Hints of change as Turkey eyes Europe

A slogan offered by Germany as the current president of the European Union begins: «Don’t be disillusioned.» «Europe has made great strides despite all the difficulties. You must appreciate that.» But read between the lines, especially as Turkey struggles to get into the bloc, and the message could sound something like this: «Turkey is trying to make great strides and to a certain degree it has succeeded.» That may sound strange right now, especially since Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was recently murdered by nationalists. But resonance of Dink’s death and the outcry it sparked in the country could mean the country might, indeed, make progress. Kathimerini spoke to two Turks who represent this new mentality as well as a Greek living in Istanbul. Professor Baskin Oran of Ankara University worked with Dink and took part in drafting the Report on Minority Rights in 2004. Oran’s troubles with the courts reflected those suffered by Dink, who was tried for insulting «Turkishness.» Dilek Guven, of Sabanci University, wrote her doctoral thesis on the violent events that took place in 1955 against the Greek minority in Turkey and the persecution that led to the uprooting of Istanbul’s Greek community. A photography exhibition in Istanbul marking the 50th anniversary of those events was attacked by arsonists, but the idea survived. Guven’s book on that period has been translated into Greek. Michalis Vassiliadis – publisher of Istanbul’s Greek-language daily Apogevmatini and a friend of Dink’s – was co-organizer of an Greek minority conference last June in Istanbul. Oran and Guven both attended. The following interviews encapsulate elements that could lead to a new reality in Turkey, one that is closer to Europe and Greece. Even if Oran is angry at the indifference of the European Union, the free expression of his anger, his prophecy of a difficult 2007 due to imminent presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, as well as his observation that his country has progressed are all aspects of the changes taking place in Turkey. Both he and Guven talk about self-evident issues, such as a civil society, that is, respect for and implementation of laws and basic respect for the fundamental principles of democracy. Just as Vassiliadis’s prediction that the changes will take place because «the economy does not understand ideology.»