OKTAY EKSI: After 85 Years

History is not written easily. Consequences of historical events do not come out overnight. The importance of an Ottoman Pasha (general) going to Samsun on May 19, 1919, with other officials with him, was not realized then. But now, we are living the consequences of that day.This reality, can be summarized from the statement made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said on Monday during his visit that “A negotiation date should be given to Turkey by EU.Similarly, Condoleezza Rice, the Security Advisor to Bush has said that; Turkey in which Islam and democracy are proven to be harmonized, will play a big role in providing stability not only in Iraq but also in the region. Look at the British press whose hair raised once, merely on the world of  Turk. Financial Times said: A date Must be Given to Turkey. Daily Telegraph said: Our Turkish Friends Should be Admitted to EU.BBC Channel said: Wind are Blowing in favor of Turkey. As Tony Blair said in his talks in Ankara; There are some leaders feeling shy of the reaction of their public opinions as well as leader who support Turkey’s accession to EU. Because the former group does not perceive Turkey still as a European country. And that reaction is not without any reason. We scrapped the article about “Language banned by Law” from our Constitution but that is not enough. We enact a law for broadcast in mother’s tongue but we can not progress an inch, during the two years that elapsed. We increase torture punishments but human rights reports say that torture still prevails in Turkey. We still are unable to render the public administration transparent. DEHAP’s Mayor in Diyarbakir was denied admission to the protocol extended to Deputy PM Sener who was visiting the city. Sener noticed the rudeness and visited the Mayor later on in his office and had breakfast with him. But this treatment had been applied previously for years, to the mayors of the predecessors of (ethnic) DEHAP. And that was a shame. We were mistaken to expect this mentality to improve in time. But let us be optimistic. In spite of all ups and downs, turkey started her journey on May 19, 1919 and is progressing towards the European Union.�