FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EU TURKEY AND THE KURDS

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EU, TURKEY AND THE KURDS
The conduct of ultra-nationalist lawyers in some of these trials has been a disgrace to
the legal profession and some of the demonstrators outside the court-houses can be
pretty scary too.
It is right and proper that the European Union sometimes observes these important
trials, either using diplomats on the spot or by sending Euro-parliamentarians.
Though ultra-nationalists loudly object to this European ‘interference’ in Turkey’s
internal affairs, it is an essential part of the ongoing evaluation of Turkey’s transition
to a truly democratic country worthy of EU membership. It is worth underlining the
fact that the EU, unlike other regional bodies such as ASEAN, sets strict political as
well as economic conditions for membership, notably the so-called Copenhagen Criteria.
For an applicant to be successful, it must reach clear standards on a wide range
of human rights issues, including respecting minority cultural rights. It is true that the
government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made some important progress in bringing
Turkey more in line with European norms, including some reforms to Article 301.
But there needs to be more than tinkering at the edges. Otherwise civil society cannot
function normally and fully within Turkey, and without a properly functioning civil
society, celebrating its own pluralism, Turkey cannot be a fully-fledged democracy.
When I read the history of the Ottoman Empire, I am struck by the strong elements
of multi-culturalism that were evident in the past, even if that term was at the time
unknown. Although the ruler in Constantinople (Istanbul) had a specific, Islamic
religious role for much of the Empire’s existence, different ethnic, linguistic and religious
groups comprised a vast patch-work of peoples and in many areas, happily
coexisted. Now I quite understand why, in the 1920s, there was a perceived need to
create a new Turkish identity within the much smaller boundaries of the new country
of Turkey. But the model of assimilation adopted and the narrow definition of ‘Turkishness’
proved in the end to undermine, not strengthen, the unity of the country. The
suppression of minority cultural rights, including the right to use one’s own mother
tongue, proved singularly counter-productive, as well as being morally wrong. Once
again, I salute the recent improvements that have been made by the current government
in Ankara, but there is still a long way to go.
Sometimes, when I am monitoring a Freedom of Expression trial in Turkey, a demonstrator
will shout, ‘Why do you hate Turkey?’ The truth is I don’t. On the contrary,
I love Turkey, its peoples and its civilizations and I am always learning something new
when I am there. But I will love Turkey even more when it comes to terms with its
own diversity and genuinely treats Kurds, Armenians and other minority peoples as
first class citizens, as they deserve.
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