TURKISH RED CRESCENT IS AMONG THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL AID GROUPS REACHING PAKISTAN

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stated that Turkish Red Crescent Society, voluntary groups and rescue organizations were among the first international groups reaching Pakistan; and they had distributed the aid supplies in coordination with the local authorities.

Having reportage with Şehnaz Öner, representative of ABC channel, Bagis touched upon the relief works after the flood disaster.

Emphasizing that Turkish government and humanitarian organizations responded immediately after the disaster, Bagis said:

"Turkish public also donated thru mosques, shopping centres, schools and other public avenues in order to help people of Pakistan. The cultural ties between people of Turkey and Pakistan goes back many decades and it was not surprise to see such as swift response which was both in monetary terms as well as emotional support in the form of prayers.

Turkish business world is also leading another campaign, and our Chambers have taken the lead with 1 million dollar donation."

This week, there were several debates about the lack of immediate attention to Pakistan after the flood disaster. Why do you think western world reacted much faster to disasters in Haiti and other parts of the world? Some say, the lack of help from west is due to Islam-phobia? What is your view on that?

Upon the question asking whether the reason of the lack of immediate action of the western world which reacted much faster to the disasters in Haiti and other parts of the world was Islam-phobia, Bagis replied:

"I would like to think that the world did not fully grasp the scale of this disaster which amounted to be the largest distraction of any natural disaster. The United Nations General Plenary meeting was helpful in terms of not only communicating the scale of this disaster and the level of suffering it has caused but also was a great platform to gather forces of global powers."

For the question: "Has Turkey shifted closer towards the east and turned its back to the west?" Bagis replied:

"Turkey recognizes the need for strong ties between west and east and works with all of its neighbours in the region for peace. The region has seen all kinds of wars from hot to cold. Turkey aims to mitigate the risk of wars and works hard to reduce tension. We have a saying in Turkish that if there is a fire in your neighbour's house and if you don't help to end it, there is no doubt that the fire will spread to your own house. This is the main ideology behind Turkey's collaborative approach in the region. Would you trust to cross a bridge where one leg is strong but the other is not?

Turkey is that bridge between east and west where all the legs are strong. We are not only a bridge for cultures between east and west but also a bridge in energy trade from south to north and from east to west".

Upon the question asking whether the constitutional reform package was a part of the new foreign policy, Bagis replied as follows:

"Although the new constitution will change Turkish Public Policy, it would be wrong to directly tie it to the Foreign Policy of Turkey. Turkey has been trying to become an EU member since 86 and it is no coincidence that it was not successful in its membership efforts with the current military coup constitution. Thus, the referendum will take place on September 12 to change the constitution just like many other countries such as Italy and Greece that changed its constitution prior to their membership to EU. Hence, foreign policy toward west has only strengthened with recent changes. There is no doubt that Turkey will rise as more democratic, more transparent, modern, respected and a richer country after the adoption of the constitutional amendments package."

As regards the constitutional reform package Bagis said:

"Those who read the constitutional amendment package know that this reform will empower hard working people of Turkey by opening the way for collaborative contract negotiations and with a stronger judiciary system.

If we want a transparent judiciary mechanism which 11 thousand judges and prosecutors in Turkey will trust in and which will sincerely deal with their problems, if we don't want our citizens to have problems in the courts, if we want to attain an independent but also a free judiciary which everyone will trust in, we will say ‘Yes' on 12 September.

September 12, 2010, will be the turning point of Turkey's EU accession process. In the 30th anniversary of the military coup, we will say ‘No' to the coup mentality; we will say ‘Yes' to freedom, democracy and transparency."