I wonder if any of those AKP supporters, who have recently welcomed Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, were aware that the Palestinian flag that they waved alongside the Turkish flag was once the greatest symbol of the Arab uprising against the Turkish rule.
Yes, the Palestinian flag had originally been designed for the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916. It is also claimed that the designers were a group of Arab activists at the Arab Intellectual Council in Istanbul.
As Turks seem like they don't care about/know this historical fact, another interesting occurence was observed yesterday on the Arab front:
More than 5.000 Hamas supporters rallied in Gaza, waving Turkish flags and carrying the portraits of Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan after his reactions at Davos. From the TV footage, it could be seen that there were more Erdogan portraits than the portraits of Hamas leaders. Hamas lawmaker Khalil al-Hayeh called Erdogan "a hero" for criticizing Israel over the Gaza offensive.
If Erdogan really likes them, I think that he should move in to Gaza and be THEIR Prime Minister. Of course I sympathize with Palestinians and I am deeply sad about their century-old suffering, but what's happening in Turkey now is what I have always feared: An autocratic leader who is powerful enough to pursue a neo-Ottoman agenda...
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The Trap of Neo-Ottomanism
I feel that the latest mistakes in Turkey's new foreign policy are crucial and they are the results of new strategies, coined by Ahmet Davutoglu, Erdogan's senior aide. Davutoglu is indeed a valuable academic with his deep knowledge. I have respect to his theories, but his "pro-active diplomacy" approach, which states that "all the conflicts in your region are diplomatic opportunities, so always intervene as a possible mediator," is only viable when you have qualified statesmen to practice them.
With a leader like Erdogan, we see that this strategy is too risky to pursue. It doesn't worth to take the risk; because I still can't comprehend what we will gain in terms of our national-interests, if Hamas gets stronger and the secession in the Palestinian Authority becomes official (from de facto, to de jure status). I don't even talk about the negative effects of our worsening relations with the US and Israel and the ethical question about supporting an organization like Hamas, which doesn't care about democracy and human rights in their theocratically-administered enclave.
If we evaluate the history, we see that Turkey's traditional foreign policy has been a policy of balance. And no, it didn't start with Ataturk. Firstly, Sultan Abdulhamid II had practiced this strategy, which basically says, "by manipulating the conflicting interests of the foreign states and preparing suitable ground, you can pursue your national interests in the most efficient way."
Sultan Abdulhamid II did his best, but he had got a crumbling empire after all. It was Ataturk who had perfected this strategy. He politically and militarily defeated Britain, France, Italy, Greece and Armenia (probably the biggest miracle of the last century); he consequently established a modern nation-state, which was followed by the first successful nation-building revolution in our region. Then Ismet Inonu, Turkey's second president, followed the policy of balance during the Second World War and managed to keep his country neutral.
And what are we doing right now? Where do we stand? I guess that we began a new phase: In some Turkish (and Arab/Muslim) forums, I read romantic comments, heralding "the return of Ottoman Empire." This idiocy is a consequence of Davutoglu's remarkable theory, which is currently ruined by Erdogan's uncontrolled (or contrarily, very-well controlled) temperament.
I am not an isolationist, but our foreign policy started to be biased in a nasty way. The recent developments have pushed Turkey towards Hamas, hence Iran and Syria, too much. Many people think that even our too-risky position as a honest peace-broker is at stake. Unfortunately, Erdogan still doesn't seem bothered.
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I Am Confident, But The West Should Worry
Our current position reminded me of the Union and Progress dictorate. They were the first ones who unbalanced Turkey's foreign policy in the last century and then they ultimately chose the wrong side in a war that we could (and should) have avoided. Because of their dreamy political adventure to re-establish Pax Ottomana in the Middle East, we were about to lose everything, including Istanbul.
Prior to the First World War, the Union and Progress leaders were thinking that our biggest strength was the support of Arabs, our coreligionists, who could be mobilized by the jihad call of the Caliph, the Ottoman Sultan. The Turkish leadership couldn't see that the Arab tribal leaders would be opting to go along with the European imperial states, which promised them wealth and political authority, addressing their national interests.
This was how our first neo-Ottomanism project fell flat. The Union and Progress bandits were in complete despair before their blunder. So their mistakes are more comprehensible. However, after almost a hundred years, we -as the generations of the 21st century- are on the verge of the second neo-Ottomanism blunder now and it is much more idiotic.
As a modern nation-state, Turkey is an advanced secular democracy today, unlike any other regional country, including Israel. As a matter of fact, we should keep pursueing our national interests. Solely and purely, national interests...
If the religion -or any other issue- can find a way to be a factor in Turkey's foreign policy, then the balance of this policy cannot be maintained. As a result, the foundation of our establishment, as a nation-state, will be damaged and it will bring about new threats against all of us.
Personally, Erdogan makes me angry and sad. I reject Davutoglu's foreign policies. However, I still believe in Turkey, relying on the depth of our culture and history. Confidently, I'll keep on the side of an independent Turkey, which can sustain a balanced, consistent and strong foreign policy which is based on democracy and human rights, as well as our national interests, not those of Arabs, Israelis, Americans or Peruvians.
In these circumstances, the Western politicians are the last people who have got the right to complain about Erdogan. It was no one but them that had shamelessly supported the AKP as a part of their moderate Islamism program in the Middle East.
Well, face it now...
