“MEDITERRANEO ISTITUZIONI 2005”
to RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN
Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey
Naples, September the 2nd 2005 - Maison de la Méditerranée
Mr. Michele Capasso, speaker
President of the FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO
Mr. Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey Erdogan;
Mr. Hilmi Güler, Minister of Energy, Ambassador Ziyal, members of Parliament;
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Delegation of the Republic of Turkey;
Directors and Journalists of dailies, weekly magazines, television agencies and
networks of Mediterranean Countries who are present in this Assembly room or
connected by video-conference;
Authorities;
Ladies and Gentlemen present in this room, in other room of the Maison de la
Méditerranée and connected by video-conference from Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt,
Tunisia, Algeria and Spain.
It’s with a great pleasure that we receive in Naples Prime Minister Mr. Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and the Delegation of the Republic of Turkey .
Today is a symbolically important day for 4 reasons:
The Awarding of the “Premio
Mediterraneo§
Istituzioni 2005” to Prime Minister Erdogan;
The inauguration here at the§ Maison de la
Méditerranée of the “Istanbul Room”, as aq recognition and testimony towards
one of the great cities of the Mediterranean, cradle of the earliest
civilization;
The beginning, as from today of a new
phase of our§
FONDAZIONE with a new denomination, an articulate program and renewed political
action aimed at the constitution of the “GRANDE MEDITERRANEO”;
The§
presentation of a document of intention that foresees a protocol of partnership
between our FONDAZIONE and the Government of the Republic of Turkey in order to
establish a seat of the Maison de la Méditerranée in Istanbul as a reference
for the “GRANDE MEDITERRANEO”.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Your visit to Naples in occasion for the ceremony of the “Premio Mediterraneo
Istituzioni 2005” awarded to You, coincides with the beginning of a new
programmatic period for our Foundation which, on the 2nd of September 2005 and
in Your presence, will also perform the following:
1) Changing of the name, by removing the term “Laboratorio” and adoption of the
new name FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO.
2) Presentation of a five-year general program which has as its main purpose
the constitution of GREATER MEDITERRANEAN; a cooperative area of many States
drawing together on the Mediterranean sea, and opened to the Middle East and
the countries States of the Black sea and the Gulf. A tradition of synergies,
sometimes tumultuous and troubled, but from which an indissoluble
interdependence arose, stronger than all contrasts, hostilities and wars. The
FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO, which during the last ten years made valuable these
synergies giving them importance, wishes now to go on - in the name of peace
and collaboration among the populations and in the respect of the fundamental
rights greatly expressed in the ONU document – we strongly believe that Turkey,
center of gravity among Europe, Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asia,
can play a key-role in the creation within that area, of a COALITION OF SHARED
INTERESTS AND VALUES.
3) Presentation of the five year plan (2006-2010) entitled Mediterranean,
Europe, Islam: actors in dialogue (directed by Prof. John Esposito, Chairman of
the Executive Scientific Committee of the Foundation). Its mission is to
strengthen mutual understanding and co-operation between the countries of the
southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean and Europe and the Muslim
communities within and outside of Europe. This program considers Turkey as the
leading actor for the articulation of projects oriented to the fulfillment of
specific objectives.
4) To express full support of ONU’s program “Civilization Alliance” sponsored
by Spain and Turkey and to announce that the Chairman of the Executive
Scientific Committee of the Foundation Prof. John L. Esposito has been
assigned, by the General Secretary of ONU, to the High Level Experts Group of
that program and will be co-director of this action.
Mr. Prime Minister,
The FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO, has been supporting since 1994, the role of Turkey
as key-country of that which today with a visionary spirit we call GREATER
MEDITERRANEAN underlining, anywhere and by any means – congresses, seminaries,
appeals, articles – the importance of Turkey’s membership to the EU as a
preamble to reach a cultural, social and economic integration of the area and,
consequently, a prosperity shared in stability and peace.
Today this adhesion is even more essential: for Turkey.
The secular model of Your country, the complete separation of religion from any
State system and at the same time the promotion of Islam as a socio-cultural
identity independent from politics, all this is an indispensable resource and
hope for Europe and for the pacification of the whole Middle-Eastern area. An
example to demonstrate to those who, hiding behind the religions
politicization, often nourishing terrorism and fundamentalism.
By now, for a very long time Mediterranean has been played by tensions, crisis
and conflicts that have torn the tissue of a pacific and prosperous
cohabitation. The recurrence of fresh out breaks of terrorism and the risk of a
rift between those who believe in dialogue and those who clash with
civilization imposes a growing challenge to Governments and needs for Civil
Society to promote that in our program we define a “Great Coalition of shared
values and interests”.
The numerous initiatives made for the pacification and the development of the
area until now have made partial and inadequate progress.
The stages of hope that region has uncounted institutionally in the
Euro-Mediterranean partnership” ( started up in 1995 from EU with the Barcelona
Process which celebrates this year the decade) and many other activities which
have produced partial and inadequate progresses.
The adhesion of Turkey to EU is obstructed by politicians and bureaucrats
intimidated from the ancient historical past which becomes an obstruction to
the dialog among different societies, cultures and religions and Turkey needs
to take part in it.
In any case, we cannot and we will not resign. The FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO will
remain alongside Turkey and will bring it up, convinced, as always, in the
powers of dialogue and of reason. Nothing is irreparable. Each defeat along the
way towards a great conciliation is merely a question to revisit. The real
enemy, just short of resignation, is the acceptance of complicity, which
obscures the vision of democracy.
The real enemies are also the groups representing politics, economics, culture,
and religion which follow only their own interests, without a “vision” or a
“sense of life”, practicing exclusively love of power and a sterile identity of
being. We are opposed against them, and we will remain opposed to them, in the
hope of transforming their love of power into a power of love: for dialogue,
for shared economic development, and for peace.
Mr. Prime Minister,
The FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO has been for the last ten years an actor in the
Euromediterranean Partnership especially through the involvement of Civil
Society – realizing three Civil forums, eight Euromediterranean conferences and
more that one-thousand events – and distinguishes itself as an organization
free from sterile bureaucracy and in which every resource is invested in fields
producing a large number of partnership accords, which in accordance with the
quality of the realized actions, are indicative of great impact reached, and of
concrete results which follow, to which numerous official evaluation reports
testify.
The FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO intends this experience to serve the Greater
Mediterranean and makes it with a renewed prestigious “team” which is composed
of students, politicians, and specialists on the Mediterranean region. Near the
historical components, the “founders” of our institution – the vice-president
Caterina Arcidiacono, who manages institutional relationships, Claudio Azzolini
(Vice-President of the Council of Europe), the scientific director Nullo
Minissi, the president of the International Scientific Committee Predrag
Matvejevic’, Wassyla Tamzali who is responsible for Civil Society and
communication, Princess Wijdan Ali of Jordan, who is the director of artistic
and creative sessions – and also, additionally within the last few years,
Secretary General Walter Schwimmer (already Secretary General of the Council of
Europe), President of the Executive Scientific Committee John L. Esposito,
Director of the Executive Scientific Committee Fabio Petito, Director of the
Chaire Averroès Ahmed Jebli (also President of the University of Marrakech),
Program Director Atonio Badini (Italian Ambassador to Cairo, also already
Co-ordinator for the Euromediterranean Partnership and Director General for the
Countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the Italian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs). Without their contribution, the FONDAZIONE would not, today,
have the legitimacy and representation, officially recognized by states,
institutions and organizations of various countries representing more that
one-hundred-and-fifty-million citizens. Almost all are present in this room and
I wish to extend to them my heart-felt appreciation.
The team is completed by the seat-holders and the bureau-directors established
in the Mediterranean countries and within those of the FONDAZIONE’s
institutional partners. Among these, I which to greet and to thank those who
are present in this room: the Hon. Mario Oliverio, President of the Province of
Cosenza and Director-Representative of Cosenza within the Maison de la
Méditerranée; the Hon. Carmine Nardone, President of the Province of Benevento
and Director-Representative of Benevento; Giovanni Pellegrino, President of the
Province of Lecce and Director-Representative of Lecce, Ahmed Moklisse,
Director-Representative of Marrakech; Khalid Kreis, Director-Representative of
Amman; Carlo Gambalonga, Vice-Director of Ansa and Coordinator of Ansamed (the
only print agency with offices in the Mediterranean countries); Pasquale
Ciriello, Chancellor of the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, the oldest and
the first in Europe to conduct specific studies in the Mediterranean area,
Alfonso Ruffo, Director of the daily, “Il Denaro”, who has always supported and
published our engagement and the common “Mediterranean mission”. With this
team, and with all these collaborators, volunteers, and supporters in the
Mediterranean countries and throughout the world, the FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO –
considering the risks of destruction and marginalisation of the Mediterranean
region – has decided to strive to create the GREATER MEDITERRANEAN: the main
principal being to avoid making the countries and societies comprising this
area the objects of political programmes and strategies conceived of elsewhere,
and instead the creators of strategies which are direct expressions of the real
needs of the peoples of the area.
More than a project, it is a difficult but fascinating “mission”: apart from
the internal problems of this vast geographic, geopolitical and geostrategic
area, new challenges come from the new actors on the global scene, China and
India.
Mr. Prime Minister,
The FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO in order to realize its programme, intends to
create a specific seat in the Maison de la Médeterranée in Istanbul as a
reference point for the GREATER MEDITERRANEAN, and proposes, via Your
Excellency, that the Government of the Republic of Turkey supports this with a
specific partnership accord based on the points contained in this letter of
intent which, in accordance with Secretary General Schwimmer and in the names
of all the members of our Institution, we entrust this to you.
The development of this historic and strategic “Grande Mediterraneo” project
forms a indissoluble link between Europe and the countries of the Middle East
and the Black Sea. Turkey, a horse between Europe and Asia, now, as then,
continues its historic course in strongly connecting Europe, the Mediterranean,
the Middle East, and Central Asia, in a key position.
Turkey can and will develop a great connection and progress if the EU quickly
includes it as a part of Europe, and together it will be able to demonstrate
the important role that Turkey can play in this delicate and historical moment.
Dialogue, international rights, the spirit of equality, and the strength of
compassion are instruments which can redeem this millennium, which began with
suffering and misery, as a new period based on solidarity and justice.
To follow this target vital for our future, we renew the appeal communicated on
20 January 2005 to the Governments of the EU in order to reduce the sterile
bureaucracy and to improve, in a short time, the adhesion process of the
Republic of Turkey in the EU.