PRIME MINIS R
CHECK ACKINBT DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
PARLIAMENTARY DINNER IN HONOUR OF THE
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, MR TURGUT OZAL
CANBERRA 9 MAY 1991
President Ozal and Mrs Ozal,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Tonight marks a watershed in the history of relations
between Australia and Turkey.
Mr President, you are the first head of State of the
Republic of Turkey to visit this country, and as such you
are a particularly welcome guest in Australia and in
Canberra. It is indeed an honour to have you here, and it
is a pleasure to be able to return the hospitality that you,
and the people of Turkey, so generously extended to me and
to the large party of Australians who visited your country
in April 1990.
That visit, as you know, was centred on the 75th Anniversary
of the Gallipoli campaign.
With the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the
National Party, I was privileged to visit the shores of
Anzac Cove and the heights of Lone Pine and to do so in
the distinguished company of a number of Australian veterans
of the Gallipoli campaign original ANZACS who despite
their advanced years embody still the courage, the
endurance, the good humour and the sense of service that
today represents, for all Australians, the best of the ANZAC
tradition. Mr President, Turkish and Australian soldiers endured great
hardship and made great sacrifices in the almost
unimaginably difficult campaign that began on 25 April 1915.
It is commonplace to speak of such campaigns as ' senseless'
and certainly, we must ensure that never again will the
nations of the world engage in such costly and short-sighted
conflict.
But it is clear too that those of us on whose behalf that
terrible price was paid not only honour our predecessors
we also recognise that their sacrifice was not in vain.
For Australians, Gallipoli was our coming of age as a nation
a traumatic experience that taught us, and proved to the
world, the quality of our character and the magnitude of our
potential. For Turkey, the campaign was also a milestone on the road to
nationhood; the leadership and skill displayed by Kemal
Ataturk in defending his homeland at Gallipoli paved the way
for his building of the modern state of Turkey.
It may seem paradoxical that a war should lie at the base of
the warm and generous friendship which now exists between
us. But the strong bond between our two countries is a
tangible fact of contemporary life, not merely an artefact
of history.
That truth was so vividly shown last year at Gallipoli,
personified by the emotional reconciliation by veterans of
our two armies.
Mr President, it was because of your own role, through that
visit, in developing relations between Turkey and Australia,
that you were invested yesterday as an Honorary Companion of
the Order of Australia. We congratulate you on that award.
Mr President,
On Anzac Day this year, we in Australia saluted our veterans
of another war the Gulf War.
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on 2 August last year posed a
direct threat to the basic principles of international order
which we uphold. It threatened to take from our grasp the
great hopes which we held, in the wake of the Cold War's
conclusion, for a saner and safer world.
Saddam Hussein violated those principles but he faced a
world newly but tenaciously committed to upholding them.
It was in the most basic sense an issue that affected all
nations Australia, distant from the Middle East/ Gulf
region; Turkey, immediately proximate to it and a neighbour
of Iraq.
Australians are proud of the contribution that we made to
the success of the multinational response to this challenge.
Proud as we are, Mr President, it is a matter for deep
satisfaction to be able to tell you how much we appreciated
and respected the contribution of Turkey to our common
cause.
As a front-line state, Turkey's role in achieving a
successful outcome was critical; its support for the
multilateral coalition was vital.
By actively supporting the sanctions regime imposed on Iraq,
Turkey suffered much more than most in particular, through
the crucial closure of the pipeline carrying Iraqi oil to
the Mediterranean. Later, when it came to war, Turkey's
assistance to allied military efforts helped ensure their
success, and. helped shorten the conflict.
Although the war itself is over, there remains much to be
done before we are able to say that peace and stability has
returned to the region.
The spirit of multinational cooperation which reversed
Iraq's aggression in Kuwait must be sustained and entrenched
if we are effectively to tackle and to resolve the
deepseated problems of the region and of the global
community. Foremost in our minds is the plight of the refugees fleeing
persecution in Iraq. The outflow of refugees from Saddam's
regime provided yet another challenge to the world.
Australia has played its part in the global endeavour to
contain the massive dimensions of this human tragedy.
Again, however, it must be recognised: Turkey's contribution
to the handling of this new crisis has been vital.
Beyond this profound humanitarian challenge lies the great
question of how to so order the affairs of the world as to
build on the progress of recent years the conclusion of
the Cold War; the warmer superpower relationship; the
negotiated agreements for disarmament; the resolution of a
number of regional conflicts; the upholding of the Charter
of the United Nations in the Gulf War.
Middle power diplomacy, which we both practise, will be a
key element of the foundations upon which such progress can
be constructed and Turkey, at the crossroads of Europe and
the Middle East, is well placed to contribute to both
regions during the years ahead.
There is cause to hope that the spirit of cooperation
witnessed during recent months may pave the way for a
broader understanding of the possibilities of cooperation.
But there will be no easy solutions to the long-standing
problems which remain.
Mr President:
Without doubt one such issue is the dispute in Cyprus. As
we discussed in our talks this morning, this is an issue on
which Australia and Turkey differ.
As you know, Mr President, Australia has consistently upheld
UN Security Council resolutions 541, 550 and 649. We uphold
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of
Cyprus. We have consistently expressed opposition to the
unilateral declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus in 1983.
We have also been extensively involved in efforts to restore
peace in Cyprus through our assistance to the United Nations
peacekeeping force. Our position is that all parties should
achieve a solution in accordance with the mediation of the
United Nations Secretary-General.
Mr President, we fully recognise your important personal
role in these issues and the consistent support that you
have expressed for a resolution of this problem in
accordance with the principles articulated by the United
Nations Secretary-General. We recognise Turkey's interest
in and influence on this question, and we urge all parties
to participate constructively and openly in inter-communal
negotiations. In our discussions this morning I also raised Australia's
concerns about reports relating to human rights in Turkey.
As you know Australia takes a consistent approach to human
rights world wide.
While noting our concerns, I also acknowledge your own
personal efforts to improve human rights in your country,
including the recent package of important legislative
reforms, which we see as an important positive move on this
issue. Mr President
Yesterday you inspected the Snowy Mountains Scheme, to see
whether it can help you with the Greater Anatolian Project
underway in Turkey.
Australia has the experience and expertise in engineering,
irrigation and agricultural technologies available to assist
Turkey in that project if you wish. There is the potential
for benefits to be derived by both countries. Austrade has
already received the support of the Turkish Government in
assisting with the provision of services and technology to
the project.
In trade too, there is the potential for further expansion.
Both our Governments have achieved substantial restructuring
of our national economies, to make our countries more
efficient and effective competitors in international
markets. I pay tribute to your own leadership in the
process of reforming the Turkish economy.
The liberalisation of international markets is essential to
both our economies. Like Australia, Turkey has suffered
from the distortion of third country markets, resulting from
EC arnd US export subsidies. We are well aware of the
potential for stagnation of the world economy, and for the
strangulation of our own economies, should these policies
continue. We urge EC leaders to show the political will and
strength to reach a satisfactory resolution of the Uruguay
Round. The wellbeing of both our countries depend on this.
Mr President,
For all the importance of the other issues I have discussed
so far, the links between our two countries are best
exemplified and maintained by the presence in Australia of a
large and vibrant Turkish community.
Australia is proud that, in particular since World War II,
we have attracted to our shores millions of new settlers
from more than 130 nations around the world.
In 1967 Turkey and Australia signed an agreement to
facilitate the migration of Turks to Australia. Some 40,000
Turkish people have since come to settle in Australia.
Let me say Mr President that these new members of the
Australian community are welcome among us.
We have been enriched by their contribution to our
multicultural society. And we respect the way in which they
have contributed to our society and economy while also
keeping alive the traditions of the Turkish language and
culture. That thousands of Turkish settlers have realised their
dreams for themselves and their children in this country,
while carefully guarding their immense Turkish heritage,
should be, and is, a matter of great satisfaction to the
vast majority of the Australian people.
Mr President,
Australia is truly a land of immigrants. Well over one in
five Australians were born in another country. Over one in
ten Australians came to Australia from a country where
English is not the principal language. Overseas-born
Australians and their children now form some 40 per cent of
our population.
Within this diversity, it is important that all Australians
be able to express and share their individual cultural
heritage, to practise their religion, to speak their
language. It is also important that all Australians be
treated equally, without disadvantage because of race,
culture, religion, language, gender or other reason.
6.
Within this diversity, too, it is important that all
Australians unite around an overriding commitment to
Australia, to its institutions, its interests and its
future. There must be understanding and trust between our
many communities in Australia as we work and live together.
Integral to this vision of a multicultural society is the
political freedom of all Australians to express their views
including their views about events in their old homelands.
But we do not see Australia as a place in which communal
rivalries and divisions of the old world should be played
out in a new community.
Certainly, Australia does not conduct its foreign policy on
any basis other than what we Judge to be best for Australia
and for all Australians.
Mr President,
I have looked forward to your visit since my visit to Turkey
last year. I welcome this opportunity to discuss world
events with you and to advance the relationship between our
countries. In once more welcoming you I express the hope that the
friendship between Turkey and Australia will continue to
prosper and to deliver increasing benefits to both our
peoples and countries.