By Yusuf Kanli
TDN- According to the contemporary understanding, minorities should enjoy 'additional rights' to preserve their identity and culture rather than being considered potential threats to the majority or to the unitary state. What is necessary is not amending the Lausanne Treaty's definition of minorities but rather changing the perception and status of minorities in Turkey
Interviewing prominent statesmen and veteran diplomats is a difficult task -- as they often tend to guide a reporter into an area they want to talk on rather than plunging head on and speaking on the subject they are asked to comment on -- but understanding exactly what they mean is sometimes even more intricate.
Last week the Turkish Daily News interviewed ninth President of Turkey Suleyman Demirel, who after more than 50 years in public and political life has become a master of words. Demirel commented extensively in that interview on the Oct. 6 commission report that gave Turkey a "qualified yes" for the start of accession talks and left the final decision on the issue -- as it required a political decision -- to EU leaders, who will be meeting in Brussels on Dec. 17.
There was no need to read in between the lines as the veteran politician put it very plainly that the Turks were upset with the commission's statement that the accession talks with Turkey would be "open-ended." That, coupled with a sentence warning the Turks that the accession talks could be suspended at any time, cast doubts on the membership prospects of the country and that is why two-thirds of the Turkish people think Turkey probably won't be allowed into the EU.
The second of the veteran leader's messages was to the point as well: "There are some doubts whether the EU would [disrupt] Turkey's unitary state and whether we would have to revise the Lausanne Treaty. Of course Turkey wants to be part of the EU, but it would not be possible for it to agree to conditions that would impair its unity. Turkey is sensitive about its unity. Turkey will tell Europe why its red lines are red lines. I have confidence that Europe will understand because it does have a culture of compromise and negotiation. A lot of complicated hurdles will come up in the course of negotiations, but I am confident that common sense will prevail in the end. The red line is Turkey's unity, and all other problems will be resolved," he said.
Why should Europe ask Turkey to revise the Lausanne Treaty? Or, why is Lausanne so important for Turkey?
Though the timing of the interview with Demirel coincided with the discussion in the country on who the "fundamental elements" of the republic are and who are not, and whether minorities were outside the "fundamental elements" of the country, it was rather strange to hear such warnings from the veteran leader in an interview otherwise composed of positive points and advice for moderation, reconciliation and the need to develop a culture of compromise.
Then came the TDN interview with Ambassador Hansjoerg Kretschmer, the EU envoy to Ankara.
Kretschmer, though having the traditional constraints of a diplomat to refrain from irritating the host country, was indeed talking as clearly as possible. He pointed out that Turkey's insistence that only non-Muslim religious communities -- in accordance with the Lausanne Treaty -- are recognized as minorities may not be in line with international conventions on the issue and that the country will have to look into the matter.
Indeed, Turkey has already started to look into this issue, and a public discussion is under way as regards to who are minorities and what minority rights are.
Our European friends are naturally having difficulty understanding why the Alawis and the ethnic Kurds are opposed to being referred to as minorities because according to the contemporary understanding, minorities should enjoy "additional rights" to preserve their identity and culture rather than being considered potential threats to the majority or to the unitary state. What is necessary is not amending the Lausanne Treaty's definition of minorities but rather changing the perception and status of minorities in Turkey.
We have to develop this culture both at on a state and an individual level before we can truly address the minority problem in this country.