A call to my colleagues

The government and the private sector are doing all they can, while we seem satisfied in simply writing for our newspapers. Our pro-Turkey propaganda is limited to Turks.

We write about the reasons why the European Union needs to give Turkey a date to start the accession negotiations and list the possible consequences of a rejection. In short, we are the only ones who read our articles.

If our opinions and thoughts are translated in Ankara and read in EU member countries, then that’s great. If not, they are just being lost. Let’s make our voice heard. It won’t be difficult.

Discussions over giving Turkey a date will dominate the public agenda between September and November. The tension will increase even further after the EU Commission’s report is made public at the beginning of October.

That might be the perfect time to get involved.

Let’s start utilizing our personal friendships and influences now. It doesn’t matter if we know no one. No one will reject a 500-word article written by an editor-in-chief, an editor or a well-known commentator from a Turkish daily.

If you want, you can send them to my mail account ([email protected]) and tell me which newspapers you are in contact with. Let’s not make more than one application to a single paper.

I will collect the mail I receive and then send it to everyone.

If you are wondering about which aspects of the matter you should tackle, just visit the Internet site of the EU General Secretariat (www.abs.gov.tr) and use the material there. If you are still not satisfied, call Ahmet Acet from the secretariat on 0312 284 63 57.

If that’s not enough, read my artilcle of May 21, 2004, where I list the possible answers that could be given to reasons why European countries may not want a date given to Turkey. It will be of great use.

Let’s to our duty
There is a single reason why I am writing about this.

Turkey’s relations with the EU will either enter a new period or be suspended for the foreseeable future in December. At a time like this, we, as journalists, need to get into shape. We can’t be observers. We can’t say, "It’s not up to me," because the positive and negative aspects of this process will affect us all. We can’t act like neutrals. We are neither judge nor prosecutor. We should do all that we can.

Not only us, but everyone having links and influence overseas should join this campaign.

For example, Fatih Terim should write for Italian newspapers, our football players plying their trade with European clubs should send articles to newspapers in their host countries.

The era of expecting the state to do everything is over.

Artists, scientists, businessmen, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and sportsmen should all take part.

We need to rid ourselves of the attitude, "No matter what we do, they’ll never let us join the EU." Let’s do our utmost to make our objectives clear and explain our reasons, and still if we don’t achieve our goal, then we should start deliberating.

However, first, we should do our duty.

The EU’s assessment is continuing
I am reading some Turkish commentators who say, "The EU will just perform a screening in December, before postponing the negotiations." They are wrong.

There are eight separate committees, which are currently doing the pre-screening. In other words, they are checking which of our laws needs to be amended. A more detailed study will take place when the negotiations start.

This matter was first mentioned when Ismail Cem was foreign minister. We were then told the detailed screening of laws would take place only after the negotiations had started.

Detailed screening is done during the negotiations. In other words, no one will say, "First the screening and then the negotiations." We will get a date to start the negotiations. We will then sit at the table and the real screening will start.

This fact should be known by all.