Brutality, poverty and religion stand between Turkey and EU

[emad]

Brutality, poverty and religion stand between Turkey and EU
By Ben Macintyre

Talks on Turkey's membership of the EU are due to begin on Monday, with the issue dividing both the country and Europe. Today, in the first of two articles, our correspondent looks at the case against letting it join

ON A tiny island in the middle of Lake Van, on the far eastern edge of Turkey, a team of architects is working feverishly to restore one of the most beautiful religious buildings in the world.

Holy Cross Church, on Akdamar island, was built by the Armenian King Gagik in AD921 and was once the spiritual focus for more than a million Armenian Christians.

Today there is no one left to worship in it. The entire Armenian population here was killed or driven away by Turks and Kurdish militias during the First World War, in what Armenians claim was the first genocide of the 20th century ¡ª a charge vigorously denied by the Turkish State.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1804495,00.html

[bemildred]

1. Actually, I thought Turkey was willing to overlook the EU's failures

in those areas.

[Julius Civitatus]

2. Turkey's record is dismal -- they are not ready for the EU

I strongly believe they are not ready to join the EU, by a long shot. They have a lot to clean up before they become EU material. While the EU may have failures in those areas, there's no comparison of living conditions, economic stability or human rights between the EU and Turkey.

And let's not even talk about their stubborn denial of the Armenian genocide, which the still deny to this day.

For a token of the horrors that still take place in Turkey, check out this heart-breaking article in yesterday's NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/international/europe/29turkey.html

Not for the faint of heart.

(on edit)

Also check out today's NYT editorial:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/opinion/30fri3.html

[DinahMoeHum]

3. Yep, there is that issue of genocide against Armenians. . .

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1804495_3,00.html

(snip)
Turkey’s continued refusal to acknowledge the fate of the Armenians has crystallised much of the opposition to Turkey’s EU membership. This week the European Parliament declared that Turkey must acknowledge the “genocide” before it can be admitted.
(snip)

and BTW, France has been the loudest critic against Turkey on this issue.

[emad]

4. Some years ago there were discussions about Turkey first joining

the Commonwealth as a recursor to EU membership. But then there was some calamitous Turkey vs England football match that ended in mayhem, and that was the end of Rule Britannia...

[bemildred]

5. True, the Turks have a few issues.

But to have the colonial powers thinking they can lecture
others about genocide, racism, and brutality is very funny.
They are the past masters of all three.

[Bridget Burke]

6. Isn't Germany in the EU?

If they officially apologized for certain unfortunate incidents, perhaps they should send a copy of the document to Turkey. The Turks could update it...

Then the Europeans could explain just how they made their own countries racism-free.