EU tries to woo Erdogan in historic visit but division remains

[EC]

 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a long-awaited trip to Brussels on Sunday, officially a two-day state visit to Belgium, that will be dominated by EU meetings over Europe's migration crisis and the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria.

Moscow's commencement of bombing raids in Syria could bring Russian warplanes to the very borders of the NATO country, now itself being used as a base for U.S. and allied air strikes. The dangers of unintended clashes, and uncertainty over Russia's intentions, have raised concerns in Western capitals.

Tensions over Turkey's stalled EU bid, a Turkish government corruption scandal and a cancelled visit by Erdogan as prime minister in 2011 meant the red carpet welcome has been put off again and again for the leader who the West worries is becoming increasingly authoritarian after 13 years in power.

The EU has been especially critical of a crackdown on media in Turkey, which languishes far down global press freedom rankings. Scores of people have been investigated on accusations of insulting Erdogan, who remains nonetheless Turkey's most popular politician.

Outside the EU it may be, but Turkey has a key role on its eastern borders.

Europe's worst migration crisis since the break-up of former Yugoslavia now has EU governments looking to Erdogan to help stem the flows of refugees as record numbers of people flee Syria's civil war and the rise of radical militants in Iraq.

"It couldn't come at a better, or a worse time," said one senior EU diplomat involved in Europe's Turkish policy.

"Europe needs help yet Turkey is less than a month away from elections and unrest is rising," the diplomat said, referring to the run-up to the Nov. 1 parliamentary vote marred by rising violence in southeast Turkey. That follows the collapse of a ceasefire between the government and Kurdish insurgents.

Read more: http://report24uk.info/article/324776/eu-tries-to-woo-erdogan-in-historic-visit-but-division-remains

[Fishrrman]

Title:
[[ EU tries to woo Erdogan in historic visit but division remains ]]

Tayyip Erdogan, in his own words:
"The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

Hey, Europeans:
This man is your avowed enemy.
His goal is to destroy your culture and replace it with islam.
And you are trying to "woo" him...???

[Paladin]

What is happening in Turkey is quite sad. The Turks used to venerate the memory of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the man who established the modern Turkish state in the 1920s, a state designed decidedly secular in nature.

When I was in the Army I was stationed in Korea. One night I went into a bar where there was a group of Turkish soldiers present. All I had to do was hold up my beer and say, "To Atatürk", and those guys made me sit down with them and I didn't have to pay for another beer that night. They spoke no English and I no Turkish but to them it did not matter. All they saw was an American who actually knew who Atatürk was. (Yeah, I know, they were Muslims drinking beer, but that's how it was).

Erdogan seems to be trying to change his country to conform to some Islamic vision, whether out of conviction or an evaluation that the future of the ME belongs to doctrinaire Islam. Either way, the Turks may be ejecting something quite positive in their political life, are repudiating a great man of their own history, and could be entering a dark tunnel of the mind.