Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-28-Speech-3-052"
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"en.20050928.3.3-052"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, unlike the previous speaker, I, like many of us, remain convinced that Turkey’s accession to the Union is essential for guaranteeing reconciliation, peace and security in the entire region, for contributing to the effort to make it a democratic and developed country and above all, perhaps, for demonstrating to a Muslim country that, if it respects human rights, there is a place for it in a Union of democratic countries. The task, however, is a very difficult one, as this debate shows, since hostile forces exist that are gaining ground and striving to see this process end in failure.
Mr President, Commissioner, what we have here is a textbook case illustrating the political difficulty involved in taking decisions that are burdened with complications in the short term and whose positive results it will only be possible to appreciate in full 10 or 15 years later. That is why I urge you to grant a great deal of importance and to devote a lot of time to the task of explaining. You have to publicise the difficulties, of course, such as this unilateral Turkish declaration on Cyprus that has just been mentioned, as well as the recent cases of people being sentenced for their opinions.
Yet, we must also emphasise the progress made and the reason for the delays. With this in mind, I cannot but believe that the declaration on Cyprus, which we regret, is a response from Turkey, long-awaited by its people, to the refusal of the UN draft by the Greek Cypriots. That does not excuse anything but does help us to gain a better insight into events and, above all, urgently to inform the UN of the need to step up its work and to resume its mediation. Furthermore, we must, above all, lay a great deal more stress than at present on the meaning of the academic conference held in Istanbul only recently on the Armenian issue. It is a taboo that has finally been broken, and it has taken a very firm commitment from the Prime Minister to make this happen. This does not mean that, from now on, Turkish public opinion is prepared to recognise what took place, but at least it is the start of a crucial stage towards such recognition.
Mr President, Commissioner, the process will fail if the negotiations that you are conducting and the progress that they give rise to are not mentioned. Give descriptions, explain yourselves – you need to fight on two fronts: that of your Turkish partners and that of European public opinion. Fight on both of them and never fail to do so!"@en1
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