There are two competing arguments:
-Every nation has the right to exercise sovereignity in her territory.
-Every person has a right to travel around the world.
The first one is a derived freedom. It necessitates the presence of state coercion complete with all the necessary organs to initiate, maintain, control and exercise authority. It is derived from the notion of sovereignity. Accordingly, travel freedom hits this brick wall. It is an arbitrary decision but the practical reasons are usually the presence of certain potentials for danger, economic loss, impact on social order and welfare etc.
The second freedom is also a derived freedom. It is more universal than the former. Nevertheless, it is nowhere as strongly established as the first tenet.
Politicians and bureucrats specialize in using the uncovered spaces between conflicting orders to use them to their own advantages. Once the Ottoman passport was one of the most respected documents in the world. Later on, political conjuncture and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following the rise of the nationalist sentiment in Europe (and elsewhere later on), what is remained from once might empire was not granted similar respect. Since, the empire was effectively robbed off all its wealth as a result of relentless fighting on all its fronts, its people were also languished, in need of jobs. This coincided with the expansion which was a result of rapid reconstruction of Germany in the 60´s. Millions of Turks went to Germany and settled down there after gaining citizenship. This posed a great threat to Germany. They needed to stop the build up of an enourmous Turkish population in their country. So, they made it practically impossible for any Turk who could potentially may with to find a job and settle down in Turkey. They also complained heavily of the poor performance of assimilation the Turks in their country have been showing.
These people closed all the doors for other Turks who would go to Germany as tourists. It was not Turkey´s mistake. It was more like their own mistake. Maybe, they did not have any other way at that point but they are now bearing the consequences of having a massive Turkish population in their country.
In my opinion, the second freedom is actually more important that the first one. However, since there are so many potential abusers, the free travel issue is like a nightmare for most European governments. They would do everything to stop it.
That means thry can´t be fair to everyone. If you are a German citizen, you can pack your things and book your flight and hit the road wherever the destination maybe. Because you are automatically a reliable person. Even if you want to settle down in another country, it is just a matter of putting the money on the table. Presently, countries like Turkey are considered as slam areas. No matter how rich we get, there will always be the same stereotypes. As a result, we opt for the best bet, if they don´t like you, don´t go to their country. When you run into one in your country, you are bound to show hospitality and this is called good relations. Well, I hope our children can agree on a fairer solution.
Edited (5/6/2011) by vineyards
Edited (5/7/2011) by vineyards
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