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Andrew Duff MEPLiberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for East of England |
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"Turkish Constitution should reflect diversity"
March 4, 2008 10:00 PM
"The new Turkish Constitution should abandon the notion of 'Turkishness'
and emphasise citizenship, irrespective of ethnic identity", concluded
MEPs Andrew Duff, Joost Lagendijk and Jan Marinus Wiersma at a
conference on the Turkish Constitution and the Kurdish question in the
European Parliament yesterday and today.
The conference, jointly organised by the Socialist, Liberal, and Green
Groups, came after after last year's elections in Turkey, which
signalled readiness to find a new approach to the Kurdish question from
the country's leadership.
The three MEPs, however, criticised the main Turkish political parties
for their absence from the conference: "We really believe this issue can
only be tackled through an open political dialogue, with a view to
ending the spiral of terrorist attacks and military retribution.
Unfortunately, representatives of the main Turkish political parties
decided not to attend the conference", said Jan Marinus Wiersma,
Vice-President of the Socialist Group.
As the constitutional reform process is under way in Turkey, the MEPs
stressed that a more thoughtful attitude towards the Kurdish question
would greatly help Turkey's accession process, as long as certain
fundamental principles are kept in mind.
"Turkey needs to move from military to civil operations", said Liberal
MEP Andrew Duff, "and begin a much broader consultation on desired
changes in the Constitution."
The MEPs recommended Turkey to look for solutions based on European
values and principles, including respect for the territorial integrity
of Turkey, respect for the rights of minorities and acknowledgement of
the country's ethnic diversity.
"The new Constitution should start from the basic principle of
individual citizenship, with all citizens being equal irrespective of
their ethnic or religious background," said Joost Lagendijk, MEP for The
Greens.
"We also strongly advise Turkey to use the new Constitution to commence
a process of decentralisation and to allow for the expression of
cultural diversity", said Joost Lagendijk. "The country could look to
positive examples of decentralisation and the recognition of differences
in other European countries."
ENDS
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