Turkey a part of the EU, Fazıl Say tells Merkel

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet

World-renowned Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say has written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the Gezi Park protests, saying that Turkey is and should be a part of the EU. DHA photo

The world-renowned Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say has written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the Gezi Park protests, saying that Turkey is and should be a part of the European Union.

Say wrote that he was upset about what Merkel had said concerning Turkey and that he hoped these thoughts were temporary.

Merkel had said on June 17 that she was shocked by Turkey’s violent crackdown on the Gezi Park protests in major cities, considering it “much too harsh.”

A day after this statement, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), rejected Turkish membership in the EU in their German election program, saying the country would “overburden” the bloc because of its size and economy.

The Turkish pianist also said he thought the EU Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış did not understand the West thoroughly.

Say concluded his letter by saying that Turkey is and should be a piece of the EU – a “bona fide” formula – for world peace.