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DAVUTOGLU: EU HYPOCRISY
Milliyet
Jan 25 2012
Turkey
Interview by Fikret Bila in Moscow with Turkey's Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was fuming at the EU countries and
all of Europe just as much as he was at France as we flew to Moscow.
Davutoglu already thought that the French bill making it illegal to
deny the Armenian claims regarding 1915 was insane, but he was just
stunned by the European Union's silence.
Need To Rub It Into Their Faces
Davutoglu began our interview saying this: "If we or any other
country had made a decision like the one France has just imagine all
the condemnation that would have come from Europe. Yet, there is not
even one reaction. This is the EU's, Europe's hypocrisy. Someone has
to rub it into their faces."
I Expect Them To Object
Stating that the EU ministers he had spoke to generally appeared to
understand Turkey, Davutoglu said, "But what I expect from them is
not understanding but for them to object." He summarized his last
such meeting:
"One minister says to me, 'I understand your position, your problem,
very well.' I then said to the minister, 'What I expect from you is
not understanding but for you to object'."
EU Values Upside Down
Davutoglu said he had been invited to a meeting of EU foreign ministers
but that he had declined because of the vote in France: "I was invited
to a meeting of EU foreign ministers but I did not go, I said I could
not go. I told the person I was talking to that we were going to hold
an EU meeting there but that at the same time in a different place
(in France) a vote was going to be held that would turn European values
upside down. And France did indeed turn Europe's values upside down."
France Is Outmoded
This is what Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had to say about the
decision made by the French Senate: "This decision of France's is not
in keeping with the age. It is anathema to freedom of thought. Indeed,
its own reasons are reasons that have been developed to create
polemic. Now, I ask, there are books in libraries in France that say
the events of 1915 were not genocide. So, what is France going to do?
Is it going to confiscate all those books and burn them like during
the Spanish Inquisition? This decision by the French Senate is an
outmoded one that does not tolerate thinking. An endeavour was made to
this effect last May. The Laws Commission found it unacceptable like
they did this time. Because of this it was not passed into law. So,
what happened that it has now become law? Because the Laws Commission
found it unacceptable this time too. What happened is the approaching
elections. This is a clear case of opportunism."
Wait For The Council
The impression I got from our chat on the plane was that the upshot of
consultations between President of the Republic Gul, Prime Minister
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davutoglu was that a path to a solution
would be found during the finalization process. In this respect,
they want to see how the Constitution Council plays out rather than
apply second-stage sanctions right now. There is the chance that
60 senators or parliamentarians will go to the Constitution Council
before President Sarkozy signs the law. Should such a representation
be made the law will not be presented to the president to sign
but will be suspended for one month while the Constitution Council
makes its decision. If the Constitution Council finds the law to
be unconstitutional it will be discounted. Under these conditions,
Ankara is going to wait for the process to play out.
Against The Spirit Of The Times
Davutoglu said this about the issue:
"We think an appeal will be made to the Constitution Council. Besides,
86 senators already voted against it. A centre party with 16 senators
made the decision to take the lead here. That is why we are guessing
this appeal will be made. Foreign Minister Juppe, whom I have a lot of
respect for, had already pointed out how wrong this law was. Th is law
goes against the spirit of the times; it goes against human nature."
Turkey Of 2001 No Longer Exists
Davutoglu stated that if the process goes badly then Turkey will
implement second-stage sanctions on a permanent basis including the
recall of its ambassador that same day.
Davutoglu said: "There are people saying that Turkey has expressed this
kind of reaction in the past but that everything went back to normal,
like in 2001. The people saying this are mistaken. Any sanctions we
apply will be lasting. This is no longer the Turkey of 2001. Turkey
is not the Turkey of 2001; it is much more powerful and effective now."
Turks In France
Davutoglu called on the Turks living in France asking them to think of
France's future when those with French citizenship went to vote. He
asked them to look at which parties adopted which position over this
incident and to decide who to support. Davutoglu stated that the
Turks living in France were already playing their part and that it
was important they continue to do so.
Disrespect For Senators
Davutoglu replied to a question about Sarkozy having telephoned each
and every senator in turn: "This shows how insecure Sarkozy feels
about his own decision. This is a sign of a lack of self-confidence.
Furthermore, it is disrespectful of the senators' own will."
Our Leaders Are Civilized
Davutoglu spoke about the letter that Sarkozy had sent to President
of the Republic Gul. When asked, "Did you consider sending it back
unopened?" he replied: "Our leaders are civilized leaders. They answer
the phone; they open letters."
Moscow Agenda
Davutoglu is going to hold an annual strategic meeting with Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Top of the agenda is Syria. Both
foreign ministers are going to discuss the Arab League's proposals for
Syria. In addition, Iran and Cyprus are also going to hold important
places during Davutoglu's trip to Moscow.
Friendship With Al-Asad All In The Past
When asked, "Al-Asad used to be your closest friend, right?" Davutoglu
replied, "That he was." He continued:
"If our friendship and contact is going to be used to legitimize
some attacks then we shall not make contact. I mean, if Al-Asad is
going to legitimize attacks saying we are in contact with Turkey,
we will not allow that contact."
[translated from Turkish]
Milliyet
Jan 25 2012
Turkey
Interview by Fikret Bila in Moscow with Turkey's Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was fuming at the EU countries and
all of Europe just as much as he was at France as we flew to Moscow.
Davutoglu already thought that the French bill making it illegal to
deny the Armenian claims regarding 1915 was insane, but he was just
stunned by the European Union's silence.
Need To Rub It Into Their Faces
Davutoglu began our interview saying this: "If we or any other
country had made a decision like the one France has just imagine all
the condemnation that would have come from Europe. Yet, there is not
even one reaction. This is the EU's, Europe's hypocrisy. Someone has
to rub it into their faces."
I Expect Them To Object
Stating that the EU ministers he had spoke to generally appeared to
understand Turkey, Davutoglu said, "But what I expect from them is
not understanding but for them to object." He summarized his last
such meeting:
"One minister says to me, 'I understand your position, your problem,
very well.' I then said to the minister, 'What I expect from you is
not understanding but for you to object'."
EU Values Upside Down
Davutoglu said he had been invited to a meeting of EU foreign ministers
but that he had declined because of the vote in France: "I was invited
to a meeting of EU foreign ministers but I did not go, I said I could
not go. I told the person I was talking to that we were going to hold
an EU meeting there but that at the same time in a different place
(in France) a vote was going to be held that would turn European values
upside down. And France did indeed turn Europe's values upside down."
France Is Outmoded
This is what Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had to say about the
decision made by the French Senate: "This decision of France's is not
in keeping with the age. It is anathema to freedom of thought. Indeed,
its own reasons are reasons that have been developed to create
polemic. Now, I ask, there are books in libraries in France that say
the events of 1915 were not genocide. So, what is France going to do?
Is it going to confiscate all those books and burn them like during
the Spanish Inquisition? This decision by the French Senate is an
outmoded one that does not tolerate thinking. An endeavour was made to
this effect last May. The Laws Commission found it unacceptable like
they did this time. Because of this it was not passed into law. So,
what happened that it has now become law? Because the Laws Commission
found it unacceptable this time too. What happened is the approaching
elections. This is a clear case of opportunism."
Wait For The Council
The impression I got from our chat on the plane was that the upshot of
consultations between President of the Republic Gul, Prime Minister
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davutoglu was that a path to a solution
would be found during the finalization process. In this respect,
they want to see how the Constitution Council plays out rather than
apply second-stage sanctions right now. There is the chance that
60 senators or parliamentarians will go to the Constitution Council
before President Sarkozy signs the law. Should such a representation
be made the law will not be presented to the president to sign
but will be suspended for one month while the Constitution Council
makes its decision. If the Constitution Council finds the law to
be unconstitutional it will be discounted. Under these conditions,
Ankara is going to wait for the process to play out.
Against The Spirit Of The Times
Davutoglu said this about the issue:
"We think an appeal will be made to the Constitution Council. Besides,
86 senators already voted against it. A centre party with 16 senators
made the decision to take the lead here. That is why we are guessing
this appeal will be made. Foreign Minister Juppe, whom I have a lot of
respect for, had already pointed out how wrong this law was. Th is law
goes against the spirit of the times; it goes against human nature."
Turkey Of 2001 No Longer Exists
Davutoglu stated that if the process goes badly then Turkey will
implement second-stage sanctions on a permanent basis including the
recall of its ambassador that same day.
Davutoglu said: "There are people saying that Turkey has expressed this
kind of reaction in the past but that everything went back to normal,
like in 2001. The people saying this are mistaken. Any sanctions we
apply will be lasting. This is no longer the Turkey of 2001. Turkey
is not the Turkey of 2001; it is much more powerful and effective now."
Turks In France
Davutoglu called on the Turks living in France asking them to think of
France's future when those with French citizenship went to vote. He
asked them to look at which parties adopted which position over this
incident and to decide who to support. Davutoglu stated that the
Turks living in France were already playing their part and that it
was important they continue to do so.
Disrespect For Senators
Davutoglu replied to a question about Sarkozy having telephoned each
and every senator in turn: "This shows how insecure Sarkozy feels
about his own decision. This is a sign of a lack of self-confidence.
Furthermore, it is disrespectful of the senators' own will."
Our Leaders Are Civilized
Davutoglu spoke about the letter that Sarkozy had sent to President
of the Republic Gul. When asked, "Did you consider sending it back
unopened?" he replied: "Our leaders are civilized leaders. They answer
the phone; they open letters."
Moscow Agenda
Davutoglu is going to hold an annual strategic meeting with Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Top of the agenda is Syria. Both
foreign ministers are going to discuss the Arab League's proposals for
Syria. In addition, Iran and Cyprus are also going to hold important
places during Davutoglu's trip to Moscow.
Friendship With Al-Asad All In The Past
When asked, "Al-Asad used to be your closest friend, right?" Davutoglu
replied, "That he was." He continued:
"If our friendship and contact is going to be used to legitimize
some attacks then we shall not make contact. I mean, if Al-Asad is
going to legitimize attacks saying we are in contact with Turkey,
we will not allow that contact."
[translated from Turkish]