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IS TURKEY DECLARING ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM AMERICA?
Semih Idiz
Hurriyet
March 11 2010
Turkey
It's that time of the year again, the time when we turn the clock back
to 1915. Once again everyone is trying to force something down someone
else's proverbial throat by invoking "morality" and "historic facts."
To say "Listen to our side of the story" has yet again been turned into
a synonym for "denial" or "propaganda," depending on where you stand.
History and politics are again intertwined. Thus to even suggest that
a broad panel of contemporary historians should look at the events
of nearly a century ago in light of newly available documents is
seen as an attempt to "obfuscate historic facts" and "dodge moral
responsibility."
In the meantime, the moralizing of certain U.S. congressmen at
the expense of Turks has thrown the usual wrench in the works
of Turkish-U.S. ties. Most Turks believe, of course, that these
congressmen are only serving their own political interests, since
they overlook the fact that it is their own country that is "the
most hated" today for the "crimes against humanity" it is believed -
by a large portion of the world population - to have committed or be
committing. Research by the Pew Center shows this clearly.
Thus Turkey's ambassador to Washington has yet again been recalled
to Ankara and everyone is now focused once again on U.S. President
Barack Obama's upcoming April 24 message. There is a sad and almost
tragicomic predictability in all of this since Turks have seen this
film over and over again. And yet it is clear that all of this is
beginning to seriously grate on the national nerve, and because
of this, there is something noticeably new this time around in the
attitude of the Turkish government.
Successive governments have, in the past, recalled the Turkish
ambassador when previous "Armenian genocide" resolutions have come
to Congress. However, this time there is a clear "this affair has
gone too far" attitude discernible in Ankara. There is an intensity
in the anger emanating from Ankara that we have not seen before. It
is as if the government is telling Washington: "Sort out this affair
once and for all, or the future of our supposedly strategic ties will
go down a slippery slope."
One might liken this to a kind of "declaration of independence" on
the part of Ankara from Washington. Thus Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ambassador Namik Tan will not return to
the U.S. until Turkey is convinced about the reassurances Washington
has given it over this Armenian issue.
That means Tan could stay in Ankara at least until the end of
April, and even beyond, depending on what Obama says April 24. In
the meantime, State Minister Zafer Caglayan has cancelled a planned
visit to Washington.
This was to be an important visit since Caglayan was appointed as a
"special representative" to develop economic ties with the U.S. under
the "Model Partnership" formula put forward by President Obama. Now
Caglayan has said it is "out of the question that this 'Model
Partnership' can be developed until the U.S. corrects its mistake."
He was, of course, referring to the Armenian resolution that passed
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
last week. What seems to have angered the Justice and Development,
or AKP, government to no end this time is the fact that the Obama
administration also tried to use this resolution to put pressure on
the Turkish Parliament to endorse the Zurich Protocols, which aim to
normalize ties with Armenia.
That effort has now resulted in exactly what the Obama administration
did not want. In other words, the passage of the Zurich Protocols
is even less likely now. As Laura Rozen from Politico magazine,
which follows the U.S. Congress closely, suggested in an item she
wrote last week, based on the remarks of Democratic Party staffers,
the Obama administration appears to have "fallen asleep at the wheel"
on this one.
All of this ties in with the general picture that indicates that
Turkey, under the AKP, has started to act more freely from its
traditional allies and partners, and is veering toward other parts
of the world in search of new partners, even if not new allies, at
this time. Whether this is the result of more "Islamism" in Turkish
politics, which many in the West would conveniently like to believe,
or the product of the roughshod manner in which Turkey has been
treated in Europe and America, is of course a wide-open question.
Looked at from the perspective of the Turkish man or woman on the
street, it makes a lot of sense for Turkey to veer toward countries
that are welcoming and friendly, and away from those that are not.
Thus, the more the Turkish government challenges Washington, the more
the AKP is likely to increase its political popularity at home.
Another indication of this "declaration of independence" came this week
when Ankara decided, in effect, that it did not need an International
Monetary Fund, or IMF, standby agreement after all, because it can
stand on its own two feet. Turks, especially left-wing ones, have
a long history of seeing the IMF as an "American tool," so it is no
surprise that this development has also generated pleasure at home.
Such national pride was, of course, also apparent in the most visible
expression of Turkey's desire to be an independent actor free of
Western encumbrances: Prime Minister Erdogan's breaking ranks with
previous Turkish governments and going all out against Israel. This
attitude is also apparent in the AKP government's desire to develop
relations with Iran and Syria, countries about which Washington is
highly sensitive.
How far the AKP government can sustain this attitude against the U.S.
remains to be seen. It is a fact, however, that both Erdogan and
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appear very serious this time.
Erdogan will be in Washington in a few weeks and it remains to be
seen how that visit goes as well.
It is also a fact that Ankara is opening new international doors of
economic and political opportunity for itself and has a rising profile
in its own region, and in the world at large, from South America to
Africa, from the Middle East to the Far East and the Subcontinent.
All of this goes to show that Turkish-American relations cannot
be taken for granted. These relations have to be seriously,
and continually worked on if the "Model Partnership" proposed by
President Obama is to ever be realized. Currently, the prospects do
not look great.
Semih Idiz
Hurriyet
March 11 2010
Turkey
It's that time of the year again, the time when we turn the clock back
to 1915. Once again everyone is trying to force something down someone
else's proverbial throat by invoking "morality" and "historic facts."
To say "Listen to our side of the story" has yet again been turned into
a synonym for "denial" or "propaganda," depending on where you stand.
History and politics are again intertwined. Thus to even suggest that
a broad panel of contemporary historians should look at the events
of nearly a century ago in light of newly available documents is
seen as an attempt to "obfuscate historic facts" and "dodge moral
responsibility."
In the meantime, the moralizing of certain U.S. congressmen at
the expense of Turks has thrown the usual wrench in the works
of Turkish-U.S. ties. Most Turks believe, of course, that these
congressmen are only serving their own political interests, since
they overlook the fact that it is their own country that is "the
most hated" today for the "crimes against humanity" it is believed -
by a large portion of the world population - to have committed or be
committing. Research by the Pew Center shows this clearly.
Thus Turkey's ambassador to Washington has yet again been recalled
to Ankara and everyone is now focused once again on U.S. President
Barack Obama's upcoming April 24 message. There is a sad and almost
tragicomic predictability in all of this since Turks have seen this
film over and over again. And yet it is clear that all of this is
beginning to seriously grate on the national nerve, and because
of this, there is something noticeably new this time around in the
attitude of the Turkish government.
Successive governments have, in the past, recalled the Turkish
ambassador when previous "Armenian genocide" resolutions have come
to Congress. However, this time there is a clear "this affair has
gone too far" attitude discernible in Ankara. There is an intensity
in the anger emanating from Ankara that we have not seen before. It
is as if the government is telling Washington: "Sort out this affair
once and for all, or the future of our supposedly strategic ties will
go down a slippery slope."
One might liken this to a kind of "declaration of independence" on
the part of Ankara from Washington. Thus Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ambassador Namik Tan will not return to
the U.S. until Turkey is convinced about the reassurances Washington
has given it over this Armenian issue.
That means Tan could stay in Ankara at least until the end of
April, and even beyond, depending on what Obama says April 24. In
the meantime, State Minister Zafer Caglayan has cancelled a planned
visit to Washington.
This was to be an important visit since Caglayan was appointed as a
"special representative" to develop economic ties with the U.S. under
the "Model Partnership" formula put forward by President Obama. Now
Caglayan has said it is "out of the question that this 'Model
Partnership' can be developed until the U.S. corrects its mistake."
He was, of course, referring to the Armenian resolution that passed
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
last week. What seems to have angered the Justice and Development,
or AKP, government to no end this time is the fact that the Obama
administration also tried to use this resolution to put pressure on
the Turkish Parliament to endorse the Zurich Protocols, which aim to
normalize ties with Armenia.
That effort has now resulted in exactly what the Obama administration
did not want. In other words, the passage of the Zurich Protocols
is even less likely now. As Laura Rozen from Politico magazine,
which follows the U.S. Congress closely, suggested in an item she
wrote last week, based on the remarks of Democratic Party staffers,
the Obama administration appears to have "fallen asleep at the wheel"
on this one.
All of this ties in with the general picture that indicates that
Turkey, under the AKP, has started to act more freely from its
traditional allies and partners, and is veering toward other parts
of the world in search of new partners, even if not new allies, at
this time. Whether this is the result of more "Islamism" in Turkish
politics, which many in the West would conveniently like to believe,
or the product of the roughshod manner in which Turkey has been
treated in Europe and America, is of course a wide-open question.
Looked at from the perspective of the Turkish man or woman on the
street, it makes a lot of sense for Turkey to veer toward countries
that are welcoming and friendly, and away from those that are not.
Thus, the more the Turkish government challenges Washington, the more
the AKP is likely to increase its political popularity at home.
Another indication of this "declaration of independence" came this week
when Ankara decided, in effect, that it did not need an International
Monetary Fund, or IMF, standby agreement after all, because it can
stand on its own two feet. Turks, especially left-wing ones, have
a long history of seeing the IMF as an "American tool," so it is no
surprise that this development has also generated pleasure at home.
Such national pride was, of course, also apparent in the most visible
expression of Turkey's desire to be an independent actor free of
Western encumbrances: Prime Minister Erdogan's breaking ranks with
previous Turkish governments and going all out against Israel. This
attitude is also apparent in the AKP government's desire to develop
relations with Iran and Syria, countries about which Washington is
highly sensitive.
How far the AKP government can sustain this attitude against the U.S.
remains to be seen. It is a fact, however, that both Erdogan and
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appear very serious this time.
Erdogan will be in Washington in a few weeks and it remains to be
seen how that visit goes as well.
It is also a fact that Ankara is opening new international doors of
economic and political opportunity for itself and has a rising profile
in its own region, and in the world at large, from South America to
Africa, from the Middle East to the Far East and the Subcontinent.
All of this goes to show that Turkish-American relations cannot
be taken for granted. These relations have to be seriously,
and continually worked on if the "Model Partnership" proposed by
President Obama is to ever be realized. Currently, the prospects do
not look great.