BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Twenty distinguished professors from some of the most prestigious universities of the Western world, including Oxford , the London School of Economics, Paris ' Sorbonne, and Yale University, posted a declaration on the Internet earlier this month.
Scholarship, of course doesn't administer politics. National legislatures aren't academies, but assemblies of the people. But politics and legislatures can't exist without scholarship. The Open Democracy website wanted to warn politicians and Europeans about a mistake which could pull world politics in the wrong direction.
The main figure that they are concerned about is Nicholas Sarkozy, France's recently elected president.
The distinguished professors said that Sarkozy's `illegitimate claim' that Turkey isn't European but Asian can pose a great danger for the European Union.
For many Christians, utterly expelling Turkey from Europe has been an age-old dream. This kind of `idee fixe' is very dangerous and can lead to tragic events. A very clear example of this is Hitler, who in addition to wreaking havoc around the world, also devastated his own country, Germany.
An offended Turkey, a deeply offended Turkey, turning its back on Europe, could cost the bloc trillions of dollars and cause unbelievable clashes. I could spell out other scenarios which would make Sarkozy's hair stand on end .