Should Turkey be allowed to join the EU?

[petrossa]

Maybe after reading this, the YES voters may want to reconsider

Erdogan says favors Bashir over Netanyahu

Turkish prime minister says he would be more comfortable talking to indicted Sudanese president than to Israeli premier. He denies Bashir is responsible for genocide in Darfur, saying 'a Muslim couldn't do such things'

Reuters Published: 11.08.09, 20:44 / Israel News

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday denied that Omar Hassan al-Bashir was responsible for genocide in Darfur and said he would be more comfortable talking to the indicted Sudanese president than to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the state-run news agency Anatolian reported.

"I wouldn't be able to speak with Netanyahu so comfortably but I would speak comfortably with Bashir. I say comfortably "What you've done is wrong". And I would say it to his face. Why? Because a Muslim couldn't do such things. A Muslim could not commit genocide," Anatolian quoted Erdogan as saying.

SOURCE

[petrossa]

Turkey slips further away into the dark ages, the changes of it joining the EU are in the negative figures now

Slipping in Turkey

An Islamist government's commitment to democratic principles is looking shaky.

Monday, November 23, 2009

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN has been the protagonist of an epic liberalization of politics in Turkey. The victory of his mildly Islamist AK Party in a 2002 general election was itself a breakthrough; even more so was his government's defeat of repeated attempts by the military and courts to remove it from power. Mr. Erdogan is pushing through historic reforms of Turkey's treatment of its Kurdish minority and recently took a major step toward opening the country's border with Armenia.

Yet, as his tenure lengthens, it is becoming evident that Mr. Erdogan's commitment to democratic principles and Western values is far from complete. As Turkey's prospects of joining the European Union have dimmed, the government's foreign policy has taken a nasty turn: Shrill denunciations of Israel have been accompanied by increasing coziness with the criminal rulers of Iran, Syria and Sudan. Mr. Erdogan recently declared that Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes in Darfur, was welcome in Turkey because "a Muslim can never commit genocide."

Even more concerning is Mr. Erdogan's treatment of the Turkish media. Frustrated by hostility toward his government by media conglomerates that formed part of Turkey's traditional secular establishment, the prime minister and his allies have resorted to increasingly heavy-handed measures. Two years ago a forced sale of the country's second-biggest newspaper placed it in the hands of a company headed by Mr. Erdogan's son-in-law. Once critical, it is now predictably pro-government.

Now the government is threatening to destroy Turkey's largest media company, Dogan Yayin. The conglomerate, which controls seven newspapers, 28 magazines and three television channels -- including Turkey's version of CNN -- has been hit with an escalating series of tax bills based on questionable audits of past filings. The latest one, delivered in September, now stands at some $3.3 billion -- a sum greater than the value of Dogan Yayin and its parent company.

Faced with sharp criticism by the European Union, Mr. Erdogan and his foreign minister have insisted that the tax bills are a "technical matter"; in one interview the prime minister compared them to the tax case brought against gangster Al Capone. The parallel was unintentionally revealing. Mr. Erdogan's real problem is not with the company's supposed tax evasion but with its tough reporting on his government -- beginning with reports about an Islamic charity that may have illegally funneled money to his party.

Turkish journalists say that a pall of fear has fallen across their business. Editors practice self-censorship. Many journalists are believed to be among the more than 100,000 people whose phones have been tapped by the government in recent years. Some, including the chief executive of Dogan Yayin, have been swept up in a murky investigation of alleged coup plotting.

Mr. Erdogan and his party were once seen by many in Washington as a model for how pious Muslims could practice democratic politics. That image is rapidly darkening. If it is not to be extinguished, Mr. Erdogan must stop coddling Muslim dictators -- and stop following their practice of silencing domestic opposition.

SOURCE

[petrossa]

TURKEY: 42% PCT OF WOMEN TARGETS OF VIOLENCE, SURVEY

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, NOVEMBER 24 - Forty-two percent of women in Turkey become targets of physical or sexual violence, a staggering statistic which along with others will be the focus of events held on the occasion of tomorrow's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. As Today's Zaman reports quoting data by the Directorate general on status of women, one of every four married women who are targets of violence is injured to the point of requiring medical attention. One of every three women who face violence from a husband or boyfriend attempts suicide. One in every five women, married and single, face violence from their relatives or peeple at school or the workplace. In recent years, some changes to the country's human rights laws have been made as Turkey inches along it its bid to join the European Union, but for many women who for various reasons end up in custody or behind bars, the situation is desperate. In the past 12 years, 74 women have been raped while in custody, and with allegations that have not yet been proved, this number climbs to over 300. In the past year only 15 women have complained of sexual abuse while in custody. There have been positive developments in recent years regarding this topic with sexual abuse gaining legal status as a crime, the range of the laws on rape being expanded and the sentencing deductions for "honor" killings and killings as part of tribal feuds abolished. (ANSAmed).

2009-11-24 12:02

SOURCE

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

No and I don't know why they would want to.

[Klenje]

I'd say no, for now. IMHO you should also consider economy, if Turkey joins now it will be a big burden for EU. But also the cultural factor plays a role, and I admit that many are still scared by Turkey after 300 years

[simonlang]

yes. cause i dont want to be the eu to be kinda "christian-club".

and turkey is military and economically very strong, plus it would show a gr8 signal of respect towards the muslim community.

im shocked about the poll results! are people really that short-viewed these days?

[petrossa]

Turkey:

per capita: $11,900 (2008 est.)

Bulgaria

per capita: $12,900 (2008 est.)

Czech Republic

per capita: $25,900 (2008 est.)

Netherlands:

per capita: $40,500 (2008 est.)

SOURCE

Compared to EU countries Turkey is about bottom of the list economy wise. Right it'll really add something, a country even less productive than Bulgaria.

[simonlang]

of course countries do better economically after they join the eu. what does that list proove?

[petrossa]

Being worse than Bulgaria is quite a feat. That really takes some effort.

As Bulgaria's incoming Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov can assume copious congratulations when he takes up the reins of government on July 23. Less welcome, however, is what he received on the eve of his investiture: a report effectively designating Bulgaria the most corrupt and crime-ridden member of the European Union. And for good measure, it warned that Bulgaria, already the E.U.'s poorest member state, could slip under the sway of Russia if it fails to turn itself around.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8...1912192,00.html

[Death Proof]

Moslem Eh ! Nope .....No EU for you

[petrossa]

Headquarters of Turkey's efforts to join EU in building seized from Orthodox Christian community

The irony is most likely completely lost on the EU.

"Turkey prepares to join EU in a building confiscated from the Orthodox,"

by Nat da Polis for AsiaNews, December 11:

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - Unbelievable but true: the headquarters of the Secretariat for the entry of Turkey into the European Union is a building confiscated from the Orthodox Christian community in the 90s. The building is located in Istanbul, in the well-known area of Ortakoy, under the first bridge over the Bosphorus.

Before the seizure, the building was used as a primary school for children of the minority Orthodox in Ortakoy. Here, once lived a thriving Orthodox community, now non-existent because of past purges against minorities, executed by the "secular" Turkish State.

Thanks to the policy of purging, the building and many other schools, at one point found themselves without students, unused and then confiscated. The forfeiture rule however prevented foundations - owners of buildings - from allocating them to different uses. The community of Ortakoy appealed to the administrative courts in Istanbul, which have yet to rule on the issue. In case of a ruling to the contrary, the Orthodox intend to apply to the court in Strasbourg. The inauguration of the Secretariat took place in the presence of Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by Minister for European Affairs Bajis and by various authorities and European representation.

The event has aroused unease in diplomatic circles in Brussels, so much so that on the eve of the inauguration, a senior government official visited Patriarch Bartholomew I to let them know that the courts decision will be respected. The question also arises whether the current Turkish government aware of the building's history.

Meanwhile in Brussels some discomfort is spreading towards politicians who are champions of Turkey's entry into the EU. Ankara has not yet shown a convincing European orientation, it is believed that the "champions" are tied to the country by economic and financial interests.

One suggestion for resolving the issue comes from Lakis Vigas, representative of minorities in Turkey in the General Directorate of Foundations. Interviewed by the newspaper Milliyet on the case of Ortakoy, he says a possible solution would be if the Ortakoy foundation were granted the possibility to lease the building to the Turkish nation. This gesture would have a noble purpose: the entry of Turkey into the EU the "source of our hopes."

SOURCE

[petrossa]

Croatia, Turkey one step closer to EU membership

Progress made in some areas but both countries face problems opening certain chapters.

Croatia and Turkey today took steps towards eventual EU membership. Croatia wrapped up accession talks in two policy areas - right of establishment and freedom to provide services, and social policy and employment - while Turkey opened talks on the environment chapter.

Both countries began membership talks at the same time, October 2005, but while Croatia is poised to become an EU member state in 2012, Turkey's membership appears far more distant. A third membership candidate, Macedonia, has not even begun accession talks because Greece objects to its name.

<snip>

Turkish talks

Today's accession conference with Turkey brought the number of open chapters to 12, with just one chapter closed. The presence at the meeting of three cabinet ministers - Ahmet Davutoğlu, the foreign minister; Egemen Bağış, EU minister and chief negotiator; and Veysel Eroğlu, minister for the environment and forestry - underlined the importance that Turkey attached to today's talks.

Bildt described it as a “qualitative step” forward and stressed that the environment chapter was “demanding and difficult”. Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for enlargement, said that the environment chapter was “complicated, time-consuming and rather challenging”.

Earlier this month (8 December), Cyprus announced that it would block five chapters in addition to the eight that are already blocked because of the continued occupation of part of Cyprus by Turkey.

Davutoğlu said that Turkey was “deeply, deeply disappointed” that the EU could not open the chapters because of a single member state but said that Turkey would continue work on these chapters as if negotiations were already under way.

http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2009/...ship/66769.aspx

[splur]

Wait, is Turkey even really part of Europe?

[master2k27]

as long they all dont try to come a live in the UK :laugh: but you know what's going to happen

i remember when Poland joined, the number of polish people in collage and in my area tripled.

but as long they work that's fine. don't want people who just want benefits

but i vote no , there too unsiverlised