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Dervis Urges EU Membership and Nothing But
The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 20 2005
The New Anatolian / Istanbul -- Any option other than full membership
in the European Union is unacceptable for Turkey, Kemal Dervis, new
head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said yesterday.
Dervis, a former Turkish parliamentarian and economy minister, made
the remarks at a conference entitled "Turkey at the Threshold of
Participation Negotiations," held by the Bogazici University European
Studies Center students' forum.
He criticized European conservatives for being against Turkey's
membership due to its majority Muslim population. "The EU is a project
based on peace," said Dervis, "not discrimination."
Dervis stated that the strongest message that Europe could give to
the world would be to accept Turkey as a full member. "Then the EU
would be proving that war and enmity don't last forever," said Dervis.
Asked by a Dutch student whether Turkey's Kemalist origins would be
an obstacle to its EU membership bid, Dervis replied that it would not.
"Turkey's Kemalist ideology is not in conflict with EU principles,"
said Dervis. "If there were no Kemalism then we wouldn't be discussing
EU membership today."
British Ambassador Peter Westmacott, who also took part in the meeting,
stated that it would be a great loss for both Turkey and the EU if
Turkey didn't become a member.
Westmacott emphasized that both Turkey and the EU should fulfill
their responsibilities on issues such as the Ocalan retrial and the
Armenian and Kurdish issues.
The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 20 2005
The New Anatolian / Istanbul -- Any option other than full membership
in the European Union is unacceptable for Turkey, Kemal Dervis, new
head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said yesterday.
Dervis, a former Turkish parliamentarian and economy minister, made
the remarks at a conference entitled "Turkey at the Threshold of
Participation Negotiations," held by the Bogazici University European
Studies Center students' forum.
He criticized European conservatives for being against Turkey's
membership due to its majority Muslim population. "The EU is a project
based on peace," said Dervis, "not discrimination."
Dervis stated that the strongest message that Europe could give to
the world would be to accept Turkey as a full member. "Then the EU
would be proving that war and enmity don't last forever," said Dervis.
Asked by a Dutch student whether Turkey's Kemalist origins would be
an obstacle to its EU membership bid, Dervis replied that it would not.
"Turkey's Kemalist ideology is not in conflict with EU principles,"
said Dervis. "If there were no Kemalism then we wouldn't be discussing
EU membership today."
British Ambassador Peter Westmacott, who also took part in the meeting,
stated that it would be a great loss for both Turkey and the EU if
Turkey didn't become a member.
Westmacott emphasized that both Turkey and the EU should fulfill
their responsibilities on issues such as the Ocalan retrial and the
Armenian and Kurdish issues.