EGEMEN BAGIS MEETS WITH AMBASSADORS OF THE EU MEMBER STATES

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis met with the Ambassadors of the EU member states in a working lunch at the Ministry.

In the opening of the meeting in order to talk about the recent events that have taken place in the Gezi Park, Minister Bagis said the following:

“I would like to extend my “best wishes” on the opening of Chapter 22 on Regional Policies and the Coordination of Structural Instruments, which I believe will be very meaningful within the scope of the resolution process that Turkey is currently going through. The process regarding the opening of this chapter is in fact not an extraordinary process, but a necessary one. However, from now on, as Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Stefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy have emphasized, the opening of the political Chapters 23 and 24 are of vital importance within the context of the sensitivities of this process. Turkey’s EU accession target is a strategic that is above all political parties. This is the objective on which all governments in Turkey have carried out efforts and have agreed upon since 1959.”

Bagis stated in the meeting that he would provide information regarding the events occurring in Turkey in the recent months and added that there would be an exchange of ideas. Bagis said: “Whereas I don’t approve of the attitudes demonstrated in your countries regarding the recent events for which Turkey has been criticized, we have the opportunity here to note that the security forces in all countries may exceed the limits of their authority.” Minister Bagis emphasized that Turkey was a democratic state governed by the rule of law and that it was of vital importance within the framework of the rule of law to carry out inquiries into those who abuse their authority and investigate and prosecute these if necessary.

Bagis said the following:

“We will see that these recent events are not the result of spontaneous environmental sensitivities but are consequences of efforts that were planned months and even years earlier None of these events can be called a “Turkish spring” as reflected by some people. The Turkish spring started on 3 November 2012 with an “Anatolian Revolution”. From that day on, our democracy was strengthened by means of many different local and general elections and referendums. The freedom of expression has been strengthened as well. Turkey’s EU accession process has been one of the most important platforms to strengthen our democracy. Therefore, we are determined than ever to advance this process. It is beyond doubt that Turkey is not the kind of a democracy that will be swayed by domestic or the external pressure. Turkey is determined to fulfill the requirements needed to be a democratic, social and secular democracy governed by the rule of law as its people deserve.”

In his evaluation following the meeting Egemen Bagis said: “It was a very productive meeting. Regarding the recent developments, we had the opportunity to show a wider view of what they had seen on the international media, or in other words, the other side of the coin. We had the opportunity to talk about vandalism on private and public properties and violence to the security forces, in other words, the damage. We also showed them images of how their security forces react to these kinds of actions when these sorts of events occur in their own countries.”

Egemen Bagis also said: “In the presentation prepared by the Turkish National Police, there were images which showed that a number of people entered the mosque without taking their shoes off, along with behavior contrary to proper behavior in a mosque, and in addition, images that some drinks were consumed in the mosque, which have not been shown until today.”

Bagis stated that a file prepared by the Prime Ministry Centre for Public Diplomacy, was distributed to the ambassadors. Bagis said: “This is a file showing different events that have taken place in other countries, the events which have occurred in Taksim, the damage to public property during events in different parts of Turkey, and the violence towards the police, along with the statistical data showing how many people have been detained.”