a atari =~ Svar Annexing two worlds lurkey’s accession bid to the Eur By Adem Ozoor hether on a train, in a bus, or at a cafe by the sea, the controversy of Turkey’s accession bid into the European Union has certainly sparked major debate in European headlines. There are misunderstandings, over/under estimates, facts, and assumptions about Turkey being a part of the European Union. The real question is: what benefit is there for Turkey to be in the European Union? Is Turkey at risk of contributing its benefits to a whole nation that might take advantage of these benefits for itself rather than promoting a mutual alliance? For one, Turkey has a very strategic geographical location that has been of interest to the European Union for years. Istanbul bonds Europe with Asia and the rest of the beautifully mountainous country borders three seas and three regions. That being said, with its Turkish territory, Europe will not only have its boundaries extended to the far east of Asia with Russia, it will also have technical borders in the Near East with Iraq, Syria, and Transcaucasia. The other great strategy that has sparked controversies, in some ways threatening Western Europe’s religious fundamentals, is Turkey’s dominant Islamic population. While leaders of Austria, Germany, and France cry that this a threat of another Ottoman seize, they don’t realize that it is in fact a major benefit to the European Union. For years, the European Union has been seen as a shallow Christian club by the eastern world. With Turkey being part of the European Union, this will no longer be the stereotype. Instead, the European Union will be seen as a Christian/Islamic alliance. Firstly, Turkey is a secular country. It is dominantly Islamic, which is great because it shows that Turks have not forgotten about their Ottoman roots. Nevertheless, women do not get beaten in markets for not wearing Islamic headwear; men do not have the right to ground their wives; women are allowed to drive and on top of that, all Turks have the right to wear bathing suits on the beaches. The unfortunate thing is, many people in the western world are oblivious to this due to terrorist threats from geographically-close regions. While the European Union gains more boundaries and the Islamic 14 Opean Union world benefits from the image of a politically advanced country, Turkey may not benefit as much. Turkey does have one of the highest tourist rates in its geographical location as well as the fifteenth best economy in the world, but unfortunately, it could suffer economically and culturally if it joins the European Union. In terms of cost, the Turkish Lira will almost no longer be used. Instead, the Euro will raise the price of goods. Although Turkey has a great economy, it may not be able to afford the expensive prices of the European market. This could negatively impact the average Turkish citizen. A cultural threat may prove to be even more frightening. Almost nobody has taken notice of Greece’s support towards Turkey’s bid. Greece has been a political enemy of Turkey since the dawn of the Ottoman Empire. And until this day, Greece still often talks about wanting to take land from western Anatolia. It isn’t ironic that Greece supports Turkey’s accession; it is more likely due to a conspiracy theory. The Orthodox Patriarch is located in Istanbul Turkey, and has sparked many controversies of Christianity being viewed as “second class” in Turkey, which isn’t true. The threat is, the European Union, with its massive Christian population, may somehow support Greece into obtaining land from western Anatolia due to historical matters (Istanbul was once called Constantinople) by untruthfully displaying to the world a masquerade of Christian/Islamic alliance. There, the European Union would clearly have used Turkey to disseminate frantic Christian fundamentalism on Turkish soil. In general, there are minor advantages of the two worlds annexing. However, they aren’t quite ready to make this move and there is certainly more to discuss other than just environmental and economical issues. An example of that is mutual benefit. The German politician Giinter Verheugen once said: “The EU needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the EU”. Is it fair for several nations to benefit from the advantages of one nation? Is the Turkish government thinking wisely by risking its precious grounds that were once ruled by the great Ottomans, to a pack of devious soil-devourers known as the European Union? @i includes | Free pei IO Belle eas NEW WESTMINSTER, BC Uniform ET AWKES MARTIAL ARTS Back to School Special eng deeae $99 for one month of Karate