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APPEAL FOR THE INTEGRATION OF
THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION
Open and undercover bombers have dropped and continue to drop
thousands and thousands of bombs.
They fall on the heads of communities with different traditions (established
as political entities by the West after the break-up of the Ottoman
empire, and subsequently freed from their status as Protectorates)
and upon the remains of a five thousand year old civilisation that
has survived the ravages of invasions and the levelling force of
history.
These bombs can penetrate any defence; there are those whose
fragments target and destroy individuals, the electro-magnetic
variety that damage both material objects and living persons, and
thousands upon thousands of missiles which the most advanced
technology has designed for destruction and massacre.
There is a war, a new war that the Superpower has decided with the
self-same certainty of all of the superpowers of the past; like the
Roman Empire when, having lost its dynamic force and cultural
splendour, it proclaimed its pride at having been elected to
dominate with its illuminated laws peoples who were oppressed by
unjust ones; like Byzantium, which while it contrasted its superior
civilisation and Christian values against the Barbarians, having
reached the end of its cultural and religious expansion, had closed
itself off behind the defences of an imperial and ecclesiastical
structure and maintained its own privileges either through war or by
buying peace; like the Mongols who, once their horsemen had run
their race, congratulated themselves with the power they had
achieved and even proclaimed the divinity of their mission to the
Pope; like Islam, which when it had ceased to redistribute the
wealth it had conquered and to stimulate commerce and culture,
isolated itself in a splendid and dissipated Imperial Caliphate.
Western Civil Society has said no to this war. This refusal comes
after the tragedy of the Second World War (which was the result of a
degeneration of Darwinism into Eugenics, of the spirit of national
liberation into nationalism, and of the expanding force of
civilisation into colonialism) and because Europe has re-awoken to
the values that three centuries of civil conscience have created:
social and human rights, peace between nations, the value of
dialogue as opposed to war, and the rights of majority consensus
over individual decisions.
It is true that the world is full of dictatorships. But this is
particularly so in countries where exploitation over the centuries
has produced a degradation of life, society and politics. We are all
responsible for these dictators, not only those Nations who
supported them for a certain period, when it suited them, and who
now while fighting against them make alliances with the others.
We are determined now to shake off these responsibilities, to revive
the U.N. so that it will oppose the power of one member against its
collective decisions, and ensure that no one State invades,
represses, impoverishes and offends; so that the smaller States will
be respected in the same way as the larger ones, that the weaker
elements may have the same dignity as the powerful; that no one
assumes a divine mission, and in the name of God brings destruction
on earth.
Dialogue, International Law, the spirit of equality, the power of
compassion-these constitute the means by which this millennium that
has started with suffering and strife can be transformed into an era
of solidarity and justice. These conditions depend on us as European
citizens, who have used our aggressive modernising force to shake
the world, and who now want to transform it into a modernity of
reconstruction and peace.
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.
These conditions depend on us, the civilised people of Europe, who
have brought a strong modernity to upset the world and who now want
to transform it into a construction of modernity and peace: Turkey
is a fundamental element to structure this dialogue among various
cultures and religions. To reach this crucial objective for our
future we address an appeal to the government of the EU in order to
reduce this sterile bureaucracy and to facilitate in a short time
the integration of the Republic of Turkey into the European Union.
Naples, 20th January 2005
Text writtwn by Michele Capasso
First signatories:
Nullo Minissi, Caterina Arcidiacono, Predrag Matvejevic´, Walter
Schwimmer, Claudio Azzolini.
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