Turkije geeft opheldering over fascistoïde typering EU (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has said the contents of a speech by Turkish EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis could have been "better chosen" after the official used a Holocaust commemoration event in Auschwitz to say the EU was at risk of emulating "the fascist methods of 1930s".
On Thursday (3 February) a spokeswoman for EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule i said Mr Bagis had subsequently delivered clarifications by phone after his initial comments raised eyebrows in Brussels and further afield.
"Minister Bagis explained to the commissioner that his words were intended to express his concern at the rising role of some extremist groups in the EU and ... that this could contribute to a potential lessening of tolerance towards minorities," said Natasha Butler.
The commissioner was "grateful for this clarification" although "the original words could have been better chosen", especially "given the timing and the location of their pronouncement," added the spokeswoman.
Rising intolerance in the EU and the efforts of Turkish diplomats to save the lives of jews being persecuted by the Nazi regime were among the topics raised by Mr Bagis is his controversial speech on Tuesday.
"The EU, founded in order to eliminate the threats of that period to peace, is today under the risk of being overtaken by a racist mentality that cannot internalise its own values and emulates the fascist methods of 1930s," he told an audience inside the former German concentration camp.
"Unfortunately today Turkey and the Turkish people in Europe bear the consequences of being different... Turkish people, implicitly or openly, are being told this: 'You are different and you have no place among us.'"
"The best response to these people would be to support and adopt the values of the European Union and principles of democracy more. The only remedy for this distorted mentality is Turkey's accession to the EU."
Mr Bagis outlined the heroic actions of certain Turkish diplomats who served in central and eastern European countries during the period of National Socialism and "risked their lives in order to protect and save the Jews".
However he rounded on the current Israeli government, demanding an apology for the recent killing of Turkish citizens aboard a relief ship headed to Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
"This unfair and persistent attitude of the Israeli government is not consistent with the historical perspective," he said. "May God not let any nation or country suffer such pain."
Turkey itself has faced repeated criticism over the government's failure to fully recognise what many historians call the 'Armenian genocide' - the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1917.
The Swedish and French parliaments are among those who have passed resolutions recognising the event as a 'genocide', while the European Parliament has also spoken out on the issue.
In a highly critical report adopted by a broad majority of MEPs in the foreign relations committee on 4 September 2006, members voted for the inclusion of a clause calling on Turkey "to recognise the Armenian genocide as a condition for its EU accession".
This requirement was later dropped on 27 September 2006 by the general assembly of the parliament after extensive lobbying from Turkey.