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Sunday's Zaman
BÜLENT KENES [email protected]
April 24, 2014, Thursday
Charm offensive a la Turca
This is how things work in this country. A thing is done not because it is
the correct thing to do or because someone is entitled to it or because it
just must be done. Things that may be done or steps that must be taken are
done or taken in response to an emerging need or affair. Usually, a thing
is done out of a necessity, but not because our principles or attachment to
moral or ethical values or our respect or ability to have empathy for
others entail it, or because we are true democrats. And more often than
not, what needs to be done is done at the eleventh hour. Moreover and worse
still, sometimes what needs to be done is not done with sincerity, but with
the pretense of sincerity.
This tradition didn't change regarding the tragic events that occurred
during World War I and especially in 1915. Turkey has always sought to save
face instead of coming up with a humanitarian approach based on human
rights, laws, morality and civility, and with a permanent solution that
would satisfy both sides to a reasonable extent. And to save face, we
always acted at the eleventh hour. The message of condolences issued by the
Prime Minister's Office of the Turkish Republic on April 23, addressed to
the children and grandchildren of the Armenians who lost their lives during
the forced relocation and massacre of 1915, falls within this category
although it claims that Turkey understands and shares in their sorrows.
Still, we need to acknowledge that this historic statement, issued in nine
languages including Turkish and two Armenian dialects and undersigned by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ=9Fan, is a very bold step in the right
direction. But this does not save it from being a tactical move in the
final analysis.
This is because this message does not aim to solve the problem and ensure a
confrontation with the past and bring to daylight the truth, even if we may
not like it. Rather, it seeks to temporarily get rid of a big, imminent
problem and buy time. The fact that the statement was issued on April 23,
i.e., one day before Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day on April 24, lends
credence to this thesis.
On April 24, not only US President Barack Obama, but also many presidents,
governments and parliaments around the world tend to make statements about
the 1915 tragedy. Everyone knows that in their consciences, they are close
to seeing this tragedy -- which occurred in the context of World War I --
as "genocide," even if they may not officially acknowledge it as "genocide"
due to their political, diplomatic or economic interests. Here I must note
that those who are close to the "genocide" approach also include the
countries, administrations and powers that seek to instrumentalize this
sorrow to attain certain pragmatic goals or that seek to settle accounts
with Turkey via the great sorrow of Armenians.
Actually, this year's April 24 is not the worst experience we will have. It
is just a small rehearsal for the real test for Turkey in 2015, which will
be marked as the "Centennial of the Armenian Genocide," which Turkey cannot
escape or ignore. The prime minister's statement may help to alleviate the
preliminary shockwaves of this impending event, but it can hardly be a
complete solution to this indispensable event, which will be here in 365
days.
>From another perspective, the statement of condolences, undersigned by
Prime Minister ErdoÄ=9Fan, is a carefully prepared text. It is such that
we
would never expect ErdoÄ=9Fan to issue such a statement. Indeed, he is so
indifferent to the pain he causes or is responsible for, and he has
recently been so busy sowing the seeds of hatred among diverse segments of
society that we would never believe that he nurtured any empathy for those
who were jeopardized in a tragedy that occurred 99 years ago. As a matter
of fact, it is really hard to bring ourselves to believe that the person
who was totally indifferent and insensitive to the Uludere tragedy -- in
which 34 civilians were mistaken for terrorists and killed in military
airstrikes in Å=9Eırnak's Uludere district due to false intelligence -- or to
the protesters who died during the Gezi Park protests is the same person
who undersigned this statement.
However, it is quite natural for us to expect a prime minister to develop
long-standing strategies based on certain moral values and principles, be
it in the name of the national interest or personal political plans. But
this does not apply to our case. Rather, ErdoÄ=9Fan gives the impression
of
being a man of short-sighted tactical moves geared toward saving face.
Therefore, we need to analyze in depth ErdoÄ=9Fan's real intentions with
this
statement. It should be noted that this message seeks to restore Turkey's
deteriorating image in the international arena rather than to share in the
sorrows of Armenians. With this move, which can be described as a PR
effort, we can say that ErdoÄ=9Fan has launched a charm offensive a la Turca.
Even if it is intended as a charm offensive, this historic move is not
stripped of its conjunctural and contextual spiritual value. But at the
same time, it brings the lack of sincerity into broad daylight. Of course
we need to question the sincerity and intentions behind an isolated
positive move by one with a despotic mentality, who pays no regard to the
rights and freedoms of diverse social groups in the country and is in an
effort to establish an arbitrary rule with total control over democratic
institutions and is ready to crush any dissident or opposing group.
Actually, it is a grave act of naiveté to assume that a repressive leader
-- who use all his power to push aside fundamental rights and freedoms,
democracy and rule of law and turn them into a tool of oppression, thereby
creating a deep-rooted sociopolitical problem with effects that will last
for decades to come -- will take well-meaning steps to solve a problem
stemming from a tragedy that occurred 100 years ago.
Having emerged as a political figure who is no longer expected to pay
respect to rights and freedoms and who will never act as a true democrat,
ErdoÄ=9Fan has made anti-democratic attitudes part of his nature and this has
the potential to make his statement regarding Armenian sorrows meaningless.
Given all the tests of sincerity ErdoÄ=9Fan has failed so far, it is hard to
say whether he is being sincere with this move.
If we are to expect any sincerity from ErdoÄ=9Fan, his level of sincerity now
could be equal to, not more than, the sincerity he shows with regard to the
Kurdish issue, in which he takes steps only to the extent that they are
beneficial to his political career. Alternatively, we can look at how he
promised to draft a new, civilian constitution ahead of the general
elections, but he did everything to build himself a strict and lawless rule
after the elections. Perhaps we should expect this latest move to end like
the so-called Alevi initiative, for which numerous workshops were held but
which was eventually abandoned after he realized that it would not be
politically beneficial to his party. Or we can expect the same sincerity as
that of his move to make the reopening of the Halki Seminary on the island
of Heybeliada near Ä°stanbul a matter of bargaining with Greece, although he
had promised many times to open it.
What I am trying to get at is that our expectations for a leader who has
developed a lawless, anti-democratic personality, who seeks to
socio-culturally and economically lynch certain social groups that are
selectively antagonized and who causes great social problems by spouting
ever more hatred should be kept at a low level. Indeed, any disillusion
from expecting a person who is the source of great tragedies today to solve
a historical tragedy will only lead to grave disappointment.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/bulent-kenes_346055_charm-offensive-a-la-turca.html
BÜLENT KENES [email protected]
April 24, 2014, Thursday
Charm offensive a la Turca
This is how things work in this country. A thing is done not because it is
the correct thing to do or because someone is entitled to it or because it
just must be done. Things that may be done or steps that must be taken are
done or taken in response to an emerging need or affair. Usually, a thing
is done out of a necessity, but not because our principles or attachment to
moral or ethical values or our respect or ability to have empathy for
others entail it, or because we are true democrats. And more often than
not, what needs to be done is done at the eleventh hour. Moreover and worse
still, sometimes what needs to be done is not done with sincerity, but with
the pretense of sincerity.
This tradition didn't change regarding the tragic events that occurred
during World War I and especially in 1915. Turkey has always sought to save
face instead of coming up with a humanitarian approach based on human
rights, laws, morality and civility, and with a permanent solution that
would satisfy both sides to a reasonable extent. And to save face, we
always acted at the eleventh hour. The message of condolences issued by the
Prime Minister's Office of the Turkish Republic on April 23, addressed to
the children and grandchildren of the Armenians who lost their lives during
the forced relocation and massacre of 1915, falls within this category
although it claims that Turkey understands and shares in their sorrows.
Still, we need to acknowledge that this historic statement, issued in nine
languages including Turkish and two Armenian dialects and undersigned by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ=9Fan, is a very bold step in the right
direction. But this does not save it from being a tactical move in the
final analysis.
This is because this message does not aim to solve the problem and ensure a
confrontation with the past and bring to daylight the truth, even if we may
not like it. Rather, it seeks to temporarily get rid of a big, imminent
problem and buy time. The fact that the statement was issued on April 23,
i.e., one day before Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day on April 24, lends
credence to this thesis.
On April 24, not only US President Barack Obama, but also many presidents,
governments and parliaments around the world tend to make statements about
the 1915 tragedy. Everyone knows that in their consciences, they are close
to seeing this tragedy -- which occurred in the context of World War I --
as "genocide," even if they may not officially acknowledge it as "genocide"
due to their political, diplomatic or economic interests. Here I must note
that those who are close to the "genocide" approach also include the
countries, administrations and powers that seek to instrumentalize this
sorrow to attain certain pragmatic goals or that seek to settle accounts
with Turkey via the great sorrow of Armenians.
Actually, this year's April 24 is not the worst experience we will have. It
is just a small rehearsal for the real test for Turkey in 2015, which will
be marked as the "Centennial of the Armenian Genocide," which Turkey cannot
escape or ignore. The prime minister's statement may help to alleviate the
preliminary shockwaves of this impending event, but it can hardly be a
complete solution to this indispensable event, which will be here in 365
days.
>From another perspective, the statement of condolences, undersigned by
Prime Minister ErdoÄ=9Fan, is a carefully prepared text. It is such that
we
would never expect ErdoÄ=9Fan to issue such a statement. Indeed, he is so
indifferent to the pain he causes or is responsible for, and he has
recently been so busy sowing the seeds of hatred among diverse segments of
society that we would never believe that he nurtured any empathy for those
who were jeopardized in a tragedy that occurred 99 years ago. As a matter
of fact, it is really hard to bring ourselves to believe that the person
who was totally indifferent and insensitive to the Uludere tragedy -- in
which 34 civilians were mistaken for terrorists and killed in military
airstrikes in Å=9Eırnak's Uludere district due to false intelligence -- or to
the protesters who died during the Gezi Park protests is the same person
who undersigned this statement.
However, it is quite natural for us to expect a prime minister to develop
long-standing strategies based on certain moral values and principles, be
it in the name of the national interest or personal political plans. But
this does not apply to our case. Rather, ErdoÄ=9Fan gives the impression
of
being a man of short-sighted tactical moves geared toward saving face.
Therefore, we need to analyze in depth ErdoÄ=9Fan's real intentions with
this
statement. It should be noted that this message seeks to restore Turkey's
deteriorating image in the international arena rather than to share in the
sorrows of Armenians. With this move, which can be described as a PR
effort, we can say that ErdoÄ=9Fan has launched a charm offensive a la Turca.
Even if it is intended as a charm offensive, this historic move is not
stripped of its conjunctural and contextual spiritual value. But at the
same time, it brings the lack of sincerity into broad daylight. Of course
we need to question the sincerity and intentions behind an isolated
positive move by one with a despotic mentality, who pays no regard to the
rights and freedoms of diverse social groups in the country and is in an
effort to establish an arbitrary rule with total control over democratic
institutions and is ready to crush any dissident or opposing group.
Actually, it is a grave act of naiveté to assume that a repressive leader
-- who use all his power to push aside fundamental rights and freedoms,
democracy and rule of law and turn them into a tool of oppression, thereby
creating a deep-rooted sociopolitical problem with effects that will last
for decades to come -- will take well-meaning steps to solve a problem
stemming from a tragedy that occurred 100 years ago.
Having emerged as a political figure who is no longer expected to pay
respect to rights and freedoms and who will never act as a true democrat,
ErdoÄ=9Fan has made anti-democratic attitudes part of his nature and this has
the potential to make his statement regarding Armenian sorrows meaningless.
Given all the tests of sincerity ErdoÄ=9Fan has failed so far, it is hard to
say whether he is being sincere with this move.
If we are to expect any sincerity from ErdoÄ=9Fan, his level of sincerity now
could be equal to, not more than, the sincerity he shows with regard to the
Kurdish issue, in which he takes steps only to the extent that they are
beneficial to his political career. Alternatively, we can look at how he
promised to draft a new, civilian constitution ahead of the general
elections, but he did everything to build himself a strict and lawless rule
after the elections. Perhaps we should expect this latest move to end like
the so-called Alevi initiative, for which numerous workshops were held but
which was eventually abandoned after he realized that it would not be
politically beneficial to his party. Or we can expect the same sincerity as
that of his move to make the reopening of the Halki Seminary on the island
of Heybeliada near Ä°stanbul a matter of bargaining with Greece, although he
had promised many times to open it.
What I am trying to get at is that our expectations for a leader who has
developed a lawless, anti-democratic personality, who seeks to
socio-culturally and economically lynch certain social groups that are
selectively antagonized and who causes great social problems by spouting
ever more hatred should be kept at a low level. Indeed, any disillusion
from expecting a person who is the source of great tragedies today to solve
a historical tragedy will only lead to grave disappointment.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/bulent-kenes_346055_charm-offensive-a-la-turca.html