27/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - Speaking before the international liberal conference in Dakar, the President of the European Parliament Liberal Group, Graham Watson, hoped that the Liberals send a strong message of support to Turkey, at a time when some continue to deny their European vocation simply because they believe that Turkey lies on the other side of a cultural divide. According to the British Liberal Democrat, the EU must be ready, the time come, to welcome Muslim countries such as Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina. We must support lay Islam in Turkey, he said, while recognising that problems persist, notably with regards to the detention of Leyla Zana. Moreover, he assured that the ELDR would continue to oppose attempts by the Christian Democrats to insert a reference to a Judeo-Christian God within the European Constitution.