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They are just not european |
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I completely agree. If they have some of the worst human rights, the way things are going they are
heading towards letting them be a member. So it will be one rule for us, and hope they change
eventually. Sounds a bit fishy. |
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Like it or not, the cult of Christianity has shaped European civilisation, creating similarities in
the outlook of people in different European countries, even when the practise of the superstition
has ceased or only continues half-heartedly. Turkey's culture has not been shaped in the same way.
Turks belong and have belonged to a different cult, and superstition is still much stronger there
than it is in most parts of Europe. Witness the Islamic party which holds an ascendancy of political
power there and is gradually trying to implement the re-Islamicisation of the country.
This cultural difference would perhaps be insignificant if Turkey was a small country. But it is
not. It is a huge country. With Europe's population expected to decline, and Turkey's expected to
rise, within a few decades, if Turkey was admitted to the EU, it could comprise something like one
third or one fourth of the EU's total population. Think how that would stymie agreement on a wide
range of different issues, with so many people coming from an alien culture, still indulging in
primitive prejudices such as antipathy to women and homosexuals. If the European Union becomes more
democratic, politicians will be forced to pander to those prejudices.
Supporters of Turkey's admission say they approve of the Ataturk project - the plan to secularise an
Islamic country - and want to see it succeed. Millions of Turks desperately dream of being admitted
to Europe, they point out. Who cares? The European Union is not a charitable institution. It should
not admit new members on the basis that the new members will benefit from being in the EU. Of course
they would benefit from being in the EU. Who wouldn't? The criteria for admission should be whether
the EU will benefit from the new member, not the other way around.
The European Union is potentially a strong world power. If there was a single president with
authority over foreign and military affairs, the European Union would potentially be the strongest
power in the world. It has the largest economy of any country in the world. Ultimately, economic
strength is what informs political power.
Of course, the EU emerging as an independent force in world affairs is something the Americans and
their Canadian lackeys do not want to see. They prefer to keep Europe weak, divided and dependent.
This is why they support Turkey's admission to the European Union so strongly. They know it would be
a Trojan Horse which would destroy Europe from within. The Turks would continue to take American
orders and would do America's bidding within the councils of the European Union, making Europe even
more dependent on the US.
Any EU citizen in his right mind will reject the idea of Turkey joining the EU, and reject it with
contempt. It is time we made our views known to the political stooges who continue to push the idea
of Turkish membership on orders from Washington.
If you're a British citizen, you should sign the Downing Street petition to block Turkey's EU
membership here. |
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What precisely is a European country? Nations populated by lapsed Christians, perhaps? People who
refer to the elusive idea of some sort of a grand European culture go about putting up imaginary
boundaries but have difficulty providing the defining characteristics of what being European really
is.
Turkey was deeply involved in Europe for over 400 years, and it controlled much of the south-eastern
portion of the continent. We could go back further to Byzantium as well, when this part of the world
was far more advanced than western European societies were. But only a few hundred years ago, the
power of Ottomans spread as far as western Hungary, mere kilometers from Vienna. At the beginning of
the last century, Ottomans were still present in much of the western and eastern Balkans. When we
speak about who should and should not be permitted to join the European Union, we need to look for
the presence of a common history, and this clearly exists in Turkey's case.
Turkey will join the EU sooner or later (I predict sooner), whether those in "Old Europe" like it or
not. Eventually, Europe will bow to pressure from Washington, where politicians from both the left
and the right support Turkey's entry and call for an expanded and integrated EU. Those of us who are
a bit more skeptical of further integration support Turkey's entry because it will actually halt the
efforts of the pro-integration camp for some time. |
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31 Jul 2008 18:45
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