Muslims Always Want More, Kind Of Like Spoiled Kids

GERMAN COALITION AGREES ON DUAL CITIZENSHIP FOR MUSLIMS, TURKS DEMAND MORE

Wherever Islamic law and Western law conflict, Western law has to give way. And when concessions are made, more concessions are demanded. Always.

"German coalition agrees on dual citizenship, Turks demand more" By Today's Zaman,November 27, 2013, thanks to Menis:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C), Horst Seehofer (R) and Sigmar Gabriel attend a news conference after signing a preliminary agreement. (Photo: AP, Kay Nietfeld)

27 November 2013 /SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, İSTANBUL

The clause on dual citizenship conditions for Turkish citizens included in the coalition agreement reached by German center right and left parties on Wednesday fails to meet the expectations of the Turkish community despite being considered a positive step.

 

According to the agreement that the conservative The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, the “option model” that required foreigners to choose one citizenship by the age of 23 will be abolished. The new regulation aims to provide citizenship to all foreigners who are born in Germany regardless of their country of origin or date of birth, which is a relative development compared to the previous restrictions.

However, representatives of the Turkish community in Germany have expressed their disappointment with the move as it is less than what they would like to see -- dual citizenship for all foreign residents in Germany, regardless of whether they were born in Germany or not.

Commenting to Today's Zaman, Turkish Ambassador to Germany Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu said that although the removal of the option model could be a step forward in addressing the disadvantageous position of young immigrants, although it fails to meet the expectations of people of Turkey origin. “Out expectation is to open the way for people who are originally from Turkey to have German citizenship as well in a country in which they have been living and making important contributions to,” Karslıoğlu pointed out. According to him, based on the views they have received from Turkish citizens, the expectation from the new government was the introduction of more extensive citizenship rights.

“The goal was dual citizenship for all; the SPD had made this promise,” says Professor Faruk Şen, president of the Turkey-Europe Education and Scientific Research Foundation (TAVAK), with clear disappointment as he argues that only 30,000 people of Turkish descent will benefit from the new regulation in a community of over 3 million in Germany. “The Christian Democrats will continue their harsh rhetoric on immigration,” Şen further argues, stating that despite being the largest minority in Germany, Turks are unable to hold dual citizenship, unlike people from EU countries.

However, according to SPD Deputy Chairman Aydan Özoğuz, a politician of Turkish origin, this change will affect approximately 400,000 young people who would otherwise have had to make a choice between two passports. Responding to criticisms that the SPD has failed to keep its promise, Özoğuz acknowledges that they expected more, but even this much is a “very, very important step” compared to past.

Following her party's victory in the elections on Sept. 22, Merkel reached a deal to form a new government on Wednesday to form a “grand coalition” with the SPD for the second time since the first one between 2005-2009. As opposed to Merkel's nearly 42 percent, the SPD received 27 percent of the votes, while the last coalition partner of the CSU/CSU, the liberal democrat FDP, failed to re-enter parliament due to a 5 percent threshold.

The president of the Berlin Turkish Society, Bekir Yılmaz, told Today's Zaman that the SPD did not keep its promise of dual citizenship for all. According to Yılmaz, SPD Chairman Sigmar Gabriel had signed a petition requesting citizenship for Turks in Germany without any conditions in one of the meetings of the Berlin Turkish Society. “Abolishing the option model could be amelioration, but the model that replaces it does not satisfy us,” Yılmaz said. “Only children who are born in Germany will be able to become dual citizens, whereas our goal is a much more general right,” he further commented. According to information Yılmaz provided, currently citizens from 58 different countries are able to enjoy dual citizenship in Germany.

In parallel with these thoughts, Ambassador Karslıoğlu said that granting people from over 50 countries dual citizenship is “perceived as discrimination” by the Turkish community, although Germany tries to explain the different practice for Turkish with various reasons.

According to the SPD's intra-party rules, for the coalition's 185-page deal to take effect, it has to be voted on by the registered party members. There are 474,000 card-carrying members within the SPD. In an effort to express their dissatisfaction with the dual citizenship clause in the agreement, the Berlin Turkish Society asks its members within the SPD not to approve the deal. Although Yılmaz does not know how many SPD members are of Turkish origin, he says that they are making a general call to everyone.

Acknowledging the disappointment with the SPD as far as dual citizenship for Turks is concerned, Turkey representative of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) Michael Meier says that although the new deal is “one step forward,” Turks were expecting more. The option model in Germany was introduced in 2000 and brought in an age requirement for Turks wishing to remain German citizens. Although the new agreement would remove the age requirement, as there is a place of birth requirement, “It is not good for people who migrated from Turkey to Germany,” Meier comments. In response to a question as to why the SPD failed to keep its promise, Meier says that since coalition talks are about compromise, the SPD was only able to push the conservatives so far. “Look at the election results, the SPD received only 27 percent of the vote,” Meier noted.

End result of Turkey's EU negotiations left open-ended, outcome not guaranteed

In addition to the change in dual citizenship for Turks, the coalition agreement includes a clause on Turkey's EU membership. While leaving the results of membership negotiations open-ended, the agreement between the conservatives and social democrats does not include the phrase “privileged partnership,” which falls short of full membership in the agreement. “It is an open secret that conservatives are very skeptical about Turkey's membership,” Meier says, describing the agreement to remove the privileged partnership expression as a positive step. However, he underlines that the SPD has always thought that more reforms could be made in Turkey if Turkey is included in the 28-member bloc. Although the coalition agreement does not mention "privileged partnership" as a goal for Turkey, it says it would be on the agenda only if Turkey cannot fulfill the EU requirements and become a member.

Professor Şen states that although the SPD has always wanted Turkey to become full member, the CDU asked for open-ended negotiations with Turkey. The coalition agreement reads that Germany wants to “deepen” relations with Turkey including the “strategic cooperation” in the areas of foreign policy and security.

The part on Turkish-EU relations in the agreement noted that the negotiations would continue with the opening of new chapters, but it is necessary to have progress to protect and apply the principles within the state, such as democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression, which form the basis of the EU.

The coalition agreement allocated 60 pages to issues such as the economy, education and infrastructure, while only 15 pages are left to foreign policy and 10 to the EU.

The SPD was able to have its demands met on the introduction of a mandatory minimum wage, 8.50 euro ($11.50), which will be introduced by 2015. However, Professor Şen says that everyone in Germany, except for the “illegal workers,” already makes more than that amount. He argued that the CDU was able to dictate its ideas to the SPD.