Copenhagen is the place which has been the criteria of our roadmap for the last three years, and thus has been brought up repeatedly during this period. Denmark is among the harshest European countries towards Turkey. It remains aloof to the idea of Turkey’s accession to the European Union (EU). Furthermore, the headquarters of Roj TV, the propaganda machine of the separatist terrorist PKK organization, is in Denmark…
Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s Denmark program naturally was quite different from that of the Gulf. Erdogan first delivered a long speech at the organization called “European Movement.” He expounded Turkey’s EU policy, answered questions and complained about prejudices. “Man is an enemy of the unknown,” he said.
As you know a “caricature crisis” is currently underway in Denmark. A provocative and improper caricature depicting Prophet Mohammed was published in the Danish press. Danish Muslim communities reacted against the publication of the caricature. A group of 11 ambassadors from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) sent a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen demanding an apology from the newspaper over the caricature.
Turkey’s reaction came to the fore since the OIC secretary general is Turkish and Turkey is a country that is holding negotiations with the EU for full membership. Then came the Danish reactions, which pointed to the freedom of expression in response to Turkey’s attitude. Rasmussen’s statement at parliament, “When Erdogan comes to Copenhagen, I will ask him about this and explain to him what the freedom of expression means,” reverberated throughout the media.
Erdogan responded to Rasmussen first in his address at the European Movement. The Turkish prime minister said, “Freedoms have limits, what is sacred should be respected.” He indicated that respect towards what is considered sacred is more important than the freedom of expression. He pointed to the Jewish reaction against Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” as an example and said the same response sensitivity was valid to Muslims as well.
He was explicit about the caricature: “We sadly followed this development. No one has the right to offend what we hold as sacred. If I respect your faith, then you in turn must respect my faith.” He particularly stressed that humiliating national and religious symbols cannot be considered permissible within democratic understanding. The Danish audience found Erdogan’s address “impressive” and the chair noted his frankness.
Erdogan repeated his views to the Danish prime minister he met later. A joint news conference scheduled to be held after the meeting was canceled. The reason was the presence of Roj TV at the conference room. Erdogan canceled the press conference in reaction against Roj TV.
He also spoke at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and answered questions asked by parliamentarians. He addressed a series of questions ranging from when Hagia Sophia will be restored as a church, to when the Greek Orthodox Seminary in Heybeliada will be reopened. Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s trial, too, was one of the subjects asked by the parliamentarians.
About Pamuk, the prime minister said: “As the case is being handled by the judiciary, it is impossible for us to interfere. Let’s wait and see.” In response to the Hagia Sophia question, he complained about the condition of mosques in Greece.
November 16, 2005
