News from Turkey
| By Nicholas Witchell Royal correspondent, BBC News |
It's a well-established fact that Queen Elizabeth doesn't do politics or diplomacy. Except, of course, that she does, most especially when she is on a state visit to a foreign country.
All such visits are chosen and controlled by the British Foreign Office. Their unashamed purpose is to further what British diplomats perceive to be Britain's interests abroad.
And there are few more potent message-bearers in the British diplomatic arsenal than its veteran head of state, widely recognised - by virtue of her 56 years on the throne - as the Western world's senior statesperson.
In coming to Turkey, the Queen is - at the behest of the Foreign Office - sending a very clear message in support of Turkey's aspiration to join the European Union and, by implication, to be Westward-facing.
But the underlying message of this state visit is both more subtle and more important than that.
Embracing democracy
It is a diplomatic cliche that Turkey stands at the crossroads between Europe and Asia - a country of 72 million people whose strategic significance is hard to overstate but which is sometimes overlooked.
So far as the West is concerned, Turkey can be said to be the most successful example of a Muslim country which has embraced democracy.
Potentially, as one Western diplomat put it, the country is an example to the rest of the Muslim world of how democracy can work.
In military terms, Turkey occupies an important strategic position, as was demonstrated in both Gulf wars.
It is also of considerable significance in terms of counter-terrorism and the international efforts to defeat the smugglers of drugs and people - quite apart from its role as a route for vital energy supplies.
In short, Turkey matters.
But things are happening within the country's society which are worrying the West.
Ever since the modern Turkey was created in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the country has prided itself on its secularism. Politics and religion have been kept completely apart.
Today, though, the demarcation is becoming increasingly blurred. Last year Turkey elected a new president, Abdullah Gul, whose background is in political Islam.
The changes in the country manifested themselves in a small but highly symbolic moment on the first day of this visit.
When the president and his wife, Hayrunnisa, welcomed the Queen and Prince Philip to their official residence, Mrs Gul was wearing a headscarf - notwithstanding well-established protocols in Turkey that headscarves amount to a religious statement and therefore may not be worn in public buildings.
The gesture by the wife of the Turkish president will inflame the sensitivities between the country's Islamists and its secularists.
European values
Already Turkey's army which, for generations, has regarded itself as the principal guardian of the country's secular constitution, has issued subtle warnings that it will not stand by and allow Turkey to become an Islamist state.
In the past the military has not hesitated to intervene to overthrow governments of which it had disapproved.
So there is a pressing need, in Britain's view, to bolster Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union and, thereby, to encourage European values and freedoms and to hasten fundamental changes in the areas of economic efficiency and political stability.
Among those, of course, are the important issues of human rights and freedom of speech.
To that end then, Queen Elizabeth has been pressed into service.
Her presence in Turkey and Britain's strong support for the country's EU candidature (in the face of strong opposition from France and others) will reassure the secularists and those Turks who are westward-facing, that they have influential allies.
It is also evidence that, at the age of 82, Britain's head of state can still cope with four days of engagements in Turkey's early-summer heat, and that she still packs quite a diplomatic punch.
The Queen's Turkey Visit: Second Day | |
| Source:Turkey - UK | |
| The queen of the United Kingdom, currently on a four-day visit to Turkey with her husband, Prince Philip, yesterday visited the historic northwestern city of Bursa, once an Ottoman capital and now home to Turkey's automotive and textile industries. Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Bursa at 11:40 a.m. on a British Airways private jet, accompanied by First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's wife, Zeynep Babacan. The queen was met in Bursa by Mayor Hikmet Şahin and Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Celal Sönmez and his spouse. Two children presented the queen with flowers upon her arrival, while a folklore dance group and a Janissary band performed. Queen Elizabeth II started her Bursa trip at Koza Han, or the "silk cocoon market," an ancient caravanserai built in 1491, where she was given a silk scarf adorned with the seal of an Ottoman sultan. Later, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited a local vocational high school for girls, where they watched artist Nuray Yıldız work on a piece of marbled artwork --- ebru in Turkish -- as institute officials informed the queen on the history of ebru. State Minister Mehmet Aydın and British Ambassador to Turkey Nicholas Baird also joined the queen during her tour of Koza Han. Bursa Hakimiyet, a local newspaper, used an English headline, "Welcome to Bursa Your Majesty," in yesterday's issue. "We are honored by your visit. We hope to host you in the best way possible," the newspaper wrote. The front page of the paper was printed in both English and Turkish. After the visit to Koza Han, the queen attended a traditional Ottoman shadow puppet show and a fashion show and visited the Great Mosque where she listened to a recitation of the Quran. * Turkey a bridge between East and West Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday praised Turkey, positioning it between the West and the Islamic world. "For us, Turkey is as important now as it has ever been," Queen Elizabeth II said in a state banquet held in honor of her visit, her second in 37 years. "Turkey is uniquely positioned as a bridge between East and West at a crucial time for the European Union and the world in general." Wearing a tiara and dressed in a white gown embroidered with beads in the form of grape bunches, Queen Elizabeth said, "You are playing a key role in promoting peace, political stability and economic development in some of the world's most unsettled areas," a reference to the Alliance of Civilizations initiative. Turkey, which is vying for EU membership, is -- along with Spain -- a co-sponsor of the UN-backed project aiming to increase dialogue between Western and non-Western cultures and to address the causes of conflict between them. In a gesture of respect, President Abdullah Gül wore a tuxedo and a silver-colored bow tie to the 300-guest banquet. Gül thanked Britain for backing Turkey's EU bid. "The United Kingdom has become one of the most loyal supporters in Turkey's march toward membership in the European Union," he said. "We are grateful for this unwavering and permanent support." Earlier, the queen visited the mausoleum of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and laid a wreath at the tomb, a tradition expected of all visiting dignitaries. "It is an honor to pay my respects to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a much beloved friend of the United Kingdom and one of the great figures of modern history," she wrote in the visitor's book at the mausoleum. At the monument, the queen was presented with an album of photographs of her uncle, King Edward VII's visit to Turkey in 1936 as well as her last visit, in 1971. During their stay the queen and her husband will see some of Turkey's most revered national monuments and take part in religious and cultural traditions, highlighting her country's good relations with Turkey. * 'Did you see me as I waved?' Meanwhile, an interesting detail came out during a conversation between the queen and President Gül when they met at the presidential palace yesterday. According to sources close to the presidency, Gül recounted a memory from his youth, recalling that when the queen had visited Turkey the first time in October 1971, he had waved to the queen in İstanbul's Çemberlitaş area. Gül was at the time a 21-year-old student in the department of economics of İstanbul University. "I was a university student -- one among the many -- waving at you when you visited Çemberlitaş. Such is fate that I am now receiving you as president." 15 May 2008 |
QUEEN ELIZABETH II PRAISED TURKEY'S ROLE AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN WEST AND ISLAMIC WORLD
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.05.2008 14:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Queen Elizabeth II praised Turkey's role as a bridge
between the West and the Islamic world on Tuesday during her first
visit to the predominantly Muslim country in 37 years.
"For us, Turkey is as important now as it has ever been," the British
monarch said at a state banquet.
"Turkey is uniquely positioned as a bridge between East and West at
a crucial time for the European Union and the world in general."
Wearing a tiara and dressed in a white gown decorated with beads,
the queen said Turkey is "playing a key role in promoting peace,
political stability and economic development in some of the world's
most unsettled areas."
She referred to the Alliance of Civilizations initiative, a UN-backed
project - cosponsored by Turkey and Spain - aiming to increase dialogue
between Western and non-Western cultures and to address the causes
of conflict between them, the AP reports.
PRESS RELEASE
2 May 2008
Turkey: Article 301 Reforms Pallid - It Should Be Abolished
ARTICLE 19 condemns as wholly insufficient recent moves by the Turkish government to amend the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. The article, which still criminalises denigration of the Turkish Nation, has been grossly abused in the past, including to convict leading Turkish writers such as Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, and leading journalist and editor Hrant Dink, who was murdered in January 2007.
„Article 301 is inherently offensive to the right to freedom of expression and should simply be repealed in its entirety,‰ said Dr. Agnès Callamard, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19. „It seems clear that the recent tinkering with Article 310 is aimed at improving Turkey‚s image abroad, particularly with the European Union, rather than addressing the real problems with this provision.
On
ARTICLE 19 welcomes this demonstration of some commitment on the part of the Turkish Government to reform. At the same time, we stress that the whole article represents an illegitimate restriction on freedom of expression, as guaranteed under international law, and that it should be repealed in full. Free and open criticism of the State and its organs is central to democracy and criminal proscriptions on such criticism cannot be justified.
The problem is far from theoretical and the evidence shows that Article 301 is applied frequently. According to the Independent Communication Network (BİA), cases against journalists, publishers and activists under Article 301 rose from 29 in 2005 to 72 in 2006. Many others were charged under a variety of criminal laws, ranging from Article 216 of the Penal Code, prohibiting „inflaming hatred and hostility among people‰, to Law 5816, which criminalises Œinsulting the memory of Atatürk‚. Between July and September 2007, 22 charges were laid under Article 301, mostly against journalists.
ARTICLE 19 joins its voice to those of the numerous other human rights groups and intellectuals who have called on the Turkish government to repeal Article 301 entirely. We also call for the repeal of other provisions that inhibit open criticism of government or the State.
ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works globally to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech.
ARTICLE 19
6-8 Amwell Street London EC1R 1UQ United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7278 9292 - Fax: +44 20 7278 7660 - info@article19.org - www.article19.org
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