PARIS (Reuters)–The widow of French President Francois Mitterrand–in a letter published on Friday–compared European leaders who support EU membership for Turkey to French collaborators with the Nazi occupation.
Danielle Mitterrand wrote to all EU leaders meeting in Luxembourg on Friday and Saturday to reject Turkey’s membership bid because of Ankara’s treatment of its Kurdish minority–the daily Le Figaro reported.
Mitterrand said the army had destroyed Kurdish villages and imprisoned Kurdish activists on a massive scale and turned Turkey into a "narco-state" exporting illegal drugs to finance arms it used against the Kurds.
"Knowing all this–can you still make your argumen’s for Turkey’s entry into the European Union?" she asked French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine–the main addressee of the letter copied to all EU leaders.
The Luxembourg summit will discuss the EU’s plans to take in new members and discuss ways to accommodate Turkey.
"Wouldn’t it be more honorable for our democracies to demand that the Turks first meet a series of criteria for respecting human rights–establishing civil peace and recognizing equal status for their 15 to 20 million Kurdish citizens before Ankara’s candidacy is considered?" Mitterrand asked.
