Should we get angry at Fischer and give up on the EU?

Don’t let us make the democratic reforms required for EU full membership. Don’t let us shape up our economy. Let us sit on Cyprus.

This is incredible.

According to the conversations reported in the documentary, German Foreign Minister Fischer first told Danish Foreign Minister Moller that a date should be given to Turkey for the start of the accession talks, the kind of "date that would not draw adverse reactions from the Turks."

Later, obviously concluding that there was no need for that anymore, he reportedly said, "Forget about it."

What are we to do now?

Shall we, for example, bring back the death verdict because the German foreign minister is two-timing? Shall we ban Kurdish language teaching and broadcasting once again? Shall we make torture widespread and impose further restrictions on human rights?

Would that be logical at all?

Are we making all the reforms reluctantly, just to pull the wool over the eyes of the EU? Are not these reforms going to ensure that we become a more healthy society? We had to do all that to ensure that our society will live honorably and comfortably. Is not that so?

Is the EU imposing on us other than the reforms we need for our own sake? Where exactly are we being forced to make concessions?

Yet this documentary would serve Turkey’s interests
We are in the habit of viewing everybody, every incident, in a distorted manner. The reaction we have had to this documentary attests to that. Yet, these conversations reveal extremely interesting facts.

Before everything else these conversations show that Germany could not take a decision on Turkey till the last minute, that it hesitated, that it left aside the "date" issue when no other EU member made a request in favor of Turkey or expressed support for Turkey.

In other words we are faced with an entirely new piece of information.

One feels all too clearly the confusion and indecision prevailing inside the EU.

This is the newly-obtained date on the basis of which Turkey must keep up its efforts from now on. One does not get angry and stop talking to them. On the contrary one has to confront them.

There is one point we keep underlining in this column.

Turkey has the right to EU membership. Most of the other members too oppose Turkish membership or want to delay it due to a variety of reasons.

However, this or that EU minister thinking differently, or some of them having a hidden agenda or not having good intentions, do not matter.

The important thing is for Turkey to attain its goal, to assert its rights. If we conduct politics by getting angry at those around us, if we refuse to talk to them, we cannot get anywhere.

In a way the documentary on Danish TV is not against Turkey. On the contrary it teaches many lessons.

Rather than having a fight come, let us fine tune our own policies and let us attain our goal.

Half of ‘governing’ is about ‘communication’
If half of governing a country is about taking the right decisions the other half is about having communication, that is, the art of explaining to the society and to the world the decisions you take and the rationale for these. This is an art those who govern Turkey do not know at all and are not willing to learn.

If the Turkish government managed to explain properly to the world its stance on Northern Iraq we would not have attracted so much pressure onto us.