LEBANON, ARMENIANS AND OTTOMAN TURKEY
Herald Tribune
6 Sept 06
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.
"Turkey having a military presence beyond its borders would be a
prestigious development," said Turhan Comez, a legislator from the
ruling Justice and Development Party.
"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 government asked parliament late Friday to approve sending troops
to monitor the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas
that ended 34 days of fighting last month.
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 and 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.
And Ankara, nostalgic for the former glory of the Ottoman Empire,
has hankered for a key role in a country it ruled for centuries.
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.
Since then, however, the region has fallen into turmoil – and the
Islamic-rooted Turkish government believes it could play a role in
returning stability to the region.
"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.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he is responding to Lebanese
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s request for Turkey’s help monitoring the
truce. He assured Turks the soldiers would only be protecting peace
and helping with humanitarian aid, not disarming Hezbollah militants.
"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.
"Let’s not forget: If we shut our doors, we can’t escape the flames
that are surrounding us," he said. "If you stay away, you become
spectators to the killings of innocent people and to your own future."
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.
But some analysts question the consequences of Turkish participation.
"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,
released a statement calling Turkish participation in the peacekeeping
mission "morally unacceptable," and also warning Annan against the
deployment.
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.
"Turkey having a military presence beyond its borders would be a
prestigious development," said Turhan Comez, a legislator from the
ruling Justice and Development Party.
"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 government asked parliament late Friday to approve sending troops
to monitor the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas
that ended 34 days of fighting last month.
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 and 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.
And Ankara, nostalgic for the former glory of the Ottoman Empire,
has hankered for a key role in a country it ruled for centuries.
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.
Since then, however, the region has fallen into turmoil – and the
Islamic-rooted Turkish government believes it could play a role in
returning stability to the region.
"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.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he is responding to Lebanese
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s request for Turkey’s help monitoring the
truce. He assured Turks the soldiers would only be protecting peace
and helping with humanitarian aid, not disarming Hezbollah militants.
"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.
"Let’s not forget: If we shut our doors, we can’t escape the flames
that are surrounding us," he said. "If you stay away, you become
spectators to the killings of innocent people and to your own future."
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.
But some analysts question the consequences of Turkish participation.
"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,
released a statement calling Turkish participation in the peacekeeping
mission "morally unacceptable," and also warning Annan against the
deployment.