HASSELT
Turkish communities living in European Union (EU) countries should do more to thrive in Europe than merely integrate into the societies they are a part of, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag has said.
"Now is the time to talk equal participation; the period of integration is over," Bozdag said, addressing a solidarity day organized in Hasselt province in Belgium by Islamic community organization Islamiche Gemeinscheft Milli Gorus (IGMG) on Sunday.
Bozdag advised Turks living in Europe to send their young to the best educational institutions and teach them well both the Turkish language and the locally spoken languages. He also asked them to preserve their own faith and culture, warning against rising threats of racism, discrimination and Islamophobia.
"It is these threats, more than anything, that loom menacingly on peace, prosperity and happiness for people," Bozdag said. "We need to fight against them with one accord."
-NSU case-
As the trial continues for Beate Zschaepe, the last known surviving member of right-wing extremist National Socialist Underground (NSU), on charges of killing 10 people of foreign origin living in Germany, including 8 Turks, between 2000 and 2006, Bozdag said it was unfair for Zschaepe to be brought to the dock without handcuffs, while in a separate case in Berlin, 5 people of Turkish origin accused of killing a German national were carried into the court room in a glass cage.
"Neither any conscientious human being, nor any judicial system would allow such a practice," he said.
Perpetrators of discrimination, persecution and racism would be encouraged by such a mentality, Bozdag said, one that judges murderers based on their nationality.
