THE HOLOCAUST WAS COMMEMORATED IN AUSCHWITZ

Minister for EU Affairs and the Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis has been the first Minister from Turkey to participate in the Auschwitz Holocaust Commemoration organized by the United Nations in Poland where the Auschwitz concentration camp is located. In the meeting, which Mevlut Cavusoglu, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Yasar Yakis, the Chairman of the EU Integration Committee of the TGNA participated in, Bagis said the following:

WE BOW RESPECTFULLY BEFORE THE MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS AND THE INNOCENT. THIS PAIN SHOULD NEVER BE RE-LIVED.

We cannot tolerate anti-Semitism and racism in any form.

Our Prime Minister also considers anti-Semitism as a crime against humanity.

Anatolia, which is the cradle of civilizations and religions in a geography of tolerance, has been adorned with different motifs from various civilizations and religions and has been enriched by each beautiful motif. For this reason, Istanbul, which I am honoured to represent, is exactly such a symbol of peace and tolerance.

You may see that the places of worship of the three divine religions -Islam, Christianity and Judaism- have co-existed on the same street for centuries with no interference in each other's freedom in İstanbul.

For this reason we state that Turkey's EU membership is an opportunity and we believe that this will be a historical milestone for world peace.

It is unfortunate that the EU, founded in order to eliminate the threats of that period to peace, is today under the risk of conquest by a racist mentality that cannot internalize its own values and emulates the fascist methods of 1930s.

Unfortunately today Turkey and the Turkish people in Europe bear the consequences of being different... Turkish people, implicitly or openly, are being told this: "You are different and you have no place among us."

Those who have racist and distorted mentalities have no right to degrade democracy, and the philosophy of the European Union.

The best response to these people would be to support and adopt the values of the European Union and principles of democracy more. The only remedy for this distorted mentality is Turkey's accession to the EU.

Turkey has become the conscience of both its region and the humankind and will continue to be so.