sexta-feira, 27 de maio de 2016

Threats, insults and praise: 9 Erdoğan quotes on Europe


Threats, insults and praise: 9 Erdoğan quotes on Europe
Turkish president makes no secret of his dislike for the EU’s handling of the refugee crisis — most of the time.

By JACOPO BARIGAZZI 5/28/16, 6:30 AM CET

Will the real Recep Tayyip Erdoğan please stand up?

The Turkish president can at times come across as a Western-focused reformer pushing for EU membership, but more often his public statements towards Europe are aggressive and confrontational. This is, after all, a man who had a teenager jailed for making unfavorable comments on Facebook and seized control of the Zaman newspaper for taking a critical line.

Since March, when the EU and Ankara signed a deal on migration, the prospect of visa-free travel for Turkish citizens has been within reach and accession talks have been re-energized. But that hasn’t stopped Erdoğan from criticizing the EU.

There have been so many insults that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hit back while in Japan for the G7, saying: “Threats are not the best diplomatic instrument you can use — so one should stop using them, because they will produce no effect whatsoever.”

Here are selection of Erdoğan’s pro- and anti-EU comments:

1. Europe needs Turkey

“The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the European Union,” he said in a televised speech on April 19. Yet Turkey has few friends on the international stage: its relationship with Russia is frosty and U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized Erdoğan for clamping down on freedom of the press.

2. Don’t bully Turkey on terrorism

“The EU says ‘you will change the anti-terror law for a visa,’” Erdoğan said in a speech in Istanbul in early May, referring to one of the EU’s conditions for granting visa-free travel. “Pardon me but we are going our way and you can go yours.”

He was speaking just hours after ousting Turkey’s pro-European prime minister.

3. Europe’s the one with the problem

“First of all, we expect EU countries to fix their own laws that support terrorism,” he said a few days after the previous comment, calling on the EU to answer why it allowed activists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to set up tents near the European Council in March. He went on: “European countries continue to be safe havens for the political extensions of terrorist groups. When this is the case, it’s a piece of black comedy that the EU criticizes our country over the definition of terrorism.”

4. EU is making it up as it goes along

“They laid down 72 benchmarks. These benchmarks just came out. These benchmarks weren’t there beforehand,” he said on May 10, referring to the criteria that Turkey has to fulfill to secure visa liberalization. But there’s a problem: he was prime minister when these benchmarks were negotiated.

5. Europe cares more about whales

“Shame on those in the West who divert their sensitivity to the so-called freedoms, rights and laws shown in the debate over gay marriage away from Syrian women, children, and innocents in need of aid,” Erdoğan said on May 13.

He didn’t stop there: “Shame on those who don’t show sensitivity … to the women and children who reach out to them for help. Shame on those who deny the sensitivity they show to … the whales, the seals and the turtles in the sea to 23 million Syrians.”

6. No deal — we open the floodgates

“We can open the doors to Greece and Bulgaria anytime and we can put the refugees on buses [heading to Europe] … So how will you deal with refugees if you don’t get a deal? Kill the refugees?” According to a Greek newspaper, that’s what the Turkish president told EU officials in November 2015. The Turkish government didn’t deny it and Erdoğan later confirmed the remarks, saying that he was “proud” of them.

7. Two-faced Europeans

“Everyone who complains about the refugees is two-faced and hypocritical,” Erdoğan said in a televised speech in March, including “all those who have not accepted a no-fly zone and a zone cleared of terror in Syria.” The Turkish leader is angry at European leaders for failing to protect Syrians from deadly air attacks by refusing to establish a no-fly zone over northeastern Syria. He claimed that such a move would have prevented the refugee crisis.

Now for the EU-friendly side of Erdoğan…

8. Let’s cooperate

“To keep illegal immigration under control, Europe and Turkey must work together to create legal mechanisms, such as the March 2016 agreement, for the resettlement of Syrian refugees,” he wrote in the Guardian. “By rewarding refugees who play by the rules and making it clear that illegal immigrants will be sent back to Turkey, we can persuade refugees to avoid risking their lives at sea.”

9. EU membership is important

“EU membership, a strategic goal for Turkey, will be a source of stability and inspiration for the region,” he said in a statement released to coincide with Europe Day at the start of May. “I hope that the agreed visa exemption [deal] will relieve some of the frustration caused by more than 50 years of waiting at the EU’s gates … and that it accelerates Turkey’s accession process.”

He was speaking days after saying Turkey would not make changes to its terrorism laws.

Authors:

Jacopo Barigazzi  

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