The reaction by a Turkish minister to Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s objections on the country’s EU membership proves “these people are not European”, the Nationalist MP said yesterday.
Dr Pullicino Orlando also said he received messages of support from MPs from both sides of the House regarding his objections to Turkey joining the EU.
He reacted fiercely to Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis who was interviewed by The Sunday Times and described Dr Pullicino Orlando’s outburst as “childish and foolish”.
“If this gentleman thinks Malta is a member of a Christian club he is wrong,” Mr Bagis said, adding: “When he claims that Turkey is not culturally European he should check his text books. Maybe he was skiving from the classroom the day they were teaching the word Europe was the name of a princess who lived in today’s Turkey.”
Reacting, Dr Pullicino Orlando said Mr Bagis’s comments vindicated him.
“For a minister to stoop to such a level and hurl personal insults proves my point, as well as that of (French President) Nicolas Sarkozy and (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel, that the Turks are not culturally European,” he said.
“Just because I do not agree with Turkey’s EU membership, he accuses me of being childish, foolish and skiving history lessons – a subject I loved at school. And this is someone who is on a diplomatic mission!
“It is simply not on. Don’t I have a right to an opinion? I was not personal or rude, but he was. It just goes to show that these people are not European,” he added, saying he refused to stoop to the minister’s level.
Earlier, on Facebook, Dr Pullicino Orlando wrote that if he was “childish and foolish”, he was in good company, since even Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel agreed with his stance.
Meanwhile, Dr Pullicino Orlando also reiterated that he was “seriously considering” putting forward a private member’s motion on the matter.
Asked whether he had received support from MPs about his objections on Turkey, Dr Pullicino Orlando claimed he had, from both sides, but refused to give names or specify a number.
“Not a lot, but a substantial number,” he said, adding that the minister’s comments prompted even more support.
He refused to say whether he thought he had parliamentary support, saying it would be “presumptuous” for him to gauge the position of all other MPs at this early stage.
Meanwhile, however, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat yesterday said his party came from the EU block which supported open negotiations with Turkey on membership of the bloc.
“Turkey has a right to start negotiations,” he said, adding that there were a number of conditions the country had to satisfy before negotiations were closed and it was therefore too premature to give outright support to the country until the conditions were met.
He pointed out that the decision, which would be voted upon in Parliament, would not be decided in this legislature and probably not even the next.
The PN said: “This is a matter that shall be discussed, and decided upon, by the Maltese Parliament.”