THE SOLUTION LIES IN THE PARLIAMENT AND REFORM PROCESS

Şeb-i Arus ceremony was held in Konya on the occasion of commemoration of the 736th anniversary of Mevlana's passing.

Ambassadors of 27 EU member states also attended the ceremony at the invitation of the Secretariat General for EU Affairs, together with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis.

In the statement he made upon his arrival in Ankara, Bagis stated that he was asked ‘how the democratic initiative would end up' and he answered that one had to know that all citizens in Turkey, regardless of their ethnical origin, religious belief, political preference had the same rights as the people living in Germany, Netherlands or Spain.

Bagis continued to say:

"I don't say that the point Turkey reached as of today is an excellent one, however when we consider the recent achievements, we have done a lot and we have taken significant steps. In the forthcoming period the solution lies not in the streets or in violence, but in the Parliament and reform process. We observe that those who have different views, concerns and expectations can come together on a common ground in the EU process. In this framework, I attach great importance to this national unity and brotherhood project in order for us to better understand and have empathy with one another and request that all citizens act very sensitively and not support those aiming to set brother against brother."

Indicating that the EU ambassadors also noted that they appreciated the significance of ‘the democratic initiative' project, Bagis stated that Mevlana had actually developed the philosophy of the EU well before in the past through his words, "Come, come again, whoever you are, why this separation and quarrel among us, united we become vast seas, separated alone".

Bagis stated that the democratic initiative was a unity and solidarity project and not a discrimination project as some people claim.

Stating that Turkey's EU membership could not be achieved with the existing Constitution, Bagis emphasized that there should be a more contemporary and democratic Constitution in EU standards. Bagis expressed his hope on attaining a Constitution and realizing reforms that would meet Turkey's needs in 2010.

When he was asked to evaluate the EU ambassadors' views related to banning of the political parties, Bagis said: "Political parties are also banned in the EU. In Europe, it is a satisfactory reason for the political parties to be banned when they have links with terrorist groups. It is my opinion and my party's as well that it is more reasonable to punish the ones who are involved in terror rather than banning the parties. Within this framework, we realized that the ambassadors approach to the issue similarly. They also share the opinion that it is fair to punish the ones who are in way got involved in terror and violence; but they do not favour closing the political parties."

Informing that on 21 December, the environment chapter would be opened for negotiations, Bagis noted that there was a Council's decision taken on 8 chapters but there was nothing such that regarding the other 5 chapters.

Highlighting that the explanation made by Foreign Affairs Minister of Cyprus Greek Administration was aimed at their domestic policy, Bagis said: "We are continuing to carry out the works related to those chapters. EU member countries appreciate our works. The efforts we made are not aimed at opening and closing the chapters. The number of chapters opened to negotiations is not important. the reforms that have been realized are more crutial."

Source: AA