Euractiv
By Alice Taylor
Jan. 7, 2022
[Turkey is one of a handful of countries using charity and aid to
raise its international profile and extend its influence to other
countries, particularly in the Western Balkans, while struggling at
home with poverty, lack of jobs, rising inflation, and increasingly
authoritarian rule.]
According to data published in an article by Daily Sabah, a
pro-government daily, Turkey supplied aid to more than 14
international organisations working on alleviating the damage of the
pandemic. In addition, it has provided assistance in various formats
to more than 131 countries, from Senegal to Norway and Montenegro,
Spain, and China.
The aid handed out was diverse and included ventilators, PPE
equipment, COVID diagnostic kits, money, entire hospitals, and new
homes for earthquake victims.
Turkey has also doled out vaccines to around 20 countries, including
most Western Balkan and several African states. The country is now
developing Turkovac, which will likely be pushed out to those that
have failed to get their hands on Western vaccines.
According to the Daily Sabah, “Turkey had raised its profile as a
generous nation through its humanitarian efforts over the past two
decades.”
In addition to its humanitarian efforts, Turkey has worked hard to
position itself as a leading trade partner in southeastern Europe, and
beyond.
At the end of December, the Turkish parliamentary speaker Mustafa
Sentop announced that 600 Turkish companies operate in Albania,
employing more than 15,000 people. He added that his country had
invested some $3.5 billion in Albania while reaffirming its support
for Tirana’s EU accession.
So close is the relationship between Ankara and Tirana that some refer
to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the Sultan, and Albanian Prime
Minister Edi Rama, as the Pasha, a reference to Albania’s past as part
of the Ottoman Empire.
But what is the cost?
French MEP Julie Lechanteux noted in a parliamentary question in May
2020 that Turkey “took advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to appear more
effective and united vis-a-vis the countries of the Balkans with a
medical aid diplomacy intended to improve its image in the former
territories of the Ottoman Empire and to increase its influence in the
region.”
She continued that the operation appears to be part of a political
strategy that “openly clashes with European interests.” “Given that
Turkey is still officially an EU candidate country, what is the
Commission’s position concerning Turkish influence in the Balkans?”
her question concluded.
EU neighbourhood and enlargement chief Oliver Varhelyi replied that
“fostering cooperation and good neighbourly relations between EU
countries, Western Balkan partners and Turkey is an important element
for stability on the European continent.”
Following the Western Balkans’ seemingly never-ending stay in the
enlargement waiting room, Turkey is one of several countries that have
moved to cement their influence in the region.
Serbia, backed by Moscow, but also Russia, China, and Turkey have all
used various kinds of diplomacy, including infrastructural, financial,
trade, medical, and mediatory, to fill the EU-shaped void.
Some analysts say that Erdogan fosters dreams of being a regional
power-broker, mainly due to his involvement and close relationships
with leaders of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Ankara also announced that it would lobby for Kosovo’s independence
while signing secret agreements to deport alleged “Gulenists” from the
country and neighbouring Albania. These cases, involving more than 100
people, were described by United Nations rapporteurs as
“extraterritorial abductions”, “forcible returns”, and “enforced
disappearances”.
Education in the spotlight
Erdogan, who blames 2016’s failed coup d’etat on the followers of
exiled educator and cleric Fethullah Gulen, has rounded up thousands
of alleged followers, imprisoning many and disappearing others.
It is these extraterritorial abductions that many views as one of the
most sinister consequences of Turkey’s influence. Furthermore, on
official visits, Turkish officials have made it clear they expect
states to cooperate in the Gulen crackdown if they want to enjoy
mutually beneficial continuing relationships.
This ‘crackdown’ has also included the mass closures of Turkish
schools not aligned with the state in various Balkan countries. In
Albania, the Turkish government applied pressure to shut down schools
allegedly linked to the Gulen movement, and police raided some while
students were present and without a warrant.
Meanwhile, the state-affiliated Maarif Foundation has more than 353
schools in 67 countries worldwide.
The foundation was at the centre of controversy in May 2021 when the
Turkish government increased its funding by 300%, pushing its annual
budget over €140 million, at a time when the domestic education system
was suffering.
Head of the Union of Labourers in Education and Science, Orhan
Yildirim, told Turkish daily Cumhuriyet that this means many students
will not meet their learning goals.
“All the financial resources spared for the Maarif Foundation mean
that the needs of millions of families and students who continue their
lives in economic hardship will be transferred elsewhere.”
The COVID catastrophe
In terms of COVID-19, Turkey has some of the highest vaccination rates
in the Balkans but it has not fared well in the pandemic. The
government came under sharp criticism for prioritising political and
economic issues over public health.
The government has also been repeatedly accused of manipulating
statistics and covering up the real impact of the pandemic.
Now the country is grappling with soaring inflation, currently at 36%,
and economists suggest the figures could reach 50% by spring.
Meanwhile in Tirana, a black marble monument sits amid the lake park,
paying tribute to the over 2,000 people killed in the failed Turkish
coup. Replaced once due to vandalism, it is a stark demonstration of
just how much power Turkey wields in its former territory.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
