EU doesn't understand 301, says TÜSİAD

Thursday, February 22, 2007
Turkish Daily News


BRUSSELS - The ongoing debate on Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) resonates well beyond Turkey's borders with a significant and negative effect on the country's image abroad, which current promotional campaigns can do little to mitigate, said representatives of a leading Turkish businessmen's association.

The permanent representation of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) in Brussels, headed by Dr. Bahadır Kaleağası, seem to be fighting an uphill battle after the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

“We are digging a well with a needle here,” Meltem Çakır told the Turkish Daily News in an interview in TÜSİAD's EU Office on Wednesday, using a Turkish phrase. “When something like that happens, it is like pouring cement in the well.”

She added that it was also difficult to explain to people in Europe matters like what exactly “insulting Turkishness” means – one of the key debates surrounding the now notorious Article 301. “They don't understand it. These types of things also weaken the hands of Turkish-friendly Europeans,” she said.

Her colleague Dilek İstar Ateş also commented on the situation. “The general image of Turks and Turkey is pretty bad,” she noted, adding that the government should have a proper long-term communication strategy.

The current tourism campaigns are, in essence, much the same as last year's, Çakır complained. “They are presenting Turkey like a Middle Eastern country with all those flying carpets and stuff, and then here we are confronted with questions like ‘Do the Turkish wear the fez?' But we are trying to show the industrialized face of Turkey.”

Meanwhile the ever-present Armenian diaspora hung “like the sword of Damocles” over their heads in Brussels, Çakır and Ateş agreed, proposing that the way to counteract the problem would be establishing good relations with Armenia itself. “Steps like opening up the Armenian border will overpower them,” said Çakır. “A tough, confrontational response, on the other hand, is actually what the diaspora wants.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.