Ottawa Recorder, Canada
Sept 2 2006
Turks conflicted about U.N. in Lebanon
2006/9
By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago
ANKARA, Turkey – Some Turks see participating in the Lebanon
peacekeeping force as a chance to reassert Turkish influence in the
region, decades after their Ottoman Empire ruled across southeastern
Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
But others see a more dangerous outcome if they send troops to help
enforce a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants: a
Mideast quagmire that could engage Turkish troops in hostile fire
with fellow Muslims.
"However, such a risk taken under these unstable conditions will draw
Turkey into the line of fire, and I don`t even want to think of the
consequences," he added.
The lawmakers were expected to vote on the resolution Tuesday – the
day U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to arrive in Ankara. The
government has yet to determine the number of peacekeepers it would
send, but it was expected to range between 500-1,000.
Europe, the U.S. and Israel are eager to see peacekeepers from Turkey
– NATO `s only Muslim member and one of the few Muslim nations with
ties to Israel – in the hope it could avert the impression the U.N.
force is primarily Christian and European.
The Ottoman Turks – who began conquering nearby lands with the
decline of the Arab empire in the 14th century – added Lebanon and
Syria to their domain in 1516. By the 19th century, however, the
Ottoman Empire was unable to stop Western interest in the oil-rich
Middle East and regional desires for independence. After World War I,
France and Britain divided what remained of the empire into
protectorates: today`s Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.
"Turkey has an obligation as a regional power and the old guardian of
the Middle East to exert its positive influence on developments,"
editor in chief Ilnur Cevik wrote in The New Anatolian.
"It would be treason to our history, our future and the high
interests of our people to stay away," Erdogan told the nation in a
televised address Thursday, playing on the emotional outpouring of
support in Turkey for the Lebanese people.
The government is also aware that responding to the international
call for help could boost Ankara`s efforts to join the European Union
.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso highlighted
Turkey`s "strategic role" in the U.N. force Wednesday, praising the
"significant reforms" Ankara has made on democracy and the economy,
according to Turkey`s state-owned Anatolia news agency.
"No good can come of this deployment for Turkey," said Michael Rubin
of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think
tank. "There is no real peace between Hezbollah and Israel. Does
Turkey really want to be in the middle of it?"
Rubin said joining the U.N. mission would have little meaning other
than being "a triumph for Erdogan`s neo-Ottomanism." He also warned
that any confrontation with Hezbollah could pit Turkey against Iran ,
a key backer of Hezbollah with which it now has cordial relations.
"Such an unwanted development would amount to an undeclared war
against Iran," said Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst with the Economic
Policy Research Institute in Ankara.
And then there is the potential for fierce opposition at home.
Many Turks fear their soldiers could end up facing hostile fire with
fellow Muslims. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who serves in a
figurehead role but has enormous influence in the country, has
already spoken out against such a mission.
"It is not our responsibility to protect the interests of other
countries," he said last week.
Lebanon`s Armenians, who make up about 4 percent of the country`s
population, have also come out against Turkish participation – a
reminder that some in the region have not completely shed bitter
memories of Ottoman rule.
Armenians accuse the Ottoman Turks of killing 1.5 million ethnic
Armenians in 1915 in what they call a campaign of genocide. But
Turkey vehemently denies any systematic genocide, insists the number
of dead is significantly inflated and says most died from disease and
hunger when they fled or were deported to Syria and Lebanon during
World War I.
An estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians live in the country today –
some 50,000 in Beirut alone.
The spiritual leader of Lebanon`s Armenians, Catholicos Aram I, has
released a statement calling Turkish participation in the
peacekeeping mission "morally unacceptable," and also warning Annan
against the deployment.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
