Tweet
TURKEY AT A CROSSROADS
by Yusuf Kanli
Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 25 2012
Turkey
Why, despite all Turkish warnings of reprisals, did the Nicolas
Sarkozy administration go ahead and adopt the so-called "genocide
denial bill?" It was obvious that Turks would be enraged and recall
the Turkish ambassador to France, Tahsin Burcuoglu, "for some time."
Perhaps Turkey's tall, bold and absolute ruler "would no longer go
to France..."
What else? Whatever punitive action against commercial or industrial
cooperation between the two countries Turkey could take would
contradict either the Customs Union deal or the World Trade
Organization's regulations on free trade.
Furthermore, past experiences have shown the international community
of nations that Turks are an emotional society with a rather shallow,
fish-like memory. Even though Turks might explode in anger over an
attitude adopted against them by a foreign country, within several
months - an average of about eight to 10 weeks - they tend to forget
everything and return to "business as usual." Did the French forget
what happened after their 2001 adoption of the so-called genocide
recognition bill? Some demonstrators burned a Turkish-made Renault
car and tore apart some expensive French-made garments. The French
were not bothered at all. Some crazy Turks were burning or tearing
apart items they paid for; why should France care?
Indeed, within weeks the furor over the 2001 humiliation had become
history and relations returned to a "business as usual" format. The
Bastille Day reception was again marked in the splendid garden of
the French ambassadorial residence. Ministers, top civil servants,
academics, businessmen and the media joined their French hosts to
mark the day and taste Turkish wine with French cheese and delicacies.
That is why after the adoption of the criminalization of denials of
Armenian genocide claims on Jan. 23, an optimistic Foreign Minister
Alain Juppe appealed: "We need good relations with it [Turkey]
and we need to get through this phase [...] We have very important
economic and trade ties. I hope the reality of the situation will
not be usurped by emotions."
Now, can Ankara go ahead with its pre-vote challenge and cancel all
economic, political and military meetings, or encourage Turks to
boycott French products? Or will Turkey try to buy a few more days
until Sarkozy signs the resolution into law and continue to ponder what
"sanctions" it might employ against France? Will, as Burcuoglu said,
the resolution lead to a "total rupture" of relations between the
two countries? Can Ankara indeed downgrade diplomatic relations by
recalling the Turkish envoy from Paris and sending back the French
envoy from Ankara?
Whatever the eventual course of Turkish action, the French vote
has pulled Turkey an inch closer to making a final decision on its
European vocation. Should Turkey continue to demand a place in the
EU, despite being scorned so villainously through direct assaults,
as well as proxy wars such as the Armenian charges or the Cyprus issue?
Can Turkey stay on the EU road?
From: A. Papazian
by Yusuf Kanli
Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 25 2012
Turkey
Why, despite all Turkish warnings of reprisals, did the Nicolas
Sarkozy administration go ahead and adopt the so-called "genocide
denial bill?" It was obvious that Turks would be enraged and recall
the Turkish ambassador to France, Tahsin Burcuoglu, "for some time."
Perhaps Turkey's tall, bold and absolute ruler "would no longer go
to France..."
What else? Whatever punitive action against commercial or industrial
cooperation between the two countries Turkey could take would
contradict either the Customs Union deal or the World Trade
Organization's regulations on free trade.
Furthermore, past experiences have shown the international community
of nations that Turks are an emotional society with a rather shallow,
fish-like memory. Even though Turks might explode in anger over an
attitude adopted against them by a foreign country, within several
months - an average of about eight to 10 weeks - they tend to forget
everything and return to "business as usual." Did the French forget
what happened after their 2001 adoption of the so-called genocide
recognition bill? Some demonstrators burned a Turkish-made Renault
car and tore apart some expensive French-made garments. The French
were not bothered at all. Some crazy Turks were burning or tearing
apart items they paid for; why should France care?
Indeed, within weeks the furor over the 2001 humiliation had become
history and relations returned to a "business as usual" format. The
Bastille Day reception was again marked in the splendid garden of
the French ambassadorial residence. Ministers, top civil servants,
academics, businessmen and the media joined their French hosts to
mark the day and taste Turkish wine with French cheese and delicacies.
That is why after the adoption of the criminalization of denials of
Armenian genocide claims on Jan. 23, an optimistic Foreign Minister
Alain Juppe appealed: "We need good relations with it [Turkey]
and we need to get through this phase [...] We have very important
economic and trade ties. I hope the reality of the situation will
not be usurped by emotions."
Now, can Ankara go ahead with its pre-vote challenge and cancel all
economic, political and military meetings, or encourage Turks to
boycott French products? Or will Turkey try to buy a few more days
until Sarkozy signs the resolution into law and continue to ponder what
"sanctions" it might employ against France? Will, as Burcuoglu said,
the resolution lead to a "total rupture" of relations between the
two countries? Can Ankara indeed downgrade diplomatic relations by
recalling the Turkish envoy from Paris and sending back the French
envoy from Ankara?
Whatever the eventual course of Turkish action, the French vote
has pulled Turkey an inch closer to making a final decision on its
European vocation. Should Turkey continue to demand a place in the
EU, despite being scorned so villainously through direct assaults,
as well as proxy wars such as the Armenian charges or the Cyprus issue?
Can Turkey stay on the EU road?
From: A. Papazian