime minister, it is an
extremely unwelcome predicament. An election is looming next year and
in order not to alienate voters he has pleaded a prior engagement – a
Nato summit in Riga – to avoid going anywhere near the Pope.
Muslim protests against the pontiff will not go down well in
Brussels, reviving perennial speculation about the threat to the
strong, secular democracy established by Atatürk, the founder of
modern Turkey.
A draconian security plan involving 12,000 policemen is being
implemented in Istanbul to prevent any violent backlash against the
Pope. Snipers will be posted on rooftops. Sewers will be searched for
bombs.
The authorities are right to be nervous. There has been a string of
attacks against Christian clergymen since the Pope’s speech in
September when he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine leader as saying
that the Muslims had spread their faith `by the sword’ and brought
things `only evil and inhuman’.
Earlier this month, a man fired a pistol in the air outside the
Italian consulate in Istanbul, shouting slogans against the Pope,
whose predecessor, John Paul II, was shot in the stomach by a Turkish
assailant in Rome.
On Wednesday, tourists were removed by police from the 6th-century
Byzantine Hagia Sophia Church, a famous Istanbul landmark, when about
100 nationalists staged an anti-Pope protest. The church was
converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered the city –
Constantinople, as it was known – in 1453, but is now a museum and
one of the venues on the papal itinerary.
For today’s demonstration, an Islamist party is planning to ferry
around 75,000 people on buses into Istanbul. Kerincsiz said his group
was planning to stage other protests during the visit but did not
support violence.
Not yet at least. Instead of membership of the EU, he advocates
restoration of a Turkic empire stretching from former Ottoman
provinces in the Balkans right up into Central Asia. Achieving this
would presumably involve a certain amount of swordplay.
It matters little to him that Atatürk, his hero whose portrait hangs
in his office, was in favour of westernisation, urging his citizens
to waltz and wear western clothes and introducing a Roman alphabet
and Swiss penal code. `Being in the EU, we would not be able to
restore our empire,’ said Kerincsiz.
He is helped by growing frustration over sacrifices being demanded by
Brussels. A poll last week showed that 60% were in favour of halting
talks with the EU. `The attitude seems to be that if you don’t want
us, we certainly don’t want you,’ said a western diplomat. `Turkey
feels terribly unloved.’
Turks are notoriously sensitive about how they are seen in the West.
It explains what happened in Washington last week when one of
Turkey’s top army generals stormed out of the White House in protest
after guards tried to frisk him before a meeting.
Try bargaining in Istanbul and see what happens. `Do you think that
you can pay what you like just because we are in Turkey and not in
London?’ complained an irate shop owner when a tourist offered less
than what seemed an exorbitant amount for a ceramic pot.
Because of the prospect, albeit distant, of becoming part of the EU,
the economy is booming – it attracts more foreign investment than any
other Mediterranean country – and by reducing the political role of
the army and curbing abuses of human rights Turkey has taken big
steps towards Europe. Yet in Turkish eyes, Europe keeps asking for
more: `We will never satisfy them,’ said Cengiz Bilgin, a teacher.
`It is clear they don’t really want us in their club.’
The argument appears to be gaining ground and the growth of
Kerincsiz’s group to 800 members in Istanbul alone over the past few
years suggests that he may have a future.
Call for and to anti-Christian laws
The Pope will stand up for Christian minority rights on his visit to
Turkey this week, writes Christopher Morgan. According to advisers,
he will call for an end to Turkey’s anti-Christian discrimination
laws that make it difficult for churches to own property and run
seminaries. Cardinal Walter Kasper said: `The treatment of Christian
minorities will have to be sorted out if Turkey is to join the
European Union.’ Under EU pressure, Turkey passed a law this month
strengthening Christian churches’ property rights, but Orthodox
leaders say this is not enough. Call for end to anti-Christian laws
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
