ADDS AHMET GENCTURK TO BYLINE; ADDS SPOKESMAN'S ANSWERS TO RELATED QUESTION
By Ahmet Gencturk, Jeyhun Aliyev
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey on Wednesday rejected the European Parliament's "unilateral and by no means objective" 2019-2020 report on Turkey, a resolution it passed earlier in the day.
Passing such a resolution at a time when efforts are being made to revive Turkish-EU relations on the basis of its EU membership perspective within the framework of a positive agenda "is
unacceptable," said a Foreign Ministry statement.
"We reject this biased text which not only includes false allegations regarding human rights, democracy, the rule of law, our governmental system and political parties; and views Turkey's effective, solution-oriented, humanitarian and enterprising foreign policy as a threat; but also reflects the completely unfair and biased Greek and Greek Cypriot arguments regarding the
Aegean, the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus issue and supports the one-sided and inconsistent Armenian narratives regarding the 1915 events," it said.
The ministry stressed that it considers that the wording of the report, as it tries to call Turkey's accession negotiations into question, to reflect "a lack of vision and an effort to deviate from
the principle of pacta sunt servanda," meaning agreements must be kept.
"It is well known by the EU institutions and the EP members that the standstill in Turkey's accession negotiations is not due to Turkey’s lack of will for reforms or any shortcoming in
assuming the EU acquis, but, rather, to the fact that certain circles have exploited the membership process as an opportunity for political gains against Turkey since the beginning of this
process," it added.
The ministry also underlined that the EU membership is a strategic goal for Ankara and would benefit all of Europe and beyond, adding that Turkey will "decisively" continue its efforts in line
with this objective.
"While the EU expresses its appreciation for our efforts, particularly with regard to migration issue, within the scope of the Turkey-EU Statement of 18 March 2016, for which we have fulfilled
our commitments, the EU should get out of the vicious circle of not taking any concrete step to fulfil its own commitments in the 18 March Statement, ranging from Turkey’s EU accession
process to cooperation on migration," it said.
It also highlighted that as a candidate country, Turkey expects the European Parliament to carry out "constructive efforts" about how relations can be improved with Ankara and how it can
contribute to Turkey's EU integration process, rather than "being a platform for baseless allegations and blind accusations against Turkey."
An official candidate for bloc membership since 1999, Turkey’s EU accession talks began in 2005, but have stalled in recent years, a development Turkey blames on political moves by the
Greek Cypriot administration and others.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic later answered a question regarding the European Parliament’s report which also suggested a EU-wide ban for Turkish associations, non-governmental organizations and foundations associated with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Turkey, among other things.
Underlining the fact that some associations which are clearly affiliated with the PKK/YPG terror group and the FETO terrorist organization, responsible for July 15 defeated coup in Turkey, which operate in some EU countries under the guise of freedom of expression and assembly, Bilgic said: “Suggesting a ban and incorporation into the bloc’s terror list for organizations affiliated with one of our country’s long-established legal party can be understood only through an abdication of reason.”
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and 2,734 injured.
Turkey also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terror organization by Turkey, US and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
He stressed that racism and fascism belong to western political terminology and should not be confused with understanding nationalism in Turkey.
Such slander, which fabricated by the anti-Turkish Armenian diaspora, PKK and FETO circles and utilized by European politicians for internal policy purposes, are unacceptable, Bilgic remarked.
He also emphasized that such actions, which would amount to limitations on basic rights and freedoms, are indicating that the European Parliament has lost a sense of reality, and essentially differed from European values.
