What A Shame

BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- If a last-minute Cyprus obstacle had not come up, Foreign Ministry and high ranking officials from 25 European Union member countries and more than 50 Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member states would now be discussing how to forge cooperation between different cultures and civilizations… Just like in the OIC-EU Joint Symposium organized over the weekend to lay the intellectual groundwork… As the symposium, which brought together 100 scholars and intellectuals from both the Islamic world and the West, was very effective, the cancellation of the Joint Forum was a shame. If the forum had taken place, then it would have had the opportunity to reinforce the ‘spirit of Istanbul’ which followed a similar conference, in other words it would have contributed to better understanding and cooperation between the West and the Islamic world. As the symposium’s announcement lamented, ‘an important opportunity for such a dialogue was unfortunately missed.’ Moreover, the forum was cancelled (as the announcement said) due to ‘reasons which didn’t fit the purpose of the OIC-EU Joint Forum.’
Now what the ministers and officials who declined to come to Istanbul despite being invited should do is examine the notes of the symposium organized by the Strategic Research Center in Ankara and to use this advice in formulating new strategies. By the way, European ministers should launch an internal investigation of their decision to boycott the joint forum, an event painstakingly prepared for weeks. Indeed, they could have made more genuine efforts and found a compromise formula to prevent the cancellation of such a significant meeting.
The EU’s attitude on this issue led to disappointment in Turkey. Ankara believed that the EU would accept the sign saying ‘Turkish Cypriot State’ in front of the Turkish Cypriot delegation. Furthermore, Turkey thought that the EU would show understanding towards the Turkish Cypriots after they accepted the UN reunification plan, and wouldn’t allow the Greek Cypriots to steer the Union… We had the following impression from most delegations attending the symposium: Yes the EU’s boycott of the forum wasn’t good. But Turkey also had to know that the EU wouldn’t accept the ‘Turkish Cypriot State’ sign. The EU doesn’t have to accept the attitude of the OIC or another organization. The UN and other organizations share the same stance.
This incident shows that Turkey didn’t see the truth about Cyprus and that Ankara thinks it can get the result it wants so much. The truth is that there was an error both in timing and reckoning. And in the end, this gave a diplomatic edge to the Greek Cypriots and another propaganda tool for those opposed to the EU. But the sad thing is that the world missed an opportunity to bolster the ‘spirit of Istanbul’ which would help cooperation between the West and the Islamic world, something much needed in today’s circumstances.