Ankara - The Foreign Minister, Mr Ismail Cem, accused the EU yesterday of behaving like "colonial governors" by setting offensive new conditions for Turkish membership.
Anatolian news agency quoted him as saying Turkey was reaching the point where it could no longer trust the EU.
Mr Cem's comments came amid rising tension over an EU document outlining political and economic changes Turkey should make before membership talks begin. Ties have been further soured by a European Parliament motion accusing Ottoman Turks of carrying out genocide against Armenians in 1915. "One of the fundamental elements of the architecture of European culture is respect," he said. "The EU and some of our friends act like colonial governors, and show disrespect because they want to change certain situations in Turkey."
Turkey's death sentence against the Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was challenged in the European Court of Human Rights yesterday. It is a case which could have profound repercussions for Ankara's ever sensitive relations with the EU. As thousands of supporters and opponents gathered outside the court in Strasbourg amidst heavy security, seven judges were asked to rule on whether the complaint was admissible.
Ocalan's appeal is on the grounds that he was denied a fair trial because Turkey violated the European Convention on Human Rights, under which the court was established. Although the court is entirely distinct from the EU, observance of the convention is mandatory for all members of the EU.