ANKARA: Opinion : The Ghetto Of Europe

OPINION : THE GHETTO OF EUROPE
Baris Sanli , JTW Columnist

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Sept 28 2005

It seems like not ending. Condition after condition after condition….

What is next? Leave the East Anatolia to Armenians, give Izmir to
Greeks? Okey, if Turkey has satisfied these points, will the Europeans
feel satisfied? Unfortunately, it is impossible.

On the one hand, it was possible to bridge cultures, on the other
hand there is no difference between the Brussels’ diplomats and the
medieval Europeans. Are they visionaries? I doubt this. Now, it is
better to leave everything to time. Turkey and Turkish government
tried everything to be part of EU, be part of a historic integration.

I believe, with his conservative and religious background Turkish
PMTayyip Erdogan is a case study to be teached to European diplomats.

>>From another perspective, what has Europe done for Turkey? They just
talked, gave orders and agitated the carefully balanced power triangle
in Turkey. I am wondering is there some kind of meaning for adherence
or keeping promises in the dictionary of European Diplomacy. Turkey’s
membership is not sine qua non for both parties, but it was certainly
a historic chance. Historic chances should be left to more open minded
people and politicians those know the importance of being a human
despite cultural differences. Now this is the time to see the reality.

Reality is this, Europe is a ghetto. Not a physical but a cultural
and prejudicial ghetto. The history starts with the white man, the
science starts with the white man, democracy, human values start
with the white man. That is their unbreakable cultural ghetto, even
if they form the most complex political organization in the history
of man kind. With chains of prejudices and a elitist understanding
of the God’s religion, it is impossible to expect Europeans to get
out of this ghetto. Other cultures? Probably, they must be defining
other cultures as “the mentally primitive, should be colonized life
forms resembling us”.

We, Turks, are stupid, why are we trying to integrate with western
values? It is clearly idiotism to believe in such an integration.

Turkey’s EU adventure will be another example of Europe’s understanding
of the “other”. So the radicals’ “They will never accept you, they
just play with you until they got bored” theory may found ground to
flourish. At least we, naïve Turks, expected some kind of adherence
not from Christians or Europeans but statesman and diplomats. But
there is no adherence either. After the latest proposal, the Turkish
people’s faith in Europe has been shattered beyond limits. At this
time, for me and other middle class Turks, EU adventure seems to be
finished. The reason is not Cyprus or Armenian allegations; it is
the Ghetto in which Europe lives happily.

–Boundary_(ID_aUOwcRfTQ6DQqmMhMvBkzQ)–
From: Baghdasarian