ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency
Turkish State Minister and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış has said that Kurds in Turkey had not expressed demand or expectation for autonomy.
Speaking on a TV program on pro-government Kanal 7 on Sunday, Bağış said differences between the Turks and Kurds stemmed from cultural richness, adding that nobody should harm national unity or feelings of brotherhood, and that everybody should preserve national integrity.
His comments came after a workshop organized by the Democratic Society Congress, or DTK, in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır called for launching a debate regarding autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds, speaking Kurdish in public institutions and installing the language as a secondary mode of communication at schools.
Bağış said different cultures, religions, beliefs, ethnic identities and political views could exist in harmony in Turkey, adding that demands for “democratic autonomy” were the efforts of some people to exploit a potentially volatile political situation.
Bağış said a political party that claimed to represent Kurds in Turkey did not even have 20 members, but the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, had nearly 60 members of Kurdish origin, adding that half the deputies in the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, did not even speak Kurdish.
None of the parties has the right to solely represent any ethnic group, belief or national sentiment, Bağış said. “Both this flag and the holy book are ours.”
The important thing for the AKP is peace in the nation, he said.
Regarding Turkey’s European membership negotiations, Bağış said 27 negotiation chapters have been opened, while 13 have been completed.
Turkey had not given up on negotiations, Bağış said, adding that it was a long path and Turkey was determined to stick to it, despite political obstacles.
After negotiations have been completed, Turkey would ask the public whether they wanted the nation to become an EU member or not, he said.
When reminded that the Greek Cypriot administration would take over the EU term presidency in 2012, Bağış said term presidencies did not have much of an effect on membership negotiations, so the Greek Cypriot administration’s presidency would not have a significant influence over Turkey’s accession process.
More chapters were opened to negotiations during the EU presidencies of Germany and France – who are both relatively negative towards Turkey’s EU membership – compared to the presidential terms of Spain, Belgium or Finland, which are more positive towards the Turkey’s membership, Bağış said.
Commenting on a recent attack by Greek Cypriot basketball fans on Turkish team Pınar Karşıyaka after a game played in Greek Cyprus last Tuesday, Bağış said the Greek Cypriots were trying to simplify the incident by claiming that it was hooliganism.
When 3,000 people attack between 10 to 15 people it is not a simple issue, Bağış said.
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