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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Feb 1 2009
Turkey's heart is with Gaza but its mind looks westward
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's show of power and honor
at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos has sparked a discussion in
Turkey over whether the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government is turning its back on Israel, and by extension, the
Western world.
ErdoÄ?an's harsh response to Israeli President Shimon Peres'
rebuking and loud tone was perceived by certain diplomats and media
organs as a sign of a complete halt in Turkey's friendly relations
with Israel. But the phone call that came from Peres, allegedly
apologizing for his tone and reiterating the importance of Turkey's
friendship to Israel, and a statement by the Turkish General Staff
that there is no problem in Turkey's military equipment deals with
Israel have suggested the opposite.
Why, then, were critics of ErdoÄ?an's Davos protest so
aggressive in claiming that the AK Party government was isolating
Turkey from the West? Deputy Prime Minister Cemil �içek
thinks their claims are actually wishful thinking. Turkish and foreign
diplomats and academicians underline the fact that Turkey is as
indispensable for the West as the West is for Turkey. The same applies
to Israel, Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomats told Sunday's Zaman on
Friday.
Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, �içek said Turkey's position
is not against the Israeli nation or Jews worldwide, but against the
leadership that ordered the attacks on Gaza. �içek is
aware that certain retired diplomats and a Turkish media group have
criticized Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an for losing Israel's
friendship and the support of Jewish lobbies in the US, especially as
they have previously countered a looming Armenian "genocide" bill.
"To some extent this is the wishful thinking of those who say these
things. The prime minister does not target Israelis or Jews. Such an
attitude is not acceptable in our religion or in our culture. What
Turkey is criticizing is also criticized by certain Jewish writers,"
he said. �içek believes that Turkey will continue to be
the sole country that can speak to all sides of the Middle East
conflict. "Foreign policy should be an area of calm. If
ErdoÄ?an's words are taken out of their context and are used to
harm Turkey's relations with Israel and other countries, this amounts
to an injustice done to Turkey," he told Sunday's Zaman.
The deputy prime minister does not believe that the Jewish lobby in
the US will influence Washington's position vis-à-vis Turkey.
He reiterates that friendly Turkish-American relations are more than
50 years old and that they serve the interests of both sides. `The US
has experience in governance. It does not give its decisions on the
basis of one or two declarations. It looks to the past and the
future. This is what all serious states should do. I don't believe
Turkey's stance on Gaza will create a radical shift in the perception
of Turkey in the US,' he said. But he does not downplay the
possibility that the Armenian diaspora will use this opportunity to
harm Turkey's image in the US capital. `We cannot say what will happen
in April. That is a decision another country [the US] should
make. They shouldn't make their decision looking only to the angle
they are presented with by the Armenians,' he explained.
A senior French parliamentarian and the Danish ambassador to Turkey
ruled out suggestions that the incident in Davos was a sign that
Turkey has been moving toward the Iran-Syria axis rather than
gravitating toward Western society.
Pierre Lellouche, a member of the French Parliament from the ruling
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), formerly led by current French
President Nicolas Sarkozy, was in Antalya on Friday to participate in
an international meeting of the Turkish-Atlantic Council.
`Turkey is becoming just itself, nothing else; it is a bridge between
Europe and the Middle East and it's conducting a very active policy in
the Middle East, in the Gulf region and in the Caucasus,' Lellouche
said, noting that the Turkish government has most recently displayed
its commitment to joining the EU by appointing State Minister Egemen
BaÄ?ıÅ? as a full-time chief EU negotiator for the
accession process. `There is no need to dramatize the situation. I'm
sure Turkey will continue playing its EU cards,' he added.
Danish Ambassador to Turkey Jesper Vahr said he didn't believe that
Turkey has been moving away from the West.
`We have been expressing our pleasure over Turkey's balanced
relationship with the Arab world and Europe. This balance matters for
us. There is no such thing as moving away from the West,' Vahr said.
Professor Ä°hsan DaÄ?ı, a political scientist,
wrote an article in the Zaman daily on Friday about whether the AK
Party would turn its back to the West. He claimed in his article,
penned before the Davos incident, that among the antagonists of the AK
Party were those who hoped that the party would abandon its
pro-Western, pro-EU stance and turn into a government cut off from the
rest of the world.
`Don't struggle in vain!' he said to those who want to see the AK
Party isolated. `For the first time in history the demands and
position of the `conservative democrat circles' overlap with the
global dynamics and the flow of history,' he wrote.
Sunday's Zaman spoke to DaÄ?ı about whether the Davos
incident changed his mind or not. He said he thinks the AK Party
cannot turn its back on the West and the West cannot abandon the AK
Party.
`There is a natural alliance between the Western powers that want to
see Turkey in the West and the AK Party. This is not something either
side can give up so easily. There is no actor in Turkey, other than
the AK Party, that can shoulder Turkey's vision of the West. This, in
fact, is the major advantage of the AK Party. For the last six or
seven years there has been no opposition that has stationed itself in
the West. Those who want to see Turkey in the West do not have any
alternative but to work with the AK Party,' he
said. DaÄ?ı does not foresee a push from the Western
capitals that would force Turkey to turn its face to the East. He is
rather worried about the pull of the Arab streets.
`We were in Brussels with the prime minister and we saw there that the
European Union is not critical of the role Turkey is playing in the
Middle East at all. Turkey is not only a moderator between actors; it
also pulls Hamas and Hezbullah toward more moderate positions. It
pulls Syria and Iran toward the international system. My only worry is
the pull from the Middle Eastern streets. That shouldn't corrupt the
chemistry of the AK Party,' he told Sunday's Zaman.
In fact, the pull of Arab streets doesn't just worry intellectuals
like DaÄ?ı, but also the Arab regimes. There have already
been sentimental declarations among Arab intellectuals condemning
their own regimes for their pacifism in the face of Israeli
aggressions in Gaza. The Arab streets are referring to the Turkish
prime minister either as the `Grandson of Abdülhamid II' or a
second `Gamal Abdel Naser,' a new `Arab hero.' Keeping this in mind,
one should be worried more about Turkey turning its back to the Arab
leaders, and not European leaders. ErdoÄ?an is certainly winning
the hearts of the Arab streets, but is Turkey losing the Arab
capitals?
One particular reason that Turkey may lose the friendship of certain
Arab regimes is the need for consistency in Turkey's humanitarian
concerns and search for justice. Having assumed the role of `the
mouthpiece of the deprived and the helper of the weak,' Turkey will
feel obliged to raise its voice in the face of similar injustices seen
in other parts of the world. The dictatorial regimes of the Arab world
provide enough material for such an obligation. And this is exactly
what retired diplomat Onur Ã-ymen criticizes about the style of the
prime minister. Ã-ymen thinks Turkey should have spoken in the name
of the entire Palestinian people, not of Hamas. `Hamas is listed as a
terrorist organization both by the European and American
administrations. Turkey has accepted Hamas as a terrorist organization
also. This is a contradiction. This is what will harm Turkey's
relations with the West. What the prime minister criticizes deserves
to be criticized. But you didn't show this response as hundreds of
thousands of Iraqis were killed. You didn't show it when 300,000
people were killed in Sudan. If the prime minister didn't show this
contradiction, we would also applaud him,' Ã-ymen told Sunday's
Zaman.
On the other hand, the responses that came from the Arab capitals
didn't confirm these worries. It seems that the Arab intellectuals
regard Turkey's new role in the region not as a challenge to the
current regimes, but as a complementary support for the Palestinian
cause. Palestinian Ambassador to Ankara Nabeel Maarouf didn't, for
example, accept the allegations that ErdoÄ?an was voicing the
pains of Hamas only and not of the Palestinian people as a
whole. `Hamas is a part of the Palestinian nation. We are under
occupation and we have the right to defend ourselves. ErdoÄ?an
is supporting the Palestinian nation and this right cause as a
whole. He didn't point to a particular group or organization,' he told
members of the Turkish press recently.
Remarks by senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath, a former foreign
minister, are in agreement with what Maarouf said. According to
Shaath, suggesting that Turkey's policy is particularly in favor of
Hamas is `unacceptable.' All Palestinian groups have sympathy for
Turkey, Shaath stressed.
`Turkey, welcome back to the region,' said Mustafa al-Labbad, director
of the Al-Sharq Center for Regional and Strategic Studies, adding that
Turkey is becoming `the star of the region,' particularly because it
is not pushing any ideological doctrine in its approach to regional
issues.
For Dr. Amr al-Shubki, an expert at the Al-Ahram Center for Political
and Strategic Studies, ErdoÄ?an's latest action in Davos
revealed that a country could be both democratic and moderate, while
at the same time being able to criticize Israel.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey made it clear on
Friday that the postponement of a scheduled visit to Turkey by the new
US envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, had nothing to do with
the incident in Davos.
Mitchell was supposed to arrive in Ä°stanbul today for talks
with ErdoÄ?an and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as part of a
regional tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire to promote
Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Jeffrey, who was in Antalya for the TAC meeting on Friday, told
Sunday's Zaman that the reason behind the postponement was `solely
technical,' and added that the US side had briefed Ankara about the
postponement before the panel in Davos.
`I do not share them,' Jeffrey briefly replied when he was asked
whether he shared certain opinions suggesting that Turkey was moving
away from the West.
01 February 2009, Sunday
KERÄ°M BALCI / EMÄ°NE KART ANKARA
Feb 1 2009
Turkey's heart is with Gaza but its mind looks westward
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's show of power and honor
at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos has sparked a discussion in
Turkey over whether the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government is turning its back on Israel, and by extension, the
Western world.
ErdoÄ?an's harsh response to Israeli President Shimon Peres'
rebuking and loud tone was perceived by certain diplomats and media
organs as a sign of a complete halt in Turkey's friendly relations
with Israel. But the phone call that came from Peres, allegedly
apologizing for his tone and reiterating the importance of Turkey's
friendship to Israel, and a statement by the Turkish General Staff
that there is no problem in Turkey's military equipment deals with
Israel have suggested the opposite.
Why, then, were critics of ErdoÄ?an's Davos protest so
aggressive in claiming that the AK Party government was isolating
Turkey from the West? Deputy Prime Minister Cemil �içek
thinks their claims are actually wishful thinking. Turkish and foreign
diplomats and academicians underline the fact that Turkey is as
indispensable for the West as the West is for Turkey. The same applies
to Israel, Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomats told Sunday's Zaman on
Friday.
Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, �içek said Turkey's position
is not against the Israeli nation or Jews worldwide, but against the
leadership that ordered the attacks on Gaza. �içek is
aware that certain retired diplomats and a Turkish media group have
criticized Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an for losing Israel's
friendship and the support of Jewish lobbies in the US, especially as
they have previously countered a looming Armenian "genocide" bill.
"To some extent this is the wishful thinking of those who say these
things. The prime minister does not target Israelis or Jews. Such an
attitude is not acceptable in our religion or in our culture. What
Turkey is criticizing is also criticized by certain Jewish writers,"
he said. �içek believes that Turkey will continue to be
the sole country that can speak to all sides of the Middle East
conflict. "Foreign policy should be an area of calm. If
ErdoÄ?an's words are taken out of their context and are used to
harm Turkey's relations with Israel and other countries, this amounts
to an injustice done to Turkey," he told Sunday's Zaman.
The deputy prime minister does not believe that the Jewish lobby in
the US will influence Washington's position vis-à-vis Turkey.
He reiterates that friendly Turkish-American relations are more than
50 years old and that they serve the interests of both sides. `The US
has experience in governance. It does not give its decisions on the
basis of one or two declarations. It looks to the past and the
future. This is what all serious states should do. I don't believe
Turkey's stance on Gaza will create a radical shift in the perception
of Turkey in the US,' he said. But he does not downplay the
possibility that the Armenian diaspora will use this opportunity to
harm Turkey's image in the US capital. `We cannot say what will happen
in April. That is a decision another country [the US] should
make. They shouldn't make their decision looking only to the angle
they are presented with by the Armenians,' he explained.
A senior French parliamentarian and the Danish ambassador to Turkey
ruled out suggestions that the incident in Davos was a sign that
Turkey has been moving toward the Iran-Syria axis rather than
gravitating toward Western society.
Pierre Lellouche, a member of the French Parliament from the ruling
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), formerly led by current French
President Nicolas Sarkozy, was in Antalya on Friday to participate in
an international meeting of the Turkish-Atlantic Council.
`Turkey is becoming just itself, nothing else; it is a bridge between
Europe and the Middle East and it's conducting a very active policy in
the Middle East, in the Gulf region and in the Caucasus,' Lellouche
said, noting that the Turkish government has most recently displayed
its commitment to joining the EU by appointing State Minister Egemen
BaÄ?ıÅ? as a full-time chief EU negotiator for the
accession process. `There is no need to dramatize the situation. I'm
sure Turkey will continue playing its EU cards,' he added.
Danish Ambassador to Turkey Jesper Vahr said he didn't believe that
Turkey has been moving away from the West.
`We have been expressing our pleasure over Turkey's balanced
relationship with the Arab world and Europe. This balance matters for
us. There is no such thing as moving away from the West,' Vahr said.
Professor Ä°hsan DaÄ?ı, a political scientist,
wrote an article in the Zaman daily on Friday about whether the AK
Party would turn its back to the West. He claimed in his article,
penned before the Davos incident, that among the antagonists of the AK
Party were those who hoped that the party would abandon its
pro-Western, pro-EU stance and turn into a government cut off from the
rest of the world.
`Don't struggle in vain!' he said to those who want to see the AK
Party isolated. `For the first time in history the demands and
position of the `conservative democrat circles' overlap with the
global dynamics and the flow of history,' he wrote.
Sunday's Zaman spoke to DaÄ?ı about whether the Davos
incident changed his mind or not. He said he thinks the AK Party
cannot turn its back on the West and the West cannot abandon the AK
Party.
`There is a natural alliance between the Western powers that want to
see Turkey in the West and the AK Party. This is not something either
side can give up so easily. There is no actor in Turkey, other than
the AK Party, that can shoulder Turkey's vision of the West. This, in
fact, is the major advantage of the AK Party. For the last six or
seven years there has been no opposition that has stationed itself in
the West. Those who want to see Turkey in the West do not have any
alternative but to work with the AK Party,' he
said. DaÄ?ı does not foresee a push from the Western
capitals that would force Turkey to turn its face to the East. He is
rather worried about the pull of the Arab streets.
`We were in Brussels with the prime minister and we saw there that the
European Union is not critical of the role Turkey is playing in the
Middle East at all. Turkey is not only a moderator between actors; it
also pulls Hamas and Hezbullah toward more moderate positions. It
pulls Syria and Iran toward the international system. My only worry is
the pull from the Middle Eastern streets. That shouldn't corrupt the
chemistry of the AK Party,' he told Sunday's Zaman.
In fact, the pull of Arab streets doesn't just worry intellectuals
like DaÄ?ı, but also the Arab regimes. There have already
been sentimental declarations among Arab intellectuals condemning
their own regimes for their pacifism in the face of Israeli
aggressions in Gaza. The Arab streets are referring to the Turkish
prime minister either as the `Grandson of Abdülhamid II' or a
second `Gamal Abdel Naser,' a new `Arab hero.' Keeping this in mind,
one should be worried more about Turkey turning its back to the Arab
leaders, and not European leaders. ErdoÄ?an is certainly winning
the hearts of the Arab streets, but is Turkey losing the Arab
capitals?
One particular reason that Turkey may lose the friendship of certain
Arab regimes is the need for consistency in Turkey's humanitarian
concerns and search for justice. Having assumed the role of `the
mouthpiece of the deprived and the helper of the weak,' Turkey will
feel obliged to raise its voice in the face of similar injustices seen
in other parts of the world. The dictatorial regimes of the Arab world
provide enough material for such an obligation. And this is exactly
what retired diplomat Onur Ã-ymen criticizes about the style of the
prime minister. Ã-ymen thinks Turkey should have spoken in the name
of the entire Palestinian people, not of Hamas. `Hamas is listed as a
terrorist organization both by the European and American
administrations. Turkey has accepted Hamas as a terrorist organization
also. This is a contradiction. This is what will harm Turkey's
relations with the West. What the prime minister criticizes deserves
to be criticized. But you didn't show this response as hundreds of
thousands of Iraqis were killed. You didn't show it when 300,000
people were killed in Sudan. If the prime minister didn't show this
contradiction, we would also applaud him,' Ã-ymen told Sunday's
Zaman.
On the other hand, the responses that came from the Arab capitals
didn't confirm these worries. It seems that the Arab intellectuals
regard Turkey's new role in the region not as a challenge to the
current regimes, but as a complementary support for the Palestinian
cause. Palestinian Ambassador to Ankara Nabeel Maarouf didn't, for
example, accept the allegations that ErdoÄ?an was voicing the
pains of Hamas only and not of the Palestinian people as a
whole. `Hamas is a part of the Palestinian nation. We are under
occupation and we have the right to defend ourselves. ErdoÄ?an
is supporting the Palestinian nation and this right cause as a
whole. He didn't point to a particular group or organization,' he told
members of the Turkish press recently.
Remarks by senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath, a former foreign
minister, are in agreement with what Maarouf said. According to
Shaath, suggesting that Turkey's policy is particularly in favor of
Hamas is `unacceptable.' All Palestinian groups have sympathy for
Turkey, Shaath stressed.
`Turkey, welcome back to the region,' said Mustafa al-Labbad, director
of the Al-Sharq Center for Regional and Strategic Studies, adding that
Turkey is becoming `the star of the region,' particularly because it
is not pushing any ideological doctrine in its approach to regional
issues.
For Dr. Amr al-Shubki, an expert at the Al-Ahram Center for Political
and Strategic Studies, ErdoÄ?an's latest action in Davos
revealed that a country could be both democratic and moderate, while
at the same time being able to criticize Israel.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey made it clear on
Friday that the postponement of a scheduled visit to Turkey by the new
US envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, had nothing to do with
the incident in Davos.
Mitchell was supposed to arrive in Ä°stanbul today for talks
with ErdoÄ?an and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as part of a
regional tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire to promote
Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Jeffrey, who was in Antalya for the TAC meeting on Friday, told
Sunday's Zaman that the reason behind the postponement was `solely
technical,' and added that the US side had briefed Ankara about the
postponement before the panel in Davos.
`I do not share them,' Jeffrey briefly replied when he was asked
whether he shared certain opinions suggesting that Turkey was moving
away from the West.
01 February 2009, Sunday
KERÄ°M BALCI / EMÄ°NE KART ANKARA