Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

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REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RwISTA
STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
10., .' Turkish Probe June 16,1995
The Saga of Ministerial Name-Calling
Nazlan Ertan
. nkara's best known line vis-a-vis the
~ European Parliament is that this body,
~ own as the "conscience. of the European
Union, should not link ratification of a customs
union with Turkey to "other issues:
, "Turkey is fulfilling its obligations (on technical
harmonization and democratization). Bringing up
other issues would not benefit either of the sides,.
the Foreign Ministry's new spokesman Omer Akbel
said after a European Parliament resolution linking
the Euro-Parliament ratification of the lucrative
trade deal with the release of jailed Kurdish
deputies.
But for the past week, the ties between Turkey
and the European Parliament have been strained
due to the strangest "other issue. ever. Turkey's
tentative image was tarnished considerably when
State Minister Ayvaz Gôkdemir was quoted as calling
three female European deputies "prostitutes: "If
someone wanted to mastermind a way to create
antagonism between Turkey and the European
Parliament, they could not have come up with a
better plan,. a Turkish diplomat said a day after
headlines splashed across Turkish newspapers
voiced the outrage of three Euro-MPs against State
Minister Ayvaz Gôkdemir. Theever-blundering
Gôkdemir had reportedly called three key figures in
the European Parliament, who had visited Turkey
last month, "European prostitutes of dubious
intent.. .
"We willnot release jailedinfidels (of the
Democracy Party) because European prostitutes of
dubious intEmtwant us to do so. May God save us,
and the nation, from the coalition partner we have'.'
Gôkdemir told a True Path meeting in Kilis a day
before the elections.
According to journalists on the scene, he used
the word "slur rather than prostitute, but the newspaper
reports toned down his vulgarity.
~His words were echoed in Brussels and the
storm broke four days later, prior to a dinner
Foreign Minister Erdal Inônü planned to host in
Brussels. The three Euro-MPs, Catherine
Lalumiere of France, Claudia Roth of Germany and
Pauline Green of Britain, protested at the remarks
by not attending the dinner party.
In a letter to Prime Minister Tansu Çiller, Turkey's
first female prime minister who is not exactly known
for her sensitivity on women's issues, they requested
her to "distance herself from the remarks of
Gôkdemir" and asked for a personal apology from
the minister.
Çiller did write a letter of apology, saying that she
could not imagine how "one of her ministers. could
make such a remark. "If he has said this,. said
Çiller's letter addressed to the MPs and the head of
the European Parliament, "his remarks do ,not
reflect the view of myself nor my government. I
detach myself from them: Çiller added that she
regretted the developments, but, perhaps due to
her awareness of Gôkdemir's political weight, carefully
refrained from condemning the remark.
Gôkdemir, for his part, made one conflicting remark
after another: He told conservative daily Türkiye's
Sabahattin Onkibar that he had "never made those
remarks. and the claim that he had would "only
serve the interests of the PKK and Greek lobbies:
"If they tell me I have said it, I am not someone to
disclaim that,. he told Hürriyet. He added, in
remarks quoted in various newspapers, "This is not
a serious insult. It is just a statement that reflects
the.sensitivity of the people who do not want to see
their country divided:
Then, he added as a finishing touch: "I do not
know whether they are prostitutes or not. I am not
keeping track of who is... playing around with whom
in European circles:
Finally, he made a halfheartedapology to the
female deputies: "I have learned withregret that
some of the newspaper accounts of the remarks I
have made in response to a citizen's question in
Kilis have created some touchiness,. he said. "If it
will make up for their taking offense due to this
misunderstanding, I apologize:
The apology, such as it was, failed to end the
controversy. German Green Claudia Roth said she
intended to sue the minister, and Pauline Green,
the chairman of the largest group in the European
Parliament, complained that no action had been
taken against Gôkdemir by Çiller.
"I must stress that this man is a minister in government
in Turkey,. Green told a separate news
conference.
"This demonstrates ...the distance that Turkey
has to travel to the same democratic conditions and
values as in the European Union...That's why we in
the European Parliament are cautious until they
demonstrate the same democratic conditions and
values as we do,. she said.
"From a point of view of getting votes it's not useful
if three party leaders are described in this way,.
Claudia Roth told a news conference.
Despite the initial outrage expressed in the media
toward the minister, the sensitivity appears to have
died down. Reliable sources say that Gôkdemir will
not maintain his post in a Cabinet reshuffle (and in
a few months, Ayvaz, pronounced "I was. will
become a "he was:)
However, there are politicians and journalists
who support him, on the grounds that he either did
not make the remark or he was right to make the
remark.
Sabahattin Onkibar, a columnist of Turkiye,
described the minister as a "symbol of honor" and
'/,
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