European Council meeting in Gaziantep

For two years Republican People’s Party deputy Abdülkadir Ateş has been president of the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

by GILA Benmayor Saturday, September 16, 2006

For two years Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Abdülkadir Ateş has been president of the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Ateş, who at one point served as tourism minister, is from the city of Gaziantep.
He suggests that PACE hold its next meeting on the Middle East, scheduled for this autumn, in Gaziantep.
Gaziantep is one Turkey's most interesting cities in the eyes of Westerners.
One of the leaders of the “Anatolian Tigers,” it has been shown as an example with its economic dynamism.
It is the first city where an EU Information Office was opened.
In addition, it boasts a museum displaying mosaics found in the world-known ancient city of Zeugma.
Therefore, the suggestion from Ateş has been well-received at PACE.
About 60 members of PACE headed to Gaziantep at the start of last week.
I was among those who flew to Gaziantep at Ateş's invitation.
The meeting was held at the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce. The building witnessed foreign languages such as French and Russian perhaps for the first time in its history. The first session of the meeting turned into a platform of discussion on Turkey's European Union membership with guests asking why Turkey acted “reluctantly” in realizing the reforms.
They question and at the same time they share experiences from their own accession process, such as Adrian Severin, Romanian parliamentarian and former foreign minister.
I do hope that my friends in Gaziantep benefited from the Severin's speech, for what he said is indeed very important for a country acceding to the European Union.
Severin said the people of Romania were happy about the pressure applied by the EU to pass the reforms, because they did not feel that politicians would pass reform laws in absence of such external forces.
Commenting on Turkey's membership, he said: “Europe can only become a global actor in the true sense of the world with Turkey's membership. However, Turkey should not be made into a buffer zone between Europe and the East, but a natural extension of Europe.”
It really makes a lot of sense to listen to these findings from Gaziantep. For if you ask me, Gaziantep, with its dynamic economy, efforts at establishing brands and innovation and with its copy of Sabah published in English specially for the meeting, is already like a natural extension of Europe.

A Turkish production in Hollywood:
“East Side Story” was first staged by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet five years ago.
Adapted by choreographer Aysun Aslan from Metin Kaçan's book “Ağır Roman” and scored by Fahir Atakoğlu, it is a work reminiscent of the unforgettable "West Side Story."
I remember thinking to myself, “It should definitely be staged in Europe,” when I watched it two years ago.
It wonderfully illustrated life in the less-known low-income districts of Istanbul such as Dolapdere.
On Aslan's initiative with a contribution from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, “East Side Story” was staged in the United States at the end of August at Hollywood's Ford Amphitheatre.
The play attracted the attention of the U.S. audience and received good reviews.
The Los Angeles Times depicted the play as a “remarkably courageous production.”
The success of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet team -- which was staging a performance abroad for the first time -- in the heart of the entertainment world, is worthy of congratulations.