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In this mailing:
by Soeren Kern
• May 18, 2016 at 5:00 am
- "It can be
expected that, as soon as Turkish citizens will obtain visa-free
entry to the EU, foreign nationals will start trying to obtain
Turkish passports ... or use the identities of Turkish citizens, or
to obtain by fraud the Turkish citizenship. This possibility may
attract not only irregular migrants, but also criminals or
terrorists." — Leaked European Commission report, quoted in the
Telegraph, May 17, 2016.
- According to
the Telegraph, the EU report adds that as a result of the
deal, the Turkish mafia, which traffics vast volumes of drugs, sex
slaves, illegal firearms and refugees into Europe, may undergo
"direct territorial expansion towards the EU."
- "If they
make the wrong decision, we will send the refugees." — Burhan
Kuzu, senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- Erdogan is now
demanding that the EU immediately hand over three billion euros
($3.4 billion) so that Turkish authorities can spend it as they see
fit. The EU insists that the funds be transferred through
international aid agencies in accordance with strict rules on how
the aid can be spent. This prompted Erdogan to accuse the EU of
"mocking the dignity" of the Turkish nation.
Thousands of newly arrived migrants, the vast majority
of whom are men, crowd the platforms at Vienna West Railway Station on
August 15, 2015 -- a common scene in the summer and fall of 2015. (Image
source: Bwag/Wikimedia Commons)
The EU-Turkey migrant deal, designed to halt the flow of migrants
from Turkey to Greece, is falling apart just two months after it was
reached. European officials are now looking for a back-up plan.
The March 18 deal was negotiated in great haste by European leaders
desperate to gain control over a migration crisis in which more than one
million migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East poured into Europe
in 2015.
European officials, who appear to have promised Turkey more than
they can deliver, are increasingly divided over a crucial part of their
end of the bargain: granting visa-free travel to Europe for Turkey's 78
million citizens by the end of June.
At the same time, Turkey is digging in its heels, refusing to
implement a key part of its end of the deal: bringing its anti-terrorism
laws into line with EU standards so that they cannot be used to detain
journalists and academics critical of the government.
by Burak Bekdil
• May 18, 2016 at 4:30 am
- In third world
democracies such as Turkey, there is a vast gap between what laws
say and how they are enforced.
- "As many
as 2,000 individuals -- reporters, celebrities, academics and students
-- are reportedly being officially investigated on charges of
insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or spreading 'terrorist
propaganda.'" — "Reporters Without Borders" Report.
- The EU must
understand that it has too little, if any, leverage on a country
that is going full speed toward darker days of Islamist
authoritarianism.
- With or without
legal amendments to its anti-terror laws or a deal with the EU,
Erdogan's Turkey will de facto follow the path of Islamist
autocracies, where any kind of dissent amounts to terrorism and
treason.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
(right) said that the visa requirement would not be lifted for Turks
before all criteria in the EU-Turkey deal were met. That, in the words of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left), would mean "you go
your way and we go ours." (Image source: Turkish President's Office)
Turkey and the European Union (EU) have been negotiating a deal that
ostensibly would stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants into
Europe; Turkey, on its part, would bring dozens of laws and regulations,
including its draconian anti-terror laws, in line with Europe's; and
nearly 80 million Turks would then be given visa-free travel to the EU's
borderless Schengen zone. But now, as Turkey refuses to amend its
anti-terror laws, the deal seems to be facing a stalemate.
That is hardly the heart of the matter. In reality, both Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the EU are pursuing a deal that will
not work.
In theory, Turkey would complete some tough homework, containing a list
of 72 items. All went well until recently, when apparently the most
controversial item on the list, which obliged Turkey to change its
anti-terror laws, stalled the deal.
by Robbie Travers
• May 18, 2016 at 4:00 am
- London Mayor
Sadiq Khan has called moderate Muslims "Uncle Toms" - not
quite what one would expect to hear from a supposed advocate of
equality.
- The irony of
course is that to show you are not a racist, you are using racist
terminology. Is that what an anti-racist should sound like?
- Name-calling is
usually just a form political blackmail designed to close down a
discussion before it has even begun. What it does not wish to take
into consideration is that someone might simply have a different
opinion.
- Every
candidate's record on terrorism should be questioned. It is the
public's right. Just because Khan happens to be Muslim, does that
entitle him to special treatment? Why should one not be able to ask
Khan the same questions one might ask any other politician?
Many are hailing the election of London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan,
admirably the "son of a Pakistani bus driver," as the sign of a
new, tolerant London and that Britain's Black and minority ethnic
communities are making progress.
But there are concerns. Khan has called moderate Muslims "Uncle
Toms" - not quite what one would expect to hear from a supposed
advocate of equality.
The irony of course is that to show you are not a racist, you are
using racist terminology. Is that what an anti-racist should sound like?
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