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DANGEROUS MAP GAMES AROUND TURKEY
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
April 17 2014
TR_ISTA - 17.04.2014 12:07:32
Crimea's annexation to the Russian Federation is already a fait
accompli. Western authorities are so occupied with the uprising
in eastern Ukraine and possible Russian intervention that nobody is
talking about the agreement between Russia and Crimea. One would expect
more activism from Ankara, given the fact that Crimea was a part of the
Ottoman state for three centuries, but the best the Turkish state could
do was to give an official medal to the former leader of the Crimean
Tatar Mejlis (assembly), Mustafa Abdulcemil Kırımoglu. With this
symbolic move President Abdullah Gul expressed Turkey's support for
the cause of the Crimean Tatars. But nothing further was done. Given
Turkey's self-isolation from the Western World and its dependency on
Russia for oil and gas resources, nothing more could be done, either.
Maps and regimes around Turkey do change en masse. Map changes in this
region have a domino effect. The separation of Crimea from Ukraine
and its eventual annexation by Russia will not remain as an isolated
accident in history. It will certainly provoke similar processes
in the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia. During such an
era of redrawing the world map, Ankara should have been much more
active in international politics. Iraq and Syria are on the verge of
dismemberment. The leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan have already made public
their intention to turn the Iraqi Federation into a confederation
and in time becoming fully independent. Syrian Kurds are going to
follow a similar path. Turkey's Kurdish politicians have started
to mention democratic autonomy. Despite the fact that there is not
enough support for such integration among the Turkish Cypriots, many
Turks have started to speak about an annexation of Northern Cyprus
(KKTC) by Turkey if the recent attempts for a final resolution on the
island do not give sustainable results. Yemen, Northern Sudan, Chad,
Nigeria, Mali and several other African nations are also challenged
by separationist movements.
It would be naïve to believe that all these insurgencies are taking
place based solely on the internal dynamics of the related states.
Foreign powers are playing with future maps of our region. The results
of these map games will define the political context of Turkey's future
international relations, be they political, economic or cultural
in nature. Whether Turkey will be an isolated half-actor in world
politics or a global actor will be decided according to Turkey's
activism during this era of remapping. Unfortunately, Ankara is so
busy with domestic power games that it is unable to understand the
dynamics of this new era.
As the Sykes-Picot Agreement redrew the maps of the Asia Minor and
of the Middle East 100 years ago, new agreements may well have been
reached about the future maps of the Black Sea, Caucasus and Middle
East and Africa regions. In such an era of remapping, China will also
try to settle its own sovereignty discussion regarding certain islands
and pieces of land with its neighboring countries. Similar attempts
will be seen in Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent. This era
can also be turned into an era of opportunities to resolve disputes
between the Azerbaijani and Armenian nations. Whereas the Sykes-Picot
Agreement disregarded the geography and linguistic pluralism of the
region, the new maps will be drawn in line with the linguistic, ethnic
and tribal distinctions. While the Western world is moving toward a
reunification, the East will pass through an era of disintegration and
the establishment of small, yet uncontrollable states in the region.
Turkey is unprepared for such an era. The linguistic and ethnic maps
of our region have not yet been drawn, yet Turkish diplomats do not
perceive regional politics in line with linguistic differences and
similarities. Turkey also lacks something like the Highly Skilled
Immigration Program of the UK that would bring in skilled workers
from all these different linguistically defined lands. Map games
necessitate control of information about linguistic divisions of the
regional countries.
KERİM BALCI (Cihan/Today's Zaman)
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
April 17 2014
TR_ISTA - 17.04.2014 12:07:32
Crimea's annexation to the Russian Federation is already a fait
accompli. Western authorities are so occupied with the uprising
in eastern Ukraine and possible Russian intervention that nobody is
talking about the agreement between Russia and Crimea. One would expect
more activism from Ankara, given the fact that Crimea was a part of the
Ottoman state for three centuries, but the best the Turkish state could
do was to give an official medal to the former leader of the Crimean
Tatar Mejlis (assembly), Mustafa Abdulcemil Kırımoglu. With this
symbolic move President Abdullah Gul expressed Turkey's support for
the cause of the Crimean Tatars. But nothing further was done. Given
Turkey's self-isolation from the Western World and its dependency on
Russia for oil and gas resources, nothing more could be done, either.
Maps and regimes around Turkey do change en masse. Map changes in this
region have a domino effect. The separation of Crimea from Ukraine
and its eventual annexation by Russia will not remain as an isolated
accident in history. It will certainly provoke similar processes
in the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia. During such an
era of redrawing the world map, Ankara should have been much more
active in international politics. Iraq and Syria are on the verge of
dismemberment. The leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan have already made public
their intention to turn the Iraqi Federation into a confederation
and in time becoming fully independent. Syrian Kurds are going to
follow a similar path. Turkey's Kurdish politicians have started
to mention democratic autonomy. Despite the fact that there is not
enough support for such integration among the Turkish Cypriots, many
Turks have started to speak about an annexation of Northern Cyprus
(KKTC) by Turkey if the recent attempts for a final resolution on the
island do not give sustainable results. Yemen, Northern Sudan, Chad,
Nigeria, Mali and several other African nations are also challenged
by separationist movements.
It would be naïve to believe that all these insurgencies are taking
place based solely on the internal dynamics of the related states.
Foreign powers are playing with future maps of our region. The results
of these map games will define the political context of Turkey's future
international relations, be they political, economic or cultural
in nature. Whether Turkey will be an isolated half-actor in world
politics or a global actor will be decided according to Turkey's
activism during this era of remapping. Unfortunately, Ankara is so
busy with domestic power games that it is unable to understand the
dynamics of this new era.
As the Sykes-Picot Agreement redrew the maps of the Asia Minor and
of the Middle East 100 years ago, new agreements may well have been
reached about the future maps of the Black Sea, Caucasus and Middle
East and Africa regions. In such an era of remapping, China will also
try to settle its own sovereignty discussion regarding certain islands
and pieces of land with its neighboring countries. Similar attempts
will be seen in Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent. This era
can also be turned into an era of opportunities to resolve disputes
between the Azerbaijani and Armenian nations. Whereas the Sykes-Picot
Agreement disregarded the geography and linguistic pluralism of the
region, the new maps will be drawn in line with the linguistic, ethnic
and tribal distinctions. While the Western world is moving toward a
reunification, the East will pass through an era of disintegration and
the establishment of small, yet uncontrollable states in the region.
Turkey is unprepared for such an era. The linguistic and ethnic maps
of our region have not yet been drawn, yet Turkish diplomats do not
perceive regional politics in line with linguistic differences and
similarities. Turkey also lacks something like the Highly Skilled
Immigration Program of the UK that would bring in skilled workers
from all these different linguistically defined lands. Map games
necessitate control of information about linguistic divisions of the
regional countries.
KERİM BALCI (Cihan/Today's Zaman)