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Manifestation against accession of Turkey to the European Union Place Denfert-Rochereau, and subsequent march towards the center of Paris, 26 april 2003.

Where the next one ?

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For many political leaders in Europe the question will become more urgent how to satisfy a growing number of their members and sympathisers who claim for a firmer standpoint in resisting the Turkish pretentions concerning membership of the European Union.

The fact that now for ths first time in Europe a public manifestation has taken place on this topic will influence future responses to this question.

On Saturday April 26th about 650 persons came together on Place Denfert-Rochereau and listened to speeches on the subject . Two of the addresses were from politicians representing the Var district and the municipality of Boulogne-Billancourt. Henry de Lesquen, Chairman of the politically independent association “La Voix des Français” spoke, as did the undersigned in his capacity as member of the Comité d’Honneur of “La Voix des Français” and a former Netherlands Ambassador.

Among the participants were members of various political parties and politically non-committed citizens. There were also people of Armenian and of Serbian origin. Not that the organizers wanted to assemble a group of “enemies of Turkey”, far from it. The organisers wish rather to establish a productive and cordial relationship between the European Union and Turkey, however without the prospect of direct full membership. That Armenians and Serbs showed an interest is understandable from their history. For the organisers their networks across Europe were of interest. From outside France a few tokens of interest had been received, i.a. from Belgium and from Germany.

After the short speeches the group put itself in motion with loudspeakers, flags and banners and under police escort. The march along Boulevard Raspail towards Place Sèvres-Babylone took about forty minutes.

Slogans as the following could in their shortness never do full justice to the depth and the importance of the questions involved :

“LA TURQUIE, C’EST L’ASIE”

or

Non, Non, Non ; trois fois Non !
Pas de Turquie dans l’Union.

But pamphlets with a fuller message were distributed to the public.

The Association La Voix des Français and cooperating NGO’s reflect and act on questions of migration, and of co-development with African countries. Studies are under way for an alternative active program of cooperation with Turkey. The simple fact that now for the first time in Europe a public demonstration has been held against accession of Turkey to the European Union is significant and may lead to similar activities and demands for national referendums elsewhere.

The demonstration has – after Giscard’s remarks – made a further contribution to draw the Turkish problem from the sphere of taboo and make public discussion both possible and very necessary.

A.S.