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How Turkish
Enchantment Fails to Enchant
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Turkey's
regional rivals aren't so easily enthralled as the audience at the 2013
Children's Day Festival, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.
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Diplomacy may be the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way
that they ask for the directions, but in the Turkish case there are too
many people whom the Turks are telling to go to hell and, more
problematically, they do not seem to be asking for the directions. But
Ankara is trying nonetheless.
As part of a new diplomatic offensive that will enable Turkey to become a
regional leader inspired by a blend of neo-Ottoman and pan-Islamist
ideologies, the Turkish Foreign Ministry will acquire 115 new office cars
in 2015 (according to the 2015 draft budget bill). Fancy cars flashing
their lights and speeding between various ministries can help build better
policy coordination. Confusion can therefore be averted at every level.
One of the pages of our flagship newspaper, Hürriyet, ran a story on
Oct. 16, quoting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu as telling Al-Jazeera that:
"We have never used the term buffer zone [along Turkey's border with
Syria, or, more realistically, with the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant – ISIL]. We have used the term safe haven."
On the same page, a news story quoted Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş
as saying, "We want a no-fly zone and a buffer zone." Inevitably,
one wonders what topics are discussed at Cabinet meetings in Ankara. If the
honorable ministers do not have the habit of exchanging cooking recipes or
enjoying backgammon tournaments, they must be debating subjects that are
more important than the threat of ISIL.
The Turkish myopia fails to even see its own creation of the
Frankenstein monster, as well as the future monsters it intends to create
in order to kill the only monster it sees: Bashar al-Assad. Members of the
press ought to be prepared for a Turkish prime minister (or president) who
may soon start to blame global warming and water shortages on al-Assad.
"We as the world's major powers cannot seriously tackle starvation, corruption,
piracy, drug abuse and unfair income distribution on our planet if we do
not depose al-Assad." Cue thunderous applause.
But Mr. Davutoğlu's diplomatic enchantment fails to enchant even
"our dear Muslim brothers." The Turkish Foreign Ministry recently
felt compelled to summon Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Alireza Bigdeli.
Ironically, Ambassador Bigdeli is the same man who only a year ago had
passionately praised Turkey's rulers: "Just as Imam Khomeini did in
Iran, the Justice and Development Party [AKP] has paved the way for the
advancement of Islam in Turkey."
Anyone who is not passionately
pro-Hamas or pro-Muslim Brotherhood, or not their sponsors in this part
of the world, is a foe or a potential foe of Messrs. Erdoğan and
Davutoğlu.
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Mr. Bigdeli was summoned
because Ankara wanted to denounce recent remarks by Iranian officials.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Emir Abdullahyan recently accused Turkey of
pursuing "neo-Ottomanist" policies in the region. And Iranian
Chief of General Staff Hasan Firuzabadi, meanwhile, indirectly criticized
Turkey for blocking aid to Kobane, a Kurdish town on Syria's border with
Turkey that has been attacked by ISIL.
Could that be the reflection of a sectarian rift? It could. But Egypt
remains overwhelmingly Sunni. And a few weeks ago an influential group of
Egyptian intellectuals, artists and political NGOs called for a boycott of
Turkish products in response to what they describe as "unjustified
attacks on Egypt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."
For instance, Samir Sabri, an Egyptian lawyer, recently filed a lawsuit
to force the Egyptian government to ban the entry of Turkish products into
the country. Gamal Anayet, a television anchor and writer, has also called
for a boycott of Turkish products and has even encouraged Egyptians to drop
Turkey as a tourist destination.
Sadly, anyone who is not passionately pro-Hamas or pro-Muslim
Brotherhood, or not their sponsors in this part of the world, is a foe or a
potential foe of Messrs. Erdoğan and Davutoğlu. And there are more than
plenty of them.
Burak Bekdil is a columnist for the Istanbul-based daily Hürriyet
and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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