The recent statements made by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell are an insult to the rest of the world and unfair, the spokesperson of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Ömer Çelik, said on Monday.
Speaking during a press briefing at the party’s headquarters in Ankara, Çelik said: “This statement will stick on Borrell for his whole life. All he has to do should be to reject this statement entirely and apologize."
Çelik said Borrell's words reflected a colonialist stance that separates humankind as "European or non-European" by describing Europe as a "garden" and the rest of the world as a violent "jungle," showing that "while it is Europe-centered, it is not human-centered."
“They do not consider Europe as a global power, a global project, but adopt an approach that is completely reductionist, racist and increasingly a Christian club,” he added.
In his remarks at the new European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges, Belgium, which have been widely circulated online since he made them last week, Borrell called Europe "a garden" and most of the world a "jungle" that "could invade the garden."
"The gardeners should take care of the garden, but they will not protect the garden by building walls. A nice small garden surrounded by high walls in order to prevent the jungle coming in is not going to be a solution. Because the jungle has a strong growth capacity, and the wall will never be high enough," said Borrell, a Spanish politician.
"The gardeners have to go to the jungle. Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us," he said.
At a press conference on Monday, Borrell denied that his message was racist or colonialist, news agency EFE reported. The comments were intended to reject the idea of "fortress Europe" and to encourage students to engage with the world, he said.
