WHAT ISRAEL CAN LEARN FROM TURKEY
By Selene Verri
Huffington Post
Jan 9 2009
NY
Originally published on GroundReport.com, the citizen journalism site
covering world news at the local level.
Turkey recently condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Ankara has even
decided to suspend its mediating efforts between Israel and Syria.
It would be easy to dismiss such a position as just solidarity with the
Muslim brothers and sisters in Gaza. Not that it would be wrong. But
I would like to change the perspective on the issue, noticing that
Israel and Turkey, two long-standing allies, have more in common than
one could imagine:
1. Both Turkey and Israel are countries strongly defined by their
main religions, and yet both are secular countries. In both cases
religion identifies largely with ethnicity (with the important
exceptions of Kurds, of course, where ethnicity is predominant,
and Alevis, who are not considered as a religion minority). Which
has brought discrimination and / or war against religious and / or
ethnic minorities. The modalities are different, but the similarities
are striking.
2. Both Turkey and Israel are countries artificially created by the
international community. Israel, through the partition of Palestine
into two states decided by the United Nations in 1947; Turkey,
through the Treaty of Lausanne, which in 1923 replaced the 1920
Treaty of Sèvres, actually reintegrating a series of territories
which had been previously stripped off it, and frustrating the Kurds’
hopes for an independent State (hopes that had been fed by the Treaty
of Sèvres). I should add that the international community has not
little responsibility in the Armenian genocide.
3. Both countries have compulsory military service. In Israel,
it applies both to men (3 years) and women (2 years); in Turkey,
it’s mandatory only for men (15 months). I admit I don’t know what
the consequences of this are in Israel (where a limited amount of
conscientious objection exists anyway), but I know in Turkey for a
long time this situation helped PKK recruit militants, since many
Kurds did not wish to be sent to fight against their own fathers or
brothers, preferring rather fight at their side.
4. Both countries are just a few weeks away from the next electoral
rendezvous. On February 10, Israelis will vote for the next government
(and, for those of you who can read French, I suggest that you go
through this interesting article by Le Monde); on March 29, municipal
elections will take place in Turkey.
Let me focus on this last point. The key issue in Turkey’s local
elections will be the Kurdish majority regions (what PKK and in general
militant Kurds refer to as "Kurdistan", a word that in Turkey can
bring you straight to prison). On the subject, I recommend you read
this article on the Christian Science Monitor.
Now, what has been the big news in Turkey in the last few days (apart
from Nazim Hikmet’s rehabilitation)? I quote from Reuters:
Turkey has launched its first 24-hour Kurdish-language TV station.
Which brings me to the conclusion:
1. Israel is moving towards elections â~F’ Israel bombs Palestinians
2. Turkey is moving towards elections â~F’ Turkey gives more rights
to Kurds
Of course Kurds are not satisfied, and they are not completely paranoid
in considering this decision as a way by the government to get as many
votes as they can, in short a propaganda move. It is also true that
Ankara has quite a double-face attitude: while PKK is considered a
terrorist group, soon after Hamas won the elections the AKP government
welcomed to Turkey Khaled Meshal, the exiled Hamas leader. And they
never uttered a word about the rockets fired against Israel.
Nonetheless, one cannot help noticing that making propaganda through
opening up to minorities is a more democratic way than bombing
civilians. So, what are the main differences in this situation? Why
do two similar countries in two similar situations act in such
different ways?
First of all, Turkey is a EU candidate. It is true that in the last
few years the great reform impulse that marked the first period of
the AKP government has slowed down, if not thoroughly stopped. And
the new nationalistic vague has not helped in that sense. It is
also true that this government is struggling hard at least to show a
nice image of itself, which is surely not enough, but it’s helping
improvement. And improvement is never easy, especially for a proud
people like Turks. The journey is still long, but the path is the
right one.
Now, this doesn’t mean of course that Israel should be a candidate to
the EU, but at least it shows that the EU can actually have a role
in international politics. More than that: personally, I think we
have a responsibility in that sense.
But in all this story we must not forget one decisive point: in Turkey,
Kurds vote. In Israel, Palestinians don’t.
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