On Turkey and its minorities

Turkey can, when it wants, organize and concert efforts to manipulate media attention. After all, even with years of Armenian lobbies in various nations, Turkey still stands clear on the issue of the genocide which culminated in 1915, against Armenians, Assyrians and other minorities: “What Genocide?” Yet today the world has changed, and Turkey has only to benefit from an admission to the genocide.

Indeed, Turkey’s greatest aspiration for this decade, if not generation, is entry into the European Union. But for this to happen there are various obstacles. The obvious ones are Turkey’s lack of human rights respect and other lack of modernity in the whole economy in general. Other issues are opposition of some EU members. This opposition is either, as has been towards the Eastern expansion, due to economic fears, or due to religious fears. In order to further their apparent interests, these EU nations will do anything to block Turkey from entering the club.

As for the claim that the EU is a Christian club, I remind readers that most EU nations are not officially Christian, that in most of these countries, churches are weak, Christianity is falling, Islam rising. So the “Christian club” naming is bogus.

However yes, the people and politicians of the EU are often Christian and opposed to more Islam. So, many of the obstacles to entry that I have raised are exaggerated and fully embraced by the opponents of Turkey.

Whether Turkey joining the EU is a good thing is another issue which I cannot discuss at present –one debate at a time!- but if it should join the EU, here are a few tips.
Turkey needs to drop the “Christian Club” rhetoric and instead focus on really bettering itself. The eastern expansion nations did not get in by accusing the EU but by submitting to its rules.
And no doubt, the current and previous EU members are no angels, and they too have a heavy past that they should admit to. But because Turkey’s in the balance, it is the latter whose got to show some ‘grandness’. This grandness most meaningfully arises when Turkey further progresses in reforming its economy, and continue to modernize the mentality of its already forward-looking population.
But one key point, which the anti-Turkey camp has fully embraced, is admission to the genocides. Now apart for some pride, and perhaps some cash in reparation, what has Turkey to lose from this? By admitting to the genocide, it will make one giant footstep into its EU-entry campaign. Here’s how Turkey would go from petty denial to grand gesture:
-it recognizes the genocides of the Armenians and the Assyrians. This leaves its EU opponents out of gas for a while, enough to advance one round into negotiations. It also cause reconciliation, and most likely, some support towards EU entry.
-to further show that its intentions are genuine, Turkey even offers, as reparations, some of its diplomatic weight to these victim ethnicities. For example, it could offer full support and observance of the Assyrian community in Iraq. It risks nothing with this! There are only a handful of Assyrians left in Turkey, and they won’t possibly cause much hassle at all. By contrast, support of an Assyrian homeland and authority in Iraq would tilt the balance slightly towards Turkey when it comes to dealing with the Kurds and their ‘Kurdestan’. It would thus be entirely to its benefit, bettering its barter with the EU, and its superiority to the only minority that might ever cause it some trouble. It would do this mostly thanks to a seemingly grand gesture towards Armenian and Assyrians, both minor and hassle-free entities in Iraq, and possibly, in such circumstances, extensions of Turkish power in the region through mutual cooperation.

link: Assyrian Genocide