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CLINTON CALLS ERDOGAN 'FORCEFUL' AND 'EFFECTIVE'
Daily Sabah, Turkey
June 11 2014
AA
Published : 11.06.2014 10:05:29
WASHINGTON D.C. - "One man in particular held the key to the future
of Turkey and of our relationship: Prime Minister Erdogan," writes
Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State, in her newly released
book titled "Hard Choices."
Considered as the foundation for Hillary Clinton's candidacy for the
2016 US presidential election, "Hard Choices" describes her four
years - from 2008 to 2012 - as Secretary of State under President
Barack Obama.
In the book, the former Secretary of State not only wrote about
her visits around the world but also shared her perspective on key
policies and key political figures from different countries.
Clinton grants a fair share of her book to Turkey, namely its Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Stating that she first met Erdogan in the nineties when he was
Istanbul's mayor, Clinton describes Erdogan as "an ambitious, forceful,
devout and effective politician."
"Turks first elected his Islamist Party in 2002 and reelected them in
2007 and 2011," she writes. "Prime Minister Erdogan viewed all three
elections as mandates for sweeping change. His government aggressively
went after alleged coup plotters in the military and managed to gain
a tighter grip on power than any of its civilian predecessors."
Clinton goes on saying that, under Erdogan, Turkey has been testing
whether democracy, modernity, woman's rights, secularism and Islam
could co-exist.
Clinton praises changes under Erdogan such as easing restrictions
on teaching and broadcasting in Kurdish language, abolishing state
security courts-which had greatly restricted democratic values.
Despite positive developments in the country, writes Clinton, arrests
of journalists, the hard crackdown on Gezi Park protests in May 2013
and the probe against high-ranking government officials on graft
allegations have constrained Erdogan's leadership.
Clinton insists on the fact that it is in American interests to
encourage all religion-based political parties and leaders to embrace
inclusive democracy, referring to Erdogan's AK Party and its vision
for Islam in politics.
Clinton writes that Turkey will continue to play a significant role
in both the Middle East and Europe and remain of vital importance to
the US.
Turkish economy boomed with one of the fastest growth rates in the
world, adds Clinton.
"As the rest of Europe staggered under financial crisis and the Middle
East stagnated, Turkey emerged as a regional powerhouse," she notes.
She also praises Turkey's policy of wanting "zero problems with
neighbors," describing it as an overall constructive policy,
which paves the way for solutions in "long running disputes" in,
for instance, Cyprus as well as "frozen conflicts" such as the
Turkish-Armenian dispute over 1915 events. Clinton adds that she put
all her efforts to ameliorate Turkish-Armenian relations.
Still, she writes, the "zero problems" philosophy "also made Turkey
overeager to accept an inadequate diplomatic agreement with its
neighbor Iran that would have done little to address the international
community's concerns about Tehran's nuclear program."
Recalling the Israeli raid on Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara in 2010
which killed eight people, Clinton writes that she had to calm down
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu who considered the attack
as "9/11 for Turkey" and managed to convince Turkey not to take any
serious action against Israel.
http://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2014/06/11/clinton-calls-erdogan-forceful-and-effective
Daily Sabah, Turkey
June 11 2014
AA
Published : 11.06.2014 10:05:29
WASHINGTON D.C. - "One man in particular held the key to the future
of Turkey and of our relationship: Prime Minister Erdogan," writes
Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State, in her newly released
book titled "Hard Choices."
Considered as the foundation for Hillary Clinton's candidacy for the
2016 US presidential election, "Hard Choices" describes her four
years - from 2008 to 2012 - as Secretary of State under President
Barack Obama.
In the book, the former Secretary of State not only wrote about
her visits around the world but also shared her perspective on key
policies and key political figures from different countries.
Clinton grants a fair share of her book to Turkey, namely its Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Stating that she first met Erdogan in the nineties when he was
Istanbul's mayor, Clinton describes Erdogan as "an ambitious, forceful,
devout and effective politician."
"Turks first elected his Islamist Party in 2002 and reelected them in
2007 and 2011," she writes. "Prime Minister Erdogan viewed all three
elections as mandates for sweeping change. His government aggressively
went after alleged coup plotters in the military and managed to gain
a tighter grip on power than any of its civilian predecessors."
Clinton goes on saying that, under Erdogan, Turkey has been testing
whether democracy, modernity, woman's rights, secularism and Islam
could co-exist.
Clinton praises changes under Erdogan such as easing restrictions
on teaching and broadcasting in Kurdish language, abolishing state
security courts-which had greatly restricted democratic values.
Despite positive developments in the country, writes Clinton, arrests
of journalists, the hard crackdown on Gezi Park protests in May 2013
and the probe against high-ranking government officials on graft
allegations have constrained Erdogan's leadership.
Clinton insists on the fact that it is in American interests to
encourage all religion-based political parties and leaders to embrace
inclusive democracy, referring to Erdogan's AK Party and its vision
for Islam in politics.
Clinton writes that Turkey will continue to play a significant role
in both the Middle East and Europe and remain of vital importance to
the US.
Turkish economy boomed with one of the fastest growth rates in the
world, adds Clinton.
"As the rest of Europe staggered under financial crisis and the Middle
East stagnated, Turkey emerged as a regional powerhouse," she notes.
She also praises Turkey's policy of wanting "zero problems with
neighbors," describing it as an overall constructive policy,
which paves the way for solutions in "long running disputes" in,
for instance, Cyprus as well as "frozen conflicts" such as the
Turkish-Armenian dispute over 1915 events. Clinton adds that she put
all her efforts to ameliorate Turkish-Armenian relations.
Still, she writes, the "zero problems" philosophy "also made Turkey
overeager to accept an inadequate diplomatic agreement with its
neighbor Iran that would have done little to address the international
community's concerns about Tehran's nuclear program."
Recalling the Israeli raid on Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara in 2010
which killed eight people, Clinton writes that she had to calm down
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu who considered the attack
as "9/11 for Turkey" and managed to convince Turkey not to take any
serious action against Israel.
http://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2014/06/11/clinton-calls-erdogan-forceful-and-effective