Europe deals with Turkey unrealistically: Turkish MP

LONDON

European countries are not being very realistic in their approach to Turkey, Mustafa Yeneroglu, the head of the Turkish parliament’s Human Rights Commission, said Sunday.

Ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party MP Yeneroglu made the remarks amid his meeting with representatives of the Turkish community in London.

He told Anadolu Agency that Turkey is going through a tense period but that it seems to him that “European countries in general are not evaluating developments in Turkey in a healthy way.”

“Turkey has faced serious terrorist attacks almost every week for the last two years,” he explained. “If one-tenth of what Turkey experienced had happened in any European country, the reaction would be very different.”

For instance, Yeneroglu argued that if London had faced attacks like the 2005 bombings in the city week after week for months, nobody in Britain would be debating freedom.

“If the incidents that are being experienced in Turkey took place in the U.K., everybody would prioritize security rather than discussing democracy and human rights ideals,” he said.

Yeneroglu also stressed the need for a stronger and more sincere cooperative alliance from European countries in fighting terrorism alongside Turkey.

Addressing the rising attacks against Turks in the U.K. by terrorist group affiliates, he said it is a strong possibility such attacks may continue.

“We have urged our community to stay calm in the face of those attacks,” he added.

Two Turkish citizens were attacked during a protest by PKK sympathizers and a Turkish mosque was vandalized in recent incidents in London.

After London, Yeneroglu will visit Austria and Germany to hold meetings where Turkey’s fight against terror and the country’s situation will be discussed.

Reporting by Inci Gundag; Writing by Ahmet Gürhan Kartal;