Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-20-Speech-3-347"
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"en.20100120.18.3-347"2
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"Madam President, I am not exactly sure why we are having this debate at this particular time. Perhaps it is because it is three years since the death of Hrant Dink, and there are still serious questions still to be answered in relation to that crime.
I met Dink after the trial of Orhan Pamuk. Dink’s death was, of course, a great tragedy, and as a friend of Turkey, I did not hesitate to point out the damage to Turkey’s standing of restricting freedom of expression and being oversensitive about criticisms of the Turkish State. But, of course, it is in Turkey’s interest to strengthen every aspect of her democracy.
I also support the idea of Turkey as a secular and united country that, for over 80 years, has looked to the West. I recognise the need for a strong Turkish army, and I recognise also the key geostrategic importance of Turkey. It is for these reasons that I believe we should be very supportive of Turkey and not seek constantly to find ways of criticising her and sniping at her.
Of course, banning political parties is generally a bad idea, although there are exceptions to that rule. We all recognise that terrorist organisations have political fronts and it is a fine judgment whether more damage is done by leaving a front alone or closing it down. Of course, the PKK has its political fronts.
I will just say a word about the PKK, because it continues with its terrorist activities. What is clear is that the PKK continues not only as a terrorist organisation but also with its criminal networks, which extend beyond Turkey throughout Europe. The PKK is like a mafia, with a structure carrying out criminal activity, raising funds and bolstering support. It is involved in every aspect of organised crime: tax evasion, counterfeiting money, trafficking of human beings – and the narcotics trade, of course, is one of its key sources of funding. It just seems to me that we ought to be concentrating on doing more to overcome problems such as that in our own countries and helping the Turks in that way, rather than constantly sniping at them and criticising them."@en1
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