HURRIYET- In his column in the daily Hurriyet, Ozdemir Ince writes on the meeting of civilizations taking place in Istanbul. A summary of his column is as follows:
The joint meeting of the EU and OIC countries at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul has a symbolic importance. On the one side there are the EU countries, all of which are Christian and on the other side the Organization of the Islamic Conference countries, all of which are Muslim. The organizer of the meeting is Turkey, which is a member of one group and a member candidate of the other. Turkey is a partner of both sides. Towards the end of his address to the meeting, President Sezer stressed an important point, “Terrorism must not be attributed to only one religion, or ethnic group. In order to solve this issue it is of utmost importance to formulate a common definition of terrorism, describe its social, political and economic dimensions and take joint action on a global scale. We believe that terrorist groups should be identified not as it suits the purposes of some particular interest but on the basis of objective definitions, and that we should continue the war against terrorism with this in mind.” President Sezer certainly knows that the main cause of terrorism stems from the conflicts between the rich and prosperous North and the poor and miserable South, and that ‘the damned of the earth’ living in the South, mainly made up of nonwhites and non-Christians, are on the verge of desperation. President Sezer is right in that a joint definition of terrorism must be arrived at. However, will biased countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway will agree to this? I believe that these countries will not agree to a rational definition of terrorism. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said, ‘Another result of the Sept. 11 attacks is the emergence of a new awareness. This awareness stems from our realizing the fact that we know very little about the other, and that we need a new set of relations and solidarity on the basis of respect for cultural diversity.’ With these words he was expressing one of the most provocative factors behind the Sept. 11 tragedy. Turkey, leading the way with a moral responsibility, has shown that it has reached maturity. This is indeed a good sign.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION