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HOW TO FIX TURKEY'S FALL FROM INTERNATIONAL FAVOR
Huffington Post
March 12 2015
Michael Shank, Ph.D. , Adjunct faculty, George Mason University's
School for Conflict
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent attack on the West for
"hate speech" and misattributing terrorism during the Paris attacks is
ironic. Erdogan is erroneously doing both already: labeling the Gulen
movement a terrorist organization and using hate speech to characterize
it. In fact, Erdogan is cracking down on religious groups more heavily
than ever before.
While the Turkish government is allowing the construction of a
Christian church, the first in 90 years, no one is under the illusion
that Erdogan's regime is now suddenly supportive of religious freedom
and rights. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Failure to allow
the reopening of Halki Orthodox seminary and the defamatory references
to Armenians are examples of how Christians continue to suffer under
Erdogan regime.
Indiscriminate persecution of the Islam-inspired Hizmet movement -
and the recently jailed journalists, police chiefs and teachers who
support the movement and its leader Fethullah Gulen - shows that
the President's penchant for the protection of rights is clearly
not a priority in his administration. The recent crackdown on a
major newspaper and television station based in Istanbul - the Zaman
newspaper and Samanyolu Broadcasting Group, respectively - garnered
Erdogan few friends in the international community.
Most likely, this church building is a last-ditch attempt to send
a political olive leaf to Christians in the West, and any allies in
Europe, who haven't already dismissed Erdogan's Administration for
endangering its democracy.
It's a shame that it has come to this. Prior to the crackdowns that
escalated with the Erdogan corruption scandal and Gezi Park protests
of 2013, Turkey had witnessed over a decade of economic growth and
democratic reform under Erdogan's leadership. As one of the world's
most powerful economies, Turkey was positioned to be one of the
world's biggest trading partners and one of the West's key allies
and negotiators in the Middle East. Those hopes are now all but gone.
Erdogan has thrown much, if not all, of this goodwill away. And as
Erdogan chairs the G20 this year, the irony of Erdogan overseeing the
G20's Anti-Corruption Action Plan isn't lost on anyone - especially
as Turkey's Corruption Perceptions Index rankings have slipped
precipitously, falling more than any other country in last month's
index findings.
What's most confounding, however, from a geopolitical perspective,
is Erdogan's deep political insecurity. The president's efforts to
undermine or eradicate any opposition party ranks as one of the most
imprudent political power grabs of the 21st century. By alienating the
Hizmet movement - which has built its civic base on an Islam-inspired
commitment to tolerance, nonviolence, education, and science - Erdogan
simultaneously alienated other allies throughout the international
community.
Aggressively jailing without warrant, closing schools without just
cause, and erroneously and irresponsibly slapping the "terrorist"
label on critics of the administration, Erdogan is slowly but surely
associating himself with the more infamous autocrats that have angered
America, and other rich countries in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, in the past. Turkey must remain in the
moderate Islamic middle so as to not be associated with the likes
of ex-presidents Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Pervez Musharraf in
Pakistan, autocrats who preferred emergency rule as a way of tamping
down public protest.
The way forward, then, if Erdogan wants to slow his country's free
fall from international favor, is to recognize that the power of his
presidency, and his recent reelection, rests in his ability to curry
favor among the many, not the few. And no amount of cozying up to the
Kurdistan Workers Party (also known as the PKK and labeled by the U.S.
as a terrorist organization), as a way of garnering Kurdish votes,
will make up for the violations of basic human rights and freedoms
of the Hizmet movement and beyond, all of which has been documented
by international media.
The world wants Turkey to be back on the international trade and
regional diplomacy track but that's only possible if corruption and
crackdowns discontinue. These are scandals that no international ally
wants plaguing their internal politics via external association with
Erdogan's administration. And while a course correction for Ankara
is possible in 2015, it must come quickly and unequivocally. The
biggest obstacle, at this point, to a lasting and successful Erdogan
presidency is Erdogan himself.
Michael Shank, PhD, is adjunct faculty at George Mason University's
School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and senior fellow at the
Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shank/how-to-fix-turkeys-fall-f_b_6858138.html
Huffington Post
March 12 2015
Michael Shank, Ph.D. , Adjunct faculty, George Mason University's
School for Conflict
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent attack on the West for
"hate speech" and misattributing terrorism during the Paris attacks is
ironic. Erdogan is erroneously doing both already: labeling the Gulen
movement a terrorist organization and using hate speech to characterize
it. In fact, Erdogan is cracking down on religious groups more heavily
than ever before.
While the Turkish government is allowing the construction of a
Christian church, the first in 90 years, no one is under the illusion
that Erdogan's regime is now suddenly supportive of religious freedom
and rights. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Failure to allow
the reopening of Halki Orthodox seminary and the defamatory references
to Armenians are examples of how Christians continue to suffer under
Erdogan regime.
Indiscriminate persecution of the Islam-inspired Hizmet movement -
and the recently jailed journalists, police chiefs and teachers who
support the movement and its leader Fethullah Gulen - shows that
the President's penchant for the protection of rights is clearly
not a priority in his administration. The recent crackdown on a
major newspaper and television station based in Istanbul - the Zaman
newspaper and Samanyolu Broadcasting Group, respectively - garnered
Erdogan few friends in the international community.
Most likely, this church building is a last-ditch attempt to send
a political olive leaf to Christians in the West, and any allies in
Europe, who haven't already dismissed Erdogan's Administration for
endangering its democracy.
It's a shame that it has come to this. Prior to the crackdowns that
escalated with the Erdogan corruption scandal and Gezi Park protests
of 2013, Turkey had witnessed over a decade of economic growth and
democratic reform under Erdogan's leadership. As one of the world's
most powerful economies, Turkey was positioned to be one of the
world's biggest trading partners and one of the West's key allies
and negotiators in the Middle East. Those hopes are now all but gone.
Erdogan has thrown much, if not all, of this goodwill away. And as
Erdogan chairs the G20 this year, the irony of Erdogan overseeing the
G20's Anti-Corruption Action Plan isn't lost on anyone - especially
as Turkey's Corruption Perceptions Index rankings have slipped
precipitously, falling more than any other country in last month's
index findings.
What's most confounding, however, from a geopolitical perspective,
is Erdogan's deep political insecurity. The president's efforts to
undermine or eradicate any opposition party ranks as one of the most
imprudent political power grabs of the 21st century. By alienating the
Hizmet movement - which has built its civic base on an Islam-inspired
commitment to tolerance, nonviolence, education, and science - Erdogan
simultaneously alienated other allies throughout the international
community.
Aggressively jailing without warrant, closing schools without just
cause, and erroneously and irresponsibly slapping the "terrorist"
label on critics of the administration, Erdogan is slowly but surely
associating himself with the more infamous autocrats that have angered
America, and other rich countries in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, in the past. Turkey must remain in the
moderate Islamic middle so as to not be associated with the likes
of ex-presidents Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Pervez Musharraf in
Pakistan, autocrats who preferred emergency rule as a way of tamping
down public protest.
The way forward, then, if Erdogan wants to slow his country's free
fall from international favor, is to recognize that the power of his
presidency, and his recent reelection, rests in his ability to curry
favor among the many, not the few. And no amount of cozying up to the
Kurdistan Workers Party (also known as the PKK and labeled by the U.S.
as a terrorist organization), as a way of garnering Kurdish votes,
will make up for the violations of basic human rights and freedoms
of the Hizmet movement and beyond, all of which has been documented
by international media.
The world wants Turkey to be back on the international trade and
regional diplomacy track but that's only possible if corruption and
crackdowns discontinue. These are scandals that no international ally
wants plaguing their internal politics via external association with
Erdogan's administration. And while a course correction for Ankara
is possible in 2015, it must come quickly and unequivocally. The
biggest obstacle, at this point, to a lasting and successful Erdogan
presidency is Erdogan himself.
Michael Shank, PhD, is adjunct faculty at George Mason University's
School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and senior fellow at the
Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shank/how-to-fix-turkeys-fall-f_b_6858138.html