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There were cries of rejoice from every corner of the Hellenic Seas. It was in 2004 that Cyprus (among several others) was inducted into the EU. After centuries of conflict and foreign rule, the wayward island nation was a big step closer to returning to the country that had so sorely missed it. As it happens, I was living on the Greek island of Rhodes, no more than 10 km from the Turkish coast when the delegates rejected our latter-mentioned neighbor's claim. Two great factors stand adamantly pitted against Turkey's potential entry into the European Union. And they are both forms of discrimination. And one is certainly more palatable than the other.

The official reason given by the European representatives was that Turkey's government was deemed to be a theocracy. The Turkish parliament has a long-standing history towards secular rule. Despite the aims of the ruling AKP (justice and Development Party) to westernize the country's economy, their roots in the national Islamic church were not favorably viewed by the EU board. A theocracy is one of the forms of governing body that is considered unacceptable by the admission standards of the European Union. This comes from the age old adage that one should not combine the media of church and state. Given the propensity for disaster when considering the acts of past European nations governed by the church (particularly with respect to Turkey and the crusades), they might be correct in erring for the side of caution. Islamic nationalists in Turkey may view this declaration as flagrant racism. But that ugly notion may find a greater thread of truth in the following matter.

Although Greece has had a long-standing feud with Turkey, it was proven in a national poll conducted three months before the vote on Turkey's possible induction that the Greek populace was in overwhelming favor of Turkey's enfranchisement. The inclusion of Turkey under the EU banner would lift considerable financial and military demands from the government budget. A budget that was facing severe deficit encumbrance as a result of the incurred building costs for the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. In fact, it was a then-ailing Germany who protested that Turkey be denied entry at all cost. Germany has a minority of Turkish immigrants that can be counted in the millions. In a country infamous for its onus placed on nationalism and national identity, there was a great backlash from the civilian population when it was first proposed that Turkey be included.

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