A Turkish lesson for Rasmussen, Rehn
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 07, 2009 00:00
We have no doubt that the matter of "L’affaire Rasmussen" will be debated for sometime. But the circumstances surrounding the nomination of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to the post of NATO secretary-general concern us deeply. So too does the role of his fellow Nordic politician Olie Rehn, the European Union enlargement commissioner.
"Hypocrisy" may prove too strong a term. Time will tell. At the moment, the Turkish phrase "Haddini bil," comes to mind. It is a term favored by our Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which is a reason to use it guardedly. Roughly meaning, "Know your place," it has a feudal connotation in certain contexts, certainly a street jargon ring in others. But we believe this is the rare case where it is appropriate.
In the case of Rasmussen, Turkey’s concerns have centered primarily on two issues. His poor handling of the "Muslim cartoon" crisis in 2006 and his long resistance to repeated Turkish requests to rein in "Roj TV," a Denmark-based broadcaster associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. In both cases, Rasmussen wrapped himself in the bold banner of freedom of expression abroad while playing more subtly to the xenophobic galleries within his coalition partnership at home.
Our regard on this would be different if Denmark was a country with a tradition of free expression protections in the Anglo-Saxon model, that of the United States or Great Britain where a moral judgment on the quality or motives of speech is not considered legitimate. This is not the case. Denmark is of a continental mind on this and has laws on its books to restrict hate speech, incitement to violence and other acts in the public sphere, all statutes that would not survive in American or British courts. In 1995, for example, Denmark arrested Gary Lauck, an American neo-Nazi pamphleteer on charges of racist propaganda and Lauck spent four years in prison. Our intention here is not to defend Nazis. Neither would we shrink from defending Rasmussen’s stance on freedom of expression if we believed it was sincere and based on consistency with his country’s legal traditions. But the fact he discovered Denmark’s legal room of maneuver only when it suited his career ambitions is offensive.
We also join in the offense taken by President Abdullah Gül over Rehn’s statements Saturday that Turkey’s resistance on his colleague’s NATO appointment could harm Turkey’s EU prospects. Rehn’s insinuation of himself into a policy matter that has no institutional connection to the EU, or to Rehn’s area of expertise or authority, is sheer arrogance. All the more so that Rehn comes from Finland, a free rider country during the Cold War that still has not joined NATO.
To both Rasmussen and Rehn we can only say, "Haddini öğren." Translation: Learn to mind your place.
In the case of Rasmussen, Turkey’s concerns have centered primarily on two issues. His poor handling of the "Muslim cartoon" crisis in 2006 and his long resistance to repeated Turkish requests to rein in "Roj TV," a Denmark-based broadcaster associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. In both cases, Rasmussen wrapped himself in the bold banner of freedom of expression abroad while playing more subtly to the xenophobic galleries within his coalition partnership at home.
Our regard on this would be different if Denmark was a country with a tradition of free expression protections in the Anglo-Saxon model, that of the United States or Great Britain where a moral judgment on the quality or motives of speech is not considered legitimate. This is not the case. Denmark is of a continental mind on this and has laws on its books to restrict hate speech, incitement to violence and other acts in the public sphere, all statutes that would not survive in American or British courts. In 1995, for example, Denmark arrested Gary Lauck, an American neo-Nazi pamphleteer on charges of racist propaganda and Lauck spent four years in prison. Our intention here is not to defend Nazis. Neither would we shrink from defending Rasmussen’s stance on freedom of expression if we believed it was sincere and based on consistency with his country’s legal traditions. But the fact he discovered Denmark’s legal room of maneuver only when it suited his career ambitions is offensive.
We also join in the offense taken by President Abdullah Gül over Rehn’s statements Saturday that Turkey’s resistance on his colleague’s NATO appointment could harm Turkey’s EU prospects. Rehn’s insinuation of himself into a policy matter that has no institutional connection to the EU, or to Rehn’s area of expertise or authority, is sheer arrogance. All the more so that Rehn comes from Finland, a free rider country during the Cold War that still has not joined NATO.
To both Rasmussen and Rehn we can only say, "Haddini öğren." Translation: Learn to mind your place.