What does irritate me though is the belief some people have that Turkey is desperate to join the EU. It isn't. The attitude ranges from unintentionally misinformed to outright ignorant and enters the cesspit world of prejudice. Take for example Abhijit Pandya's piss poor article (so much for 'head of research' for UKIP and 'head of social cohesion' for UKIP). That however is another issue, for another day.
The fact is the people of Turkey do not want to join the EU. Turkey, also, does not need to join the EU. Whilst the EU 27's GDP rose by a measly 1.8% in 2010, Turkey's grew by 8.2% by the same period. Since 2003 Turkey's GDP rose by a massive 150%. Economically, Turkey does not need the EU. In fact, it would be economic suicide for Turkey to join the EU.
Polls in Turkey have shown that less than 36% of Turks would consider voting YES if a referendum on joining the EU was given. Just like in Britain, the people do not want the EU. Just like Britain, it is only the political elite who have tried to bulldoze through despite lack of support.
Turkey can not win with regards to the EU. If they express keen interest people accuse Turkey of wanting to exploit the EU (what there is to exploit is beyond me) and while they are currently cooling off any interest they are accused of shifting to the middle East.
The people of Turkey do not want to join the EU. The people of Europe do not want Turkey to join the EU. Both sides have their resolute reasons for this and both sides have their own prejudiced reasons for this. Just as we have nutters who think Turkey is an Islamist Islamic State full of terrorists, wife beaters and camel riders Turkey has nutters who believe that Europe is full of degenerate hedonistic moraless westerners. Thankfully, both sides of fringe nutters are a minority barely worth passing wind over.
Do I believe Turkey will join the EU? Yes. The EU elite want it to happen as soon as possible and Turkish political elite want it to happen. Whilst Erdogan is in power in Turkey, EU accession will not happen. Which is worrying, since we all know what happens to opponents of the great EU project.
The best thing we can do as Eurosceptics is stay clear of nonsense nutty fringe views that just muddy the waters. That is precisely what the political elite like Cameron want, to dismiss us all us fruitcakes and loons.
Yasin Akgun is a member of Young Independence and author of the Hard Pounding UKIP podcast.
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@Sov_Res · 723 weeks ago
"Take for example Abhijit Pandya's piss poor article ... The fact is the people of Turkey do not want to join the EU ... Just as we have nutters who think Turkey is an Islamist Islamic State ... Thankfully, both sides of fringe nutters are a minority barely worth passing wind over."
Perhaps we might daly with the actual truth, just for a little while?
Fringe nutters in a minority, you say? Hmmm... Let us look at a few quotes by the person the Turkish people elected as their PM, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:
"The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers" [BBC 2002] http://bbc.in/larpLv
Errr okay. Perhaps we should consider his views on moderate Islam? Not the "Islamic Islamism" that the "unintentionally informed", or "outright ignorant" amongst us who dip our toes in and out of the "cesspit of prejudice" stupidly presume might be shared by the 17 MILLION Turks - That's SEVENTEEN MIIII-LL-I-ON *Dr Evil pinky* - who voted to reelect him in 2007?
"The Term 'Moderate Islam' Is Ugly And Offensive; There Is No Moderate Islam; Islam Is Islam" [MEMRI 2007] http://bit.ly/isk8mZ
Riiiiight. But surely he's in favour of Muslims assimilating in Europe, who wouldn't be?
"German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservatives have heaped criticism on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for telling Germany's 2.5 million Turkish immigrants that 'assimilation is a crime against humanity'." [SPIEGEL 2008] http://bit.ly/mHDmmb
Ok ok. Let's leave Islam alone for a bit and get to what really matters. These "nonsensical nutty fringe views" that Turkey wants to be in the EU.
"Turkey demands support for EU membership" [THE LOCAL 2011] http://bit.ly/m3naPa
You see the people who are really dangerous, frankly, are idiots like you who suggest that it is "nutty" and "fringe" to think that Turks want to be part of the EU: when 7,000,000 Turks ALREADY are! [WIKIPEDIA: Turkish diaspora] http://bit.ly/mG19WO
This sort of behaviour is the classic infantile Leftism that beggars the belief of any genuine KIPPER. (Hmm Lefty nonsense again from this blog? Surprise suprise.) And it is positively monstrous to engage in such childish name calling when anyone with an ounce of sense can see that the danger is already acute, intense and extreme.
The situation is now so bad, that the Turkish government are actually seeking to extort the EU into giving all their 75m citizens visa-free access to Schengen, in return for Turkey actually controlling the deluge of illegal migrants over their border with the EU. (a colossal terrorist corridor) [EU OBSERVER 2011] http://bit.ly/jp3OZt
Which is the classic Islamic protection racket all of us in Europe are now familiar with Yasin: kowtow to the extremist demands of the "moderates," or prepare to meet with the violence of the extremists.
Just remind me again who it is that is in the business of writing "piss poor" articles?
yasin · 723 weeks ago
@Sov_Res · 723 weeks ago
Or those who are in posession of the empirical data: misinformed.
And those who are trying to reveal the objective and easily verifiable facts, rather than conceal them (as you have): prejudiced.
And incidentally there is nothing "mere" about being a peasant. Providing the food that we all eat is one of the most noble and back-breaking pursuits on this earth.
Reality · 723 weeks ago
yasin · 723 weeks ago