Being a IR student in Turkey with a concetration on the European Union, I went to one of our voluntary (but if you don't come we'll cut your paycheck) seminars today conducted by visiting members of EU-Turkey parliamentary committee. In many ways that sounds like a pretty boring thing to do on a sunny Friday but I figured that it might be interesting to listen to and be able to ask questions the people who have so much power over the European continent and therefore my life in many ways. I keep on learning about the procedures in the EU but this was a chance to actually experience them in some way.
After some rhetorical introductory remarks, the question period started. It seemed meaningful until about two minutes into the discussion when any question asked was usually completely turned around and answered by some kind of a rhetoric that the particular politician had on his agenda. This course of proceedings was cheerfully supported by many students who tried to push their frustrations about Cyprus and the Turkish position on the Cypriot representatives, who with straight faces continued to go on within their rhetoric mostly ignoring what was actually asked. To be fair to the Cypriots though, they weren't an exception; this was the way all the committee members "answered" the questions.
The whole thing got even more embarrassing (yes, I was just one person involuntarily sitting in the audience, nevertheless even I was embarrassed) when the committee members started attacking each other with their differing agendas and rhetorics and tried to take as much time as they could to speak, insult one another etc., some even spoke at the same time, all trying to be lauder than the others. Eventually, attacking even the chair of our department.
The whole thing was simply embarrassing. However, I wouldn't say it was useless. If this is what it means to be in politics then I absolutely have to stay as far away from anything resembling politics as possible.
While this all was going on, one of their main points (it seemed) was that the Europeans and the Turks have to understand each other in order to get along. Such an assertion seemed rather ironic seeing that even these few guys, who should be the first in such efforts, cannot understand each other, or even have enough courtesy to try. Seeing all this a sad realization came to my mind: if even people who represent us and were in some way (the democratic deficit is still there) chosen by us to pursue this issue and bring it to a successful end, teaching both sides about the benefits of a Turkish membership and a happy and peaceful coexistence, cannot get along, how would it be possible that anyone ever gets along? How will whole countries in the EU or in the world ever be able to peacefully get along coexist?
