DAVUTOGLU, THE ARCHITECT, MISERABLY FAILS TO DELIVER
Hurriyet
June 27 2009
Turkey
Ahmet Davutoglu has been a forceful architect of Turkish foreign
affairs as the top adviser to the prime minister since the first
Justice and Development Party, or AKP, administration up until
recently. With a PhD degree in his pocket and as the author of
Strategic Depth, a book that has come to be known by the experts
as a total sum of sense making and friendly policies for the
immediate neighboring countries of Turkey, he has been a rising
star for years. His role in the Armenian rapprochement, as well as
diplomatic facilitator between Syria and Israel, and also his vision
and familiarity with the wider region has been a great asset for
Turkey. His many policies have benefited Turkey on many fronts. In
brief, many thought that Davutoglu has been on the way of becoming
a statesman that Turkey has been longing for some time.
Up until two months ago, Davutoglu was still kind of a
behind-the-scenes man to fix and power the Turkish foreign affairs in
recasting Turkey’s role in the multidimensional political arena. Thus,
many unbiased observers were happy without much reservation when
Davutoglu was appointed the new foreign minister at the beginning
of May. Amid high expectations, he started his new post and with
the same speed, he delved into the first crucial foreign relations
test to prove that he indeed will live up to the expectations. Many,
including myself, hoped that he was going to end the period of cheap
shots and will bring our country to the same level of first class
democratic nations.
There is no need to make the story longer. Davutoglu failed to deliver
miserably. To begin with, he let Turkey congratulate hurriedly Iran’s
Ahmadinejad as one of the first to do so, and subsequently backed up
his stance. While the respected leaders of the world were releasing
statements and giving press conferences to let people know how sorry
they were with the shameful episode the people of Iran have been
going through, Turkey, on the other hand, busied itself to support the
merciless regime against its own people. I was curious to learn which
other countries besides ours rushed to convey their good wishes to
Ahmadinejad. The official Web site of the government of Iran informs
us that, possibly according to calling order, the following list of
countries cheered Ahmadinejad’s reelection (!): Afghanistan, Turkey,
Venezuela, China, Russia and Syria. Oh, and the leader of Hamas and
a few "other" countries of kings and dictators. If nothing else,
this list alone tells us and provides enough evidence to show in
which and whose pattern our foreign official’s mind works.
Notwithstanding that I still wanted to see and read what is the
reasoning behind Davutoglu’s hurry and subsequent backing of Iran’s
Islamic regime, I must say that in my view it is a plain disgrace for
Turkey and the people of Turkey. I thought after all Davutoglu was a
"deep" academic and might have some profound comprehension beyond
our imagination. According to the interview Der Spiegel conducted
with him this week, his reasoning is as follows: "It was politically
important for the elections in Iran to have taken place dynamically
and in competition among multiple candidates. When it came to the
post-election discussions, [Davutoglu] underlined that this is an
internal matter for Iran, adding that they hoped for a strong base on
which the security of the people of Iran can be achieved." Internal
affairs of other countries, so Davutoglu says while describing the
events that are taking place in Iran after the elections, much like
Russia’s, China’s and others’ congratulating letters to Iran. On the
other hand, the American media mocked Turkey as a "friend of Mahmoud"
and sadly describes us as a kind of low life country with the other
countries mentioned above, that only looks after its own interests. It
is true; each country pursues its own interests in the international
arena; however, values and notions exist that reflect a country’s
stand within the international community. In other words, once the
human factor is weighed, modern states tend to restrain themselves
in many ways. Ours did not bother to do so.
This miscalculated congratulation of and embracing Iran’s rulers is a
"deep" blow for Turkey’s image. It seems that Turkey somehow cannot
go beyond this narrow-mindedness. In the past, Turkey failed to cope
with its center parties’ corruption practices and always with its
never-changing opposition leaders. Either the nationalistic parties
of the country corner Turkey and don’t let Turkey open its arms to
all of its people, or the ultranationalists stroke it with their
endless gangs and scenarios. Though now, with the AKP, Turkey is
going through another kind of disappointment. And the list does not
end there. Turkey needs a new generation of statesmen. Davutoglu and
his party’s miscalculated reading of the occurrences will cost the
people of Turkey so dearly and will be felt for years to come. The
real statesman should be able to on the right side of the history, or
with the people who are on the right side of the history. Davutoglu
misses both and chooses to gain some near term benefits in expense
of bigger and longer ones. Davutoglu could have taken care of this
business if he wanted to do so. With doing so, he and Turkey would
have won so many hearts and minds in the international arena and in
the West. But again, maybe the target was a different kind of audience.
Davutoglu, the architect, starts to build the foundation of his legacy
as a foreign minister on misread previsions and shallow seas, which
are the direct opposite attributions of his perceived image. People of
Turkey, who also watch what happened in Iran, will have grasped how
their administration hugs the crushers of innocent people. The AKP
will pay the cost of this misery. Alas, along the way, Turkey as well.
* İlhan Tanır lives and works in Washington, D.C. His
blog is at