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ANKARA: Davutoglu: EU Hypocrisy

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  • ANKARA: Davutoglu: EU Hypocrisy

    DAVUTOGLU: EU HYPOCRISY

    Milliyet
    Jan 25 2012
    Turkey

    Interview by Fikret Bila in Moscow with Turkey's Foreign Minister
    Ahmet Davutoglu

    Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was fuming at the EU countries and
    all of Europe just as much as he was at France as we flew to Moscow.

    Davutoglu already thought that the French bill making it illegal to
    deny the Armenian claims regarding 1915 was insane, but he was just
    stunned by the European Union's silence.

    Need To Rub It Into Their Faces

    Davutoglu began our interview saying this: "If we or any other
    country had made a decision like the one France has just imagine all
    the condemnation that would have come from Europe. Yet, there is not
    even one reaction. This is the EU's, Europe's hypocrisy. Someone has
    to rub it into their faces."

    I Expect Them To Object

    Stating that the EU ministers he had spoke to generally appeared to
    understand Turkey, Davutoglu said, "But what I expect from them is
    not understanding but for them to object." He summarized his last
    such meeting:

    "One minister says to me, 'I understand your position, your problem,
    very well.' I then said to the minister, 'What I expect from you is
    not understanding but for you to object'."

    EU Values Upside Down

    Davutoglu said he had been invited to a meeting of EU foreign ministers
    but that he had declined because of the vote in France: "I was invited
    to a meeting of EU foreign ministers but I did not go, I said I could
    not go. I told the person I was talking to that we were going to hold
    an EU meeting there but that at the same time in a different place
    (in France) a vote was going to be held that would turn European values
    upside down. And France did indeed turn Europe's values upside down."

    France Is Outmoded

    This is what Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had to say about the
    decision made by the French Senate: "This decision of France's is not
    in keeping with the age. It is anathema to freedom of thought. Indeed,
    its own reasons are reasons that have been developed to create
    polemic. Now, I ask, there are books in libraries in France that say
    the events of 1915 were not genocide. So, what is France going to do?

    Is it going to confiscate all those books and burn them like during
    the Spanish Inquisition? This decision by the French Senate is an
    outmoded one that does not tolerate thinking. An endeavour was made to
    this effect last May. The Laws Commission found it unacceptable like
    they did this time. Because of this it was not passed into law. So,
    what happened that it has now become law? Because the Laws Commission
    found it unacceptable this time too. What happened is the approaching
    elections. This is a clear case of opportunism."

    Wait For The Council

    The impression I got from our chat on the plane was that the upshot of
    consultations between President of the Republic Gul, Prime Minister
    Erdogan and Foreign Minister Davutoglu was that a path to a solution
    would be found during the finalization process. In this respect,
    they want to see how the Constitution Council plays out rather than
    apply second-stage sanctions right now. There is the chance that
    60 senators or parliamentarians will go to the Constitution Council
    before President Sarkozy signs the law. Should such a representation
    be made the law will not be presented to the president to sign
    but will be suspended for one month while the Constitution Council
    makes its decision. If the Constitution Council finds the law to
    be unconstitutional it will be discounted. Under these conditions,
    Ankara is going to wait for the process to play out.

    Against The Spirit Of The Times

    Davutoglu said this about the issue:

    "We think an appeal will be made to the Constitution Council. Besides,
    86 senators already voted against it. A centre party with 16 senators
    made the decision to take the lead here. That is why we are guessing
    this appeal will be made. Foreign Minister Juppe, whom I have a lot of
    respect for, had already pointed out how wrong this law was. Th is law
    goes against the spirit of the times; it goes against human nature."

    Turkey Of 2001 No Longer Exists

    Davutoglu stated that if the process goes badly then Turkey will
    implement second-stage sanctions on a permanent basis including the
    recall of its ambassador that same day.

    Davutoglu said: "There are people saying that Turkey has expressed this
    kind of reaction in the past but that everything went back to normal,
    like in 2001. The people saying this are mistaken. Any sanctions we
    apply will be lasting. This is no longer the Turkey of 2001. Turkey
    is not the Turkey of 2001; it is much more powerful and effective now."

    Turks In France

    Davutoglu called on the Turks living in France asking them to think of
    France's future when those with French citizenship went to vote. He
    asked them to look at which parties adopted which position over this
    incident and to decide who to support. Davutoglu stated that the
    Turks living in France were already playing their part and that it
    was important they continue to do so.

    Disrespect For Senators

    Davutoglu replied to a question about Sarkozy having telephoned each
    and every senator in turn: "This shows how insecure Sarkozy feels
    about his own decision. This is a sign of a lack of self-confidence.

    Furthermore, it is disrespectful of the senators' own will."

    Our Leaders Are Civilized

    Davutoglu spoke about the letter that Sarkozy had sent to President
    of the Republic Gul. When asked, "Did you consider sending it back
    unopened?" he replied: "Our leaders are civilized leaders. They answer
    the phone; they open letters."

    Moscow Agenda

    Davutoglu is going to hold an annual strategic meeting with Foreign
    Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Top of the agenda is Syria. Both
    foreign ministers are going to discuss the Arab League's proposals for
    Syria. In addition, Iran and Cyprus are also going to hold important
    places during Davutoglu's trip to Moscow.

    Friendship With Al-Asad All In The Past

    When asked, "Al-Asad used to be your closest friend, right?" Davutoglu
    replied, "That he was." He continued:

    "If our friendship and contact is going to be used to legitimize
    some attacks then we shall not make contact. I mean, if Al-Asad is
    going to legitimize attacks saying we are in contact with Turkey,
    we will not allow that contact."

    [translated from Turkish]

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