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Today's Zaman (Turkey)
November 13, 2014 Thursday
Turkey loses Arab world
Turkey loses Arab worldThe perception of Turkey among Arab nations has
taken a dramatic turn for the worse because of the harsh diatribes and
meddlesome policies adopted by shortsighted Turkish leaders. This has
in turn started to take a toll on political relations, with subsequent
adverse impacts on the Turkish economy and a decision by the 22-member
Arab League to revisit its ties with Turkey.
It is amazing how much clout Turkey has lost in the Arab world in a
very short period of time. This is because ideological dreamers --
those who were implicated in unprecedented and massive corruption
scandals and caught in backroom deals with Iran -- decided to exploit
Arab sensibilities for domestic political campaigns in Turkey.
Ankara has encountered a string of failures after overplaying its hand
with a hasty entrance into Arab politics. It was blindsided by its own
ideology and lack of comprehensive knowledge, expertise and networks.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoIan, who has finally shown the true colors
of his political Islamist background after consolidating his power in
Turkey, used to be a much sought-after leader by the Arab world, a
fact that even led to a special invitation for ErdoIan to deliver a
speech at the Arab League summit in Khartoum in 2006, the first time
the honor was awarded to the head of the Turkish government. Today he
is seen as a pariah, a spoiler and effectively a persona non grata by
many leaders in Arab countries.
To the detriment of Turkey's national interests, ErdoIan and his
allies in the government, including Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoIlu,
have succeeded in turning both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two powerhouses
in the Arab League, into a united enemy that is determined to thwart
Turkish overtures not only in the Arab and Muslim world but also in
global politics. The last casualty of this sad picture is the decisive
defeat Turkey experienced in the race to secure a seat on the United
Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, for which it was
only able to secure 60 votes, as opposed to 150 five years ago.
Now the Arab League is considering sending a stronger message to
Ankara by reviewing the existing agreements and contracts it has with
Turkey. The Arab League and Turkey signed a memorandum of
understanding on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York in
September 2004, an agreement that paved the way for closer
cooperation.
It was in fact Egypt's lobbying that paved the way for closer
engagement with Turkey, a non-Arab and predominantly Sunni nation.The
agreement was approved in Parliament on April 1, 2009, and published
in the Official Gazette on April 10, 2009.
To further promote ties, the Arab League also opened a representative
office in Ankara and appointed a powerful diplomat, Mohamed El Fatah
Naciri -- a Moroccan who had worked closely with the former
secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, for many years -- to
lead the delegation in AnkaraNow in a sharp turn, both Saudis and
Egyptians are pushing for the closure of the office in Turkey, which
helped boost ties economically and politically between Turkey and Arab
countries. A final decision on this has not been rendered, but it is
more than likely that it will happen unless Turkey quickly readjusts
its policies to assure Arab nations that it won't interfere in their
affairs and has no ulterior motives in the Arab world other than a
constructive dialogue that benefits both sides politically and
economically.
As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has never responded in kind to his
Turkish counterpart, ErdoIan, who has not ceased to bash him at every
occasion he can find, including at the UN General Assembly meeting.
Instead, Egypt sent a stern message to Turkey by realigning its
position on the east Mediterranean, choosing closer cooperation with
the Greek Cypriots and Greece.Egypt is backed by most Gulf nations and
is moving against Turkey in every platform It will be almost
impossible for any Turkish initiative to succeed in the Arab world and
within the 57-member Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Turkey's Africa opening is also at risk. Egypt has a lot of cards it
has not yet played, such as openly supporting genocide claims about
the 1915 killings of Armenians, limiting Turkey's engagement in North
Africa or shunning Turkey from involvement in Palestinian affairs.
The time may come to put them into use if, say, Muslim Brotherhood
leaders based in Istanbul start actively stirring up trouble for
Egypt.Many in Turkey, both from academic and state institutions,
believe Turkey's policies concerning Arab nations in general and Egypt
in particular do not make any sense.
Yet the influence of these academics and bureaucrats on policy-making
decision processes is either very limited or nonexistent because the
policies were determined at the very top by select political Islamists
who leave no room for the input of others, especially if it comes at
the expense of religious zealotry. Ideological convictions drive these
policies rather than a common-sense approach, and therefore the
policies are prone to weaknesses and fallacious reasoning.
Most are designed to generate talking points for Islamists and to
mobilize passionate, core supporters of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) at election rallies.By intention or design,
political Islamists, with their perceived imperialist ambitions and
grand posturing, are truly jeopardizing Turkey's national security.
They either do not have a grasp of or do not care about the risks of
alienating Arab allies and partners, whom Ankara desperately needs to
help stabilize Iraq and Syria, both neighbors of Turkey. Surely Turkey
needs the valuable assistance of Arabs in countering Iran's
destabilizing proxy wars in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia,
which are part of Persian expansionism disguised under the pretexts of
trade, tourism and cultural and religious exchanges.
Turkey's share in Arab markets is also in peril as political ties
worsen. The trade volume between Turkey and Arab League members was
$25.
7 billion in 2009. After cozying up with these members, it reached a record $47.
5 billion in 2013, according to Turkish government data That
represents 12 percent of Turkey's overall trade. In the first nine
months of the year, the trade volume has dropped around 6 percent from
$35.
6 billion to $33.6 billion.
The decline in trade must spell trouble for Turkey when combined with
lost business and investment opportunities that would have created
jobs at home.As long as political Islamists -- who have effectively
seized power in government and marginalized their one-time coalition
partners of liberals, social democrats and moderate conservatives
within the ruling party -- continue to cling to power, there is little
hope that Turkey's destructive course will be reversed.
Since this path is simply not sustainable for a nation that depends
heavily on trade and investment, skating dangerously on the brink of
total collapse will seal the fate of this adventurist and ideological
bunch of political Islamists.In short, things will get worse in the
short run before they get better, with the inevitability of the ouster
of Islamists from power As domestic and regional dynamics change all
the time, new problems may emerge to hasten their departure from the
political scene, which would be a welcome development for many in
Turkey and abroad.
November 13, 2014 Thursday
Turkey loses Arab world
Turkey loses Arab worldThe perception of Turkey among Arab nations has
taken a dramatic turn for the worse because of the harsh diatribes and
meddlesome policies adopted by shortsighted Turkish leaders. This has
in turn started to take a toll on political relations, with subsequent
adverse impacts on the Turkish economy and a decision by the 22-member
Arab League to revisit its ties with Turkey.
It is amazing how much clout Turkey has lost in the Arab world in a
very short period of time. This is because ideological dreamers --
those who were implicated in unprecedented and massive corruption
scandals and caught in backroom deals with Iran -- decided to exploit
Arab sensibilities for domestic political campaigns in Turkey.
Ankara has encountered a string of failures after overplaying its hand
with a hasty entrance into Arab politics. It was blindsided by its own
ideology and lack of comprehensive knowledge, expertise and networks.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoIan, who has finally shown the true colors
of his political Islamist background after consolidating his power in
Turkey, used to be a much sought-after leader by the Arab world, a
fact that even led to a special invitation for ErdoIan to deliver a
speech at the Arab League summit in Khartoum in 2006, the first time
the honor was awarded to the head of the Turkish government. Today he
is seen as a pariah, a spoiler and effectively a persona non grata by
many leaders in Arab countries.
To the detriment of Turkey's national interests, ErdoIan and his
allies in the government, including Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoIlu,
have succeeded in turning both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two powerhouses
in the Arab League, into a united enemy that is determined to thwart
Turkish overtures not only in the Arab and Muslim world but also in
global politics. The last casualty of this sad picture is the decisive
defeat Turkey experienced in the race to secure a seat on the United
Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, for which it was
only able to secure 60 votes, as opposed to 150 five years ago.
Now the Arab League is considering sending a stronger message to
Ankara by reviewing the existing agreements and contracts it has with
Turkey. The Arab League and Turkey signed a memorandum of
understanding on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York in
September 2004, an agreement that paved the way for closer
cooperation.
It was in fact Egypt's lobbying that paved the way for closer
engagement with Turkey, a non-Arab and predominantly Sunni nation.The
agreement was approved in Parliament on April 1, 2009, and published
in the Official Gazette on April 10, 2009.
To further promote ties, the Arab League also opened a representative
office in Ankara and appointed a powerful diplomat, Mohamed El Fatah
Naciri -- a Moroccan who had worked closely with the former
secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, for many years -- to
lead the delegation in AnkaraNow in a sharp turn, both Saudis and
Egyptians are pushing for the closure of the office in Turkey, which
helped boost ties economically and politically between Turkey and Arab
countries. A final decision on this has not been rendered, but it is
more than likely that it will happen unless Turkey quickly readjusts
its policies to assure Arab nations that it won't interfere in their
affairs and has no ulterior motives in the Arab world other than a
constructive dialogue that benefits both sides politically and
economically.
As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has never responded in kind to his
Turkish counterpart, ErdoIan, who has not ceased to bash him at every
occasion he can find, including at the UN General Assembly meeting.
Instead, Egypt sent a stern message to Turkey by realigning its
position on the east Mediterranean, choosing closer cooperation with
the Greek Cypriots and Greece.Egypt is backed by most Gulf nations and
is moving against Turkey in every platform It will be almost
impossible for any Turkish initiative to succeed in the Arab world and
within the 57-member Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Turkey's Africa opening is also at risk. Egypt has a lot of cards it
has not yet played, such as openly supporting genocide claims about
the 1915 killings of Armenians, limiting Turkey's engagement in North
Africa or shunning Turkey from involvement in Palestinian affairs.
The time may come to put them into use if, say, Muslim Brotherhood
leaders based in Istanbul start actively stirring up trouble for
Egypt.Many in Turkey, both from academic and state institutions,
believe Turkey's policies concerning Arab nations in general and Egypt
in particular do not make any sense.
Yet the influence of these academics and bureaucrats on policy-making
decision processes is either very limited or nonexistent because the
policies were determined at the very top by select political Islamists
who leave no room for the input of others, especially if it comes at
the expense of religious zealotry. Ideological convictions drive these
policies rather than a common-sense approach, and therefore the
policies are prone to weaknesses and fallacious reasoning.
Most are designed to generate talking points for Islamists and to
mobilize passionate, core supporters of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) at election rallies.By intention or design,
political Islamists, with their perceived imperialist ambitions and
grand posturing, are truly jeopardizing Turkey's national security.
They either do not have a grasp of or do not care about the risks of
alienating Arab allies and partners, whom Ankara desperately needs to
help stabilize Iraq and Syria, both neighbors of Turkey. Surely Turkey
needs the valuable assistance of Arabs in countering Iran's
destabilizing proxy wars in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia,
which are part of Persian expansionism disguised under the pretexts of
trade, tourism and cultural and religious exchanges.
Turkey's share in Arab markets is also in peril as political ties
worsen. The trade volume between Turkey and Arab League members was
$25.
7 billion in 2009. After cozying up with these members, it reached a record $47.
5 billion in 2013, according to Turkish government data That
represents 12 percent of Turkey's overall trade. In the first nine
months of the year, the trade volume has dropped around 6 percent from
$35.
6 billion to $33.6 billion.
The decline in trade must spell trouble for Turkey when combined with
lost business and investment opportunities that would have created
jobs at home.As long as political Islamists -- who have effectively
seized power in government and marginalized their one-time coalition
partners of liberals, social democrats and moderate conservatives
within the ruling party -- continue to cling to power, there is little
hope that Turkey's destructive course will be reversed.
Since this path is simply not sustainable for a nation that depends
heavily on trade and investment, skating dangerously on the brink of
total collapse will seal the fate of this adventurist and ideological
bunch of political Islamists.In short, things will get worse in the
short run before they get better, with the inevitability of the ouster
of Islamists from power As domestic and regional dynamics change all
the time, new problems may emerge to hasten their departure from the
political scene, which would be a welcome development for many in
Turkey and abroad.