From: aleck@athena.mit.edu (Aleck H Alexopoulos)
Subject: Re: EC AND TURKEY....
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 22:25:30 GMT

In article <29SEP199215080511@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov>, scgeoff@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (GEOFF ELLIOTT) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep28.193356.20665@sci.ccny.cuny.edu>, branis@sci.ccny.cuny.edu (Spiros Branis) writes...
|> > 
|> >ATHENS 28/09/92 (ANA)
|> >The President of the European University Eleni Ahweiller expressed
|> >the view Saturday that Turkey might become a member of the EC after
|> >the end of 20th century but only after providing it had learned its lessons
|> >in human rights. She added that due to its slow economic developmet,
|> >demografic problem and the role it could play in Asia, Turkey has not many
|> >friends in Europe.
|> >Mrs. Ahweiller was speaking to the press on her arrival in Thessaloniki to
|> >chair an International Conference on " HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GREEK
|> >MINORITIES IN TURKEY".
|> >She told reporters that the Turkish goverment, aspiring to EC membership, should
|> >demonstrate by deeds its respect for the international conventions on human
|> >rights, which it has already ratified, and ensured their application by 
|> >administrative and goverment officials.
|> >Answering a question on whether Turkey might become a member of
|> > EC prior
|> >to the year 2,000 supported by European forces which favour
|> > its accesion, she said:
|> >"I don't think Turkey has that many friends in the Community".
|> >Mrs. Ahweiller added that many European forces do not wish Turkey's accesion
|> >to the Community for reasons attributed to the country's slow economic 
|> >development and demografic problem and also due to the role
|> > it can play in Asia.
|> >"Besides there is always the possibility of a Greek veto", 
|> >she added, referring to the
|> >preregognition set by Greece that unless progress has been achieved 
|> >in the Cyprus
|> >question, Turkey will not secure accesion to the EC.
|> > 
|> >"On the other hand", she said, "nobody can deny 
|> >the fact that Turkey can play a role
|> >in the wider geopolitical zone of Central Asia".
|> >"In any case... Turkey's accesion to the EC is not in the list of 
|> >priorities of EC 
|> >for
|> >the near future. Perhaps after the end of the 20th century and after it has proved 
|> >that it has learned its lessons in respect of human rights and the rights of minorities,
|> >Turkey will be ready to align with the European Nations".
|> > 
|> > 
|> > 
|> >==========
|> >Spiros
|> 
|> With all of the chaos in the EC right now (currency, economies, etc) and 
|> the violence against the Bosnians that the EC is unwilling to do anything
|> about, Turkiye would be crazy to even want in the EC now anyway.
|> 
|> Turkiye should concentrate on developing its relationships with the former
|> Soviet republics and leave Europe to solve its own problems.
|> 
|> It is certainly a shame that the poorest member of the EC should have any
|> say against new members. 

Ahhhh. Democracy is such a difficult concept for some......

|> Why don't the Europeans simply admit that they
|> have a racist feeling against Turks and be done with it????
|> 
|> Eniste!

Aleck