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LIVING HAPPILY, AND TURKISHLY, EVER AFTER
Hurriyet, Turkey
Aug 17, 2011
In one of his speeches, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that
"Turkey and Iran share a very long, common history." And in another he
said that "a common destiny, a common history, a common future is the
slogan of Turkey and Syria." And in another, "we have a common history,
a common destiny and a common future, as well as cooperation between
Greece and Turkey," prompting this columnist to wonder which countries
in the world Turkey does not have a common destiny, common history and
common future with. Most recently, as crowds in the rebel-controlled
Benghazi, Libya, chanted "Erdogan, Turkey, Muslim," Mr. Davutoglu
told them "we have a common history and a future."
That may be bad news for Turkey's future relations with the Libyan
opposition. One of the countries with which Turkey has a common future
and history is sending one hostile signal after another to Ankara,
telling Mr. Davutoglu's men to butt out of Syria, even accusing Turkey
of providing "terrorists" with arms. The other country with which
Turkey has a common history and a future is calculating where and when
the next Turkish act of hostility will come from. Speaking about that
country, Mr. Davutoglu said, "We have nothing to talk about."
Ultimately, the visa-free trade zone linking
"common-history-and-future" friends Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan
seems to be in the political waste basket now.
Meanwhile, the other country with which Turkey has a common history
and a future is digging a massive, 120-kilometer-long area on its
border with Turkey. In the south, the islanders with which we have a
common history and future - although Mr. Davutoglu has not specifically
mentioned that - keep on vetoing EU accession chapters and going ahead
with their Exclusive Economic Zone plans despite Turkish objections.
The Bulgarians, Armenians and Georgians are lucky they don't have
a common history and a future with Turkey. Bosnians may not be
equally lucky (yes, Bosnians are our neighbors since Mr. Davutoglu
expansively defines the Turkish neighborhood, as the vast space of
Ottoman dominion). A future visit to Sarajevo may risk ties with
Bosnia if the minister recalls our common history and future with
the Bosnians (if he already has not). It was alarming enough when
Mr. Davutoglu said that "the 16th century was the golden age of the
Balkans, and that the Ottoman era there needs to come back." As one
Balkan analyst recently wrote, "Turkey will be judged by what it is
doing in the Balkans now, not by what it did 400 years ago."
But I am particularly worried about Egypt where the post-Mubarak
political scene, with a touch of a common history and a future with
Turkey, could at any moment recall its anti-Ottoman past.
According to The Economist, "from North Africa to the Gulf the region
seems to be going through a Turkish moment." How happy. "So is there
any reason why the Arab countries, having passed through their current
upheavals, should not live happily, and Turkishly, ever after?" the
newspaper asked (The Turkish Model: A Hard Act to Follow, Aug. 6).
According to The Economist, the coming to power of pious people did
not mean a dramatic rupture in ties with the West.
And, in The Economist's analysis, we must live happily and Turkishly
ever after because "there is no suggestion that [Turkey] will leave
NATO or cut diplomatic links, however strained, with Israel." There
is even better news: "So far, at least, Turkey is a long way from
any Iranian-style enforcement of female dress, let alone a clerical
class that has the final say in all big decisions." How relieving!
The Economist probably forgot to mention another benign aspect
of Turkish Islamist rule: We still don't behead criminals, stone
adulterers or build nuclear weapons. Mind you, the first two are in
the common culture of some of the countries we have a common history
and a future with. And our Ottoman forefathers would surely have gone
for the third had the technology of their times allowed them.
Hurriyet, Turkey
Aug 17, 2011
In one of his speeches, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that
"Turkey and Iran share a very long, common history." And in another he
said that "a common destiny, a common history, a common future is the
slogan of Turkey and Syria." And in another, "we have a common history,
a common destiny and a common future, as well as cooperation between
Greece and Turkey," prompting this columnist to wonder which countries
in the world Turkey does not have a common destiny, common history and
common future with. Most recently, as crowds in the rebel-controlled
Benghazi, Libya, chanted "Erdogan, Turkey, Muslim," Mr. Davutoglu
told them "we have a common history and a future."
That may be bad news for Turkey's future relations with the Libyan
opposition. One of the countries with which Turkey has a common future
and history is sending one hostile signal after another to Ankara,
telling Mr. Davutoglu's men to butt out of Syria, even accusing Turkey
of providing "terrorists" with arms. The other country with which
Turkey has a common history and a future is calculating where and when
the next Turkish act of hostility will come from. Speaking about that
country, Mr. Davutoglu said, "We have nothing to talk about."
Ultimately, the visa-free trade zone linking
"common-history-and-future" friends Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan
seems to be in the political waste basket now.
Meanwhile, the other country with which Turkey has a common history
and a future is digging a massive, 120-kilometer-long area on its
border with Turkey. In the south, the islanders with which we have a
common history and future - although Mr. Davutoglu has not specifically
mentioned that - keep on vetoing EU accession chapters and going ahead
with their Exclusive Economic Zone plans despite Turkish objections.
The Bulgarians, Armenians and Georgians are lucky they don't have
a common history and a future with Turkey. Bosnians may not be
equally lucky (yes, Bosnians are our neighbors since Mr. Davutoglu
expansively defines the Turkish neighborhood, as the vast space of
Ottoman dominion). A future visit to Sarajevo may risk ties with
Bosnia if the minister recalls our common history and future with
the Bosnians (if he already has not). It was alarming enough when
Mr. Davutoglu said that "the 16th century was the golden age of the
Balkans, and that the Ottoman era there needs to come back." As one
Balkan analyst recently wrote, "Turkey will be judged by what it is
doing in the Balkans now, not by what it did 400 years ago."
But I am particularly worried about Egypt where the post-Mubarak
political scene, with a touch of a common history and a future with
Turkey, could at any moment recall its anti-Ottoman past.
According to The Economist, "from North Africa to the Gulf the region
seems to be going through a Turkish moment." How happy. "So is there
any reason why the Arab countries, having passed through their current
upheavals, should not live happily, and Turkishly, ever after?" the
newspaper asked (The Turkish Model: A Hard Act to Follow, Aug. 6).
According to The Economist, the coming to power of pious people did
not mean a dramatic rupture in ties with the West.
And, in The Economist's analysis, we must live happily and Turkishly
ever after because "there is no suggestion that [Turkey] will leave
NATO or cut diplomatic links, however strained, with Israel." There
is even better news: "So far, at least, Turkey is a long way from
any Iranian-style enforcement of female dress, let alone a clerical
class that has the final say in all big decisions." How relieving!
The Economist probably forgot to mention another benign aspect
of Turkish Islamist rule: We still don't behead criminals, stone
adulterers or build nuclear weapons. Mind you, the first two are in
the common culture of some of the countries we have a common history
and a future with. And our Ottoman forefathers would surely have gone
for the third had the technology of their times allowed them.