CHP EU Representative Sevinç, in an interview conducted by Elif Sudagezer for the Sputnik Radio, shared the her views on the prohibition of election propaganda in some European countries.

She said that the claims that the concerned European countries did not behave democratically does not reflect the truth, as alleged by the government. Sevinç emphasized that the nations in question prohibited the rallies in order to not create discomfort in their own societies and deescalate any tensions that could arise.

She underlined that not just the ruling but all of the political parties of Turkey were prohibited from organizing meetings within the concerned European countries because of the fact that the members of the ruling party, AKP, had spread ‘anti-European’ messages to the Turkish diaspora in Western and European countries, for instance: “not being integrated” and “Europeans are nazis”.

She also expressed her regrets over the decline of Turkey’s prestige in the last few years in Europe and increasingly strained relations with the continent. Sevinç said that, in the past, the people whose eyes shone with joy when talking about Turkey, now are disappointed because of the recent developments. “All of this is the result of ‘spiteful’ use of political power” she added.

Sevinç underlined that there had always been a presence of anti-Europeans in Turkey. Nevertheless there are a significant number of people who can bring Turkey’s stature back to its former glory and beyond, both in Europe and the world, she added.

On the other hand, in the EU there are also opponents of Turkey as an EU member; the out-of-place, anti-democratic policies of the ruling party helps these groups to tarnish Turkey’s international image, she said. She mentioned that European countries should consider these facts and not let this brash opposition lead the policy making process in the EU.

“The EU accession process should be considered as a non-partisan topic not just for Turkey but for all candidate countries. When the government forget this fact and began to serve it as a partisan issue, reforms were executed on a selective point of view, and consequently the EU membership is deadlocked. For a start, Turkey must do its homework. A committee must be set up to follow the EU membership process as Croatia did, with a chair always from the opposition parties. We can achieve this if Diplomacy 4.0 is adopted, and the polarization within the country is resolved. On the other hand, we need the real presence of the EU as a stakeholder in the country regarding issues like fundamental rights and freedom in Turkey.” Sevinç added.

For the audio record of the interview (in Turkish)

CHP EU Representation