March 8, 2011

Meeting 1: Mehmet Alpaslan Saygin: Secretary General of UETD -2pm

March 8, 2011 was our first official meeting as a class during the UF Brussels Capstone
Program. Prior to this meeting Dr. Ciddi briefed our small class on several events and issues
currently happening in Brussels. Our mornings usually consisted of a brief outline of the day, an
hour briefing, and questions over coffee at Pain Cotidien or Exki followed by a meeting with a
government official.
On this particular day at two in the afternoon was our first official meeting; we met Mehmet
Alpaslan Saygin. He is the Secretary General of The European Union of Turkish Democrats. I
found this meeting the most intriguing throughout the trip for a multitude of reasons.
The European Union of Turkish Democrats (EUTD) is a non-governmental organization that
was created in 2005 and accredited by the European Parliament in 2007. Their mission, a vast
one, is to assure the stature of European Turks, Euro Turks, on a political, social, and economic
level. One way in which they execute their mission is by establishing a new identity in Europe-
Euro Turks. Euro Turks refers to people living in Europe of Turkish origin. Establishing this new
identity informs Europe that you can mix cultures. In forming a new identity EUTD also does
this by engaging in political participation to force governmental officials to change direction to
promote Euro Turks at a level beyond integration. Intercultural dialogue to create relationships
amongst different peoples is another way EUTD seeks to promote the Euro Turk identity. Media
attention is also another way EUTD seeks political authority to indentify the absence of solid
arguments in keeping Turkey out of the EU, despite Euro Turks presence throughout Europe.
With these efforts EUTD simultaneously seeks to aid the decision on Turkey membership in the
European Union.
An interesting point Saygin brought up during the meeting was that the European Union is a
political structure and Europe is a historical structure. Turkey is already apart of Europe
geographically. Therefore Turkey’s membership to the European Union, if granted, will not
make it part of Europe. He also went on to mention another stimulating observation it will be
interesting to see if Turkey is actually accepted, and if the EU will really accept 70 million
Muslims into the Union. This will be a test of how capable of being able to unite Europe really
is, because it is easy to say you are diverse when everyone looks the same.
EUTD has hosted several events from 2005 onward to promote the multicultural identity Euro
Turks at a level beyond integration. There are thousands of Euro Turks in Belgium and to refuse
to acknowledge there existence throughout Europe is deliberate ignorance, as pointed out by
Saygin. The European Union of Turkish Democrats consistently seeks to engage people through
intercultural activities, and constitutional referendums. It is clear through the EUTD’s mission
that they will only stop when Euro Turks are respected and recognized.
During this meeting in addition to learning about the challenges Turkey faces in ascension to
the European Union, Saygin’s assistant explained the current political crisis in Belgium. In
addition to the issue of Turkey’s ascension- another major problem is Belgium government.
Belgium has been without a government for almost 300 days, the king’s job has basically been
dissolved, and the Flemish and Francophone people are still unwilling to compromise. As
explained, the split is quite complex- perhaps as complex as Turkey’s ascension. The Socialist
Party on the left want solidarity and to protect the status quo, while the new Flemish alliance on
the right want to extend the Flemish identity and create their own Republic. The Flemish are
upset with the Francophones because they are abusing social security and the Flemish people do
not want to pay for them. The split extends into a more complex matter at a macroscopic level –
power over land, and at a microscopic level a language issue. The crises in Belgium are many,
and the core of these problems are so disperse that it makes Belgium’s lack of self-patriotism
even more evident.