BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- I wonder if French President Nicolas Sarkozy will learn the necessary lesson from the French Senate's rejection of a constitutional amendment stipulating a referendum for Turkey's European Union membership. Indeed, the Senate's 297-7 rejection of the measure is a heavy blow to Sarkozy, because this overwhelming majority came not just from opposition parties, but also Sarkozy's own UMP. In addition, the government sensed the atmosphere in the Senate and gave up on the proposal. In other words, it finally changed its mind. This situation shows that the UMP is divided on the issue. Now lower house deputies and senators from the same party are against each other! Following the vote, how will the lower house act in re-debating the measure? Which party will prevail in the joint session of the Senate and lower house? We'll see on July 21. The speeches in the Senate, some by UMP members, showed that this measure (which clearly targets Turkey) is very separatist, hypocritical, improper and insulting - in their own words.
Actually the aim of the article requiring a referendum is very clear: hindering Turkey's EU membership, in other words, even if our membership talks continue, and eventually closing the EU's doors to Turkey. This is the only thing that Sarkozy wants, right? This is clearly the stance that he has repeatedly shown. But why?
An article published recently in Liberation daily explored this question. According to the piece, it's hard to understand why he 'frittered away' France's friendship with Turkey, after it took France as an example and the two enjoyed close relations. Actually, France should be championing Turkey's efforts to integrate with Europe. But Sarkozy's acts turned a friendly country into an 'enemy.' The article disapproved of the justifications for this. For example, it says that the fact that Turkey is a majority-Muslim country can't be a reason, because it's also a secular country which is trying hard to maintain its secular character. After listing similar irrational reasons, the piece concludes as follows: No matter its justifications, with this stance France is harming itself.
In fact, this stance should be evaluated as part of France's anti-Turkish policies of recent years. In other words, what really matters is how much France values Turkey. It would be also useful to remember how things were under Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac. At that time, France wanted political and economic ties with Turkey to go smoothly, but didn't take seriously Turkey's sensitivity on certain national matters (for example, the Cyprus, Armenian and Kurdish issues) and didn't shrink from actions which might disturb Turkey. Today, while striving to create rapprochement with many countries in the Middle East, Sarkozy is maintaining a stance which drives Turkey away from France. In the wake of the Senate vote, will Sarkozy change course due to public pressure and criticisms from his own party? I hope he will, but people close to him generally call him a self-confident, stubborn politician.