"SOMETHING WRONG" IN TURKEY!
Elias Harfoush

Dar Al-Hayat
Oct 19 2009
Lebanon

The Israelis hold responsible for the recent deterioration in
relations between them and Turkey its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and his energetic Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Indeed,
they consider that these relations have managed to overcome phases
much more difficult than the last Israeli war on Gaza, among them the
two Palestinian Intifadas and the confrontations with the Israeli
army that they involved, as well as the besieging of Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat in his Mukataa headquarters in Ramallah and his
"assassination" there, according to the accusations of Palestinian
parties. Yet in spite of this, and in spite of the stances of the
Turkish governments that then opposed the methods used by Israel in
confronting the Palestinians, Ankara never reached the point of raising
its voice high against the Israelis, as it now does, and never took the
initiative of taking steps in this regard, as it recently has, such
as canceling joint military maneuvers and broadcasting a television
series in which Israeli soldiers are described as "child-killers".

This is how the Israelis downplay the reactions stirred up by the Gaza
war in the Turkish street, as in the Arab and Muslim street, against
what they committed, and view Turkey’s reaction as an exception.

Indeed, it is of the opinion of Netanyahu, the ministers in his
government, and commentators in the Israeli press that, had the Justice
and Development Party (AKP) not been in power in Turkey, relations
with this country, which was among the first Muslim countries to
establish relations with them in 1949 (after Iran under the Shah),
would never have reached such a state.

In its stances towards Turkey, Israel disregards facts of the utmost
importance regarding the development of this country’s politics
over the past decade. The fact of the matter is that Turkey is not
longer the same country that established relations with them. The
currently ruling Islamic party coming to power was only an expression
of this radical transformation. It is a party more in touch with the
stances of its people towards the issues of the neighboring region,
and more sensitive towards relations with Israel than was the case
with the right-wing and left-wing governments that have come to power
since the establishment of modern Turkey. This is what Prime Minister
Erdogan expressed clearly when he said that he could not move forward
with a policy that contradicts the convictions and stances of the
Turkish people.

A comment in Israeli newspaper Haaretz states that Israel has always
viewed Turkey as two states: one of them military, the "twin sister"
of Israel, and the other political, a Muslim country with strong ties
to Syria and Iran. And Israel has always decided, in its typically
insolent manner (as stated in the comment), to ignore the politicians
and not take them seriously, tying its relations to army and military
leaders alone. Thus people in Israel were quick to comment on what
recently took place, saying that "something went wrong in Turkey" and
that the government is now leading the army instead of the opposite!

Whether it is said that Ankara is witnessing a return to the Ottoman
roots of Turkish politics, and to the well-known stances of Sultan
Abdul Hamid II towards establishing the Hebrew state on the land of
Palestine, or that this has something to do with the Islamic trend that
is spreading in the countries of the region, which finds living space
for its movement and activity in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
the current reality is that Turkey is redefining its alliances in a
manner that safeguards its interests, whether political or economic,
in the region. Indeed, it is a country whose balance of trade with
Iran reaches nine billion dollars and with Syria one and a half
billion, in addition to having strong economic ties to Iraq and Egypt
as well. It is a country that considers its role essential to NATO
missions in Afghanistan, being itself a NATO member, and also in the
Caucasus region, where it has reorganized its relations on the basis of
interests rather than sensitivities, as it has proven by improving its
relations with the Republic of Armenia despite the burden of history.

Certainly, current Turkish policies represent an adventure that will
reflect on Ankara’s relations with the United States and on its role
within NATO, as it will on its request for membership in the European
Union. These policies also have a negative impact on the indirect
mediation which Erdogan’s government was conducting between Damascus
and Tel Aviv, and which could be said to have become suspended, as
it had not quite ended after the last Turkish-Israeli escalation. It
is thus logical to wonder about the extent to which Turkey can take
its recent stances, without suffering irremediable damage to its role
and standing in the region and in the world.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress