Next October, Turkey will begin a historic round of talks to
determine a date for the country’s accession into the
European Union. While Turkey’s admission is probably decades
away, these negotiations are symbolically important for Turkey and
the EU.
It is important for Turkey because the EU has proven to be a
powerful tool in working toward development. EU membership would
bring trade benefits, aid and a level of legitimacy as both a
regional and global power.
It is important for the EU because Turkey’s admission
would illustrate to the world that the Union is more than just a
collection of white, Christian nations. While officially secular,
Turkey is predominantly Muslim. Geographically, it is outside what
is considered to be “European,” but it would give the
EU an important economic and military foothold in both Asia and the
Middle East.
One issue that will be prominently featured in the EU talks is
Turkey’s role in the 1915 Genocide of the Armenians. This
issue continues to be a sensitive one for Turkey, and the
country’s continued refusal to recognize the genocide has
been cited as a reason to deny Turkey admission to the EU by more
than one of the Union’s members.
This issue, however, is more than just a historical question.
This issue strikes at the core of what the EU stands for. The
manner in which it is resolved will determine much more than
whether the EU will grow by one member.
Obviously, Turkey, being a comparatively poor state, has a lot
to gain from EU membership. Membership would provide Turkey with
not only billions of dollars in direct aid, but billions more in
trade. Turkey’s membership would also extend these rich
benefits to one of the world’s only secular Muslim
nations.
Such an association, it is argued, would go a long way toward
healing the centuries-old rifts that have separated Europe and the
Middle East. Turkey’s membership would also extend European
influence deep into Central Asia and the Middle East and would help
the Union accomplish its goal of becoming a power to match the
United States.
All this makes for a convincing argument as to why the EU should
invite Turkey to join, but it ignores one very substantial
issue.
The European Union’s draft constitution declares that the
Union developed out of the “inviolable and inalienable rights
of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of
law,” and exists to deepen the democratic and transparent
nature of the public life within the union and throughout the
world.
Turkey, unfortunately, has a long way to go before it could
fairly claim to stand behind these values. In fact, it could be
argued that the country is even further behind Europe in advancing
these values than it lags economically. Perhaps no issue is more
indicative of this than the country’s continued refusal to
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide took place from 1915 to 1923, in which
over 1.5 million Armenians were systematically starved, dehydrated,
kidnapped, and killed in Turkey’s attempts at ethnic
cleansing. Though the genocide occurred almost a century ago by a
revolutionary nationalist government no longer in power (the Young
Turks), Turkey refuses to allow open discussion of the genocide in
Turkey ““ mention of the topic is punishable by
imprisonment.
Nationally, Turkey has also refused to accept and recognize that
the genocide ever took place, causing heated relations with its
Armenian neighbors and a lack of closure for their Christian
counterparts.
But why should this affect EU membership? Simple. If a state
cannot even allow its judiciary to determine whether a crime was
committed, then it cannot fairly be claimed that the state is
either wholly free or transparent.
Certainly, one could not argue that they are advancing the rule
of law. Admission of the genocide should be a precondition, as it
would demonstrate that the people of Turkey come before the
government, that the government works for the people and not the
other way around.
If Turkey cannot bring itself to admit that what happened almost
a century ago was wrong, it will be sending a signal to the EU that
it would rather protect the pride of its nation than advance the
cause and rights of its people.
The EU can choose to overlook the issue and admit into its
membership one of the world’s most strategic pieces of
territory. With it would come all of the military, economic and
political benefits that Turkey brings.
Or it can look at the country that occupies that land and judge
it by the merits that it strives to promote around the world.
Turkey is a country that continues to struggle with democracy,
and it does not put its people first. It refuses to recognize the
fallibility of a previous government that started a conflict almost
a century ago. Admitting such a state would not serve the people of
Turkey’s interest over the long run, nor would it serve the
interests of the EU member states.
Refusing to recognize a wrongdoing from the past shows a lack of
accountability. It is also insulting to survivors of the genocide,
many of whom are still alive today. Because the principles that the
EU claims to stand for are of the highest importance to all people,
it is important that Turkey recognize the Armenian Genocide before
it is allowed to join the Union.
Badalian is a graduate student in the School of Public
Policy and Social Research.