BERLIN
Turkey's Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergun on Monday emphasized the importance of freedom of thought and said, "clash of thoughts brighten the truth. Leave your weapon and tell us what you want."
Ergun attended a meeting of German-Turkish community (TGD) and the Union of European Turkish Democrats in Germany (UETD).
Ergun stated that Turkey had some political and economic burdens until today and stated that the remaining things considered as burdens were about to be lifted.
"They say clash of thoughts brighten the truth. If thoughts don't fight, people do. One way or the other we will come to a solution if we speak. This is democracy. Lives of many people have been wasted until now but that period is over. We need the contribution of everyone. Political end economic burdens were an obstacle in Turkey's development until today. How can a country where the first comer stages a coup have a good image?" Ergun said.
Stating that the breaking point in Turkey was the 1960 coup, Ergun said, "One of the economic results of the 1960 coup was the beginning of migration to Germany and Europe. There are currently 72 thousand enterprises with Turkish origins in Germany."
Emphasizing that Turkey has headed towards the EU, Ergun said, "We would like to be a full member to the EU. Those who do not believe in our sincerity should have a look at the Cyprus issue. The excuses put forward are the population and religion. Turkey's population has always been high, when it applied to the EU and now and it was always Muslim. None of these excuses could be valid."
"Turkey's debts to IMF will end in May. The IMF delegation is holding talks with Turkish authorities to borrow from Turkey. While the picture is so clear, I believe it would be a contradiction to the 'ideal Europe' to turn down the politic and economic contribution of Turkey in the EU," the minister said.
Ergun meets with German Minister Rosler
Nihat Ergun on Thursday met with Germany's Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Philipp Rosler in Germany.
In the meeting that was held closed to press, sources state that Ergun explained the developments in Turkey in the past ten years to Rosler.
Stating that Turkish and German technology firms could be in closer cooperation, Ergun said they were open to cooperation in fields of information technologies, medical technology, rail systems, machinery, aviation, and automotive.
Ergun also emphasized the visa problem of Turkish businessman and stated that there was a contradiction in regards to the visa implementation as there was free circulation for products but not for the people doing the trade.
Stating that the development of Turkey in the past yen years really impressed him, Rosler emphasized that Turkey was heading towards sustainable growth.
