SABAH- Columnist Gungor Mengi writes on Turkey’s EU membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:
The US has presented itself as a prosperous free country to people coming from various cultures worldwide on the condition that they leave their reasons for conflict behind them. People coming from diverse races and cultures healed their wounds in this pluralist climate and, uniting their fate with their free will became a nation. The experience of the US has demonstrated that the best guarantee for preserving freedoms and diversities is not division but integration. It also showed that when their diversity and free expression are respected, different cultures can be the basis for loyalty and integrity. Turkey is not a country built upon a race. Different cultures which lived on this land for centuries have created a strong nation. The only exception to this is the Kurdish problem, which grew with the exploitation of the feudal structure in southeastern Anatolia by foreign powers and resulted in feeding the separatist nationalist current due to oppressive measures for security reasons. With the capture of Ocalan and the defeat of terrorism, the threat before Kurdish citizens using their free will for national unity has been eradicated. The abolition of State of Emergency Rule (OHAL) demonstrates the confidence the state has in itself and its citizens. With the guarantees Turkey will gain by becoming an EU member, our nation will turn this problem into nothing but a bitter memory. Capital punishment, which has not been implemented for 15 years, should be turned into life imprisonment with no parole. The abolition of a ban on TV and radio broadcasts in languages other than Turkish and permission for learning languages to put cultural rights under guarantee are some of the steps which should be taken to pave the way for EU membership. In Turkey, entering the EU is regarded as if we were beating the EU. This is a completely incorrect approach. What we will achieve is a free, peaceful and prosperous future. With the military overcoming its qualms, Turkey has caught a golden opportunity. The June 7 summit called by the president may be a new beginning for our future. These steps won’t be a concession to Europe, but rather important investments for our own future.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION