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THE TURKISH VIEW: NOBEL GOES TO HOPES, NOT ACTIONS
Today's Zaman
10 October 2009, Saturday
US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize not quite because
of what he has done so far, but for what he will hopefully do to
promote global peace, according to Turkish analysts.
Obama managed to reverse, though only to a certain extent, the
widespread anti-US feelings among the Turkish public when he made
his first foreign bilateral visit to Turkey in April, a charm
offensive which included top-level talks on the Middle East with
government officials and an address to Parliament, as well as a
visit to Ä°stanbul's famed Blue Mosque and a lengthy meeting with
Turkish youth. The visit convinced the Turks that Obama is not his
predecessor, George W. Bush, who had record-low popularity rates in
Turkey, but most remained skeptical over whether he would live up to
his promises for change.
"This award is not for what Obama has done," Onur Oymen, a deputy
chairman of Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's
Party (CHP), told Today's Zaman. "This award is for what he is expected
to do; it is for hope and for expectations of change. The world has
huge expectations of him."
Asked what actions he has actually taken so far that could have made
him a nominee for the Nobel, Oymen cited his attempts to close down
the Guantanamo prison and his positive messages for dialogue with
the Muslim world.
The Norwegian Nobel committee's decision is likely to please
the Turkish government, which is working in tandem with the US
administration in its efforts to normalize relations with neighboring
Armenia. The Obama administration has also taken up a positive stance
toward Turkish initiatives to strengthen dialogue with Syria, Iran
and Palestinian groups, including the radical Hamas -- actions that
were criticized by the previous administration.
"We certainly welcome that the leader of a country which we view
as our ally was given the Nobel Peace Prize, particularly given the
fact that he paid one of his fi Ministry official, speaking on the
condition of anonymity.
The Nobel Peace Prize for Obama may indirectly bolster Turkey's
negotiating powers in talks with Armenia or in efforts to resolve the
Cyprus dispute, two objectives supported by the Obama administration,
according to Ozdem Sanberk, a former foreign minister and an esteemed
foreign policy analyst.
"It is obvious that it is Armenia and the Greek Cypriots who are less
enthusiastic about resolving the disputes. The Nobel Peace Prize award
for Obama indirectly supports efforts to solve the Cyprus problem and
achieve Turkish-Armenian reconciliation because Obama clearly supports
both goals," Sanberk said, noting that the Nobel committee's decision
will increase pressure on Greek Cyprus and Armenia if they reject a
settlement. "Those who oppose a solution will have to know that they
do so at the expense of confronting a US president whose commitment
to peace was honored by the Nobel committee," he added.
The Nobel Peace Prize is itself a message that the international
community wants peace and that it supports the new US administration
in its efforts to reverse those Bush-era policies that hardly promoted
peace, according to Sanberk. "This award is an encouragement for US
diplomats working for the peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear
dispute or for settlement in the Middle East," he said.
What has he done?
But criticism over the choice of Obama for the prestigious peace
prize, expressed most widely in the Middle East, was echoed in Turkey,
too. "I don't think it was an unusual decision to choose Obama for
the prize since this is a message of support for what Obama promised
to do. But I can't say that criticism which points to the fact that
he has actually done nothing to deserve it is completely wrong,"
Mehmet Altan, the chief columnist for the Star daily, said.
"What has he done? Has he brought peace to Afghanistan or
Palestine? Has he resolved the Cyprus problem or the [outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party] PKK threat?" asked Husnu he AkÅ~_am daily
with a Syrian background. "He does not give any hope at all, and he has
done nothing. Those who pin hopes on him will be sorely disappointed,"
he said.
Today's Zaman
10 October 2009, Saturday
US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize not quite because
of what he has done so far, but for what he will hopefully do to
promote global peace, according to Turkish analysts.
Obama managed to reverse, though only to a certain extent, the
widespread anti-US feelings among the Turkish public when he made
his first foreign bilateral visit to Turkey in April, a charm
offensive which included top-level talks on the Middle East with
government officials and an address to Parliament, as well as a
visit to Ä°stanbul's famed Blue Mosque and a lengthy meeting with
Turkish youth. The visit convinced the Turks that Obama is not his
predecessor, George W. Bush, who had record-low popularity rates in
Turkey, but most remained skeptical over whether he would live up to
his promises for change.
"This award is not for what Obama has done," Onur Oymen, a deputy
chairman of Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's
Party (CHP), told Today's Zaman. "This award is for what he is expected
to do; it is for hope and for expectations of change. The world has
huge expectations of him."
Asked what actions he has actually taken so far that could have made
him a nominee for the Nobel, Oymen cited his attempts to close down
the Guantanamo prison and his positive messages for dialogue with
the Muslim world.
The Norwegian Nobel committee's decision is likely to please
the Turkish government, which is working in tandem with the US
administration in its efforts to normalize relations with neighboring
Armenia. The Obama administration has also taken up a positive stance
toward Turkish initiatives to strengthen dialogue with Syria, Iran
and Palestinian groups, including the radical Hamas -- actions that
were criticized by the previous administration.
"We certainly welcome that the leader of a country which we view
as our ally was given the Nobel Peace Prize, particularly given the
fact that he paid one of his fi Ministry official, speaking on the
condition of anonymity.
The Nobel Peace Prize for Obama may indirectly bolster Turkey's
negotiating powers in talks with Armenia or in efforts to resolve the
Cyprus dispute, two objectives supported by the Obama administration,
according to Ozdem Sanberk, a former foreign minister and an esteemed
foreign policy analyst.
"It is obvious that it is Armenia and the Greek Cypriots who are less
enthusiastic about resolving the disputes. The Nobel Peace Prize award
for Obama indirectly supports efforts to solve the Cyprus problem and
achieve Turkish-Armenian reconciliation because Obama clearly supports
both goals," Sanberk said, noting that the Nobel committee's decision
will increase pressure on Greek Cyprus and Armenia if they reject a
settlement. "Those who oppose a solution will have to know that they
do so at the expense of confronting a US president whose commitment
to peace was honored by the Nobel committee," he added.
The Nobel Peace Prize is itself a message that the international
community wants peace and that it supports the new US administration
in its efforts to reverse those Bush-era policies that hardly promoted
peace, according to Sanberk. "This award is an encouragement for US
diplomats working for the peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear
dispute or for settlement in the Middle East," he said.
What has he done?
But criticism over the choice of Obama for the prestigious peace
prize, expressed most widely in the Middle East, was echoed in Turkey,
too. "I don't think it was an unusual decision to choose Obama for
the prize since this is a message of support for what Obama promised
to do. But I can't say that criticism which points to the fact that
he has actually done nothing to deserve it is completely wrong,"
Mehmet Altan, the chief columnist for the Star daily, said.
"What has he done? Has he brought peace to Afghanistan or
Palestine? Has he resolved the Cyprus problem or the [outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party] PKK threat?" asked Husnu he AkÅ~_am daily
with a Syrian background. "He does not give any hope at all, and he has
done nothing. Those who pin hopes on him will be sorely disappointed,"
he said.